Families and Burnley Council leader slams 'evil individuals' after Muslim gravestones vandalised

The grave of Suweb's brother was among the muslim headstones targeted with grey paint.

A man has spoken of his devastation after "evil individuals" desecrated his younger brother's grave with paint along with several other muslim headstones.

Grey paint was poured over a number of headstones in the muslim section of Burnley Cemetery, by alleged far-right activists on Monday, 5 August.

Suweb Ali, who has lived in the Lancashire town his entire life, first found out about the damage to his younger brother Mohammed's grave after a video was posted online.

"We are still grieving, everything is fresh for us", Suweb said. "As I was driving to the graveyard, my family are I were in tears. It's not human. I'd never stoop to this level.

"I've lived in Burnley all my life. We contribute to this country as well as anyone else does but we're made to feel like we're different."

He continued to say: "We feel like we couldn't protect our brother when he was alive and now he's in his grave he should be at rest, at peace."

The local community have since worked to remove the paint poured on the headstones, but Suweb says the incident has frightened his family.

"We're all scared", he said. "I've cancelled summer plans with my children.

"Everyone wants the same: to live equally. But we're going back in time."

Following news of the attack the leader of council, Councillor Afrasiab Anwar MBE, urged the Muslim community not to retaliate.

He said: “What type of evil individual(s) would undertake such outrageous actions, in a sacrosanct place of reflection, where loved ones are buried, solely intended to provoke racial tensions?

"We are working with the police to identify the perpetrator(s) and to ensure they are reprimanded at the earliest opportunity.

"There is CCTV footage at the cemetery which the police are working through, and we are working with the police to ensure a heightened police presence in the area.

"The council have made arrangements for the graves to be cleaned by a specialist memorial mason as a matter of urgency and the affected families are being contacted.

"There are heinous individuals who are looking to provoke a reaction in our communities.

"With actions like this, it is extremely difficult to remain calm, but I would urge you not to react to the provocation.”

Lancashire Police said it was treating the hate crime "incredibly seriously".

A spokesperson said: “We have launched an investigation after a report of criminal damage in Burnley today (Monday, August 5).

"We were called around 4:15pm to Burnley Cemetery on Rossendale Road after a report that paint had been poured across headstones in a Muslim burial area.

"The investigation into this matter is very much ongoing. We are taking this matter incredibly seriously and this is being treated as a hate crime.

"We do not tolerate hate of any form, and we will do everything in our power to identify the offenders and take the appropriate action.”

Some mosques and muslim-owned businesses have been targeted by far-right activists in the last week as serious disorder broke out in the wake of the Southport stabbings.

The government’s announcement of extra security for mosques was welcomed on Monday, as a national monitoring group reported a fivefold increase in threats to the Islamic community.

Tell Mama, which monitors Islamophobia in the UK, said a “surge in extreme right-wing activity in the past week” had led to a threefold increase in hate crimes.

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