The UK Evangelical Alliance (EAUK) organised an online panel discussion on, to analyse the root causes behind the recent riots that took place across the country.

Israel Olofinjana, director of the EAUK's One People Commission; director of advocacy of the EAUK, Danny Webster; and Chine McDonald, director of the theological think tank, Theos, were some of the panelists on the topic How should the church respond to the violent disorder.

For Olofinjana, the days of rioting “felt like a war, and the Church has an important role to play in rebuilding communities in the wake of the unrest”.

He also pointed out that a “key question that needs to be answered is, What does it mean to be British?”

A wake-up call

Danny Webster warned that a “strand of hostility towards immigration and particularly Islam and Muslims has developed within Britain”, and the recent violence “shatters the illusions of harmony that we might have in our communities”.

According to EAUK director of advocacy, the riots have been a “wake-up call that maybe everything is not ok in the nation's communities, and that it was important to listen to people's views on what lay behind the riots”.

“It doesn't mean that we think those are necessarily accurate or justified but it is important to listen to what people say is motivating the actions and to understand why people might feel discomfort in their cultural context”, he added.

Telling the other side of the story

McDonald, who was born in Nigeria and moved to the UK at four, told her experience of being asked “where are you really from?”, and underlined that even today, “part of the complication is that people lump in all immigrants with illegal immigrants or asylum seekers, who are a very small proportion of immigrants”.

“Social media disinformation and dangerous political rhetoric had fueled hostility towards immigrants”, and “there are certain groups of people that aren't happy with the idea of multiculturalism”, explained the head of Theos.

That is why she encouraged Christians to “tell the stories of many immigrants who work for the NHS and the education sector, pay their taxes, and have helped to build this country, so that people would have much more positive views about immigrants”.

Riots across the UK

In the last weeks, over 400 people were arrested across the UK following many days of rioting and vandalism.

Disorder erupted after the stabbing of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, in the northwestern English town of Southport. Eight other children and two adults were hurt.

Police arrested a 17-year-old foam Wales, but false information on social media pointed out that the suspect was an Islamist migrant, which led to violent anti-Muslim protests in the following day and an attempt to attack the mosque of Southport.

After that, there was riots in over 20 places across Britain. Shops, including Asian-owned businesses, have also been vandalised or looted.

Many of the rioters were supporters of the far right, police said at the time, and the escalating violence was described as “far-right thuggery” by the prime minister.

During the riots, the EAUK called on Christians to pray for peace.

A prayer for peace during UK rioting and unrest ? pic.twitter.com/kUDJRqaGWA

— Evangelical Alliance (@EAUKnews) August 5, 2024