UK Muslims call for action against Islamophobia

Muslims are calling for action from the British government after a nearly 600% rise in Islamophobic hate crimes in the UK following last month’s New Zealand terrorist attacks.

Muslims are calling for action from the British government after a nearly 600% rise in Islamophobic hate crimes in the UK following last month’s New Zealand terrorist attacks.

“The issue of Islamophobia isn’t an abstract issue anymore,” said Mohamed Mahmoud, the imam of the East London Mosque.

“Certain individuals from certain parties have said before that there is a perception among the Muslim community that Islamophobia exists within certain parties,” Mahmoud told Anadolu Agency.

“It can’t be the case that 3 million Muslims all falsely perceive something, and the reality is that Islamophobia has been proven to be a concerted effort, a campaign not of merely inciting hatred but of inciting violence and encouraging it against Muslims in the UK, in Europe and as far as New Zealand.”

Mahmoud said the community is worried that there will be copycat attacks following last month’s attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 51 worshippers and wounding dozens more.