Why Are Some Attacks on Places of Worship 'Terror' and Others Just 'Tragedy'?
Some have rushed with indecent speed to exploit the situation, whilst others have condemn unacceptable attack on a synagogue in Manchester but were silent over ‘terror’ in other places of worship
The Great Omari Mosque (Al Masjid Al Kabir) in the Old City of Gaza City was over 1300 years and destroyed in January 2024
On October 2nd, 2025, an individual attacked people near a synagogue in Manchester. The act was vile and is being treated as terrorism, though the attacker’s precise motives remain unclear.
To attack people attending a place of worship is certainly vile.
However, the violence of an individual who may well be deranged, pales in comparison to the cynical efforts of those who are exploiting these murders to malign the movement that supports Palestinians. Their actions reveal a profound and unacceptable double standard.
A Conspicuous Double Standard
The same British political and media figures who have united in outrage over the Manchester attack have been conspicuously muted in the face of terror targeting other faiths.
Last week, an Imam in Hounslow was stabbed and a mosque in Glasgow sustained a violent attack. Such attacks on mosques and worshippers have become so common they often pass without significant public outcry, even within Muslim community.
This selective condemnation is even starker in Gaza, where the destruction of places of worship has been a central tactic in a two-year campaign of ethnic cleansing. Approximately 80% of Gaza’s mosques—around 1,000—have been struck, the majority completely destroyed.
Three churches have also been totally demolished.
On October 19th, 2023, an Israeli airstrike targeted a hall within the Saint Porphyrius Church compound, one of the world’s oldest churches. The attack killed at least 18 civilians, including children, who were sheltering from bombardment. As the church crumbled, traumatised victims cried out, “Where should we go? They bombed my house, my church, nowhere left to go!”
This double standard also silences voices of support for Gaza. Isaac Munther, a Lutheran Pastor in Bethlehem, was reportedly warned by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, that a planned meeting would be cancelled if the Pastor spoke at a pro-Palestine protest. This McCarthyist tactic—using guilt by association to stifle criticism of the occupation—is now commonplace.
Exploiting a tragedy to silence criticism
Most sickening is the indecent speed with which supporters of the Israeli occupation have seized on the Manchester attack to score political points. Netanyahu’s government has brazenly attempted to link the tragedy to the UK’s theoretical recognition of a Palestinian state.
In a near-orchestrated chorus, these voices have rushed to smear the pro-Palestine movement, falsely connecting peaceful anti-genocide protests on streets and campuses to the murders without a shred of evidence. From the outset, they have deliberately conflated support for Palestinian rights with antisemitism.
While genuine antisemitism must be confronted, it is crucial to distinguish it from the discomfort felt by some Zionists at seeing their political project face unprecedented global criticism. To label this protest as antisemitic hatred is a deliberate and naked attempt to shield the occupation from accountability.
A growing number of Jewish people recognise this problem, noting that leading Zionist politicians deliberately foster this confusion. (Listen to @davidsaysstuff above).
Was it a false flag operation?
In the wake of such events, some will inevitably speculate about a potential false-flag operation, citing historical instances where Zionist agents provocateur staged attacks in Egypt and Iraq to further their cause. But without clear evidence, this speculation is unverifiable and ultimately unhelpful for understanding the current tragedy.
Conclusion
The central challenge for those who support Palestine is clear: to remain steadfast in our activism. We must not be silenced by baseless smears that equate opposition to occupation, ethnic cleansing and genocide and for Palestinians with antisemitism. Our resolve must be stronger than their attempts to discredit a vital cause.
Abdul Wahid has been active in Muslim affairs in the UK for over 25 years. He has been published on the websites of Foreign Policy, Open Democracy, the Times Higher Educational Supplement, and Prospect Magazine. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AbdulWahid_X.
CONTINUED FROM ABOVE (I posted by accident).
One man killed one person in Manchester. In israel it’s a whole army, a government, and most of the israeli population who are baying for the deaths of the Palestinians. Yet in the UK, mainstream media reports little, and the government still has zionists come to this country, either as ‘diplomats,’ or army ‘students.’ They also still send weapons etc. to israel, still fly spying flights, and still refuse to agree that genocide is being committed. All ‘when it suits.’ One thing is tragic and horrific, the other just collateral damage. It’s despicable. To see such terrible, appalling treatment of human beings, and to know that the PM of your country, said on film that he agreed with the ideas of the zionists. So evidently he agrees that children and babies should be murdered in their thousands; that the people should be bombed and starved. What repulsive things to think and to say - and he used to be termed a ‘human rights’ lawyer! If you think of the way the two Jewish people lost their lives, and how their families and others mourn them, think of what it’s like for an entire country to be in mourning. Palestine is not only mourning for individuals, it’s mourning for entire bloodlines and families, reputations, its culture and traditions. Have you ever been to an area or a town, and felt sad and perhaps a little disturbed because you don’t recognise it? Maybe there are new buildings and roads, or some buildings have been demolished to make way for other construction. Now imagine that you don’t recognise anywhere in your entire country - because it’s been flattened. How would you feel then? Welcome to Palestine as a Palestinian.
Many more are simply ignored. It all comes under what I call the ‘when it suits’ syndrome. It appears whenever a government breaks with tradition, law, or usual behaviour, for the sake of something they are in favour of. This is most particularly seen in anything to do with israel. The two Jewish deaths, (one committed by police), are tragic and horrific. Yet every single day, far more people from Palestine are murdered, and their tragic deaths are glossed over - especially by the zionist starmer and his lily-livered, grasping, chums. Really what did anyone expect? The whine of netanyahu has made sure to state that he speaks and acts on behalf of all Jews everywhere. If that is followed through, many will see that as all Jewish people being responsible for the incessant bombing, and now deliberate starvation of the people - including little children and babies - of Palestine. For all we know, the man who made the attack had just heard that his last remaining family had been murdered in Gaza or The West Bank, by zionist israelis. If it’s so bad for two innocent lives to be taken, how much worse is it for hundreds of thousands of innocent lives to be taken? Never forget that this includes men, women, older people, disabled people, children, babies, premature babies, and even unborn babies.