The latest statistics from Avon and Somerset Police show that the number of reported hate crime incidents against Muslims has doubled in the last year. While not all race-based hate crimes may be reported as an attack on a person’s faith, a local charity which supports victims of hate crimes has seen a rise in reports from Muslim clients over the last seven months with people of the Muslim faith making up over a third of all their clients.
Between 2022 and 2023, Avon and Somerset had 35 incidents where the victim reporting a hate crime was targeted as a result of their Muslim faith. This year the figures provided by Avon and Somerset Police on reported Islamophobia has risen to 76 across the region.
Stand Up Against Racism and Inequality (SARI) which supports victims of hate crimes in Bristol and surrounding rural areas found that in the last year 33 per cent of their clients were from a Muslim background. This is despite the Muslim population being 6-7 per cent in Bristol and less than 0.5 per cent in most rural areas they cover.
“We’ve seen a high level of distressing reports of anti-Muslim hate coming in since the tragic killings in Southport. These include hijabs being ripped off and ridiculed; children being verbally racially abused and threatened; people being physically attacked including punched in the face, and some have sustained serious injuries,” explained Alex Raikes, the Chief Executive Officer of SARI.
“Incidents have happened on the street, in parks, at school, at work and in and around the home and we have seen incidents of Islamophobia happening in all the authority areas we cover from urban areas such as Bristol to our more rural market towns and villages in Somerset. When it’s children being attacked, imagine having to explain to your child that the reason they’re being targeted is because someone, despite not knowing them, hates them for their faith.
“Islamophobia thrives on misinformation, fear, and prejudice,” continued Alex. “Unfortunately, certain sections of the media and politicians stoke this, painting Islam as a threat.
“This is simply not the case. When you have mainstream politicians and media outlets both normalising and fuelling Islamophobia, it is all the more important to speak out against it.
“At SARI, we celebrate the diversity of the communities we work in, with their many faiths, languages and nationalities. We know the immense contributions that Muslims make to our city.
“We need to remember that the majority of hate crimes go unreported, what we’re seeing is the tip of the iceberg, with many people in our communities living in fear of being targeted for their Muslim faith. If you experience anti-Muslim hate, please report it to SARI.
“We can support you through what is happening, advocate with you, and help you feel safe in your community. You don’t have to report incidents to the police to get support from SARI – that is your choice. Most importantly, you don’t have to suffer in silence,” she added.
The Home Office Statistics reveal a 13 per cent rise in Islamophobic incidents in the UK this year where we have seen rioters attacking hotels where people seeking asylum are placed by the Home office. There have also been reports from the charity Tell MAMA that the UK has seen an increase in Islamophobia since the October 7 Hamas attacks and the subsequent Israeli bombing of Palestinians in Gaza, the majority of whom are Muslim.
Chief Inspector Karen Corrigan, lead for hate crime within Avon and Somerset Police, said: “There is no place for any form of hate crime in society and we encourage people to report any and all incidents to us to allow us to carry out a full and thorough investigation. Between November and October 2022-23, we had 35 reported incidents in Bristol, which rose to 76 incidents for the same period in 2023-24.
“This makes up 2.6% of all hate crime reports for Bristol in the past 12 months, with 2,874 reports between 23-24. It is widely acknowledged that hate crime in general is an area that is vastly under-reported, so seeing the number of reports rising over the past few years is in some ways encouraging, showing more people have trust and confidence in policing to report it to us.
“We welcome this increase and remain dedicated to rebuilding trust and confidence with our communities in order to continue to see more reports.We continue to work with our partners to tackle hate crime in our communities as well as preventing future incidents by building on our existing educational outreach in schools and youth clubs.
“In the past year there has been an increase of over 20% in reporting of hate crime in Avon and Somerset. Reports peaked following the public disorder we experienced in the summer, with 677 reports made in August alone, 70% of which were racial in nature.
“Recognising the alarm and fear that many in our minoritised communities were experiencing during this time, and to try and counter much of the disinformation and misinformation that was circulating online, we opened direct lines of communication with community and religious leaders, to ensure they were regularly updated on the facts and our operational plans, an approach which helped to reassure and calm the public.
“We continue to engage with our community and religious leaders and partners, to ensure they know how to report concerns. We are also working closely with our staff networks, including the newly established Association of Muslim Police for Avon and Somerset, to support our colleagues who face unique forms of hate due to their profession and heritage.
“We recognise that every hate crime has a massive impact on the victim and the wider community, which is why we encourage people to come forward and report hate crimes to us. They can do this by calling us on either our emergency 999 line if there is risk of someone coming to harm, our 101 non-emergency line or via our website at www.avonandsomserset.police.uk/report ”