J.K. Rowling, Riz Ahmed, others react to London attack at Finsbury Park

Nivea Serrao
Updated
London attack at Finsbury Park: J.K. Rowling, more celebs react

J.K. Rowling is among the celebrities discussing the recent terror attack in Finsbury Park in London on Monday.

“Let’s discuss how he was radicalized,” the Harry Potter author said, commenting on the attack which saw a man ram a van into a crowd of worshippers at a London Mosque, killing one and injuring 10, according to authorities. Rowling, in particular, criticized news coverage of the attack and others like this, tweeting out screenshots of reports and politicians’ tweets, while adding, “Those who dehumanize & stereotype Muslims have no moral high ground from which to deplore demonization of secular westerners by Islamists.”

But the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them writer isn’t the only one upset about the way the attack was covered in the news media.

“When [a] crazy Muslim kills, it’s MUSLIM TERROR. When Muslims save lives and lead relief at Grenfell where’s the MUSLIM HEROES headlines? And when non-Muslims shoot American politicians and drive a van into Muslims, why isn’t it called TERRORISM?” Rogue One actor Riz Ahmed tweeted. “Where are the calls for white males or American gun-owners to answer for all others? Prejudice, extremism, supremacism is all the same.”

The Night Of actor continued, “Language matters. By emphasizing some violence over others or focusing on one extremism over others we fail to see how they’re connected. Violence is a cycle from people feeling under threat or their suffering undervalued. A first step is to use calm, and balanced language.”

You can see all of Rowling, Ahmed, and other celebrities’ tweets below.