Lincoln deters rioters with peace, love and cups of tea

The recent bouts of street violence around the country have made it feel as though England has been on the edge of a serious breakdown in law and order.

Egged on by the pernicious influence of Nigel Farage, Tommy Robinson and the rhetoric of certain Conservative party politicians, there was a real sense of panic at the sight of mostly young men bent on causing serious harm to migrants.

The quick reaction of the government – deploying sufficient police officers, getting offenders identified and into court and some well-publicised sentencing – met with widespread approval. But there was considerable unease in Lincoln, when rumours emerged on social media that the offices of a law firm acting for migrants were to be targeted for further action.

Community wins out over street violence

Lincolnshire police quickly scotched the notion by making it clear that no such business existed at the address being circulated. Speculation then suggested that the Lincoln mosque would be targeted. It seemed a plausible threat. Lincolnshire heavily supported Brexit because of the issue of migrant workers and the recent housing of asylum seekers in Skegness and potentially at RAF Scampton, has caused immense local resentment. It was important therefore to make sure that what happened would be witnessed. I went along.

When I arrived, there was a small crowd of around 70-80 people in front of the mosque. It was made up of members of the city’s Muslim community and ordinary members of the public. Police were in evidence too, but not in large numbers. An ice cream van and a burger stall were parked up, doing good business. There was no sign of any sort of threat.

people standing and walking on a carpark outside a mosque building in Lincoln — Outside the Mosque. Picture by Richard Hall

Salman from the mosque greeted my arrival. He thanked me for coming. I asked how he reacted to the turn out. He spoke very appreciatively of the way the community had rallied to show their support. He was joined by Tahrir, another member of the mosque community. Both men were glad to see the police response and they felt the government had reacted quickly and correctly in identifying and prosecuting those who had committed violence in Southport, Sunderland, Tamworth and elsewhere.

Division rejected

I spoke to Gavyn Graham, a UNISON official who played a prominent part in organising the support at the mosque. He’s well known in Lincoln for his efforts to promote community cohesion by opposing forms of bigotry and social division. He was pleased with the turnout, particularly since everything had had to be done at short notice and suggested this showed the strength of the community and their rejection of those promoting division.

I asked him for his thoughts on the government’s response. He wasn’t complimentary and said their failure to make any sort of meaningful statement about overturning the austerity programme of the last government, which he said lay at the heart of the discontent, meant they could claim no real credit for taking control of the situation.

I talked to Ali, who had moved to Lincoln from East London. I wondered if he had noted a difference in attitude between the multiracial community he had left and Lincoln, where over 90% of the population is white British. He said he’d found Lincoln a friendly place but working commitments made it difficult to integrate himself more fully. Finally, I spoke to a couple of the police officers on duty. They didn’t want to say too much but were obviously pleased that any threats appeared to have been unfounded. I asked if they thought the violence had peaked. They believed the speed with which offenders had appeared in front of the courts was having a deterrent effect, but it wasn’t possible to say whether there would be any further incidents.

Tea and empathy

By the time I’d finished talking to people, it was clear that nothing untoward would happen and law and order would be maintained. Indeed, it almost felt like a friendly community social event. Groups stood around chatting amicably. A couple of lads juggled a football between them. Tea was being served by the members of the mosque community.

Overhead, dusk was gathering and a crescent moon – the symbol of Islam – could clearly be seen in the evening sky. Somehow, that seemed entirely appropriate.