Tell MAMA recorded 1,432 anti-Muslim cases between Oct 7 and Dec 13

Tell MAMA recorded a seven-fold rise in anti-Muslim cases between October 7 and December 13.

We recorded 1,432* cases following the deadly Hamas terror attacks on October 7, up from the 2022 figure of 195 cases (153 offline, 42 online), and represents the largest rise in reports to our service across 68 days.

Like with our previous statistical bulletins, we provide a brief geographic breakdown of where offline cases occurred:

Of the 613 offline cases, 381 occurred in London, 55 in the northwest, 15 in South Yorkshire, 31 in West Yorkshire, 23 in the East Midlands and 35 in the West Midlands. In other areas, like the Southeast, we recorded 17 and in the Southwest of England, we recorded 19 cases. The final geographic areas concern Scotland (13), Wales (4), and the Northeast (20).

In terms of categories, Tell MAMA received 387 cases of abusive behaviour, 52 threats, 49 assaults, 46 acts of vandalism, 40 cases of discrimination, 28 acts of hate speech and 11 examples of anti-Muslim literature.

Whereas, in the online world, we recorded 819 cases – ranging from racist, dehumanising memes to calls for violence towards Muslims, as noted white supremacists and far-right account holders pushed racist conspiracies of so-called “replacement” or stigmatised Muslims as criminals and terror threats.

*Like all Tell MAMA cases, the figures are subject to further revision and analysis.

Our previous bulletins are found here, here, here, here, here, here and here. The most recent bulletin appeared online last week.

We continue to liaise with various police forces nationally, including the Met Police and the British Transport Police relating to various hate crimes.

Please continue to follow our website and social media platforms for updates.

Standing together, not apart

In the current climate, we continue to urge communities to stand together and practice compassion and care for each other and for themselves, to be upstanders and intervene safely to stop racism and hate crime, and we urge those in positions of influence and public authority to consider how their language risk stereotyping communities and how it may unduly influence discussions online and offline.

Safety advice

We urge mosques and Islamic centres to download our mosque safety advice resources and to consider our updated mosque security advice service.

We have safety advice in both English and Arabic – and urge Muslim communities to remain vigilant when out and about.

Our counselling service is there for anyone in need. If you would like to access the service or find out more about it, e-mail us at counselling@tellmamauk.org

In any emergency, dial 999.

 

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Categories: hate crime, Israel Palestine, News

Tell MAMA saw more than a seven-fold increase in anti-Muslim cases since October 7

Tell MAMA recorded more than a seven-fold rise in anti-Muslim cases between October 7 and December 6, when compared to 177 cases (140 offline, 37 online) during the same period in 2022.

The 1,350 anti-Muslim cases* recorded following the deadly Hamas terror attacks on October 7 include 574 offline cases and 776 online cases, respectively.

For a geographic sense of where we recorded such cases, we broke them down by regions below:

London (363)

Northwest (51)

West Midlands (32)

West Yorkshire (29)

East Midlands (21)

Northeast (20)

Southwest (17)

Southeast (13)

South Yorkshire (13)

Scotland (11)

Wales (4)

Across the online world, the 776 cases included racialised, dehumanising memes to overt calls for bans on mosques, the Quran and the forced removal of Muslims from the UK. Other content flagged included overtly racist content that used the P-word to those calling Muslim children future terrorists.

*Like all Tell MAMA cases, the figures are subject to further revision and analysis.

Our previous bulletins are found here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

During this recording period, we published case studies including the targeting of a disabled Muslim woman who wears the face veil who faced abuse along with her children and how fearing for their safety, a Muslim family took down a Palestinian flag from their property after someone put a firework through their letterbox over Halloween.

Tell MAMA supported a couple who faced death threats for challenging a woman’s racist comments about Palestinians and anti-Muslim comments about London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan and made a police report on their behalf.

We continue to liaise with various police forces nationally, including the Met Police and the British Transport Police relating to various hate crimes.

Please continue to follow our website and social media platforms for updates.

Standing together, not apart

In the current climate, we continue to urge communities to stand together and practice compassion and care for each other and for themselves, to be upstanders and intervene safely to stop racism and hate crime, and we urge those in positions of influence and public authority to consider how their language risk stereotyping communities and how it may unduly influence discussions online and offline.

Safety advice

We urge mosques and Islamic centres to download our mosque safety advice resources and to consider our updated mosque security advice service.

We have safety advice in both English and Arabic – and urge Muslim communities to remain vigilant when out and about.

Our counselling service is there for anyone in need. If you would like to access the service or find out more about it, e-mail us at counselling@tellmamauk.org

In any emergency, dial 999.

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Categories: Israel Palestine, News

Muslim teacher abused in front of students on the London Underground

An elderly woman targeted a Muslim teacher with abuse and warned her students that she was going to “poison you” on the London Underground yesterday (December 11).

Speaking to Tell MAMA, she disclosed that it was the first time she faced any hate crime on the rail networks, adding that she followed up with a report to the British Transport Police (BTP).

She mentioned how the perpetrator had stood near the group on the Piccadilly Line, which included students under the age of ten having returned from a museum visit, before exiting the train, tapping on the window, and re-entering to begin the abuse.

Abusive comments included, “You are a teacher?! You shouldn’t be a teacher” before they pointed aggressively at the children and claimed, “Be careful, she’s going to poison you”.

Speaking about the anti-Muslim abuse she faced, the teacher told us: “My first instinct was to make sure that I protect the children, but then I thought: who is going to protect me?”

Thankfully, two upstanders spoke up and challenged the abuse, with supportive statements like  “Actually, she is a good teacher” and “You should go to school and learn”.

The perpetrator soon exited the train.

After speaking with our Casework Team, the Muslim woman consented for our staff to liaise with the BTP further, as they agreed for us to tell their story anonymously.

In partnership with the BTP, Tell MAMA offers tailored safety tips for the rail networks which are free to download from our Resources page.

Get advice from our confidential and free helpline on 0800 456 1226. Or through our free iOS or Android apps. Report through our online form. Alternatively, please leave us a WhatsApp message at 0734 184 6086.

 

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Categories: London Underground, News, TFL

Netanyahu says Israel must retain control of security in Gaza after the war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the military would have to retain open-ended security control over the Gaza Strip long after the war against Hamas ends.

The remarks came as Israel’s military said its troops had entered Gaza’s second-largest city in its its pursuit to wipe out the territory’s Hamas rulers.

The war has already killed more than 15,000 Palestinians and displaced over three-quarters of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, who are running out of safe places to go.

The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll in the territory since October 7 has surpassed 15,890, with more than 41,000 wounded.

The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths, but said 70% of the dead were women and children.

Israel says it targets Hamas operatives and blames civilian casualties on the militants, accusing them of operating in residential neighbourhoods.

The United States, Qatar and Egypt, which mediated an earlier ceasefire, say they are working on a longer truce.

Hamas said talks on releasing more of the scores of hostages seized by militants on October 7 must be tied to a permanent ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Israel has intensified its bombardment of Gaza’s second largest city, Khan Younis, with dozens of injured people rushed to hospital as a new phase of the war continues.

Under US pressure to prevent further mass casualties, Israel said it is being more precise as it widens its offensive into southern Gaza after obliterating much of the north.

At the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, ambulances brought dozens of injured people in throughout the night. At one point, a car pulled up and man emerged carrying a young boy in a bloody shirt whose hand had been blown off.

Satellite photos taken on Sunday showed tanks and troops massing outside Khan Younis, the latest target of the offensive, which was home to more than 400,000 people before the war.

Israel has ordered people out of nearly two dozen areas instead of the entire region, as it did in the north.

But with most of Gaza’s population already packed into the south, cramming UN shelters and family homes, there are few places left to go. Israel has barred people who fled the north earlier in the war from returning.

Palestinians say that as Israel continues to strike across the besieged territory, there are no areas where they feel safe, and many fear that if they leave their homes they will never be allowed to return.

Israel has said it must dismantle Hamas’ extensive military infrastructure and remove it from power in order to prevent a repeat of the October 7 attack that ignited the war.

The surprise assault through the border fence saw Hamas and other Palestinian militants kill about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capture some 240 men, women and children.

The Israeli military has said it makes every effort to spare civilians and accuses Hamas of using them as human shields as it fights in dense residential areas, where it has a labyrinth of tunnels, bunkers, rocket launchers and sniper nests.

But the militant group is deeply rooted in Palestinian society, and its determination to end decades of open-ended Israeli military rule is shared by most Palestinians, even those opposed to its ideology and its attacks on Israeli civilians.

That will complicate any effort to eliminate Hamas without causing massive casualties and displacement.

Even after weeks of unrelenting bombardment, Hamas’ leaders in Gaza were able to conduct complex ceasefire negotiations and orchestrate the release of more than 100 Israeli and foreign hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners last week. Palestinian militants have also kept up their rocket fire into Israel, both before and after the truce.

The fighting has brought unprecedented death and destruction to the coastal strip.

The health ministry in Gaza said the death toll in the territory since October 7 has surpassed 15,890 people – 70% of them women and children – with more than 42,000 wounded. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. It says hundreds have been killed or injured since the ceasefire’s end, and many still are trapped under rubble.

An Israeli army official provided a similar figure for the death toll in Gaza on Monday, after weeks in which Israeli officials had cast doubt on the ministry’s count.

The official said at least 15,000 people have been killed, including 5,000 militants, without saying how the military arrived at its figures. The military says 84 of its soldiers have been killed in the Gaza offensive.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday that it was too soon to pass judgment on Israeli operations, but that it was unusual for a modern military to identify precise areas of expected ground manoeuvres and ask people to move out, as Israel has done in Khan Younis.

“These are the kinds of steps that we have asked them to undertake.” he said. “These are the conversations we’re having day in, day out.”

The US has pledged unwavering support to Israel since the October 7 attack, including rushing weapons and other aid to the country.

The post Netanyahu says Israel must retain control of security in Gaza after the war appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Gaza, Israel, Netanyahu, News, Palestinian, security, War

Tell MAMA recorded 1,202 anti-Muslim cases in 55 days

Tell MAMA recorded 1,202 anti-Muslim cases as of November 30 following the deadly Hamas terror attacks on October 7.

Our latest figures cover October 7 to November 30, demonstrating a seven-fold increase in cases from the 2022 figure of 172 cases (135 offline, 37 online).

The 1,202 cases* reported to Tell MAMA represents the biggest and most sustained spike in reports to our service across a 55-day reporting period.

Like with our previous statistical bulletins, we provide a brief geographic breakdown of where offline cases occurred.

Of the 505 offline cases, 324 occurred in London, 47 in the northwest, 13 in South Yorkshire, 27 in West Yorkshire, 17 in the East Midlands and 27 in the West Midlands. In other areas, like the Southeast and Southwest of England, we recorded 11 cases in each area, respectively. The final geographic areas concern Scotland (9), Wales (2), and the Northeast (17).

In terms of categories, Tell MAMA received 331 cases of abusive behaviour, 37 threats, 43 assaults, 33 acts of vandalism, 31 cases of discrimination, 23 acts of hate speech and 7 examples of anti-Muslim literature.

Examples include the harassment and abuse towards Muslims in public spaces wearing clothing or colours in support of Palestine – with some told to “cover it up.” Other offline reports concern abuse towards Muslims when out shopping or exiting major supermarkets – including racist slurs like the P-word.

Across the online sphere, including major social media platforms to Telegram and other digital platforms, we received 697 cases.

*Like all Tell MAMA cases, the figures are subject to further revision and analysis.

Tell MAMA continues to report extreme, racist, and dehumanising materials to the police – during the latest bulletin period, we flagged accounts which called Muslims and Palestinians “rats” that should be “stamped out” to menacing calls for violence towards Muslim women (including the use of the P-word).

More broadly, a far-right tweet that dehumanised Muslim women as “breeding machines” and that pushed racist conspiracies like the so-called “Great Replacement” appeared in this reporting cycle.

Our previous bulletins highlighted the worrying levels of anti-Muslim dehumanisation online, the targeting of mosques, and concerns about anti-Muslim language and behaviours at places of education.

We told the Guardian newspaper earlier this month that: “Students and staff are feeling particularly anxious and unsafe at the moment and questioning whether they should wear Islamic clothing on campus, show solidarity for Palestine, or even discuss publicly what is happening in Israel and Palestine, for fear of being targeted.” In response, both UCL and the University of Manchester promote Tell MAMA’s service on their website, a step we encourage other universities to follow (if they do not already do so).

Standing together, not apart

In the current climate, we continue to urge communities to stand together and practice compassion and care for each other and for themselves, to be upstanders and intervene safely to stop racism and hate crime, and we urge those in positions of influence and public authority to consider how their language risk stereotyping communities and how it may unduly influence discussions online and offline.

Safety advice

We urge mosques and Islamic centres to download our mosque safety advice resources and to consider our updated mosque security advice service.

We have safety advice in both English and Arabic – and urge Muslim communities to remain vigilant when out and about.

Our counselling service is there for anyone in need. If you would like to access the service or find out more about it, e-mail us at counselling@tellmamauk.org

In any emergency, dial 999.

 

 

 

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Categories: hate crime, Israel Palestine

Disabled Muslim woman and her children abused by man in West London

A disabled Muslim mother described how a man abused her and her children en route to a medical appointment in West London.

Speaking to Tell MAMA, she described how she felt targeted due to her niqab and the added vulnerability she experienced as he blocked the path of her wheelchair before abusing them, and agreed for us to tell their story anonymously.

He stopped in the street, blocking their path, before flailing his arms and disparagingly shouting: “Allah, Allah, Allah!” at her and her children, who also wore Islamic clothing.

After the perpetrator left, she contacted the police, and soon Tell MAMA got in contact with her to offer support.

The anti-Muslim abuse occurred in early November and she described the perpetrator as a white male of an unspeficied age.

She told our Casework Team that this was the first example of anti-Muslim abuse she had reported, recognising its importance after someone told her ‘this is a hate crime, you need to report it’, believing previously that you had to ‘live with such abuse and accept it’.

Her children, she added will gain resilience from the experience, as she wants them to continue being proud of their Muslim identities.

“Everyone should be treated with respect, no matter what your identity is, and it’s no one else’s business,” she said.

Tell MAMA also sent them a self-assestment form for our free counselling service which sits within our existing support structures.

Over the years, we documented various examples of the disproportionate abuse, threats, violence and discrimination Muslim women who wear the face veil experience.

The Met Police investigation remains ongoing.

Get advice from our confidential and free helpline on 0800 456 1226. Or through our free iOS or Android apps. Report through our online form. Alternatively, please leave us a WhatsApp message at 0734 184 6086.

 

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Categories: hate crime, London, MET Police, News, Niqab