There has been a marked shift towards more serious offline incidents such as physical attacks, threatening behaviour and abuse more generally.
This is according to Tell MAMA’s annual report 2017; Beyond the Incident – Outcomes for Victims of Anti-Muslim Prejudice (pdf), which shows the highest level of recorded Islamophic incidents since its launch in 2012.
Key points include:
- In 2017, Tell MAMA recorded 1,201 incidents that were verified as being anti-Muslim or Islamophobic in nature.
- More than two-thirds of verified incidents occurred offline, a 30% rise in offline reports.
- There is a 16.3% rise in online incidents compared to 2016.
- There has been a 56% increase in anti-Muslim vandalism since 2016.
- There has been evidence of ‘Twitter bots’ promoting direct anti-Muslim hatred, some of which originate from Russia.
General recommendations include:
- Perpetrators are more likely to act in spaces where they feel they can act with impunity, so preventative measures should be implemented accordingly
- The government and media outlets must consider how their choice of language influences wider public discourse.
- Additional support and resources need to be allocated to organisations for staff training.
- Members of the public should not underestimate their role in challenging Islamophobia and showing support for victims.
Shahid Malik, Chair of Tell MAMA said:
We must now redouble our efforts collectively to push back against the hate that threatens our values based on human rights.