In exclusive figures shared with the Guardian, Tell Mama UK reported 4,971 incidents of anti-Muslim hate between October 7, 2023, and September 30, 2024, marking the highest total in the past 14 years.
Tell Mama, which tracks complaints of anti-Muslim hate crimes, noted that 63% of the reported cases involved abusive behavior, while 27% involved threatening behavior. Most incidents occurred in London, the northwest of England, Yorkshire, and the Midlands.
Iman Atta, the director of Tell Mama UK, stated that the Palestinian operation on October 7 led to a “backlash against British Muslims,” with hate incidents particularly targeting Middle Eastern communities, visibly Muslim individuals, and Muslim women.
She added, “There is also a sense of anger and deep frustration within Muslim communities about the large number of civilian deaths and killings of Palestinians in Gaza. It is resonating deeply within large sections of Muslim communities.”
Atta highlighted that since Tell Mama’s launch in 2012, the number of anti-Muslim cases reported to the organization had increased by 800-1,000%. She attributed the rise in anti-Muslim hatred not only to the October 7 attacks but also to the riots following the Southport knife attack, when false information spread online claiming that the perpetrator was a Muslim asylum seeker.
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Atta remarked that the violent unrest during the summer, which saw mosques targeted and hotels housing asylum seekers set on fire, demonstrated that “there is a segment of society that carries racism and anti-Muslim sentiment and they think this is normal.”
She continued, “The anti-migrant, anti-Muslim narratives, mixed with grooming suggestions and with Muslim communities being called ‘Hamas’ and ‘terrorist’, tells us that international incidents are coloring the view of some fellow citizens against Muslim communities in the UK.
“Anti-Muslim hate is a cancer, it is a hate that needs concerted action to challenge it, and some politicians do not even speak about it. It says much about those politicians that they cannot even say anything about this form of hate. Sadly, there are many of them.”
Source: Agencies