British government policies are fuelling a worsening “environment of hate” in which abuse, discrimination, and even the threat of violent assault have become the “normal experience and expectation” for Muslims living in the UK, according to the conclusions of a new report. The study into the day-to-day experiences of British Muslims, carried out by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), found a sharp rise in the number of people reporting verbal abuse and an increase in the number of physical attacks since the survey was last undertaken in 2010.
Two-thirds of the 1,800 people polled said they had been subjected to verbal abuse, up from 40 percent in 2010, while 82 percent said they had witnessed Islamophobia being directed at someone else, up from 50 percent. Reported cases of physical assault rose from 14 percent in 2010, to nearly 18 percent. “Muslims in the UK feel targeted by media and political institutions, which in their understanding contribute heavily towards a deteriorating climate of fear, a rise in far-right groups and a rise of anti-Muslim racism… Most Muslims now feel they are hated,” the report says.
It cites examples of individual cases of discrimination, such as a Kuwaiti tourist who was detained and questioned under terrorism legislation for taking a ‘selfie’ of himself outside a shopping centre, and a woman working with children with autism who was told she could not wear a hijab because parents would not feel safe leaving their children with her.
