SINGAPORE — Britain has been engulfed in a surge of violent protests over the past week, after a deadly stabbing at a dance class led to the spread of online misinformation, sparking off riots across the country.

The incident on July 29 involved a lone attacker with a knife, who struck at a dance class in a community centre in Southport, a town near Liverpool. Three girls were killed and eight other children were injured.

Soon after, false rumours began to pop up online, alleging that the crime had been committed by a Muslim immigrant who had recently arrived in Britain. 

The misinformation spread rapidly, especially among far-right and anti-immigration groups and their supporters, who believe that minority groups such as Muslims are threatening Britain’s social fabric.  

Violence began to break out, as leaders of these extremist groups encouraged their supporters to take to the streets, starting in Southport. 

In an unprecedented move, the British courts revealed the identity of the alleged stabber, even though he is a minor, in an effort to quell the protests. He is 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, who was born in Cardiff, Wales and has Christian Rwandan parents. 

However, far from ushering in calm, the violence continued to spread to more cities and towns, including London, Manchester, Liverpool, and Belfast in Northern Ireland. Rioters have set fire to a hotel in Rotherham where asylum seekers live, thrown missiles at officers in Staffordshire and smashed windows in Middlesbrough. 

The police have since arrested more than 420 people, with the number expected to climb. Some of the rioters were as young as 14.

Multiple far-right groups have been identified as the instigators of the riots, including fascist group Patriotic Alternative, neo-Nazi group British Movement and supporters of the anti-Islam organisation English Defence League.

In the wake of the unrest, some countries including Australia and Indonesia have issued alerts to discourage their citizens from visiting Britain. 

TODAY looks at how the situation has come about and the possible ways forward.

UNDERLYING FORCES BEHIND THE RIOTS

Anti-Islamic sentiment, or Islamophobia, has been rising in the country for some time, an academic in Singapore said.

Dr Paul Hedges, an associate professor of interreligious studies at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), said: “The recent general election saw the first members of the far-right Reform UK party return to parliament.

“Also, especially around anti-immigration policies, which often ties to Islamophobia, the mainstream parties like the Conservatives have shifted strongly to the right and allowed anti-Islamic rhetoric to be normalised." 

He added that while the far-right remains a minority political option in the United Kingdom, they have more strength now than at any previous time.  

“Much of this is down to the media not wanting to disparage extreme views and even reporting virulent language, while politicians across the spectrum have pandered to extreme anti-immigrant discourses instead of pushing back and offering a more neutral or fact-based stance.” 

Dr Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior international affairs analyst with consultancy Solaris Strategies Singapore, said: “This is a huge wake-up call for the UK. Now they know the extent to which certain actors can be violent, and the damage that it can cause not just physically, but psychologically to the country.” 

Dr Mustafa added that social unrest is linked to political and economic uncertainty. Thus, it is imperative that the government stops the riots to ensure the UK’s economic vitality.

“To be faced with the worst riots in recent memory in the UK, is (Mr Keir Starmer)’s first baptism of fire as the prime minister. Domestic and international eyes will be on him and how he deals with this will be a reflection of his leadership.”

WHY ARE TEENAGERS GETTING INVOLVED?

A teenage rioter, 14, pleaded guilty on Monday (Aug 5) to launching fireworks at a police van in Liverpool, while an 18-year-old in Darlington was arrested with assaulting a police officer. 

Dr Mustafa said that there is a growing, and worrying, trend of young people getting involved in the far-right, adding that this is largely due to rising youth unemployment in the midst of a lacklustre economy. 

He explained that when young people are demotivated and lack purpose in life due to unemployment, they can easily be influenced by far-right groups targeting foreigners as the boogeymen. The youths become radicalised by these groups on social media and join them. 

“That is a sign that a lot more needs to be done to harness the potential of young people in positive ways,” he added. 

“So to be the torch bearer for cultural diversity, to help others in society, there is a need to motivate the young people and give them a cause.”

This sentiment was echoed by Dr Leong Chan-Hoong, head of the Social Cohesion Research Programme at RSIS. He said it is “generally believed that economic deprivation, segregation, and lack of meaningful integration, are the root causes of the (social) problem” in the UK. 

“The challenge in the UK is multifaceted as the country grapples with the lack of economic opportunities, inflation and large influx of refugees. The infrastructure cannot cope with the limitations, and there is a lack of meaningful integration between various religious and ethnic communities.”

The UK is not alone in this wave of growing Islamophobia, Dr Hedges said. 

Attacks on hostels for immigrants have been seen in Germany, and similar far-right views are expressed by extremist groups in France, Hungary, Sweden and the United States. 

“Here we have seen a particular catalyst with fake news fanning the flames that follows patterns elsewhere. The far-right can often become its own echo chamber with distinct news sources that differ from the mainstream media, and there is little trust existing between groups within society,” Dr Hedges added.

“The image of Neo-Nazi, if not Nazi, support in such far-right groups and riots also seems to be becoming increasingly brazen.”

THE WAY FORWARD

A major concern for Britain is how to handle the issue of immigration sensitively, while addressing the country's obvious societal fault lines, Dr Mustafa said. 

He also said that exercising caution is important and “language and terminology” matter when speaking about immigration in the UK. 

“Avoid using discriminatory language to dehumanise people, especially those from minority communities and foreigners working in the UK. And also avoid stereotyping based on race, religion and nationality.”

To promote reconciliation, Dr Hedges suggested stronger laws to contain algorithms on social media. He said that there is a need to stop disinformation in traditional media as well and to challenge politicians who spread lies that feed into hatred and violence.

Dr Mustafa said that the UK needs to strengthen the trust between the government and the people, which entails talking about the importance of cultural diversity and finding ways to bridge the knowledge gap about the different communities that exist. 

“One of the problems that is just a problem in the UK — there's not enough understanding of minorities that exist in the country,” he added.

“So better knowledge of the good work that they do and human interest stories would play a significant part in reducing tension.”

In that vein, Dr Mustafa said that Singapore is doing right in terms of social cohesion, which Singaporeans have achieved through years of integrating with one another and celebrating differences that exist among people.

Dr Hedges pointed out that one big advantage of Singapore is the social housing policy where all communities live side-by-side in public flats and there are no isolated groups of any community. 

“We should not take the racial harmony that we have in Singapore for granted, because something can flare up anytime and cause something similar to what we saw in the UK,” Dr Mustafa said.