Liverpool bomb: Muslim people already suffering hatred, says MP

Muslim people are already suffering racial hatred after Sunday's terrorist incident at Liverpool Women's Hospital, one of the city's MPs has revealed.

Labour's Kim Johnson said her team "had been hearing incidents where women wearing the hijab are facing abuse".

City Mayor Joanne Anderson has led calls for unity after a taxi exploded outside the hospital.

Police said Emad Al Swealmeen died when a homemade device exploded shortly before 11:00 GMT on Remembrance Sunday.

It is understood the 32-year-old suspected bomber was an asylum seeker from Syria who had converted from Islam to Christianity in 2017.

Elizabeth and Malcolm Hitchcott said he briefly lived with them at their Liverpool home after his conversion.

The city's Anglican cathedral said it lost contact with Al Swealmeen in 2018.

Mr Hitchcott said prior to the bomb he been sectioned under the Mental Health Act for about six months because of his behaviour with a knife.

Liverpool Riverside MP Ms Johnson told the House of Commons: "Incidents such as these, while extremely rare, always provoke a spike in race hate and particular in the Muslim community, and my team have been hearing incidents where women wearing the hijab are facing abuse."

Ms Anderson appealed for people "not be guided by the sort of rising hate that often happens after an attack like this".

"Don't let it divide our city. We are very strong as a community and the people to blame are [those] involved - nobody else," she said.

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram also warned people to be on their guard against "speculation" and "scapegoating".

He told BBC Radio Merseyside Sunday's blast "can't be allowed to divide our communities".

"We don't need those right-wing ideologues to blame people who settled here, or because they have a different coloured skin or a different religion to them," he said.

Mr Rotheram urged people to make an extra effort to be "kinder" to one another and ignore "keyboard warriors" on social media "who try to divide us".

"The spirit in the city region will probably be tested in the coming days, but we need to stick together," he said.

"The majority of people in our area will never subscribe to hatred."

Merseyside Police also appealed for unity, adding: "Our city is known for its welcome and kindness to all. At times like these it is more important than ever to be kind to each other."

Faith leaders in the city have echoed those messages.

Very Revd Sue Jones, the Dean of Liverpool, said the Anglican Cathedral was "shocked and saddened" by the incident but said "the city must unite and what happened must not stop work or support for refugees".

Mohammed Shafiq, from the Ramadhan Foundation, said: "Terrorists set out to divide communities and we must not allow them to succeed.

"They are responsible for some of the most heinous crimes and they should be brought to justice.

"Liverpool is a tolerant and diverse city which prides itself on its inclusivity and protection of all communities."

A group of other Liverpool faith leaders said in a joint statement that the city was "famed for being welcome and tolerant" and that "there is more that unites us than divides us".

Canon Crispin Pailing, of St Nicholas Church, Leyla Mashjari, of the Al-Ghazali Multicultural Centre, Priyanka Mohta, of the Hindu Cultural Organisation and Rabbi Avinoam Czitron said: "Sunday's terrorist attack has shocked people of every faith, and those of no faith, across the city.

"Terrorism is an indiscriminate act against people of all faiths, no faith and of all backgrounds.

"It seeks to destroy our lives of peaceful co-existence and disrupt the functions of society."

The Anthony Walker Foundation, set up in memory of the 18-year-old teenager murdered in a racist attack in 2005, also pleaded for people to come together.

It tweeted: "Please use this as an opportunity to unite and stand strong, rather than be a conduit for hate."

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