A crime monitoring agency recorded a sharp increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes in the United Kingdom since October 7, with over 2,000 incidents reported so far.
Tell MAMA, an organisation that documents hate crimes in UK since 2011, stated that this four-month period had the highest number of reported hate crime incidents. This number indicates an astounding 335% rise as compared to the previous year.
Tell MAMA documented 535 incidents of abusive conduct, including 77 threats, 83 assaults, 79 acts of vandalism, 69 cases of discrimination, 39 instances of hate speech, and 19 examples of anti-Muslim literature since Oct 7. Over 65% of these incidents were directed at women.
Moreover, Community Security Trust (CST), a non-profit groups that shields British Jews from antisemitic incidents, called the “explosion in hatred” an “absolute disgrace.”
In one case, aggressive remarks were directed at a Muslim on a bus in east London, while another involved claims that the name “Hamas” had been daubed on a Muslim family’s front door.
Tell MAMA director Iman Atta stated, “We are deeply concerned about the impacts that the Israel and Gaza wars are having on hate crimes and on social cohesion in the UK.”
She expressed hope that “political leaders will speak out to send a clear message that anti-Muslim hate, like antisemitism, is unacceptable in our country.”
She continued, “There really is no space for hate, and more than ever, it is essential that we sustain, nurture, and protect the bonds that we have between communities so that we all feel valued and safe in our communities and in our country.”
