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Muslim babies’ graves vandalised in shocking Islamophobic hate crime

Countless Muslim graves in Carpenders Park Lawn Cemetery in Hertfordshire have been desecrated, in what has been labelled an Islamophobic hate crime by police. 85 graves in the Muslim section of a cemetery, largely the graves of babies and children, have been vandalised.

Disturbing pictures showed the desecrated site, with name plaques broken, soil from marked graves dug up, and damaged headstones.

Islamophobic attack at Carpenders Park Lawn Cemetery

The cemetery where the vandals struck is owned by Brent Council. Its leader, Muhammed Butt, said:

Our thoughts are with the families of those whose graves were desecrated. I cannot imagine how they must be feeling at this moment.

Muhammed Butt also told reporters that the council would reach out to the affected families to make arrangements to repair damaged graves, and added:

If it means having patrols in the next few days and weeks coming forward, we will absolutely do that.

Wadi Funeral Care, who operate in the area, said in a statement:

We are heartbroken and outraged by the recent desecration of the Muslim burial section at Carpenders Park Lawn Cemetery. Reports indicate that children’s grave plaques were destroyed, and some graves were subjected to unspeakable acts of disrespect. These heinous actions have caused immense pain to grieving families and our broader community.

A spokesperson from the funeral home told ITV News:

It’s had a huge impact. It’s not long ago that Woodcock Hill Cemetery, not far away from here, was also desecrated.

People feel that these sorts of attacks are becoming more frequent.

Less than a year ago, Muslim graves were also vandalised in Burnley – an incident which was also labelled an Islamophobic hate crime.

Ishrat Zuberi, who regularly visits her father’s grave, said:

I’m speechless. I haven’t actually processed this because it’s so awful.

Grief

Reactions on social media featured an outpouring of grief, as the horror of the desecration set in. Journalist Taj Ali called for serious action on Islamophobia:

One user expressed disbelief at the horror of the Carpenders Park Lawn Cemetery desecration:

The An-Nisa Society, which works for the welfare of Muslims, was not impressed with the response from the council:

The society also added:

This is clearly not just an act of vandalism, it is an Islamophobic attack, & must be recorded as such.

The group make an important point. As usual, the police took their time in determining whether the solely Muslim graves that were desecrated constituted an Islamophobic hate crime, or random violence. They don’t seem to have such trouble when it comes to attacks that can be designated terrorist. But, that’s probably a much simpler endeavour when all you have to do is see how dark skinned the attacker is to determine if it’s terrorism or merely violence.

Abject

Every one of the 85 graves vandalised at Carpenders Park Lawn Cemetery contains a Muslim who was deeply loved. Even in death, Muslims still cannot be left in peace. Whoever chose to break headstones and plaques, and dig up topsoil in a cemetery undoubtedly knew they were committing a horrific and obscene act.

But, as with all disturbing events like this, they do not happen in isolation. The desecration of these Muslim graves is a product of a deeply Islamophobic society. This Labour government have repeatedly not taken action on Islamophobia, and anti-Muslim sentiment has become normalised and even expected. No doubt, local residents will assist Muslim communities with clean-up efforts – and good on them. Nevertheless, this is clearly a societal problem for which more than just the vandals alone bear responsibility.

Featured image via screengrab

By Maryam Jameela

This post was originally published on Canary.