‘Our place is being questioned’: British Muslims warn Islamophobia has become 'normalised' across the UK
A growing number of Islamophobic hate crimes have left British Muslims feeling their place in the UK is being "questioned."
“Dehumanising” rhetoric from politicians and social media activists has seen Islamophobia become “normalised” and is fuelling a rise in anti-muslim hate across the UK, LBC has been told.
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British Muslims, especially women and children, have begun to feel their place in British society is being “questioned” amid what the British Muslim Trust (BMT) calls a rise in “hostility and racism” across the UK.
Speaking to LBC, Akeela Ahmed, CEO of the BMT, called on British people to come together and support their Muslim neighbours amid rising community tensions.
It comes after the BMT, in partnership with the Government, launched a helpline to support British Muslims targeted by Islamophobia.
Hate crimes, specifically against Jewish and Muslim Brits, have risen dramatically in recent years, with last year's summer riots seeing British Muslims targeted across the country.
Ms Ahmed told LBC: “Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate crime are on the rise.
“What we have seen in recent months is that people are feeling more like their place in society is being questioned and British Muslims especially feel like the hostility and the racism and the kind of anti-Muslim sentiments that they're experiencing is also increasing.”
The BMT has visited communities across the country, where they were told stories of the increasing abuse many Muslim people are facing - including one woman who is only shopping online out of fear of being targeted.
“People are telling us about a lot of the sort of incidents that they're experiencing when they're just going about their daily lives,” Ms Ahmed told LBC.
“Young people, and Muslim women especially, are saying to us that because they're feeling this increase in anti Muslim hate, they're basically adjusting the way they go about their lives.
“So one woman spoke to us and said that she's basically stopped doing shopping and now she only does online shopping.
“So people are definitely feeling more anxious and more fearful.”
Speaking just days after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage compared a protest of mostly Muslim young men to an “invading foreign army”, Ms Ahmed warned British politicians to avoid “dehumanising” British Muslims.
“So I think all politicians have to take care in the way they talk about issues. “When there's criminal activity, it absolutely should be called out.
“But if whole groups of people are just labelled in really, really polarising terms which are dehumanising, then that’s going to impact people.
“British Muslims make up around 4 million in the UK and they're as diverse as you can, as you can get.
“But often when they're spoken about in that why in the public sphere, whether that's by politicians, certain politicians or others, then that basically dehumanises them.
Ms Ahmed said that by positioning Islam as the “opposite” of British, Muslims are being “demonised”, citing recent attacks on both synagogues and mosques as a consequence of targeting religious minorities.
Despite this, Britain is not a divided nation, Ms Ahmed said, despite what divisive figures such as Tommy Robinson would say online.
She pointed to a number of heartwarming stories she has heard during the BMT’s travels across the country.
She told us of a young Muslim woman who felt intimidated after a man carrying dozens of Union Jacks stood outside her house for several hours, despite being asked to leave a number of times.
Eventually, the young woman’s white neighbour stepped in and told the man he was intimidating residents on the street and had to leave.
Despite this communal spirit the BMT has seen across the country, Ms Ahmed hit out at right-wing figures using social media to stoke division.
“These narratives are really pushed by people like Tommy Robinson and other far-right activists,” she said.
“I would say that they're actually really out of touch with the reality on the ground in Britain.
“Yes, there are problems in some parts that need to be dealt with. But by and large, most people are living side by side.
“They want to live harmoniously, they want to get to know each other and those people who try and kind of put forward this sort of fake news that people are living along these sort of divided lines need to get out and actually sort of visit different parts of the country.”
Minister for Devolution, Faith and Communities, Miatta Fahnbulleh, told LBC: “Nobody in this country should ever be made to feel unsafe for their faith or belief, which is why we are working tirelessly to root anti-Muslim hate out of our society.
“The British Muslim Trust will play a vital role in this: from providing a crucial space where victims can feel safe, seen and heard to giving government the fullest picture of the experiences and challenges our Muslim communities face, they are a key partner in our shared goal of creating a safer, more tolerant society for all.”