Muslim mountain guide says racist abuse is ‘off the scale’ after ‘mortar the lot of them’ comment on his social media

A British Muslim mountain guide said racist abuse has gone “off the scale” recently with one comment on his social media posts directed to a group of South Asian women reading “mortar the lot of them”.

Sameed Asghar, 38, guides charity and community groups from UK cities on hikes through British National Parks.

Born and raised in Birmingham, Sameed did “not know what a National Park was” until he was 20 years old, but fell in love with the outdoors when he climbed Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) for the first time in 2005.

In 2018, he quit his job at HSBC, saying “my soul was dying,” and became a mountain guide, working to help ethnic minorities from inner city areas explore the beauty of Britain’s countryside.

In recent months, however, he has noticed a huge upsurge in racist abuse online. One comment on a video of a group of South Asian ladies read: “Mortar the lot of them.”

Despite this, Sameed feels the positives of helping people climb a peak or experience a beautiful view for the first time far outweigh the abuse he has received.

“Even though there’s hate, there’s a lot of support too,” he told PA Real Life. “And countryside folk are always very welcoming.”

Sameed Asghar, 38, grew up in “one of the roughest areas” of Birmingham, adding it was not far from where Channel Four filmed its 2014 documentary, Benefits Street.

“When I was 18, I had never left Birmingham and I didn’t even know what a National Park was,” he said.

After leaving college, Sameed signed up for a charity challenge to climb Everest Base Camp in 2005.

Never having experienced anything like this, he was taken for several days of hiking in Eryri (Snowdonia) Wales, as training.

“As tiring as it was, it was amazing. It was the first time I’d ever seen nature like that. I couldn’t believe a place like this existed in the UK,” Sameed said.

In 2010, Sameed began working for the bank HSBC, but after eight years there, he reported that he felt his “soul was dying.”

He quit his job and took the Mountain Leader Assessment in 2018, motivated to help people from urban backgrounds experience nature.

“Though the figure has changed slightly, at the time less than 1% of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people had visited a National Park,” he said.

With high proportions of BAME groups living in densely populated urban areas, Sameed explained that this means many do not visit Britain’s countryside, saying: “It’s partly cultural and partly socio-economic.

“People from these communities often aren’t practiced at navigation or may be put off by the long distances to get there. That’s what my company Summit Special is for.”

Sameed works with charities and community groups across cities in the UK, guiding organised groups through many different parks, including Eryri in Wales, the Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales.

However, despite all the positive work Sameed has done, and the countless people whose lives he has improved, he has experienced a huge amount of racist backlash.

“The abuse recently has been off the scale,” he said, referring to the comments he has received on social media.

“The most common word is ‘deport’ with an airplane emoji, or ‘They’re not British’ even though many of us are British born and bred.”

Sameed says he has thick skin because he is used to seeing so many racist comments, but he says, “it’s still not nice” and that “the level of hate has increased massively recently,” suggesting it could be because of the recent emboldening of the far right.

Some comments are directly threatening and have made Sameed question whether he should hire security to protect his groups.

One comment read: “We’re gunna get you on your next hike, be warned.”

A similar direct message began as a friendly conversation inviting Sameed to meet up in Cardiff.

Though glad the person was taking interest, Sameed was cautious and declined to meet since no reason was given. Eventually, the frustrated user said, “We were just going to jump you anyway.”

One of the worst instances was a comment on a video of a group of South Asian women from London walking in the Peak District. It read: “Mortar the lot of them.”

He hopes these are just keyboard warriors who would not act on their comments, so he has not spoken to the police yet, but said: “Maybe I’m being too reluctant. If the abuse continues to worsen, I will.”

Nevertheless, Sameed has not been deterred and continues to lead groups through Britain’s countryside.

He also points out that “even though there’s hate, there’s a lot of support too, saying the people he meets in the countryside are always friendly.

Most of all, he says, “There’s no better feeling than seeing people conquer their first peak and how beneficial that is for their physical and mental well-being. That always outweighs the negatives.”

You can follow Sameed’s TikTok at www.tiktok.com/@sameedasghar and @Summit.special on Instagram.