Anti-Muslim hate incidents in UK hit record high in 2024 due to Israel-Gaza war
The number of anti-Muslim hate incidents and acts in the UK rose to a record high in 2024, according to data compiled by monitoring group Tell MAMA, which said the Gaza war had "excessively fuelled" anti-Muslim hate on social media.
The number of anti-Muslim hate incidents and acts in the UK rose to a record high in 2024, according to data compiled by monitoring group Tell MAMA, which said the Gaza war had "excessively fuelled" anti-Muslim hate on social media.
The organization said in a statement that it confirmed 5,837 cases of anti-Muslim hate speech - a mix of online and in-person incidents - last year, compared to 3,767 cases in the previous year, 2023, and 2,201 in 2022.
The collection of information by Tell MAMA began in 2012 and is carried out under an information-sharing agreement with police forces in England and Wales.
"The Middle East conflict has fueled a surge in online hate speech against Muslims," the organization said in a statement, adding that "the Israeli war on Gaza, the killings and riots in Southport... led to a spike in Islamophobic incidents reported to Tell MAMA from 2023-2024."
Tell MAMA Director, Iman Atta, said the increase is unacceptable and raises serious concerns about the future.
Tell MAMA, which stands for Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks, describes itself as an independent, non-governmental organization working to combat anti-Muslim hatred.
According to the organization, the increase in anti-Muslim hate incidents stemming from the spread of Islamophobia has also been linked to the murder of three girls in the northern English town of Southport last summer, when false information was spread on social media that the perpetrator, who has since been serving a 52-year prison sentence, was a radical Muslim immigrant, leading to racist riots involving far-right and anti-immigration groups in the UK.
