We are devastated by the attack on peaceful Muslim worshippers at a mosque in San Diego, in which three innocent lives were taken. This was a brutal act of violence against people engaged in worship in a place of peace and sanctuary. We extend our deepest condolences to the bereaved families and offer our prayers for the injured and all those affected.

This attack is part of a wider pattern in which hatred towards Muslims is increasingly normalised in public discourse. While responsibility for this crime lies solely with the perpetrator, it would be a serious failure to ignore the environment in which such violence develops.

Violence against any people does not emerge in a vacuum. It is preceded by environments in which communities are repeatedly dehumanised and where all forms of hateful rhetoric are allowed to circulate without consistent challenge or consequence.

We are deeply concerned by recent events in London where rhetoric directed at Muslims included calls for Islam to be removed from public life, including statements about getting Islam “out of Parliament” and “out of every official office in this country”. Other remarks urged people to be “fight ready because a fight is coming to this country,” alongside staged public acts involving Muslim dress that were widely criticised as degrading.

Taken together, these incidents reflect a growing tolerance for rhetoric that presents Muslims as incompatible with civic belonging. This raises a clear and urgent question: why is such language tolerated or minimised when directed at Muslims, when equivalent rhetoric against other groups would rightly face immediate condemnation and consequence?

This inconsistency undermines trust and equality before the law. Freedom of expression does not extend to the normalisation of hatred towards entire religious communities or the advocacy of their exclusion from public life. Allowing a climate of hateful rhetoric to flourish and take root damages a cohesive society as a whole.

We call on political leaders, media organisations, and institutions to take responsibility, apply consistent standards across all communities, and ensure that public platforms are not used to legitimise narratives of exclusion.

As Muslims, we are guided by the ethical principle that human life is sacred and that justice, dignity, and compassion must be upheld for all. These values compel us to speak out whenever hatred is tolerated and whenever any community is made to feel unsafe or unwelcome in public life.