Tell MAMA: Most Islamophobic attackers are white men
London, England - Anti-Muslim attacks in the UK rose 47 percent in 2016 compared with the previous year, according to a new report released by Tell MAMA, a hate crime monitor.
The attacks were largely levelled at Muslim women - 56 percent of victims of 642 incidents were female. Sixty-six percent of perpetrators were male, and 69 percent were white men. Victims came from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.
Although not all Muslim women wear clothing that identifies them as followers of the Islamic faith, those who don the headscarf, face veil, robe and other garments are disproportionately targeted of gendered Islamophobia, said the report, which was released on Thursday.
Coming from an ethnic minority background, being female and Muslim has created a brand of Islamophobia with an "intersectional nature", crossing boundaries of gender, race and religion, Tell MAMA said.
In the week following the EU referendum vote, the charity reported a 475 percent spike in anti-Muslim attacks, a jump also witnessed after the Tower Bridge attacks.
"One major driver of Islamophobia is the way certain sections of the media have reported on Muslims," Miqdaad Versi, assistant general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), told Al Jazeera.
"When commentators use terms like 'The Muslim Problem', it reinforces this narrative and all the differences that have been identified which perpetuate stereotypes and reify the good/bad Muslim dichotomy. That way it's much easier to believe it is acceptable to treat them differently."
Events that lead to Muslims being portrayed as "the problem", include attacks and an ongoing discussion on halal meat being branded as animal cruelty.
"[This] has created this idea that Muslims are the 'other'. The government needs to take serious action to tackle hate crime against all communities in an equal and proportionate manner, which as it stands right now, is not the case," Versi said.
Tell MAMA: Most Islamophobic attackers are white men | England News | Al Jazeera
London, England - Anti-Muslim attacks in the UK rose 47 percent in 2016 compared with the previous year, according to a new report released by Tell MAMA, a hate crime monitor.
The attacks were largely levelled at Muslim women - 56 percent of victims of 642 incidents were female. Sixty-six percent of perpetrators were male, and 69 percent were white men. Victims came from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.
Although not all Muslim women wear clothing that identifies them as followers of the Islamic faith, those who don the headscarf, face veil, robe and other garments are disproportionately targeted of gendered Islamophobia, said the report, which was released on Thursday.
Coming from an ethnic minority background, being female and Muslim has created a brand of Islamophobia with an "intersectional nature", crossing boundaries of gender, race and religion, Tell MAMA said.
In the week following the EU referendum vote, the charity reported a 475 percent spike in anti-Muslim attacks, a jump also witnessed after the Tower Bridge attacks.
"One major driver of Islamophobia is the way certain sections of the media have reported on Muslims," Miqdaad Versi, assistant general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), told Al Jazeera.
"When commentators use terms like 'The Muslim Problem', it reinforces this narrative and all the differences that have been identified which perpetuate stereotypes and reify the good/bad Muslim dichotomy. That way it's much easier to believe it is acceptable to treat them differently."
Events that lead to Muslims being portrayed as "the problem", include attacks and an ongoing discussion on halal meat being branded as animal cruelty.
"[This] has created this idea that Muslims are the 'other'. The government needs to take serious action to tackle hate crime against all communities in an equal and proportionate manner, which as it stands right now, is not the case," Versi said.
Tell MAMA: Most Islamophobic attackers are white men | England News | Al Jazeera
