Three weeks ago, Abdullah, a Pakistani-born man living in the UK, was watching the news in fear.
Far-right riots had spread across the country, with mosques being attacked and hotels housing asylum seekers set alight. After a horrific knife attack on children in Southport, disinformation spread quickly on social media falsely claiming the perpetrator was a Muslim seeking asylum in the UK.
"Everyone was concerned, scared.
They were scared of going to the mosque. They were not able to do their religious obligations," said Abdullah, a security guard who lives in London.
Little did Abdullah know that just days after the riots had appeared to subside, he would be at the centre of another appalling story involving an attack on a child. But the 29-year-old was not to be a blame figure, rather one praised for his bravery.
The incident, in Leicester Square in London, involved a 34-year-old woman and her 11-year-old daughter, the latter taken to hospital with serious stab wounds. The pair were Australians who were visiting the city.
Abdullah, who was guarding the nearby TWG tea shop, tackled a 32-year-old man who has since been charged with attempted murder.
Abdullah moved to the UK to study for a master's degree in project management after growing up in Abbottabad, northern Pakistan, as the youngest of seven.
Denne historien er fra August 23, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
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Denne historien er fra August 23, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Starlink's conquest of the Amazon leaves Brazil in a dilemma
The helicopter swooped into one of the most inaccessible corners of the Amazon rainforest. Brazilian special forces commandos leaped from it into the caiman-inhabited waters below.
Dalai Lama's mountain town feels the strain of tourist boom
SUVs and saloon cars pass slowly along McLeod Ganj's narrow one-way Jogiwara Road, blaring horns at pedestrians and scooter riders and playing loud music.
'I am all the world' The brutal rule of a West Bank settler
Palestinians tell ofblacklisted Yakov's reign across the Jabal Salman valley and heisjust one of many violent bosses
Stormy waters New flashpoint emerges in South China Sea dispute
Hopes that tensions in the South China Sea might ease have been short lived.
'Justice delayed' Why trust in public inquiries to bring closure is fading
After the final report of the Grenfell fire inquiry was published, Hisam Choucair, who lost six family members in the blaze, said: \"We did not ask for this inquiry... It's delayed the justice my family deserves.\"
Celeriac soup with almond pangrattato
I'm not ashamed to say that as soon as September hits, my stick blender comes out. Just as I embrace salads when the clocks go forward in the UK, I wholeheartedly throw myself into soup season once the summer holidays end. Autumn is approaching in the northern hemisphere and I'm ready with my ladle. Celeriac is one of my favourite soup heroes, because it gives the creamiest, silkiest finish with little effort. You don't have to make the almond pangrattato, but it is a wonderful addition.
Are smoke signals telling me to make an oil change in the kitchen?
Should you that is, not can you) cook with extra-virgin olive oil? Antonio, Atlanta, Georgia, US
Going underground
A darkly humorous encounter between an American spy-cop and the members ofan eco-commune she is hired to infiltrate
All work and no play
Hard Graft, a powerfulnew London exhibition, focuses onworkers’ exploitation, from the ruined hands ofa washerwoman to mothers forced to sell their bodies
What the princess and the shaman tell us about hereditary privilege
It should have been an Instagram-perfect wedding image, but it turned out to be something more embarrassing.
