To be sure, direct guilt belongs to the culprits on the ground, those currently being fast-tracked in their hundreds through a usually glacial court system moving from arrest to charges, trial, conviction and (heavy) sentencing in a matter of days. Guilt belongs to those who surrounded hotels housing migrants and refugees, attempting to set them on fire and threatening to kill those inside. It belongs to those who saw fit to trash and loot not only shops, but also libraries and advice centres. It belongs to those who smashed and threatened mosques, terrifying those within and whole Muslim communities beyond.
And yet, consider how all this happened. It began as it always begins, with a lie - in this case, the lie that the wicked stabbing attack on a children's dance party in Southport, which left three little girls dead, was the work of a Muslim migrant who had come to Britain on a small boat. I say "always" because this kind of lie has been told for the best part of a thousand years.
In 1144, it wasn't Southport but Norwich, and the victim was a 12-year-old boy called William. The accusing finger was falsely pointed at the city's Jews.
Over the centuries, the defamatory charge of child murder - the blood libel - would be hurled against Jews repeatedly, often as the prelude to massacre.
This story is from the August 16, 2024 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
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This story is from the August 16, 2024 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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