LONDON, Aug 11 (Reuters) – Lucknow’s Maya Hassan, at a London sports ground, breathes with satisfaction seeing roughly 30 women, almost all of them Muslim and from ethnic minorities, joining a class in self-defense that she organized since the start of the wave of riots, including violent, racist attacks on Muslims and migrants.

The 28-year-old martial arts expert said she wanted to help women of color learn how to cope with abuse and build connections and confidence after more than a week of unrest aimed at mosques, asylum seeker hotels, and the police: “It gives you a little bit more confidence,” she said. “You kind of know what to look for, how to be socially aware, spot things, and get out of a terrible situation. The disorder was sparked by misinformation online that the killer of three young girls in a knife attack in Southport, northwest England, was an Islamist migrant

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One attendee, Elza Annan, 24, said she felt more confident. “I don’t want to use these techniques, but they are beneficial. Especially because the riots have largely targeted migrants, Muslims, and Asian people, spreading fear through ethnic minority communities and casting a light on Britain’s record of integration.”

The group Tell MAMA UK, which monitors anti-Muslim incidents, said hate directed at Muslims had already been growing in Britain for some time, especially since Oct 7 last year, the start of the conflict in Gaza. Since the riots began, it had received more than 500 calls and online reports of anti-Muslim behavior across Britain. At its best, Britain is a confident multi-ethnic democracy.,” said Sunder Katwala, director of the think-tank British Future, which focuses on migration and identity.

He said that successive governments still need a strategy to integrate different communities. While those arriving most recently from Ukraine and Hong Kong received government support, it was only extended to some. With the asylum system under particular pressure, a massive backlog of applications makes some Britons concerned about pressure on housing, healthcare, and education. That’s the thing, of course, with asylum, you’ve got a visible lack of control, and that can feed into fear,” he said.

The riots have largely stopped ever since thousands of anti-racism protesters turned out to protect potential targets such as immigration advice centers, mosques, and hotels housing asylum seekers. Hassan wears a hijab and is a Swiss national of Somali origin. She moved to Britain in 2008 partly because she felt it was more welcoming to ethnic minorities than many parts of Europe. She is considering organizing more classes.

Similar events had been planned for Manchester, northern England, too, and this week, a campaign group, The Three Hijabis, organized a significant online conference call with Muslim women to discuss the psychological impact of Islamophobic violence.

Its director, Shaista Aziz, said some of the women feared that the violence might unleash confrontations or abuse on the streets and has driven many indoors.

“Today I advised a sister I dearly love to consider removing her hijab to stay safe as she travels through the Northeast,” she said on X during the riots. “Across the country, British Muslims are having these same conversations.” Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has ordered extra protection for the Muslim community, described rioters as “far-right thugs,” and almost 800 people have been arrested, with some fast-tracked through the courts and jailed.

The anti-racism protests are expected to intensify. The class came in handy for the preparation of counter-protests for Maki Omori, 23, who identifies as non-binary and will be part of a protest on Saturday. It was so overwhelming, the thought of fighting,” Omori said. “I’ve got to make sure that if something does happen, I feel prepared.”