My brother, who lives abroad, surprised me with a text message this week saying that everyone is asking him about Birmingham. “Our great city’s name has been spoiled,” he typed. It wasn’t just national press and television reporting about Birmingham, apparently, but the international media too.

I was born in Sparkbrook, the area highlighted in so many reports as a terrorist hotspot after the Westminster attack. The Daily Mail even called it “the jihadi capital of Britain”. Soon after the horrific events in London, I realised that as a Brummie Muslim, I was now saddled with a double burden. It’s hard when someone stereotypes your home and your religion like that – but I still consider my identity to be a double privilege.

I am proud that Sparkbrook survived soaring unemployment during Margaret Thatcher’s years. In one of its areas, Balsall Heath, the violence of an infamous red light district was defeated by the local community. This city has a long tradition of surviving hardship: the Birmingham Blitz in the Second World War, damaging factory closures, sudden riots and disproportionately low funding from successive British governments. A few years ago, it was confirmed that London has multiple amounts spent on its infrastructure compared to the West Midlands, with only the North East receiving less. Apprenticeships for youngsters remain capital-centric despite Birmingham being the youngest city in Europe, with almost 45 per cent of its population under 25.

If we want to stop radicalisation, let’s create apprenticeships and jobs, have a go at improving the quality of schools, beautify neighbourhoods to create a sense of ownership and pride, and reinvigorate a struggling but diverse arts scene which offers people alternatives in expression. That means stopping the recently promised cuts to the city’s creative arts and the drastic city-wide cuts in school funding.

In pictures: Westminster attack Show all 9 1 /9 In pictures: Westminster attack In pictures: Westminster attack An air ambulance lands after gunfire sounds were heard close to the Palace of Westminster in London PA wire In pictures: Westminster attack MPs wait until the situation is under control in Westminster. 'The alleged assailant was shot by armed police,' David Lidington, leader of the House of Commons, told the house. BBC News In pictures: Westminster attack Crowds gather in Westminster after shooting incident, which police are treating as terror attack BBC News In pictures: Westminster attack Police were also called to an incident on Westminster Bridge nearby AP In pictures: Westminster attack Early reports indicate the car, which mounted the pavement on Westminster Bridge and mowed into around a dozen people, was the same vehicle which then rammed into the railings of the Palace of Westminster, just around the corner Reuters In pictures: Westminster attack Security sources described the suspected assailant as a middle-aged Asian man, who is understood to have left the car before attacking a police officer with a seven-to-eight inch knife PA wire In pictures: Westminster attack Police have asked people to avoid the immediate area to allow emergency services to deal with the ongoing incident AP In pictures: Westminster attack One woman has died and a number of others, including the police officer, have been hurt, according to a junior doctor at St Thomas' Hospital Reuters In pictures: Westminster attack At least three gun shots were heard by those inside Westminster, and proceedings in the House of Commons have been suspended AP

Reporters have been floating around certain areas in the last few days, conducting vox pops with perplexed locals who have nothing sensational to say. These locals have never met an extremist or anyone who would contemplate extremist actions. I’ve seen journalists crowding outside a lovely family-run restaurant under a raided flat as though they believe that staring at a door might help them understand what transpired in Westminster.

Instead of pointing the finger at a religion or race, we should be noting that these areas are some of the most deprived in Birmingham. It’s housing and jobs and youth centres that these residents want to talk about, rather than extremist ideas. The areas are diverse, full of churches, mosques and gurdwaras. Radicalisation doesn’t happen inside any of these: it happens online and off the grid.

Reporters should have stuck with The Guardian’s one-liner choice from the recently aired Extremely British Muslims: “The only extreme thing around here is the size of the rats, bro.” If we want to report on these areas fairly, let’s consider the impact of this Government’s austerity agenda, and the poor management and distribution of funding by the city’s current council.

Peace vigil held in Birmingham to promote unity in wake of London terror attack

These latest news developments about Birmingham are something of a non-issue. I didn’t feel any different when walking around the city since the raids, reports and journalists have come pouring in, because they have nothing to do with me or my community. The real issue is that we might be allowing one heinous crime to ostracise a community already facing low levels of employment and attainment, and compounding that by allowing them to feel victimised.