Anti-Muslim hate cases have doubled in a decade, report finds

Its report, which it describes as “one of the most detailed studies in the UK”, found verified and confirmed cases of anti-Muslim hate had increased annually from 584 in 2012 to 1,212 in 2021.

Far right agitation, anti-Muslim attacks globally, political discourse, the Brexit referendum result, the activities of Islamic state and terrorism and extremism, the grooming scandals and targeted anti-Muslim campaigns have all led to spike points in anti-Muslim hate, says Tell Mama.

It has worked on more 16,000 cases of reported anti-Muslim hate with 20,000 British Muslims and others using the Tell Mama services between 2012 and 2022.

The highest frequency of street-based cases reported to Tell Mama took place in 2016, 2017 and 2019, corresponding with the Brexit referendum result, UK terrorist attacks and the Christchurch shootings in New Zealand.

“Added to this, agitation from foreign state actors, (such as Russian based social media accounts), sought to stir up divisions in social cohesion in the country,” said Tell Mama.

Covid-19 led to the highest online recorded cases of anti-Muslim hate reported into Tell Mama.

Its study shows there was a “significant” rise in neighbour disputes during the Covid lockdowns that led to anti-Muslim hate between parties,

In addition, specific anti-Muslim campaigns in 2018 culminated in the ‘Punish a Muslim’ campaign that raised alarm in parts of British Muslim communities.

“This campaign demonstrated that anti-Muslim hate campaigns were becoming more fragmented and involving lone actors rather than organised groups or smaller networks of individuals,” said Tell Mama. “It was therefore moving from the domain of far-right extremist groups into the hands of dedicated and committed singular anti-Muslim activists.”

The continuing Israel-Palestine conflict saw an increase of anti-Muslim cases reported to Tell Mama in 2021, while cricketer Azeem Rafiq’s highlighting the racist abuse he suffered and attacks against asylum seekers and centres also led to rise in incidents.

Tell Mama says the trend of household conflicts between neighbours continues and demonstrates that it was not just a ‘lockdown’ issue and that there was a growing trend of neighbour disputes that turned anti-Muslim in nature.

Tell Mama says the language of anti-Muslim hate over the past decade can be classified broadly into two categories.

The first is ‘mechanistic’ dehumanising language, such as denying the humanity and human traits of Muslims and comparing them to machines, including depicting Muslim women as ‘bombs’ or machines that increase the population of Muslims through births.

The second category involves relating Muslims to animalistic dehumanisation, where Muslims are compared to animals and thereby denying their human traits.

Tell Mama is a UK-based monitoring group working to counter anti-Muslim sentiment and abuse.

Director Iman Atta OBE said: “We have produced one of the most detailed studies in the UK with actual case numbers and classifications of anti-Muslim hate cases covering a decade from 2012 to 2022.

“This is a decade worth of data from assisting, supporting and ensuring that British Muslims get access to justice. We hope that this data inspires others to focus on this area of work and to bring to the awareness of many, that anti-Muslim hate needs to be peacefully challenged, monitored and countered wherever it manifests itself.

“If we are to ensure a society where social cohesion is strengthened, then tackling anti-Muslim hatred is an important area of work that needs our collective effort.”