By Maira Butt
Of all the hate crimes against religious groups, the most are against Muslims — a total of 38 per cent, according to latest Home Office figures reported in the year ending March.
This comes as no surprise to a community targeted in Britain’s far-right riots in the summer, when incorrect rumours that the alleged killer of three girls in Southport was a Muslim spread on social media, leading to violent disorder. Police have suggested that the war in Gaza has contributed to discrimination in the UK.
The sharp rise is the reason why Islamophobia Awareness Month (IAM) has decided to focus on the smaller picture this November, by promoting the importance of everyday actions.
The initiative, set up in 2012, seeks to raise awareness about anti-Muslim discrimination and to promote inclusion in society. A spokesman told the Religion Media Centre: “The theme, ‘Seeds of Change’, is to highlight the importance of small acts, little good deeds, that we can do to create a bigger change.
“Really little things like asking your friend a question about Islam, smiling at a Muslim in the street, maybe just calling out a little comment that’s made, reporting an Islamophobic incident. Anything that you might want to do that can contribute to tackling Islamophobia. Islamophobia is not just a Muslim problem, it’s a societal problem.”
Dr Tarek Younis, clinical psychologist and senior lecturer in psychology at Middlesex University, said the political leanings of Muslims were often scrutinised through the lens of radicalisation, unlike other religious or racial groups.
“It’s really important to understand that people have different definitions or understandings of Islamophobia,” he said. “When I teach about it, I often say that it’s thinking about this ideal category of how a Muslim should think and behave.
“There’s this box of what an ideal Muslim is, which is constrained through ideas of security, integration and discourses like that. The ideal Muslim citizen is seen as someone who doesn’t display politics outside of mainstream politics. Any political display outside of that is vilified or demonised.”
Dr Younis runs a number of projects, including Healing Justice London, focused on those impacted by Islamophobia within the mental health and criminal justice system. “I think for most people it’s a deeply anxious experience in and of itself, even without being explicitly disciplined or silenced,” he said.
However, he encourages the importance of “solidarity” and “communion with others” in the efforts to improve mental health. “It’s not ours to carry by ourselves,” he says. “Find spaces, find people to speak to. If people are struggling, then the answer to that is to reach out and develop our networks, develop our solidarity.”
The issue is particularly prevalent for young Muslims, with 70 per cent of those experiencing mental health issues reporting that they have been a victim of Islamophobia, according to a 2021 report by the Better Community Business Network and the University of East London School of Psychology.
The Islamophobia Response Unit (IRU) gives the example of Fatima, a black woman who decided to wear the hijab after making Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. She had had some concerns about wearing the hijab, as she feared Islamophobic abuse. Her fears were all too soon made reality.
After a argument broke out between Fatima and another road user on the way to a car boot sale, she was called a “f***ing black Muslim” and was told to “go back to your country”. She was shaken by the ordeal and doubted her ability to continue wearing her headscarf.
The offender told Fatima that nobody would do anything about it if she told the police. Fatima’s friends and family also told her there would be no point in reporting the attack, despite her having a photograph of the man who abused her.
Research indicates that Muslim communities distrust the police and have a negative perception of them, which is further compounded by findings of institutional racism.
However, Fatima persevered and took the matter to the IRU, where a caseworker encouraged her to report the incident. The abuser was charged and appeared in court.
Fatima was concerned about being seen by the offender and she was allowed to give evidence from behind a curtained section of the courtroom. He was found guilty and ordered to undertake 100 hours of unpaid work and pay £100 compensation
Fatima said she would “never have had the great strength to attend the court” if it were not for the support of the IRU and expressed the hope that “we will all one day live in a world where every single human, regardless of their colour, race, or religion is able to live comfortably and happily without fear of harassment or assault”.
