Ghaffur told Asharq al-Awsat yesterday that he believes that racially motivated hate crimes against Muslims since the London bombings have decreased to a lower level than expected. | Westerners aren't driven by Dire Revenge™ like some people. Sometimes we should be. |
Asharq al-Awsat asked Ghaffur about the extent to which he expects Muslims to use the telephone hotline and their participation in cooperating with the police. He made a plea to Muslims and said that it is difficult to defeat terror "unless Muslims and non-Muslims stand united against it." He added, "we hope that they are more eager to contact us and inform us of any information that may assist us in our cause." The assistant commissioner continued, "Let us be frank. I am part of this community as I too am a British Muslim. The community has information of which is useful to us in protecting all members of our society, in confronting the dangers of terrorism and in dealing with racially-motivated crimes." He pointed out that "reports can be made in Arabic, Urdu or any other language through the new internet service or telephone hotline." He added, "my appeal to them is to provide any information that may help us to be secure in our society and any other information concerning the crimes of racial-hatred."