The Rise of Islamophobia in London
UK hate crimes surge following the escalations of genocide on Palestine
"Do you know anyone over there who could release the hostages?"
The question lingered in the air silently, unlike the thunderous airstrikes bombing Gaza at that very same moment.
The Synagogue trustee beckoned the question accusingly to a group of Muslims in London, half-way around the world from the Middle East and completely unrelated to the actions of Hamas.
Shocked and stunned for words stood AbdulMaalik Tailor, who was part of the group the question was addressed to.
“I was completely taken aback thinking - what do we have a speed-dial button to Hamas or something?”
AbdulMaalik Tailor, Director of Halal Tourism Britain, on his Muslim History bus tour in London.
AbdulMaalik Tailor, Director of Halal Tourism Britain, on his Muslim History bus tour in London.
On October 24 Tailor and other Muslims were awaiting a faith group training session ironically on the topic of “hate crimes”, led by the Police at Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea town hall, when they were approached with this Islamophobic line of enquiry.
“It was hurtful, why are we being held responsible for somebody else’s actions?
Tailor's experience of Islamophobia is sadly not unique. He likened it to Keir Starmer’s social media post where he called for hostages to be freed at a Cardiff mosque.
The TV presenter Richard Madeley similarly asked a British-Palestinian MP if she knew that Hamas were going to attack before they did. Madeley later apologised for his comments.
The hostages in question refer to the events of October 7 when Hamas took Israeli hostages and Israel began a sustained bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
The history of the region did not begin on October 7 however, but rather this is the latest escalation in a 75-year-long Israeli occupation of Palestine.
This year’s Islamophobia Awareness Month, which takes place every November, was foregrounded by a 140% surge in hate crime between October 1 and 18.
Tell MAMA, an organisation which measures Anti-Muslim hate crime, released that the number of incidents have tripled figures from October last year, with 98 cases reported within six days between October 7 and October 12 2023.
Tell MAMA also recorded 895 anti-Muslim cases in the six weeks that followed Hamas’s attacks.
There was a six-fold increase in cases from October 7 to November 19 compared to the 2022 figure of 142 cases (110 offline, 32 online).
The level of Islamophobia Muslims are currently facing has been likened to that experienced following 9/11, with many involving overtly racist behaviour, dehumanising slurs and targeting communities in public and private homes.
One Islamophobic case reported to Tell MAMA involved a Palestinian Muslim family who had “Killers Terrorists” daubed on their front door and similarly a Palestinian restaurant in London has received daily death threats.
Muslim women have also reported that they are afraid to wear their headscarves after being publicly harassed on trains and streets for being visibly Muslim, with one woman even having a concrete slab thrown at her head in Yorkshire.
Director of Tell MAMA, Iman Atta OBE said: “I urge people who have been targeted by anti-Muslim hate to report to us so that they do not suffer in silence.
“We should never allow such hatred and intolerance to take root in our communities and at this time, please look out for each other, whether Muslim or Jewish."
Anti-Semitic hates crimes in London have also risen by 1,350% and this stark rise is apparent because there was significantly less anti-Semitic cases this time last year and the Jewish population in the city is only around 2.06%.
The population of Muslims in London is approximately 15%, making it the second largest religious group in the capital, and the level of Islamophobia faced has been consistently high over the years.
According to Home Office data, two in five of all religious hate crime offences were targeted against Muslims as of March 2023, making Muslims the most targeted faith group.
In March 2021, 45% of all recorded religious hate crime offences in England & Wales were targeted against Muslims, and in March 2019, 47% of all recorded religious hate crime offences in England & Wales were targeted against Muslims.
MCB Secretary-General, Zara Mohammed, has said:
“This past month, we have witnessed a troubling surge in Islamophobic rhetoric and attacks. This situation has been exacerbated by media commentators peddling deeply Islamophobic narratives and misinformation online. Some have gone so far as to depict Muslims in the guise of ‘death cults’ and individuals pursuing ‘bloodlust.’
The map above shows that the highest amount of hate crimes took place in London, with 69 cases in the six weeks that followed October 7, as the population of Muslims is higher in the capital.
The pie chart above breaks down the different types of hate crimes recorded with abusive behaviour being the highest.
A more recent example of Islamophobia was carried against West London mosque in September 2023 which was was broken into and set on fire.
Two more mosques in Ealing were vandalised in early November by a biker who allegedly smeared red paint all over their gates.
Acton Mosque in Oldham, Ealing, West London was targeted a total of four times.
Aizul Haque, senior trustee of Acton Mosque said: “It is very sad and dangerous because we have children coming to the mosque to learn the Quran.
“Acton Mosque is full of law-abiding citizens. We try to help people as much as we can, and we do not criticise any other religion.
“But we try to treat them equally to our own attendees, so it is very alarming that we have been targeted.”
Ezzeitouna Masjid in East Acton was also sprayed with similar paint at least twice, with the most recent incident on November 5.
A Syrian café, PistaHoney (aka Al Baghajati) was another victim of the vandalism on October 23.
The Palestinian Embassy in London was also vandalised by a bike using similar paint on October 18.
Local Labour MP Rupa Huq of Ealing Central and Acton added: "There is no place for hate crime in our tolerant borough.
"The Middle East situation has wide implications for so many communities in Ealing. We need to dial down tensions at a time like this."
On November 27, the police arrested a 61-year-old man in Ealing on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage after red paint was thrown or sprayed at the locations.
The offences took place in the boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham, and Ealing on 12 separate occasions between October 16 and November 18.
The man was taken into custody where he remains.
Detective Superintendent Figo Forouzan, leading the investigation, said: “Hate crime has no place in London. Its effects run far deeper than property damage, and the impact on victims can linger beyond the removal of the paint. Officers have been working incredibly hard to identify the individual responsible for these offences and provide the relevant support and reassurance to those affected.
“The victims are being supported by dedicated faith officers and neighbourhood teams have changed their patrol times and routes to provide additional reassurance.”
Caught Red-Handed
Vandal on bike
Footage captured from one of the mosques shows the alleged perpetrator on a bike who had masked their face under a helmet and struck past 1am.
Paint splattered
Here is a video of the sprayed paint left behind all across the windows outside of Ezzeitouna Masjid in East Acton before it was cleaned off.
Aftermath
The aftermath of red paint splattered all over the gates and inside the entrance of Acton Mosque, filmed by a committee member.
What is Islamophobia?
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) defines Islamophobia as “rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.”
Within this definition the group highlighted many contemporaneous examples of Islamophobia, here are a few of the most relevant ones...
Photo Source: Unsplash via shorthand.com
Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan, 29, UK author of ‘Tangled in Terror: Uprooting Islamophobia’ said: “Islamophobia is more than just an interpersonal prejudice, but a historical phenomenon that is rooted in racism, stems from and is interconnected to colonialism and orientalism.
Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan. Photo credit: Phelan Chatterjee
Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan. Photo credit: Phelan Chatterjee
“It is a set of tropes and narratives about Muslims that characterises us as barbaric, backward, other, patriarchal and those narratives are used and upheld through institutions, processes, states, media, in order for geo-political beneficiaries to benefit.”
“Islamophobia is the face of racism and colonialism that has always existed, it’s not exceptional”
Click here to listen to an exclusive sound clip of Suhaiymah Manzoor Khan addressing the question of condemnation of Hamas.
How does Islamophobia manifest itself in relation to Palestine?
Manzoor-Khan said: “Islamophobia is one of the tools that is weaponised and used to perpetuate and endorse the genocide of Palestinians.”
She referenced the Islamophobic way in which Palestinians have been dehumanised by the Israeli Defence Minister as “human animals”, as well as the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu who said his forces are ready “to exterminate the bloody monsters”.
She explained that this type of language has been used to justify the ‘collective punishment’ of an entire population of largely children, due to the actions of a few who have been responding to Israeli state violence.
UK Politicians responses to Palestinian activism
Suella Braverman
Suella Braverman referred to the Pro-Palestinian protests as "hate marches" and even suggested that waving a flag or chanting should be treated as a criminal offence in a statement to senior Police officers.
Braverman was criticised for writing an opinion piece for The Times of London, where she blamed the police for “playing favourites” and for taking a lenient stance towards pro-Palestinian protests. She later lost her job as UK Home Secretary because of this, as it stirred up violence and tensions from far-right groups.
In response to Braverman's comments towards the Palestine protests, Manzoor-Khan said: “I’m unsurprised, it’s disgraceful but it is simply a continuation of the coercive censorship that has been going on now for almost two decades or more.
“It is just the classic irony of the British state’s desire to parade itself as caring about liberal values such as democracy, free-speech etc, but consistently weaponising and applying these in a really unjust way.
“Such that waving a Palestinian flag is somehow violent yet expressing sympathy with Ukrainians when they were being occupied by the Russian state was deemed something really important, good and in fact a British value and to critique it in any way was deemed an issue.”
“A long time coloniser will support another long-term colonising state and we must not forget that Israel is of course the creation of British Empire, so there’s no surprises there.”
As Britain's first professionally qualified Muslim tour guide and founder of Muslim History Tours, AbdulMaalik Tailor was able to give an insight into the history of the Palestinian flag, which he noted was designed by Sir Mark Sykes, official of the British Foreign Office (hence why so many Middle Eastern flags still contain similar colours and designs today).
Tailor said: “So if you now want to say that the Palestinian flag is support for terrorism, does that mean the British government are aiding it because the flag came from the British government?”
Kier Starmer
Keir Starmer’s position against calling for a ceasefire has also isolated Muslim voters, which typically provided a stronghold for the Labour Party.
A recent survey conducted by Muslim Census found a drop of 66% in potential Labour votes, from 71% to just 5%.
Keir Starmer has also been criticised for his social media post where he called for hostages to be freed at a Cardiff mosque.
I was grateful to hear from the Muslim community of the South Wales Islamic Centre.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) October 22, 2023
I repeated our calls for all hostages to be released, more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, for the water and power to be switched back on, and a renewed focus on the two state solution. pic.twitter.com/CkyPDDnXtp
Starmer was later accused of misrepresenting Cardiff mosque.
NEW: South Wales Islamic Centre, where @Keir_Starmer held a photo op on Saturday, have released a statement expressing their dismay at a social media post by the Labour leader, accusing him of "gravely" misrepresenting congregants and the nature of the visit. pic.twitter.com/VVxomHhULP
— Taj Ali (@Taj_Ali1) October 24, 2023
Photo Credit: Kier Starmer, Flickr
Zarah Sultana
Muslim Labour MP Zarah Sultana recently called for an independent review on Islamophobia within the Labour party.
For Islamophobia Awareness Month, I spoke to @AyoCaesar about my experience as a British Muslim in politics.
— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) November 19, 2023
Islamophobia exists in society, including in the Labour Party.
If we’re serious about tackling it, we need an independent review on Islamophobia within the Labour Party. https://t.co/fqVWeoaH17
Photo credit: lozzom, Flickr
The UK Media reporting on Israel-Palestine
🚨59% of all articles associated Muslims with negative behaviour and 43% of all broadcast clips associated Muslims with negative behaviour.
— MCB (@MuslimCouncil) November 10, 2023
With the current conflict and negative media around Muslims, Islamaphobic attacks are on the rise - making Muslims vulnerable and the most… pic.twitter.com/F10OVjqHxS
In a damning letter BBC journalists wrote to Al-Jazeera, the British broadcast company was accused of bias in humanising Israeli victims compared with Palestinians and omitting key historical context from coverage.
Staff have even been reportedly resorting to crying in the bathrooms and having to take time off work due to distress caused by the broadcaster's bias.
The Centre for Media Monitoring has also pointed out other outlets favouring Israel by using the loaded term “killed” in relation to Israelis but a neutral term “died” for Palestinians.
The "Killed" &"Dead" binary continues this time @SkyNews #Israelis are "killed", #Palestinians just diehttps://t.co/hFLoVvI7oC… pic.twitter.com/XIcTH0uJOc
— Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM) (@cfmmuk) October 13, 2023
According to the @BBCNews Israel "operates" not bombs or terrorises.
— Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM) (@cfmmuk) November 22, 2023
Similarly #Palestinian children captives by Israel are upgraded to "teenagers" #Israel =Hostages#Palestnians= Detainees pic.twitter.com/NPsIJFFjyu
When Palestinian activists are aired on TV broadcasts they are also repeatedly asked whether they condemn Hamas.
Manzoor-Khan added: “The question around condemnation is simply a manifestation of the very belief that all Muslims are inherently violent, but more than that the reason this is Islamophobic is because it ascribes violence to every single Muslim by nature or essence and alludes to this global web network of terrorists.
“That kind of reporting deliberately diverts the entire field of the conversation so that is is a conversation about whether Hamas are or not correct, when in fact that is a complete marginalised point from the real conversation about the genocidal occupation of Palestine for about 75 years that was begun by the British Empire and is an outcome of colonisation and nothing but that.”
The suppression of Pro-Palestinian activism
From Conservative MP Paul Bristow being fired for calling for a ceasefire to a TFL driver being suspended over chanting “Free Palestine”, the government is clearly cracking down on any Pro-Palestinian sentiments.
Muslamic Makers conducted a Pulse Survey which found that over 3/4 of those surveyed do not feel safe expressing their views on the Middle East at work (76%), with reasons including fear of Islamophobic repercussions.
Manzoor-Khan said: “It is very clear that there is a hostile environment around opposing a genocide.
“There’s a particular characterisation of people who express solidarity with Palestinians as being themselves inherently somehow worse than a genocidal state.”
She explained that the characterisation of Muslims as inherently violent terrorists has also led to Islamophobic surveillance in the West through counter-terrorism policies such as “Prevent”.
Amnesty International deemed Prevent “incompatible with human rights” early this month.
Aryam Marafi, 22, Pro-palestinain activist recalled experiencing Islamophobia a year ago for supporting Palestinians.
She said: “I have been called a "terrorist" and accused of supporting terrorism for merely sharing photos of Palestinian children killed by Israel in the West Bank (where Hamas does not exist).
Islamophobia in response to Palestinian activism is nothing new...
Leanne Mohamed, 23, British Palestinian activist, has been experiencing online abuse since a young teenager.
Her activism journey began seven years ago at the age of just 15 when she was nominated by her English teacher to take part in the Jack Petchey Speak Out challenge at the largest speaking competition for young people in the world.
As the granddaughter of 1948 Nakba (catastrophe) survivors, she chose to speak about something that she truly had a passion for; Palestine. Her speech, titled ‘Birds not Bombs’ won first place at the Redbridge Regional Final in June 2016.
Her aim was to spread the message of the reality of Palestine and the ongoing hardships her people face on a day to day basis, including her family who were forcibly displaced from their homes in Haifa, Palestine by Zionist militias on May 15 1948, before ending up as refugees in Lebanon.
Leanne Mohamad said: "It is important to remember Britain's historic role in the catastrophe that was imposed upon the Palestinian people, my family included. Britain should acknowledge its complicity in Palestinian oppression, dating back to the Balfour Declaration of 1917. It was not an innocent bystander; its foreign policies laid the groundwork for the Nakba and its impact today. "
The Nakba is our open wound that hasn’t healed, and it's one of the greatest social injustices of our time.
After winning the competition, she was extremely proud of her achievement but, after her video had gone viral, this happy moment was then hijacked by online Islamophobic trolls who were out there to discredit her. They bombarded her school twitter, which had to be shut down, and created videos that labelled her as "the good little ISIS girl".
She was subjected to a continuous barrage of online abusive comments as well as videos referring to her as a 15-year-old "suicide bomber", "an ISIS recruiter who needs to be burnt alive", to an "evil anti-Semitic KKK Nazi school girl" who needs to be jailed permanently (the list goes on). This further became a police matter and although all the advice was to simply just shut her twitter down, Leanne said she was not ready to lose.
Despite the abuse, the hashtag of #LetLeanneSpeak went viral and she received immense support overwhelmingly from so many people that she didn’t know.
Although Leanne still to this day receives some hateful and Islamophobic comments, she has become more determined in her activism in spite of it.
"With pain comes learning and with the support of my family and my friends - I rose to the challenge, I was determined not to fall, they were not going to win and it's proved that they helped me to be heard as far and beyond as I could imagine, so thank you. No one will ever silence me and I will continue to shout louder about the plight of my people. "
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