Vandalism, taunts and hijabs torn off: Muslim leaders in UK say hate crime hitting new levels

Burned cars and boarded-up houses after racist riots on the streets of Belfast in early June. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Burned cars and boarded-up houses after racist riots on the streets of Belfast in early June. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images Vandalism, taunts and hijabs torn off: Muslim leaders in UK say hate crime hitting new levels Ministers accused of being more hesitant to respond as Reform has risen in polls, due to fear of ‘saying wrong thing’ D uring the May local elections in England , a canvasser was out in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham campaigning for her party. At one doorstep, the occupant asked if she was Muslim. When she said yes, he told her she should be hanged. It is one of dozens of stories that Akeela Ahmed, head of the British Muslim Trust (BMT), the government’s official partner for monitoring anti-Muslim hatred, has heard in recent weeks. UK mosques advised to run lockdown drills amid fears of anti-Muslim attacks Read more Ahmed said the scale of anti-Muslim hatred in Britain had yet to properly register with much of the public and political class, and admitted she had been shocked by what she had heard while travelling across the country. “We’re in an unprecedented situation since the Southport riots of 2024,” Ahmed said. “My parents suffered racism in the late 70s and early 80s after coming to this country. The violence we’re seeing now really reminds me of that kind of racism, but this is also another level.” View image in fullscreen Ahmed rejects the idea that communities should retreat from public life. Photograph: Akeela Ahmed Her concerns are echoed by Muslim leaders across the UK, who describe a growing sense of fear, as well as mounting frustration that an increase in attacks has not been matched by what they see as a coordinated response from government, police, the media and other institutions. For many, the official response to the attack in Edinburgh last weekend, in which five people were injured after a man began attacking people near a mosque, crystallised those concerns. A man has since been charged with five counts of attempted murder aggravated by a terrorist connection. Keir Starmer told parliament the attack appeared to have been motivated by anti-Muslim hatred. The broadcaster Mishal Husain was among those who questioned the level of attention the attack initially received from the press, while at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, the independent MP Shockat Adam asked Starmer why a Cobra meeting had not been called. View image in fullscreen Shockat Adam at PMQs on Wednesday. Photograph: UNPIXS/HOUSE OF COMMONS Anti-Muslim hate crime in England and Wales rose by 19% in the 12 months to March 2025 . Last year, over a three-month period, Ahmed’s team documented 27 attacks against 25 mosques in 23 different parts of the country. In Scotland, Muslims were the target of nearly a third of religious hate crime. In the past six months alone, incidents have