Three-quarters of Muslims say they are worried about their safety, according to a new survey – a rise of almost 60% since the week of far-right rioting that took place across the UK.
The Muslim Women’s Network surveyed 200 of its members on how safe they felt in the UK before and after the riots.
Some 75% said they were very worried about their safety now, compared with 16% before the riots.
Nearly one in five said they encountered hostility since the Southport stabbings, after which misinformation about the main suspect in the attack sparked days of violence across the UK.
Lila Tamea, who sought refuge in the Abdullah Quilliam Mosque in Liverpool when clashes between far-right protesters and counter-demonstrators erupted on Friday 2 August, said that even before the riots she felt she could not rely on police to protect her and her community.
The 26-year-old PhD student told Sky News: “There was almost a sense of the police aren’t going to protect us.
“And so, it was really important that there was that show of solidarity from not just the Muslim community. It was quite a lot of the non-Muslim kind of community who came out that Friday to defend the mosque.”
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Amina Atiq, a 29-year-old poet, said: “I felt as if it was not fair that we didn’t get a chance as a Muslim family to grieve for the three little girls.
“Because soon after that, we felt as if we were more suspect to that attack.”
Amina also expressed her exasperation at the rioters’ rhetoric, saying: “How am I meant to convince you to see me as a human?”
Baroness Shaista Gohir, chief executive of the Muslim Women’s Network, has urged the government to examine its hate crime legislation.
“Hate crime has gone up in the last decade, and the Hate Crime Strategy is out of date,” she said.
“I want to see hate crime legislation strengthened with the term ‘hostility’ defined.”
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Baroness Gohir is also pushing for action to increase the reporting of hate crimes, especially by Muslim women, so there is a better understanding of the prevalence and impact of anti-Muslim hate.
“What’s really worrying me is when women are calling up saying: ‘We were abused, and we were with our children’.”
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The charity is setting up a separate dedicated helpline to tackle hate crime in the Muslim community.
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In a statement to Sky News, Merseyside Police said about the Southport riots: “We had police officers present to reassure our community and deal with any potential crime and disorder. At the end of the gathering, both groups dispersed without any incident.”
