According to Tell Mama, an organization that tracks Islamophobia, the incidences of anti-Muslim hate crimes has skyrocketed to approximately 6000 confirm cases, significantly marking an upward shift from 4000 hate crimes that was reported in 2022. Never has Islamophobia of such a huge scale ever been reported in the history of the UK with a 43% rise from last year and double the previous year.
Along with many major global events and the local changes, the Israel-Gaza conflict and the Southport murders helped rise Islamophobic incidents. For the first time since the data collection began in 2012, Tell Mama has observed that men were targeted more frequently than women. Over all, 90% of incidents recorded include verbal harassment, discriminatory physical assaults, vandalism, and in most cases these abuses took place in public streets and parks.
Online misinformation fuels hate crimes
The Tell Mama report also covered the hate incidents that took place just after the Southport murders which were posted online just after the attack. Some of those Islamophobic attacks were based on the false and misleading claims surrounding the assailant where the attacker was touted as an ex-soldier of the National Front which sparked riots across the country.
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In like manner, the report denotes an increase in hate speech and anti-Muslim sentiments after the October 2023 Hamas aggression against Israel. X (formerly known as Twitter) and other social media outlets turned into amplifiers of hate speech which further exacerbated the anti-Muslim sentiment in the UK.
“As anti-Muslim hate continues to rise, both online and on the streets, it is clear that urgent action is needed to protect communities and combat harmful stereotypes,” said Iman Atta, director of Tell Mama. She urged the government to take coordinated steps in addressing the root causes of this growing hostility.
Additionally, a government representative, while addressing the findings, also condemned the growing hate crimes.
“Attacks on and hatred against Muslim communities are utterly unscrupulous and absolutely unjustifiable. Such attacks cannot be condoned within our society. We remain focused on working alongside community groups and organizations to deal with hate in all its forms.” He said,
Activists also highlighted that with 3,680 offline cases reported during the last two years, there has been an astounding increase of over seventy two percent. Tell Mama stressed the need to more swiftly combat misinformation, online hate speech, and violence against already vulnerable communities.
The report details the Islamophobia phenomenon in the United Kingdom and urges the public, politicians, and media organizations to take responsibility and collaboratively work towards silencing hate propaganda and building a safe society for everyone.