Arrest made after rats released near Sheffield mosque

June 25, 2025 Article

South Yorkshire Police confirmed the arrest of a 66-year-old man following the release of three rats near a mosque in Sheffield.

Police attended the Sheffield Grand Mosque on Grimesthorpe Road in Burngreave on Monday (23 June) at around 8:15 pm.

Officers from South Yorkshire Police arrested the 66-year-old on suspicion of a racially or religiously aggravated public order offence after he allegedly released three rats from the boot of their car.

In a press release, Inspector Alec Gibbons, from the North East Neighbourhood Policing Team, provided reassurance and clear that: “We understand this reported incident has caused concern locally and I’d like to reassure you that we are working hard to understand the full circumstances of what took place.”

CCTV footage also appeared online.

Tell MAMA is liaising with officers further, and we endeavour to provide further updates where possible.

Anyone with information is urged to call 101, quoting 874 of 23 June 2025, or do so online. Tell MAMA can pass information forward on your behalf or anonymously.

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Categories: hate crime, mosque, News, Sheffield, South Yorkshire police

Dame Louise Casey’s Review Says What Needs to be Said

June 17, 2025 Article

Dame Louise Casey’s review on the abuse of young white girls over the last two decades makes for a harrowing read where statutory authorities chose to place the preservation of social cohesion above the safeguarding of many white young girls. There is no getting around the scale and the failures that Casey has raised in her excellent and brutally honest report.

Tell MAMA has previously highlighted how some far right groups have used the child grooming scandals to whip up collective anti-Muslim hate, though this cannot and should not take away from honest and frank discussions as Casey mentions. The child grooming scandals are widespread and have shown inaction and complicity, whether this be through previously elected councillors or local authority officers willing to blame the victimised young children rather than the monstrous middle-aged perpetrators.

Which brings us onto the following. There is nothing anti-Muslim about discussing issues around child sexual exploitation and the ethnicity of perpetrators. Blaming all Muslims as being potential child rapists is one thing, and we previously highlighted such anti-Muslim rhetoric promoted online by far right groups. Speaking about the link that Casey highlighted in areas such as Greater Manchester, West and South Yorkshire and where the majority of group related child grooming activities were undertaken by Asian men of Pakistani heritage, is another thing altogether. The former is anti-Muslim bigotry and the latter, legitimate public debate and discourse which needs to take place.

This is an important distinction and should not stifle legitimate public debate, The lives of many women have been deeply affected by what they endured at the hands of men who preyed on their vulnerabilities. These courageous women deserve to be heard and made the focus for real change so that children are no longer blamed as perpetrators, and the perpetrators let off in the interests of social cohesion.

Commenting on the Casey review, the Director of Tell MAMA, Iman Atta OBE said:

“Evidence alone should determine the basis of challenging prejudice and bigotry where we come across it. Knee-jerk reactionism in the misguided belief of protecting social cohesion and couched as campaigning against anti-Muslim prejudice and bigotry should be given no quarter by any legitimate organisation carrying out this line of work. Calling legitimate discourse on tackling child sexual exploitation ‘anti-Muslim’ bigotry by virtue of the ethnicity of the majority of perpetrators in areas like Greater Manchester does a disservice to the female victims of it and to public confidence in this area of work”.

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Categories: Child Grooming Gangs, child sexual exploitation, Greater Manchester, Louise Casey, News, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, White girls

Neo-Nazi trio guilty of planning terror attack on Leeds mosque

May 15, 2025 Article

Three neo-Nazi extremists who stockpiled an arsenal of over 200 weapons were found guilty of plotting a terror attack on a mosque in Leeds.

The group never met in person, but shared their racist, homophobic and violent ideologies online, discussing possible targets for terror attacks – including synagogues, mosques, and buildings housing refugees.

25-year-old Brogan Stewart, from West Yorkshire, fashioned himself as their leader and “Fuhrer”, telling Cannock-based Christopher Ringrose, 34 and Derby-based Marco Pitzettu, 25, to dress in Nazi-style clothing.

Stewart named them “Eitzen 14” – a reference to the notorious Nazi death squads. The Einsatzgruppen had murdered over one million Jewish people in mass shootings following the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.

Counter-terrorism police revealed that the group planned for a “race war” and sourced body armour, riot gear, rations and over 200 weapons divided across their home addresses. Weapons recovered included machetes, hunting knives, swords, and crossbows.

Ringrose had been building a 3-D assault rifle, with instructions found online and required just a firing pin, bolt and barrel to become active and deadly. He also shared a photograph of his one-year-old child with a skull mask on the Telegram channel, captioned “choose violence”, the Guardian reported.

Tell MAMA identified a TikTok channel potentially linked to Ringrose, which we can now disclose following the guilty verdicts.

The TikTok account potentially linked to Christopher Ringrose contained extremist content from 2022 and followed far-right pages.

The account had uploaded a video in late May 2022, captioned “one mans terrorist another mans freedom fighter”, which stylised a photo of armed members of the IRA taken in Belfast in 1987 during the Troubles. Another meme featured an armed man with the caption, “You think the government cares about you?”.

Of the various pages followed by the account, we saw overt neo-Nazi pages containing totemkampf death skull avatars or 14/88 name variants amongst other ultranationalist pages from Europe and anti-Muslim materials invoking the Knights Templar.

During a group call on 5 February 2024, Stewart detailed plans to seek out “human targets” near an Islamic education centre. Counter-terrorism police made their arrests sixteen days later after an undercover officer had infiltrated their group. When the trial began, the prosecution outlined how the “imminent threat of an attack” resulted in their arrests.

A photograph of Brogan Stewart’s room in the house he shared with his mother included a Nazi flag and a poster for the neo-Nazi group the British Movement amongst various weapons.

Other racist statements from Stewart in the chat included calling the former prime minister Rishi Sunak the P-word.

During the trial, the prosecution outlined how Mr Stewart told an undercover officer of his desire to replicate the Nazi death squad and of his homemade “information extraction kit” that included pliers, gaffer tape, a blowtorch and how a “syringe filled with bleach” would get people talking. He also spoke of a desire to torture local imams.

Marco Pitzettu had obtained an illegal stun gun, in breach of the Firearms Act 1968, an offence which he pleaded guilty to prior to trial. Pitzettu also shared footage of the Christchurch terror attacks that resulted in the murder of 51 Muslims in New Zealand in 2019, highlighting the lingering influence of such white supremacist terror over those convicted of far-right terror offences across the UK.

Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, made clear in a statement that: “Stewart, Pitzettu, and Ringrose have today been rightfully convicted of multiple terrorism offences.” Adding, “They were a group that espoused vile racist views and advocated for violence, all to support their extreme right-wing mindset.

“Some of their defence in court was that it was all fantasy or just part of harmless chat, however all three took real world steps to plan and prepare for carrying out an attack on innocent citizens.”

The trio faces sentencing on 17 July.

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Categories: Antisemitism, Neo-Nazi, News, Telegram, terrorism

Hate crime investigation into Muslim grave desecrations ongoing in Hertfordshire

April 17, 2025 Article

Hertfordshire Police reassured local Muslims and communities at a public meeting in Bushey that they are investigating the abhorrent desecration of 61 Muslim graves as an Islamophobic hate crime.

Officers responded to the widespread desecration of graves and plaques, many belonging to babies and children, at Carpenders Park Lawn Cemetery in Hertfordshire – in an area reserved for Muslim burial on April 13.

Police revised the figures, initially thought to total 85, during the public meeting the Bushey Islamic Circle organised yesterday (April 16). Those in attendance included police, faith leaders, and the families impacted.

The thorough investigation has not yet identified suspects, nor have witnesses come forward. Still, officers are carrying out forensic work, stepped-up patrols around the cemetery, and increased visibility of officers around other local areas.

Funeral planner Hussain Sadiq, who attended the meeting, said: “One of the worst parts of this tragedy is the majority of the damage has been to graves of babies and children,” the BBC reported.

The chairman of Bushey United Synagogue also attended the public meeting in a show of support and solidarity.

A member of Tell MAMA’s outreach team attended the meeting to speak with those impacted, police officers, council officers, and others in attendance and offer our support.

In a statement, Councillor Muhammed Butt, who leads Brent Council, which owns the Watford-based cemetery, made clear: “We will reinstate the damaged name plaques and return Carpenders Park Lawn cemetery to a peaceful, quiet place of remembrance as quickly as possible, once the Police have finished their investigation.”

He condemned the desecration and said, “This is a very serious incident, and we continue to work closely with Hertfordshire Police to inform family members and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

Harrow Council Leader Cllr Paul Osborn said in a statement: “This affects our Muslim community here in Harrow who have loved ones buried at this site. My thoughts are with all those affected by this horrendous act of vandalism which Hertfordshire Police have confirmed as an Islamophobic hate crime.”

Days earlier, in a statement via her funeral provider, Alicia Hussain, the damage to her daughter’s grave raised “disturbing questions” and how it proved “cruel, cold, and deeply violating,” which left her “shattered”, the Watford Observer reported.

Fozie, another local resident, who recently buried her husband, told the local press, “Thankfully my husband’s grave was unaffected but to see the destruction of children’s graves was callous and pure evil. How are these people allowed to get away with this? It’s incomprehensible.”

Chief Superintendent Jon Simpson, who heads Hertfordshire’s Local Policing Command, sought to reassure Muslim communities, stating, “We would like to reassure those affected, and the wider Muslim community, that we are continuing to treat this crime extremely seriously.”

We will continue to liaise directly with the police and Brent Council and endeavour to provide further updates where possible. We are also extending our offer of emotional support and access to our free counselling service.

Some impacted families reached out to Tell MAMA for support, and given the immense emotional pain the families are experiencing, we want to ensure everyone feels supported.

On social media, we received a small number of reports detailing horrendous language, dehumanising anti-Muslim tropes, and calls for more vandalism, as many others stood in solidarity and condemned the heinous, cowardly acts.

More broadly, Tell MAMA’s most recent report documented a sharp rise in vandalism cases to our service, including the abhorrent vandalism of Muslim graves in Burnley following the horrific Southport stabbings and murders amid far-right violence and rioting.

We urge anyone with information to call 101, quoting Op Lunate. Tell MAMA can pass information forward on your behalf or anonymously.

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Categories: Carpenders Park Lawn cemetery, grave descecration, hate crime, Muslim graves, News, Watford

Coursing a Path of Independence from Government

April 1, 2025 Article

Over the last 13 years, we at Tell MAMA have been carrying out our work in monitoring and helping victims of anti-Muslim hate on a year-by-year grant-funding basis. The annual grant funding was supported and provided by successive Conservative administrations, and we thank them for their commitment to our work and their dedicated support during this period.

Over the last 6 months, however, we have been left in the uncomfortable and unsettling position of having no guarantee of further direct grant funding from the Ministry for Communities, Housing and Local Government (MHCLG). We have been concerned about decisions that have been made on the future funding of Tell MAMA during this period, particularly at a time when we recorded the highest numbers of anti-Muslim hate cases since Tell MAMA was founded in 2011. In addition, we have been subjected to malicious campaigns to undermine our work, including being the subject of hate and abuse targeting the project and our staff, threatening their safety and security, which have been reported to the relevant authorities. Whatever the reasons behind these campaigns, the people responsible for them have given no thought to victims of anti-Muslim hate whom we have served with dedication over the past 13 years.

We are saddened that the very service that has trained police forces, statutory authorities and civil society organisations, whilst highlighting the depth, scope and impact of anti-Muslim hate since 2011, has had to go through these significant insecurities and challenges over the last 6 months.

Following discussions with the MHCLG, Tell MAMA has received an offer of an extension of funding from the MHCLG covering the next 6 months (April-September 2025), together with confirmation from the MHCLG that it has full confidence in Tell MAMA and its work, for which we are grateful. However, for the reasons outlined above, and in order to strengthen our independence from central Government, Tell MAMA has taken the decision to turn down this offer. Also, we will not be applying for any future tenders from MHCLG on this work.

We would like to thank Lord Khan of Burnley in particular for his part in our discussions with the MHCLG and his expression of support for Tell MAMA in ensuring the offer of further funding. His determination to tackle anti-Muslim hate is heartening and motivating and we value his desire to make a positive impact in this area of work.

We will continue to monitor cases of anti-Muslim hate, whilst supporting victims of anti-Muslim hate and striving to meet the needs of British Muslims affected by it. We believe that this is crucially important at a time when the volume of anti-Muslim hate online has increased and where anti-Muslim hate appears to be fast becoming normalised politically. However, we will also seek to repurpose and refocus our support services in the next 3 months, without taking away from our work ensuring that victims of anti-Muslim hate have the access to access to justice to which they are entitled. We believe that our newfound independence from Government will ensure that we are able to review our services and re-assess where we can ensure maximal impact in this area of work.

Finally, we would like to add that work on countering anti-Muslim hate should not be an afterthought, but central to decision planning within the MHCLG if it is to ensure that Muslim communities are properly protected whilst also supporting social cohesion on a national basis. We are proud to have worked with over 50,000 British Muslims since 2011 – the true heroes striving for justice and ensuring that perpetrators of anti-Muslim hate are held to account.

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Categories: anti-Muslim hate, British Muslims, grant funding, hate monitoring, MHCLG, News

Tell MAMA is a Key Partner With Government on Tackling Anti-Muslim Hatred

March 25, 2025 Article

On 8th March 2025, The Observer published an article on the future of Tell MAMA’s work which had been supported for 11 years by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

Tell MAMA was notified that direct grant funding was coming to an end on the 31st March 2025, meaning that we would not be able to continue supporting victims of anti-Muslim hate and mapping and monitoring these incidents. This was truly disappointing news, given that Tell MAMA has stood at the forefront of this important work over the last 13 years, supporting over 50,000 British Muslims and consistently demonstrating that anti-Muslim hate and Islamophobia is a growing problem that needs addressing. Our work has also been crucial for law enforcement agencies, with police only recently saying that information provided by Tell MAMA is “invaluable” in their work tackling anti-Muslim hate and Islamophobia.

We are proud of the systems that we have set up and utilised to support victims of anti-Muslim hate and Islamophobia and the measures and statistics that we have produced.

Yesterday, we were formally notified by the MHCLG that direct funding will be offered to Tell MAMA for 2025/2026, reflecting the Government’s continued trust and confidence in our work. We wanted to extend our thanks to Lord Khan of Burnley, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the MHCLG, for his time and collaborative efforts in working with us to address this matter. Lord Khan has stated the following:

“Tell MAMA is a key partner in the Government’s work to tackle anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia. It has developed important initiatives to capture, monitor and report instances of anti-Muslim hatred that have helped to inform Government policy and has worked in communities and organisations to provide training for those who support victims.”

“We are choosing to move away from direct funding awards to an open grant process to provide transparency and value for money, in line with standard grant functional standards across government.

This is not a reflection on Tell MAMA’s performance. Tell Mama have worked with government for over 10 years and have delivered an important service in that time.”

We are pleased that the Government has shown continued trust and confidence in our work by approving further funding and we look forward to continuing our important work serving Muslim communities in the UK.

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Categories: anti-Muslim hatred, Funding, Government, Lord Khan of Burnley, News

Teenager charged after rock smashes mosque window while worshippers inside

March 17, 2025 Article

A teenager has been charged after paint was thrown at a mosque and a rock smashed a window while worshippers were inside.

Aberdeen Mosque and Islamic Centre has condemned incidents which happened on Saturday evening.

In the first incident, paint was allegedly thrown at the door and pavement area on Spital and a few hours later a rock came through a window of the mosque.

Police are treating the incident as a hate crime and said a 17-year-old boy has been charged.

Nobody was hurt but those in the building were left shaken.

A mosque spokesperson told the PA news agency: “The rock went through the window and (it) shattered. Everybody was fine but people are a bit shaken.

“It happened at around 9pm while prayers were going on.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Following an investigation into reports of vandalism at a mosque in Spital, Aberdeen, officers have arrested and charged a 17-year-old male. The incident occurred on Saturday 15 March.

“Police are treating the incident as a hate crime.

“The male has been released on an undertaking and will appear at court at a later date.”

In a joint statement on social media, the Mosque and Islamic Centre thanked those who offered support in the aftermath and praised “kind neighbours and worshippers” who united to help clean up the mess.

They said: “We are very grateful to our neighbours and well-wishers in these difficult times.”

They added: “The mosques in Aberdeen would like to assure all members of the community that, in light of these incidents, all the mosques are taking additional security measures as well as being assured of support from the police.

“The police will be performing additional patrols around the mosques during prayer and other busy times.

“We would ask all attendees and worshippers to please be alert and remain vigilant, however, do not be alarmed and continue with your efforts and prayers to gain maximum benefits from this blessed month of Ramadan.”

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Categories: Aberdeen, anti-Muslim hate, Charged, mosque, mosques, News, Teenager

Tell MAMA Makes Intervention to Support Finsbury Park Mosque Staff

March 12, 2025 Article

A butcher has avoided jail after making “extremely threatening” phone calls filled with racist language to the Finsbury Park Mosque that left its caretaker frightened that the place of worship would be attacked.

Lee Harper, 47, made four calls from his own phone number to the north London mosque’s office between 3.30pm and 5pm on January 21.

During the calls, he said “I’m a butcher, I will come around with the boys”, “go back to your Middle East country” and referenced the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court heard on Monday.

The calls left the man who answered the phone, named as Mr Hussein, “extremely frightened and fearful”, according to his impact statement summarised by the prosecution.

Prosecutor Varinder Hayre said Mr Hussein was “fearful of the mosque being attacked as he was the caretaker” and that this was heightened because worshippers including women and children were around the site at the time.

Harper, of Highgate High Street, Hornsey, was sentenced to 10 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 18 months.

District Judge Hina Rai said the calls, three of which were recorded, were “vile, abusive and extremely threatening” and raised the suspended sentence from eight weeks because of Harper’s “racial language”.

Prior to the ruling, Harper’s defence barrister told the court “he’s packed his bags, he’s made arrangements, because he knows full well” a custodial sentence “is a very realistic outcome”.

Judge Rai said Harper, who wore a pale-blue shirt in the dock, embarked on the “clearly targeted” campaign after watching a programme on the Southport killings.

The day after watching it, he drank alcohol at work and left the butcher’s to call the mosque, his defence barrister Daniel Cavaglieri said.

Each call was picked up by Mr Hussein and expletive-filled transcripts were read to the court.

Harper referred to the Mayor of London in one call, saying: “I’m going to come there tonight, arm yourselves because you’ve got no idea what’s coming, because I’ve got nothing to lose, and tell Mr Sadiq Khan f****** hell, he was coming a mile off.”

The butcher said his “mate” was unable to “claim even a little bit” of benefits “because all your brothers have got it”.

“But I will make an example of you, and you will read about me in the paper”, he said.

Harper repeatedly asked the victim for his name before questioning if he was called “Mohammed” or “Hamza”, referring to radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza who Harper claimed he used to see by the mosque.

Hamza led the Finsbury Park Mosque in the 1990s and is serving a life sentence in the US for terrorism offences.

Mr Hussein responded that he had no name and Harper told him he should kill his parents for that.

Police officers attended the butcher’s shop on January 24 and Harper nodded as the allegations were read to him, the court heard.

He was arrested and admitted making the calls but said he “doesn’t adhere to any racist ideologies”, it was told.

His defence barrister said Harper had intermittently struggled with alcohol for several years.

This manifested as “binge drinking when moments get a bit too much for him”, Mr Cavaglieri said.

The lawyer said Harper had shown “genuine remorse” and accepted his calls were “entirely vile”.

Tell MAMA Director, Iman Atta OBE read out a Tell MAMA community impact statement in the court about how anti-Muslim hate aimed at people in institutions can exacerbate wider fears for those who use the mosque in question. The judge also referenced Tell MAMA data on the numbers of anti-Muslim hate cases on an annual basis and Tell MAMA’s work was highlighted by the judge in the sentencing remarks.

Harper, of previous good character, pleaded guilty to one count of sending a message via telephone call that conveyed a threat of serious harm, namely “coming down to a mosque with references to butchering”.

He also admitted two counts of making menacing telephone calls to the Finsbury Park Mosque’s office.

Sentencing him, Judge Rai said the comments “consisted of racist language, derogatory comments and threatened harm”.

She warned of the online “misinformation” after the Southport killings.

False information about the identity of the attacker sparked riots in the UK this summer.

She added: “Finsbury Park Mosque has previously been attacked and this is well known, which will have added to (Mr Hussein’s) fear of reprisals.”

Darren Osborne ploughed a hired van into worshippers gathered near the place of worship in an Islamophobic terror attack on June 19 2017.

Harper was ordered to attend an alcohol treatment programme for three months and told he must carry out five days of rehabilitative activity, as well as 200 hours of unpaid work.

He was also handed a five-year restraining order barring him from contacting or attempting to contact Mr Hussein directly or indirectly, from contacting the mosque, or going within 200 metres of it.

The court was told that anti-Islamophobia reporting service Tell Mama recorded the highest number of “anti-Muslim hate cases” per year in 2024, since their records started in 2011 to 2012.

It heard that a total of 6,313 such cases were reported that year, a 165% rise on 2022.

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Categories: anti-Muslim hate, Finsbury Park Mosque, Highbury Corner Magistrate's Court, Lee Harper, mosques, News, Sentencing

World HIjab Day & Online Anti-Muslim Sentiment

February 2, 2025 Article

‘World Hijab Day’ 2025 has just passed and was on Saturday the 1st of February. The hashtag was #HijabisUnsilenced.

Correspondingly, we have seen anti-Muslim sentiment on some social media platforms, notably ‘X’, where disagreement with such a day, has led to anti-Muslim tropes and sentiment. Sadly, in today’s world, discussions about Hijab and Muslims in general, leads to the circulation of toxic tropes about Muslims. It has become a tedious cycle where themes and topics of discussions about Muslims, turn into racist and anti-Muslim tropes.

Tell MAMA does not take a public position on the ‘World Hijab Day’. Our work is fundamentally based on supporting the victims of anti-Muslim hate, whether that be online or offline, and in monitoring and mapping anti-Muslim hate in the U.K. This work also involves working with police forces across the United Kingdom so that victims can receive access to justice.

We are also mindful and aware that Muslim women who do not wear the Hijab and those perceived to be Muslim, also suffer anti-Muslim prejudice and hate. It is also to be noted, that many of the cases that we received from British Muslims, are from individuals who are visibly Muslim and who wear the Hijab, the Niqab, Muslim prayer caps and cultural clothing such as ‘thobes’.

What we wanted to add is that the volume of anti-Muslim sentiment on platforms such as ‘X’ has worryingly grown and is taking a sharply upward trend. Ultimately, what Muslim (or any) woman wants to wear, is not of anyone’s concern and it is up to the woman’s choice as to how she covers her body – or not.

We are also mindful that some Muslim women in other countries in the world may feel political and social pressures to wear the Hijab, such as in Iran. However, Britain is not Iran and Muslim women in the U.K by enlarge have a choice as to whether they wear the Hijab or not. Which goes back to our central point, that what women choose to wear, or not, is their choice.

Sadly, armchair pundits who sit on platforms like ‘X’ fail to see this basic tenet and some in their defence of ‘saving women’ from wearing the Hijab, spread anti-Muslim tropes and prejudice. We just wish that people think and take a step back before posting comments on social media platforms.

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Categories: #HijabisUnsilenced, anti-Muslim hatred, anti-Muslim tropes, Community Cohesion, Muslim women, News, Opinions, World Hijab Day, X

Tell MAMA’s Survey Finds that 1 in 3 British Muslims are considering leaving the U.K

November 20, 2024 Article

TELL MAMA British Muslim Poll Findings (30th September – 14th October 2024)

The findings of a Tell MAMA and Survation poll with British Muslims carried out 8 weeks after the start of far-right demonstrations after the murder of 3 young girls in Southport, have demonstrated the following:

➢ 1 in 4 British Muslims interviewed online and via the telephone experienced anti-Muslim hate or Islamophobia post July 30th 2024. (This accounted for Islamophobic hate incidents that took place online or at a street level).

➢ 2 in 3 British Muslims surveyed said that the potential of risk and harm to Muslim communities had increased post the 30th of July.

➢ 1 in 3 British Muslims surveyed said that the far-right demonstrations made them consider leaving the U.K. to settle into another country.

➢ 7 in 10 British Muslims surveyed felt that anti-Muslim hate or Islamophobia has become more widespread post the 30th of July.

➢ Nearly 4 in 10 surveyed said that there is a risk to their local mosque from far-right groups and extremists.

The Tell MAMA/Survation survey also found some positive and more optimistic findings after the 30th of July far right demonstrations that took part in various parts of the United Kingdom.

These included:

➢ 1 in 2 British Muslims surveyed said that the recent far right demonstrations (post the 30th of July), made them feel more open about their Muslim identity. This was usually through conversations that they had with friends and colleagues.

➢ 6 in 10 Muslims said that they felt safe in Britain.

These findings highlight growing fears within British Muslim communities and these findings should also be read in conjunction with the Tell MAMA/Survation poll conducted with British Muslims from the 15th of July to the 29th of July 2024. (In this poll, 550 British Muslims were surveyed and the polling took place just before the far right riots that have formed a benchmark for the latest Tell MAMA/Survation No2H8 November campaign poll.)

The recent poll also demonstrates that a substantive number of British Muslims polled feel that their local mosques are at risk from far-right extremist groups. Tell MAMA also understands that the ‘Places of Worship Protective Security Fund’continues to try and meet the security needs of local places of worship such as mosques. (This scheme is administered by the Home Office).

The Tell MAMA/Survation poll also worryingly points to 1 in 3 British Muslims seeking to leave the U.K. and to move to other countries. These findings do demonstrate that local police forces, local authorities, local political leaders, national government and statutory authorities all have a role in re-assuring local faith communities such as Muslim communities, particularly around their safety and security.

Of particular concern is that 7 in 10 British Muslims who were polled say that anti-Muslim hate or Islamophobia has become more widespread post the 30th of July demonstrations.

Finally, it is also clear that the recent far right demonstrations have added to a sense in about half of the British Muslim polled, that they are willing to assert their Muslim identity in a more open and transparent manner, rather than shying away from asserting this part of their identity. This is an interesting and heartening finding and also points somewhat as a reaction to anti-Muslim commentary and actions by far-right groups.

Speaking on the findings of the Tell MAMA/Survation poll, the Director of Tell MAMA said:

“The poll findings demonstrate that anti-Muslim hate or Islamophobia is having significant impacts on Britain’s Muslim communities. The findings show that much more work needs to be undertaken in re-assuring Britain’s Muslim communities and in supporting the social cohesion in our local areas. The findings should be a wake-up call for Central Government.

In the weeks since the riots at the end of July, Tell Mama has been inundated with calls from members of the public who have been shouted at aggressively and threatened to be killed, some have been spat at and assaulted. There has also been an increase in online reports including calls to burn down mosques, calls for mass migration and calls for Muslims and migrants to be killed.

Tell MAMA continues to support the victims of anti-Muslim hate or Islamophobia in a number of ways since 2011. We help them report incidents to Police or work with employers when incidents occur in the workplace. We are an ‘always-on’ service for those who need us both in terms of practical, legal and emotional support.

But there must now be a laser like focus from the government on preventing the causes of anti-Muslim and Islamophobia. We must see Central Government acknowledge that much more work needs to be done in re-assuring British Muslim communities and in making real long-term commitments to challenging such hate”.

NOTES

Survation (on behalf of Tell MAMA), contacted 750 members of the Muslim communities in the UK – online or by telephone between 30 September 2024 and 14 October 2024.

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Categories: anti-Muslim hate, British Muslims, Leaving U.K, mosques, News, poll, Survation, Survey