Manipulative grooming gangs are being used as a tool to create division among us.

A reader recently shared their thoughts on the trend of scapegoating Muslims and asked for others' opinions on the matter. They also expressed their concern as a British Muslim student who feels increasingly targeted in recent months. The reader mentioned the weaponization of discussions about grooming gangs and how it unfairly conflates these crimes with Muslims, Pakistanis, and immigrants. They emphasized that these issues cannot be reduced to matters of race or religion, and that Islam condemns all forms of sexual exploitation.

The reader pointed out that the Home Office's own research shows that the majority of offenders in group-based child sexual exploitation cases are white, and that no community or culture is predisposed to offending. They stressed the need to focus on addressing systemic failures and supporting victims, rather than framing these crimes as a critique of a religion or culture. The reader lamented the increasing division and scapegoating of Muslims, and expressed their belief in the decency and integrity of the British public to see through these divisive narratives.

The reader then shared their personal experience of being a British Muslim living in a country that they once admired for its values of justice and inclusivity. They mentioned an attack on their university mosque and the questioning of British Muslim youth's loyalty by prominent public figures. The reader expressed their sadness at feeling less welcomed in the nation their family sought asylum in.

The reader ended by calling out Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and others for politicizing child sexual exploitation and giving credence to harmful opinions. They also shared their opinion on the debate of whether it is ever justified to hit children, stating that smacking has not done them any harm and may have even contributed to their son becoming a respectful and law-abiding individual. They also disagreed with the idea that violence is the way to resolve problems and suggested that terraces alongside roads could be a solution to the housing crisis. The reader ended with a humorous suggestion that the increasing number of humpback whales off the coast of Cornwall and Devon could be spying for Russia.

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