Muslim hikers say response to social media abuse has been 'heartwarming'

A group of Muslim hikers who went walking in the Peak District in Derbyshire on Christmas Day have been racially abused after sharing their pictures online.

The group is organised by Haroon Mota from Coventry.

He says the meet ups are designed to make the outdoors more accessible for everyone and to welcome anyone into their group.

More than a 130-strong group went for the Christmas walk.

Haroon says he was rocked by the vitriol he received on Facebook and Twitter.

"Even today we’ve been receiving some very negative comments, says Haroon.

"We’ve had people saying hello are you the group that started in Syria and walking through Calais.

"An awful thing to say especially considering you have a refugee plight at the moment.

"Someone asking where are dinghy was and whether we had it with us.

They were also accused of damaging the area and not being 'proper walkers'.

Many of the comments have since been removed.

Haroon said: "There is a huge level of underrepresentation from our communities in the outdoors and it’s also our south Asian communities, Muslim communities are also affected by the greatest health inequalities as well.

"Unsurprisingly our participation levels in the outdoors are low as well so it's important we get outside.

"Us being outside on the hills is integration."

"Many of our walkers were hiking for the first time, and they had a very pleasant experience but comments like this can deter people," says Haroon.

"Especially for people who might be considering going outside alone or with their families they might think what if they were to encounter prejudice or abuse whilst out on the trails"

Despite negative comments, there has been solidarity shown from the local community.

The group hope the recent comments won't deter people from joining walks in the future.

Muslim Hikers says the support has been heartwarming and reassuring.