Reflecting on the Riots: Racism, Islamophobia and Community Resistance

Date and Time: Wednesday 10th September 2025, 9:30am to 4pm

Venue: The Leeds Library, 18 Commercial Street, Leeds, LS1 6AL

The UK racist riots of 2024 featured the violently destructive scenes of mosques and migrant centres being attacked and set alight. People of colour were targeted in their homes and cars and whole communities were terrorised by the actions of racist mobs. Much of the subsequent media and political commentary depoliticised the events, detracting from the racism, Islamophobia and anti-immigrant narratives that had led to them. This one-day conference seeks to reflect on the racist UK riots a year after their occurrence by bringing together community groups, activists, charities and academics to discuss the following questions:

What were the social and political conditions that led to the riots?

What has been the impact and legacy of the riots, in the affected communities and elsewhere?

Have the riots confirmed or transformed our understanding on the nature of Islamophobia, the far-right and anti-immigrant sentiment in the UK?

What have the riots revealed about anti-racist solidarity across racialised communities and more widely?

What are the political and organising priorities for anti-racists seeking to defend communities from the far-right?

Confirmed speakers include:

Professor Salman Sayyid (University of Leeds)
Liz Fekete (Institute of Race Relations)
Dr Ben Whitham & Dr Haleemah Alaydi (Refugee Action)
Alba Kapoor (Amnesty International UK)
Dr Jon Burnett (University of Hull)
Raheel Mohammed (Maslaha)
Dr Shereen Fernandez (London School of Economics)
Dr Aaron Winter (Lancaster University)
Lila Tamea (Liverpool John Moores University)
Dr Fahid Qurashi (University of Salford)

A full conference programme will be made available closer to the event. Refreshments and lunch will be provided for all attendees.

For queries and further information please contact Dr Waqas Tufail: w.tufail@leedsbeckett.ac.uk