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Trump said the 1st amendment -which stands for freedom of belief and speech- makes clear “that our rights do not come from our government; they come from God”. He regretted “80% of the world’s population live in countries where religious liberty is threatened, restricted or even banned”.

The percentage he cites comes from a report from the Pew Research Center in 2016, where this independent think tank also mentions Muslims being targeted in the United States and directly links this to the current present president of the country:

“In the United States, Muslims were the targets of derogatory rhetoric and proposed discrimination. In July, Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump criticized the parents of a Muslim soldier who was killed in Iraq (…). Later in the year, President-elect Trump appeared to stand by plans for a temporary ban on Muslim immigration to the United States and a proposed requirement that U.S. Muslims register in a database”, the report summary reads.

>>> You may also read: Alicia and Aladdin, the beautiful love story of a Catholic and a Muslim<<<

But Donald Trump’s speech on religious freedom this Monday at the UN ignored his rethoric and measures against Muslims: “As we speak, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Yazidis and many other people of faith are being jailed, sanctioned, tortured and even murdered, often at the hands of their own government, simply for expressing their deeply held religious beliefs. So hard to believe”.

He called upon all the countries of the world “to end religious persecution”, “repeal laws restricting freedom of religion and belief, protect the vulnerable, the defenceless and the oppressed”. The US president assured: “Protecting religious freedom is one of my highest priorities and always has been”.

“Repeal laws restricting freedom of religion and belief, protect the vulnerable, the defenceless and the oppressed”

What he did not mention was the “temporary ban” on Muslims he promised to implement if he became president and which finally has gotten a version of it for some Muslim majority countries plus Venezuela and North Korea after the judges declared his first travel ban illegal.

He recalled recent “evil attacks” against worshippers in sinagogues in the US, in mosques in New Zealand and churches in Sri Lanka and urged every nation “to increase the prosecution and punishment of crimes against religious communities”. “There cannot be greater crime than that”, he said.

>>> You may also read: Attacks against mosques are more usual than you might think: they are committed by anti-Muslim terrorists and also by groups like ISIS <<<

Trump announced a coalition of US businesses for the protection of “all faiths” in the workplace, although he did not go into detail. “True tolerance means respecting the right of all people to express their deeply held religious beliefs”, he pointed out before saying to the victims of religious persecution that the US “will always stay at your side”.

Last July Donald Trump held a short meeting with people who survived religious persecution worldwide. Sitting on his chair at the Oval Office and surrounded by them, he talked with them in front of the cameras (watch White House video).

The victims were grateful for the opportunity to be listened, like Farid Ahmed, a victim of the Christchurch attacks against Muslims who became known after publicly forgiving the terrorist. But there were also awkward moments during the meeting with Trump, such as when a Rohingya refugee asked him for solutions to go back home after being forced to flee to Bangladesh together with another 740,000 Muslims since 2017. “Where is that exactly?”, Trump asked. “Burma”, an official had to clarify (meaning the state nowadays known as Myanmar). Or like when he asked Nobel Peace Prize Nadia Murad why she obtained the award. She is a Yazidi woman survivor of ISIS genocide against this religious community who brought up attention worldwide about these mass killings, mainly in Iraq.

The law known as “Muslim ban” or “Travel ban” finally included countries which are not Muslim majority nations: North Korea and Venezuela. But it kept Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Iran among those with restrictions, including no travel at all for Syrians and North Korea people. Iraq and Sudan, which where among the countries in the first executive order, where finally dropped.

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Three people have “minor injuries”, police said. One of them remains in hospital: a man in his fifties who is being treated for a serious leg injury.

The victims had been attending an evening programme at the islamic Hussaini Association in Cricklewood (North West London) last night. The car “mounted the pavement” and hit a “crowd of Muslims” while shouting “islamophobic insults“, the Association and Muslim Council of Britain have explained in different press releases. They were “indiscriminately mown down”, the Hussaini Association stated while adding it was “premeditated Islamophobic attack”.

“Promoting dialogue and understanding between the different communities and faiths in the UK” is precisely the “mission statement” of this non-profit organization. “We are in deep shock at such an attack taking place on our community but remain proud to live in a diverse and tolerant society and, as such, we remain unintimidated,” spokespersons for the Hussaini Association said.

The car -a red Nissan Juke, according to eyewitnesses cited by the Hussaini Association- and its occupants are being sought by police. No arrests have been made.

Anyone with information concerning the car involved or the occupants is requested to call Brent CID on 07747 476 161 or 101 quoting CAD 150/29 Sept or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, police has asked. You can also tweet police via @MetCC.

How it happened and why it is not treated as terrorism

“This incident is not being treated as terror related but the hate crime aspect of the collision is being looked at by detectives as an aggravating factor,” police explained in a statement. DS Kelly Schonhage from Brent CID said: “We are treating this incident very seriously and a number of enquiries are underway to trace the car and those involved. Enquiries into the full circumstances of the collision are ongoing.”

These are the circumstances investigators have established for now:

“Approximately at 00:20hrs security at the community centre were informed of occupants in a car behaving anti-socially, drinking and allegedly using drugs. The occupants of the car – three males and a woman all aged in their mid-twenties – were asked to leave the private car park.

>>> You may also read: The Swedish Christian activist who stands up for Muslims: “We share a lot of things and the same God”<<<

The car then drove near the centre and the occupants were involved in a confrontation with a large group of people visiting the centre. Words were exchanged and comments of an Islamophobic nature were allegedly made by the group in the car.

The car then reportedly sustained minor damage by some of those outside the centre. It proceeded to make off at speed colliding with three individuals as it left. The car and its occupants who failed to stop and injured three people are being sought by police”.

The Hussaini Association claims the consequences could have been much worse as a number of “volunteers bravely stood between the speeding vehicle and patrons heading home.” The Association thinks this “potentially saved the lives of dozens of innocent people”.

Tell Mama organization which works against islamophobia in the UK has tweeted: “Rest assured that we are monitoring this situation closely and working with the relevant agencies. We will provide updates in due course.”

The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) said in a statement the “anti Muslim hit and run attack highlights police indifference”. IHRC is calling on the police “to do more to protect Muslims from Islamophobic attacks outside their places of worship”.

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La entrada Car hits Muslim worshippers outside a London mosque se publicó primero en Salam Plan.