Why we shouldn't give credence to the debunked myth of ‘no-go zones’ for non-Muslims

A number of alarming details emerged in the new report from anti-racism advocacy group Hope not Hate, but one in particular stood out.

Despite the claim having been widely and regularly disproven, almost a third of British people continue to believe the notion that “no-go” areas for non-Muslims exist in the UK.

Broadly speaking, as journalists, we will rely on empirical evidence to establish the veracity or otherwise of suggestions such as these.

As noted in our story on the report, claims that certain parts of the country are off limits to those who do not follow the Islamic faith have been widely debunked. All we’re left with are dubious and mainly unsubstantiated reports of graffiti bearing guidance such as ‘No Whites after 8.30’.

As also referenced in our account of the research, an isolated incident of so-called “Muslim patrols” saw suspects arrested, their actions prompting universal condemnation from Muslim leaders.

But even without the ample evidence available to us all for the apocryphal nature of such suggestions, I have very personal cause to doubt them.

This is primarily because one of the English areas supposedly so beset with Islamism that white/non-Muslim people daren’t visit – presumably for fear of Isis-style beheading or some other imagined extrajudicial sanction – is an area I regularly visit on trips to my home city of Birmingham.

Miraculously, despite my undeniable whiteness and fundamentalist agnosticism, members of the majority-Muslim population (some of whom might even accept they are my friend) allow me to leave unscathed without fail.

There is a man who occasionally calls our newsdesk phone, before embarking on Islamophobic diatribes that invariably touch upon the no-go areas theme.

“I was literally there yesterday,” I tell him. “It was fine. You should visit. Everyone was friendly. No one attacked me.”

“You would say that,” is his customary response, or variation thereof.

Few with even the scantest understanding of the right-wing groups that tend to manufacture and propagate these conspiracy theories – or those who blindly swallow them – doubt they will continue to do so, even in the face of the overwhelming proof.

The fact that such dangerous nonsense has become so mainstream should be a source of considerable unease for us all.

Yours,

Richard Williams

News editor