GETTY A Muslim group is boycotting the police over its treatment following the Rotherham abuse scandal

FREE now SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Make the most of your money by signing up to our newsletter fornow We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

The British Muslim Youth (BMY) is protesting the perceived persecution of Muslims in the aftermath of the town’s shameful scandal. In a message posted online the group ordered fellow Muslims to immediately cut all ties with law enforcement or face being made pariahs in their own neighbourhoods. British Muslim Youth (BMY) warned its members would not be “held responsible for acts of personal self-defence” and said it could no longer trust South Yorkshire Police because of the ongoing "marginalisation and dehumanisation" of Muslims.

Last August a devastating independent report was published revealing how at least 1,400 girls as young as 11 were groomed and sexually exploited over a 14-year period by gangs of predominantly Pakistani men. South Yorkshire Police and the local council were both savaged for failing to avert the scandal, with officers later claiming they failed to intervene for fear of being branded racist. But in its message BMY said this was a "pernicious lie" which the police had used to cover up their own scandalous failings.

SKY The British Muslim Youth group was founded by Muhbeen Hussain

IG The group posted a message announcing the boycott on its website

In a message posted on its website, the organisation said it "completely condemns all forms of child sexual exploitation" but argued all Muslims had been "tarred with the same brush". The furious blog ordered all Muslims in Rotherham to boycott the police, but added they should still call 999 in an emergency and continue to report crimes. UKIP's Jane Collins said: "These people are calling for themselves to be above the law." She wrote to South Yorkshire's top policeman urging him to carry on the investigation into child sexual exploitation in the town in spite of the boycott, which she branded "hypocrisy of the worst kind".

So both @SarahChampionMP and @MuhbeenH from British Muslim Youth agree good progress has been made towards ending boycott of @syptweet — Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) October 27, 2015

These people are calling for themselves to be above the law UKIP's Jane Collins

She said: "I urge you, as someone who has not only read the Jay Report but also been a confidante to many victims of these vile crimes, to pledge to continue your work into routing out sexual abuse regardless of the ethnic origin or religion of suspected perpetrators. "For years these men went about their vile activities, raping girls and passing them around while the council did nothing all because they were scared of appearing racist by accusing Muslim men of crimes against white girls. "So for this group of men to ignore what has happened to 1,400 victims of grooming gangs in Rotherham - girls who were actually demonised - and claim instead that they are the victims is sickening." The publication of the independent Jay Report in August last year lifted the lid on the shocking scale of child grooming in the small Yorkshire town and revealed the incredible incompetence of the police and local council who were tasked with their protection.

GETTY At least 1,400 young girls were abused during the scandal

GETTY The group are boycotting South Yorkshire Police over the treatment of Muslims

SYP's Police and Crime Commissioner Shaun Wright - who was head of children's services for the council while the abuse was being carried out - was forced to resign from his post, while the council itself was taken under the control of the Government. The BMY said the ever since the Muslim community has been “under perpetual attack and demonisation” and that Islamaphobia was at “unprecedented levels” in Rotherham. It wrote: "There is a perception in the minds of many ordinary people that all Muslims are now potential child abusers, or that they have been involved in some sort of a cover up. "The findings of the Jay Report cannot and must not be used to scapegoat and discriminate against the entire Muslim community due to the actions of certain individuals.”