LONDON. — At a London sports ground, Maya Hassan looks on with pride as around 30 women, nearly all Muslims and from ethnic minorities, join a self-defense class that she organized in response to a wave of riots that saw violent, racist attacks on Muslims and migrants.
The 28-year-old martial arts expert said she wanted to help women of color learn how to deal with abuse and build connections and confidence after more than a week of unrest aimed at mosques, asylum-seeker hotels and the police.
“It gives you a little bit more confidence,” she said. “You kind of know what to look for, how to be socially aware, how to spot things and how to get out of a really bad situation.”
Muslim and ethnic minority communities have expressed shock over the disorder which was sparked by false information online that the suspected killer of three young girls in a knife attack in Southport, northwest England, was an Islamist migrant.
Martial arts instructor Stewart McGill said he had seen more women signing up for classes since the unrest started. He told them how to defend themselves with tactics including kicks and impromptu weapons such as belts.
One attendee, Elza Annan, 24, said she felt more confident.
“I obviously don’t want to have to use these techniques but it is useful and beneficial to have them … especially because of recent events of far-right racists coming out and targeting people of color,” she said.
The riots have largely targeted migrants, Muslims, and Asian people, spreading fear through ethnic minority communities and casting a light on Britain’s record of integration.
Tell MAMA UK, a group that monitors anti-Muslim incidents, said hate directed at Muslims had been growing in Britain for some time, and especially since Oct. 7 last year, the start of the conflict in Gaza.
Since the riots began, it had received more than 500 calls and online reports of anti-Muslim behavior across Britain.
Sunder Katwala, director of the think-tank British Future, which focuses on migration and identity, said at its best, Britain is a “confident multi-ethnic democracy.”
But he said successive governments had lacked a strategy for integrating different communities. While those arriving recently from Ukraine and Hong Kong were given government support, that did not happen to all.
The asylum system faced particular pressures, with a huge backlog of applications and some Britons concerned about pressure on housing, healthcare and education.
