Article by Rakib Ehsan

This summer’s rioting across parts of England and Northern Ireland were a watershed moment in community relations – and the fall-out is beginning to emerge.

Fresh British Muslim survey data published by Tell MAMA (which stands for monitoring anti-Muslim attacks) provides much cause for concern. Carried out two months after the start of far-right public disorder following the horrific murder of three little girls in Southport, seven in ten British Muslims surveyed said anti-Muslim hate had become more widespread, with two in three also saying that the potential for risk and harm to their own religious communities had increased. However, it is not all doom-and-gloom and there are also some positive findings which make me feel optimistic. Three in five Muslims said they still feel safe in Britain, with half saying that they felt more open about their religious identity in the aftermath of the riots (especially when talking with friends and work colleagues).

The findings show that while we are a relatively successful multi-ethnic and religiously diverse democracy, there needs to be a more robust approach when it comes to ‘managing’ this diversity – which is not necessarily easy. For the newly elected Labour government, the Southport atrocity and subsequent disorder was quite the baptism of fire – but its response to the far-right rioting was left wanting and appears to have alienated a variety of groups in modern Britain.

The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, sought to drain the riots of their political and ideological character from the get-go – characterizing them as “mindless racist thuggery”. In the aftermath of Southport, an unfounded conspiracy theory that the suspect was an illegal Middle Eastern Muslim migrant who had arrived in the UK on a small boat from France was allowed to spread like wildfire on social media platforms such as X, with little to no intervention by the relevant authorities.

Dismissing the rioting as “mindless” risks overlooking the fact that there was the deliberate targeting of Muslim communities – including mosques and businesses. This included the attack on the local mosque in Southport and the destruction of a café in south Belfast. In addition to this, in Manvers near Rotherham, a hotel accommodating asylum seekers was set ablaze and had its windows smashed in. The idea that all those involved in the riots were thoughtless racist thugs masks the reality that some have deeply ideological histories which include anti-Muslim hatred. Last week, it was revealed that a man who pleaded guilty to taking part in the disorder was previously sentenced to ten years in prison for deliberately setting fire to a mosque in Stoke-on-Trent. Back in his 2011 trial, Simon Beech – now 36 years old – said that he had been a member of both the neo-fascist British National Party (BNP) and the English Defense League (EDL).

Rebuilding after Southport

Starmer may have deliberately set out to downplay the ideological elements of the rioting because doing otherwise would leave him vulnerable to the accusation that he was justifying such violent disorder. But this strategy has meant that the Labour leader has failed to truly recognize the anti-Muslim nature of much of the rioting which unfolded in the summer – further widening the disconnect between British Muslim communities and their so-called ‘natural party’.

As the country looks to rebuild from the trauma of the Southport murders and the subsequent violent disorder, part of that must be reassuring law-abiding, hard-working, and security-oriented British Muslim families of their rightful place in modern Britain. To shore up our national ‘community of communities’, it is vital that we all learn the right lessons from what took place this summer – including the Prime Minister.

Source: City A.M.

A record amount of security funding has been issued to mosques in the UK via a government scheme to protect places of worship from hate crime.

According to figures obtained by the Guardian via freedom of information requests, almost £3m was issued to mosques and associated sites under the places of worship security scheme from April 2022 to April 2023, a significant increase from the just over £73,000 issued between 2016 and 2017.

There has also been a significant increase in the number of eligible security applications made to the Home Office from Muslim community sites, from 36 in 2016 to 304 from April 2023 to April 2024. These figures do not reflect the number of applications approved by the Home Office.

The UK’s largest Muslim body, the Muslim Council of Britain, welcomed the increase in the amount of funding issued but said the scheme was “failing to capture the true scale of the challenge”, particularly due to the record rise in incidents of Islamophobia in the UK after the 7 October attacks on Israel.

The national monitoring group Tell Mama UK said it recorded 4,971 incidents of anti-Muslim hate between 7 October 2023 and 30 September 2024, the highest total in the past 14 years. The almost £3m in security funding was issued to mosques in the UK before the 7 October attacks.

Although the data reveals more than 304 eligible mosques and associated Muslim faith institutions applied for protective security in 2023, it remains a relatively small proportion of the more than 2,000 mosques and prayer rooms thought to be in the UK, according to the website muslimsinbritain.org.

Zara Mohammed, the general secretary of the MCB, described the low take-up for the scheme as indicative of ”the inadequacy of current engagement efforts”.

She said: “Many mosques aren’t even aware this funding exists due to minimal outreach. Those who’ve applied before and been unsuccessful often don’t reapply. The application process itself can be a barrier – technical jargon and language barriers make it challenging for voluntary organizations.”

The government launched a protective security scheme for places of worship in 2016 before creating a dedicated scheme worth £29.4m for mosques and faith schools in 2023 to provide security to ensure the safety of Britain’s Muslim communities.

A separate government scheme for assisting the Jewish community was set up in 2015 with £18m dedicated to security funding to protect Jewish communities in 2023. The government says the scale of funding is determined by the number of community sites used by each faith.

Mohammed said there needed to be a review of the existing process due to fears that at-risk Muslim faith institutions were missing out on security funding.

This risk was heightened when mosques across the UK were targeted after a knife attack in Southport, after false news spread online claiming the perpetrator of the attack was a Muslim asylum seeker. As a result, the Home Office set up a rapid response process to provide extra security and support for Muslim communities.

Mohammed said: “We need a comprehensive review of the scheme that addresses three critical areas: why take-up remains so low despite the clear need, whether current funding levels are sufficient given recent far-right riots, and how we can better understand the true scale of risk given widespread under-reporting.”

Kamran Hussain, the chief executive of the British Muslim Heritage Centre, said the far-right riots indicated why security for mosques was so essential. “It was inevitable that with the Islamophobia we are seeing, that there should be an increase in the level of protection around Muslim institutes and mosques,” he said.

Hussain said his colleagues who applied for security funding for the heritage center after the riots described the process as “very easy”.

“They put security in place who are constantly here, 24 hours, to make sure everything is OK,” he said. “We have had one phone call, a bomb threat, in the last two weeks so it shows the sentiment that’s out there and the risks.”

Mohammed said the far-right riots were “a stark reminder of the very real threats our mosques face”. She said: “Without adequate protection, these community centers remain vulnerable to attacks, vandalism, and violence. The government’s response must match the severity of these threats.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “It is paramount every community feels safe, especially in places of worship. That is why we introduced the protective security for mosques scheme.

“In response to public disorder in August we introduced a rapid protective security response process for places of worship and we have provided additional security for hundreds of mosques across the country.”

Source: The Guardian

The UK has seen a significant surge in anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia in the year following the Israeli war on Gaza, according to a report released by a leading hate crime monitoring group.

Tell MAMA, a noted NGO that tracks hate crimes in Britain, recorded 4,971 incidents of anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia between Oct. 7, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2024. The findings were revealed in a report on Monday.

Iman Atta, the organization’s director, described the alarming rise as unprecedented in the group’s history.

Since Oct. 7, Middle Eastern communities, regardless of faith, as well as visibly Muslim individuals, particularly women, have been increasingly targeted for their perceived support of Palestinian rights, Atta said.

These communities have endured verbal abuse, with people being called “terrorists,” and “Nazis,” in addition to facing threats, violence, and discrimination in public spaces, she added.

This growing hostility has not only threatened their sense of security but has also affected their social mobility, careers, and education, undermining their fundamental rights.

Abusive and threatening behavior

The report revealed that nearly two-thirds (63%) of the incidents involved abusive behavior, while 27% were categorized as threatening behavior.

Most of these cases were reported in major urban canters such as London, the Northwest, Yorkshire, and the Midlands.

The increase in anti-Muslim sentiment has left many questioning their safety and sense of belonging in the UK, especially amid rising far-right violence and incidents like the horrific stabbings in Southport.

Tell MAMA also emphasized that hate crimes remain severely underreported, with many victims becoming to daily abuse and choosing not to report incidents to the police.

The report warned that this rise in anti-Muslim hatred poses serious long-term risks to the economic and social well-being of Muslim communities in the UK, threatening community cohesion.

The NGO called on politicians, the media, and public institutions to take urgent action to address these challenges, counter harmful stereotypes, and prevent the normalization of narratives that link Muslim communities to violence and criminality.

Regional tensions have escalated due to Israel’s brutal offensive on Gaza, which has killed nearly 42,000 people, mostly women, and children, following a Hamas blitz last October.

The conflict spread to Lebanon with Israel launching deadly strikes across the country, which have killed more than 1,251 people and injured over 3,000 others since Sept. 23.

Source: TRT World

The 28-year-old martial arts expert said she wanted to help women of color to learn how to deal with abuse and build connections and confidence after more than a week of unrest aimed at mosques, asylum seeker hotels and the police.

“It gives you a little bit more confidence,” she said. “You kind of know what to look for, how to be socially aware, how to spot things and how to get out of a really bad situation.”

Muslim and ethnic minority communities have expressed shock over the disorder which was sparked by false information online that the suspected killer of three young girls in a knife attack in Southport, northwest England, was an Islamist migrant.

Martial arts instructor Stewart McGill said he had seen more women signing up for classes since the unrest started. He told them how to defend themselves with tactics including kicks and impromptu weapons such as belts.

One attendee, Elza Annan, 24, said she felt more confident.

“I obviously don’t want to have to use these techniques but it is useful and beneficial to have them … especially because of recent events of far-right racists coming out and targeting people of color,” she said.

The riots have largely targeted migrants, Muslims, and Asian people, spreading fear through ethnic minority communities and casting a light on Britain’s record of integration.

Tell MAMA UK, a group that monitors anti-Muslim incidents, said hate directed at Muslims had been growing in Britain for some time, and especially since Oct. 7 last year, the start of the conflict in Gaza.

Since the riots began, it had received more than 500 calls and online reports of anti-Muslim behavior across Britain.

Sunder Katwala, director of the think-tank British Future, which focuses on migration and identity, said at its best, Britain is a “confident multi-ethnic democracy”.

But he said successive governments had lacked a strategy for integrating different communities. While those arriving recently from Ukraine and Hong Kong were given government support, that did not happen to all.

The asylum system faced particular pressures, with a huge backlog of applications and some Britons concerned about pressure on housing, healthcare and education.

“With asylum you’ve got a visible lack of control, and that can feed into fear,” he said.

The riots have largely stopped since thousands of anti-racism protesters turned out to protect potential targets such as immigration advice centers, mosques, and hotels housing asylum seekers.

Hassan, who wears a hijab and is a Swiss national of Somali origin, moved to Britain in 2008, partly because she felt it was more welcoming to ethnic minorities than many parts of Europe. She is considering organizing more classes.

A similar event was planned for Manchester, northern England, and a campaign group, The Three Hijabis, held a large online conference call with Muslim women this week to discuss the psychological impact of Islamophobic violence.

Shaista Aziz, the group’s director, said some women feared that the violence could unleash confrontations or abuse, prompting many to stay close to home.

“Today I advised a sister I dearly love to consider removing her hijab to stay safe as she travels through the Northeast …” she said on X during the riots. “Across the country British Muslims are having these same conversations.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has ordered extra protection for the Muslim community, described rioters as “far-right thugs” and almost 800 people have been arrested, with some fast-tracked through the courts and jailed.

The anti-racism protests are likely to continue.

For Maki Omori, 23, who identifies as non-binary, Saturday’s class would help prepare for counter protests.

“I found it really intimidating, thinking about how I would defend myself,” Omori said. “I want to make sure that if something happens, I feel ready.”

Source: Reuters

Tell MAMA was formed in 2012 as an initiative of the community interest company Faith Matters and receives millions of pounds in public funding as the Government’s flagship agency monitoring anti-Muslim hate crimes.

But, from 2017 to 2022, the figures it has compiled are consistently lower than anti-Muslim hate crime statistics published by the Home Office based on police data – raising fundamental questions about the accuracy and value of Tell MAMA’s figures.

A Byline Times analysis comparing Crime Survey estimates with Home Office data shows that police records severely under-report anti-Muslim hate crimes in Britain by nearly 90%. This suggests that Tell MAMA’s data provides an even poorer picture – failing to capture what is likely to be many tens of thousands of incidents every year.

As anti-Muslim hatred appears to have reached epidemic levels since 2019, the Government lacks the institutional capacity to understand the scale of this national crisis.

Faith Matters did not respond directly to this newspaper’s questions.

Instead, it replied through its legal representatives, Mishcon de Reya, and published a public response. According to Mishcon de Reya, Tell MAMA’s under-reporting is entirely legitimate as the agency cannot be expected to report more incidents than the police – even though other hate crime monitoring services such as the Community Security Trust tend to produce higher figures for antisemitic hate incidents than those published by the Home Office.

A Decade of Failure?

Last July, Tell MAMA published a major report, ‘A Decade of Anti-Muslim Hate’. This was the first time it had released statistics on anti-Muslim hate crimes since its annual report in March 2020.

According to Mishcon de Reya, “this shows that the number of cases reported has increased steadily over time, including increasing from 1,223 in 2016 to 2,301 in 2021”. It described the report as evidence of Tell MAMA’s national monitoring service since 2012.

“The figure for 2022 is 2,656 and the figure for 2023, which is yet to be published, is higher still… In total, over 20,000 Muslims in the UK have used Tell MAMA’s reporting and monitoring service.”

But, from 2017 to 2022, Tell MAMA’s statistics were consistently lower than anti-Muslim hate crime figures published by the Home Office based on police data.

This is particularly questionable given that, as the UK Statistics Authority points out, police data systematically underestimates hate crimes. Under-reporting is likely worse for anti-Muslim hate crimes due to a lack of trust among communities in how authorities deal with such issues.

For 2017/18, the Home Office reported 2,965 anti-Muslim hate crimes for England and Wales based on police data. For 2017, Tell MAMA reported 1,400 anti-Muslim hate crimes across the entirety of the UK (1,565 fewer cases).

The Home Office reported 3,530 anti-Muslim hate crimes for 2018/19; Tell MAMA reported 2,000 for 2018 (1,530 fewer). The Home Office reported 3,089 for 2019/20; Tell MAMA reported 2,100 for 2019 (503 fewer). The Home Office reported 2,703 for 2020/21; Tell MAMA reported 2,200 for 2020 (503 fewer). The Home Office reported 3,459 for 2021/22; Tell MAMA reported 2,301 for 2021 (1,158 fewer). The Home Office reported 3400 for 2022/23; Tell MAMA reported 2,656 for 2022 (744 fewer).

Despite stating that it works in close cooperation with UK police forces, Tell MAMA’s 10-year report throws little light on how the cases logged in this period relate to police data. The report also adopts a way of categorizing each year that isn’t consistent with Home Office annual reporting, further undermining ways to compare data.

If Tell MAMA’s national monitoring service was robust and useful, its figures would be expected to fill the gaps missed due to police under-reporting.

Overall, from 2017 to 2022, the police recorded 19,146 anti-Muslim hate crimes for England and Wales (excluding Scotland). In the same period – which is when Faith Matters ceased mentioning that it was running a national anti-Muslim hate crime monitoring service in its CIC filings – Tell MAMA reported 13,143 anti-Muslim hate crimes for England, Scotland and Wales combined – 6,003 fewer than the police figures.

Tell MAMA’s figures in this period were, on average, 32% lower than police data.

Police Not Seeing Most Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes

Tell MAMA’s figures therefore offer even less of a useful picture than that provided by flawed police data.

How badly police data under-reports anti-Muslim hate crimes can be understood by comparing data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, which provides large-scale statistics based on long-term trends derived from surveying the public, with recorded police data published by the Home Office.

The latest available data from the Crime Survey is for 2019/20. It shows that the estimated number of hate crimes was about 190,000. That is approximately 45% higher than hate crimes recorded by the police which were 105,090, indicating that police figures are nearly half the real scale of hate crimes.

The gap is even wider for anti-Muslim hate crimes.

That year, the Crime Survey estimated that 0.8% of the Muslim population (about 3.8 million people according to the 2021 Census) had experienced religiously-motivated hate crimes – which would translate into an estimated 30,400 people experiencing hate crimes. In contrast, the police recorded just 3,089 anti-Muslim hate crimes.

According to the latest data, then, the police under-report anti-Muslim hate crimes by a little under 90%.

Given that Tell MAMA’s statistics from 2017 to 2022 are overall 32% lower than police figures, this suggests that Tell MAMA underestimates the scale of anti-Muslim hate crimes in Britain even further – by more than 90%.

And, after 12 years in operation, Tell MAMA not only appears to lack any strategy to do anything about this, but seems reluctant to even acknowledge the problem.

Distorting the National Picture

The statistical significance of missing more than 90% of anti-Muslim hate crimes cannot be overstated. It means that anti-Muslim hatred is now a national crisis – but one the Government is largely blind to.

Earlier this year, Tell MAMA reported 2,010 incidents of anti-Muslim hatred between 7 October 2023 and 7 February 2024. This is likely to be a small fraction of the real number, which could be closer to more than 20,000 hate crimes (the same number of users Tell MAMA says it has served since 2012).

Tell MAMA’s figures obscure rather than illuminate this crisis, leaving the Government asleep at the wheel on one of the most divisive issues of our time – a challenge which plagues both political parties.

The prevailing approach to this crisis is not based on reality, but on statistical artefacts derived from a tiny fraction of actual incidents.

When Byline Times’ findings were put to Faith Matters for comment, Mishcon de Reya made clear that it wanted this newspaper to refrain from publishing the article until it had sent over a “substantive” reply. Before that reply was sent, however, Tell MAMA published a statement on its website responding to Byline Times’ analysis of its figures.

In this statement, Tell MAMA did not dispute the analysis, but claimed that “it is impossible to record all hate crimes and particularly difficult given the scale, nature, geographical location and nationality of British Muslims from over 50 Muslim-majority countries”.

“We are not meant, nor resourced to be, an organization that looks for hate incidents or crimes on the internet or at a street level,” it said. “We report on what is provided to us by victims, and which is unsolicited.”

It added: “No third-party hate crime reporting service will have data that is higher than police forces. That is a simple fact.”

Yet, during the past five years, figures for antisemitic incidents in the UK produced annually by the Community Security Trust (CST) – the Jewish community service which Tell MAMA was modelled on – have been consistently higher than national police figures.

For 2023, CST reported 4,103 incidents of anti-Jewish hate, whereas the Home Office recorded only 1,510 anti-Jewish hate-crimes in this period. In 2021, CST reported 2,261 incidents, while the Home Office recorded 1,288 incidents. In 2020, CST recorded 1,684 antisemitic incidents, while the Home Office recorded 1,205 incidents. (In the past five years, CST figures were only lower than police figures in 2022, by around 300 reports).

The Tell MAMA statement appears to concede that the organization does little in terms of outreach work to ensure that it can detect cases more accurately, noting: “We do not go looking for cases or seeking material online or offline. If we did so, we would be here with a workload that would far exceed the limited resources we have and the data would not be credible.”

It accepted that “of course, the numbers of cases we receive will be less than the police”.

Given that police data systematically fails to capture the vast majority of cases of anti-Muslim hate incidents across the country, Tell MAMA’s statement is notable for at once admitting that its figures are even lower than the police’s, while simultaneously failing to acknowledge that missing 90% of anti-Muslim hate crimes is a problem that must be urgently addressed.

The evidence of poor quality data reinforces concerns raised by cross-bench peer Baroness Shaista Gohir – supported by a number of British Muslim members of the House of Lords including former Conservative Party co-chair Baroness Sayeeda Warsi – in several letters sent to ministers of the last Government, seen exclusively by Byline Times.

As reported in the first part of this investigation, those letters raised concerns about Tell MAMA’s opaque governance, its lack of transparency in use of public funds, poor data practices, and a lack of accountability.

Against this backdrop, the question of how the new Labour Government will address rising Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred is urgent but unclear.

Faith Matters appears to have spent a considerable resources attempting to silence criticism, rather than addressing concerns. The idea of a government-funded entity threatening litigation to block publication of criticisms of its work raises a question of its own: is it financing this using public funds? Like much else about the organization, we may never know.

Source: Byline Times

“Why do you wear the hijab?” is a question I’m often asked. Whether it’s by well-intentioned and genuinely curious people, those who think I’m doing a disservice to feminism, men who think I would look better without it or others with pure vitriol towards women like me. Well, it’s been 10 years since I began wearing the hijab and here is why I do.

I was around 14-years-old, growing up in a small town in the West Midlands and had recently begun practicing my faith when I first put it on. I was born and raised Muslim, but found a new connection to my faith during the Islamic month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from sunrise until sunset as a way to gain a better consciousness of God. It was the change I needed in my life and wearing the hijab felt like a way to affirm that.

By wearing the hijab, I’m constantly reminded to practice my faith and be the best version of myself due to being a visual representation of my religion. Whether that means going out of my way to help someone in need, giving plentifully in charity or keeping my mouth shut when people walk slowly in front of me during rush hour in London.

It also provides me with an instant sisterhood and sense of solidarity with other visibly Muslim women (there’s nothing quite like the friendships made in prayer rooms and swapping modest fashion tips) and invites people to judge me based on my character, over my hair or body. Overall, Muslim women wear the hijab for a plethora of reasons and it can be a difficult choice, which I’ve found now to be the case now more than ever.

Sometimes, it’s the little things. I’ve noticed people making judgements about me or appear surprised when I’m articulate, funny or opinionated as they don’t expect Muslim women to be any of those things, as if there is a covering over our mouths rather than our heads (side note, for the women I know who do wear full face veils such as the niqab, they’re some of the most interesting people I’ve ever met.)

At worst, it’s the constant discrimination and feeling at risk. For the most part, I’ve been lucky apart from ignorant comments, some shouting and intense stares. Recently, though, I witnessed an older, hijab-wearing woman being called a terrorist and a member of Hamas on a busy London bus. Many of my friends have had similar or worse experiences, such as having their hijabs pulled off and being threatened with physical violence.

Tell MAMA, a charity which records anti-Muslim incidents in the UK, has reported a 600 per cent increase in Islamophobic incidents since Hamas’ attacks in Israel on 7th October, which makes wearing the hijab tougher than ever. Journalist Nadeine Asbali articulates such feelings brilliantly in her book, ‘Veiled Threat’. “[Our] existence is built on the precarious grounds of policy and stereotype, penned in between the twin oppressions of misogyny and Islamophobia,” she writes.

“Our voices drowned out by the endless din of those seeking to save us and others condemning our covered bodies as foreign, menacing, un-British,” Nadine continues. It can be exhausting and dehumanizing to constantly have to prove your humanity to those who simply do not wish to see it, based on stereotypes and misjudgments incited by parts of the media, exclusionary feminist discourses, outright racists and more.

So, despite this, why do I still choose to wear the hijab? Well, it’s become a core part of my identity. It’s a constant reminder for me to practice my faith without fear, better my character and it’s become a normal part of my daily routine. To take off my hijab would be to dilute who I am in hopes of appeasing those who refuse to accept me, either way.

On this World Hijab Day, an annual event founded in 2013, I feel a greater sense of purpose, belonging and empowerment as a visibly Muslim woman. I’m inspired by those around me who show strength in the face of discrimination, trailblazers increasing representation in their industries and the heartbreaking resilience of the women of Gaza. While it can be difficult, wearing the hijab has – and will always feel – like home to me.

Source: Cosmopolitan UK

Britain’s largest Muslim group has written to the Conservative party to call for an investigation into “structural Islamophobia” within the party’s ranks.

In a letter addressed to the Conservative chair, Richard Holden, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said Islamophobia in the party was “institutional, tolerated by the leadership and seen as acceptable by great swathes of the party membership”.

The secretary general of the MCB, Zara Mohammed, wrote that “Islamophobia was on public display this week” and highlighted inflammatory comments made by the former home secretary Suella Braverman, the former Tory party deputy chair Lee Anderson and the former prime minister Liz Truss.

The letter said Braverman’s article in the Daily Telegraph, in which she wrote that “Islamists … are in charge”, fell into a “well-trodden Islamophobic path”.

The letter also addressed Anderson’s comments on GB News where he claimed “Islamists” had “got control” of London and the city’s mayor, Sadiq Khan. Anderson, who had the Conservative whip withdrawn from him after refusing to apologies, was criticized by the MCB for engaging in “Islamophobic tropes”.

Khan said Anderson’s comments were “Islamophobic, anti-Muslim and racist” and that they “pour fuel on the fire of anti-Muslim hatred”.

Mohammed said the MCB had shared the letter with the Equalities and Human Rights Commission to encourage Holden “to take this complaint seriously and take actions”.

Tell Mama, a charity that records anti-Muslim incidents, said there were 2,010 cases of Islamophobic hate during a four-month period from 7 October – a steep rise from the 600 recorded in the same period of the previous year.

Continue reading at: The Guardian

The Independent Press Standards Organisation has produced the guidance, which outlines key questions for journalists to consider and includes relevant case studies.

The publication also offers contextual information about Muslims and Islam in the UK.

The guidance has been welcomed by Fiyaz Mughal, founder of two pressure groups – Faith Matters, which aims to get faith communities to work together against conflict, and Tell Mama, which supports victims of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate.

IPSO has previously produced similar guidance related to a range of issues including reporting deaths and inquests, major incidents, sexual offences, suicide, transgender issues and use of social media.

IPSO chief executive Charlotte Dewar, pictured, said: “Guidance helps editors and journalists to comply with the Editors’ Code by pulling together in one place information about how the Code applies to a particular issue. “We hope this latest piece of guidance, like other guidance we have issued in the past, will help editors and journalists to report on this important subject in a way that fulfils the high standards set by the Editors’ Code of Practice.”

Source: HoldtheFrontPage

“Making forest hill and the world beautiful again, thank you to these wonderful girls this morning #ForestHill #roses,” one wrote on Twitter as he shared the image of the young Muslim women.

The event followed a stabbing on Monday at a train station in Forest Hill, south-east London where the attacker reportedly shouted “I want to kill Muslims”.

The victim was taken to the hospital where he remains in serious, but not life-threatening, condition.

The initiative to hand out roses to the public comes amid rising anti-Muslim sentiments across Europe and US.

Even before the Brexit vote, anti-Muslim incidents rose by 326% in the space of a year, according to a report from the group Tell Mama.

Britain is home to a sizable Muslim minority of nearly 2.7 million, mainly from Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani origin, according to 2011 statistics.

Source: AboutIslam.net