British society, once known as one of the most tolerant, has now failed to provide a sense of security to its Muslim minority.
Today, Muslims in Britain feel insecure. They avoid to leave their homes after dark – courtesy growing number of Islamophobic cases in the country.
Attacks on Muslims and their properties have skyrocketed across the UK. The development emerged since the October 7 – the day Hamas attacked Israel.
Several incidents have involved British Muslims being attacked over their support for Palestine, says London charity Islamophobia Response Unit (IRU).
Muslims complained they have had bricks thrown through their windows for displaying the Palestinian flag. A teenager said that he was questioned by his teachers after he displayed a Palestinian badge at school.
IRU CEO Majid Iqbal said it witnessed a 365 per cent rise in reports of Islamophobia in October, following Hamas’s attack in Israel.
He added that since Oct 2023 IRU has seen a sustained rise in cases to the unit. The Islamophobic attacks are becoming a long-term trend in the UK, Iqbal said.
IRU has appealed to the press and politicians to not portray legal Palestinian activism and, by extension, British Muslims, to avoid feeding into the serious societal problem of Islamophobia.
Tell Mama, which also records anti-Muslim hate cases said 2,010 Islamophobic incidents reported from Oct 7, 2023 to Feb 7, 2024, which are triple the 600 documented during the same period the year before.
