By Maira Butt
Motorway bridges, mosques and mini-roundabouts have been plastered with the St George’s Cross and Union Jack in recent days, sparking debate about patriotism.
Many of the banners have been raised by self-proclaimed “patriots”, eager to make a statement about borders, immigration and who the country really “belongs” to.
In some openly hostile demonstrations, the flag that has become a symbol of nationalism has been daubed on to the walls of mosques. South Essex Islamic Centre in Basildon was sprayed with graffiti proclaiming “Christ is King” and “This is England”, alongside a smeared red cross last week.
In Liverpool, a spate of incidents included homes spray-painted with malicious messages such as “Locals only” and “No Islam”, and the St George’s Cross daubed on several sites nearby. But one Birkenhead mosque turned the attack around.
When a man pinned a Union Jack outside the gates of the Wirral Deen Centre, the imam, Ibrahim Syed, bought another online and hung it up on the window of the mosque. “They intended to cause offence,” he says. “We turned it on its head. Because this is our flag too.”
Mr Syed believes there is a subconscious implication that Muslims are not British, but says: “We are British. Now is the time to say we do belong here. We’re embedded in this country and we’re a part of the fabric of society.”
He was praised for his response with many on social media calling his actions an example of “real patriotism”.
Mr Syed’s optimism is hard-won. His mosque is in one of the less multicultural areas of the country. Recently, he was verbally assaulted while with his children and told to “go back to your country”. At the end of July, the building was targeted again, with air gun pellets shot through the window, shattering the glass.
“We are being targeted,” he says. But what keeps him going? “It’s Imaan [faith]. It’s a tense time. We have to take safety precautions.”
The root of the issue, he believes, is “people being manipulated” to believe that Islam, immigration, asylum seekers, and boat crossings are the same issue. “It needs to be challenged,” he says and points to the 250,000 Ukrainian refugees who have been housed and funded by taxpayers since Russia’s invasion, with very little fanfare, and says the discrepancy and difference in public narrative is “frankly, racist”.
He refers to recent examples of targeted statements including the former Conservative and Ukip MP Douglas Carswell prompting outrage when he called on the public to “make England Abdul-free”.
Despite the tension and attacks, he believes that second and third-generation Muslims belong in the country and that the flag should not be a symbol of exclusion.
However, for some British Muslims, such as Kamran Ali — who hopes to run for parliament as an independent in Fenham, Newcastle — the banner is synonymous with “terrorism”. “I’ve had this view ever since I learnt about British colonialism,” he says.
“I used to have the flag outside my window whenever England would be playing in the World Cup or Euros. I used to be a massive fan. But, once I learnt the history of this country, and what it is still doing, what is there to be proud of?”
Mr Ali refers to deaths and occupation during the British Empire as well as recent military actions including the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, and UK support for Israel.
“If somebody has those views, that doesn’t mean they hate the country. It means they hate government policies,” he says.
He is often asked why he does not go back to India if he disagrees with UK policy, to which he says: “I am here because this country occupied my homeland for 300 years, and as a result, my dad had to move here to provide a better life for his family and he got married and had children and I’m one of those children.
“The West came to us. No one would have considered leaving such a beautiful country if it hadn’t been destroyed and looted.”
He believes that people who attempt to reclaim the flag have a “slave mentality” left over from colonialism. However, he also acknowledges that “mosques have to protect their worshippers” and empathises with their concerns.
“Ultimately it’s a message of peace,” he says about Muslim leaders who are repurposing the symbol for unity. “They aren’t going against the Quran or Sunnah [the model set by the Prophet Muhammad] in any way.”
While Islam does not explicitly encourage nationalism, there are references within the text that promote cultural cohesion and unity. In one verse, quoted by Mr Ali, Allah addresses human beings saying He “made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another”.
Ghulaam Mustafa Nawaz, a young imam, sees the situation differently and believes British Muslims should be patriotic and “grateful” to be in the country. The 19-year-old from Burnley says he has travelled to Pakistan and believes conditions elsewhere are dire.
“The things we can do in this country, we can’t do elsewhere. I travel across so many cities and speak about my religion and the Prophet. You can’t do that in a lot of countries.”
Asked about governments and military actions, Mr Nawaz says: “This country has given us amazing opportunities. Just because I’m proud of our country, doesn’t mean I’m proud of the government.”
In 2001, before he was born, Burnley saw some of the country’s worst race riots, and he believes fear around the flag stems from that period. “I would never use the flag as a hate symbol. Even with the Palestine flag, I would never use it for hate.”
In Lancashire Facebook groups, GoFundMe campaigns are being set up to fund boxes of flags and requests made for streets to have flags.
One post read: “Looks amazing on the M65 with the England flags” others praise “patriots” for the movement.
Mr Nawaz believes that the way to deal with the issue is to show “that the flag is just as much ours as it is yours”. He adds: “We love this country just as much as you do. We contribute. We respect this country. When you do that, you’re no longer giving them that weapon.”
He believes that Islam’s message of unity transcends nationality. “Away from nationalism and support for countries, we often use the word Ummah to describe the Muslim community. If we look deeper into the word, the closest meaning you can find for it in the English dictionary is ‘civilisation’. That means we are all human beings first.”
