Online Resources on Anti-Muslim Bias Incidents

Islamophobia is a problem, but many people still don’t know that. Prejudice and discrimination on the basis of (perceived) religious identity is something many Muslims have dealt with, but incidents of anti-Muslim prejudice and discrimination “” not to mention broader statistics “” aren’t widely publicized. In our piece, “Attacks Against Muslims You Haven’t Heard About,” we shed light on recent instances of Islamophobia in the U.S.

But that’s only part of the picture. Islamophobia is a problem in other countries too.

Here we bring together online resources that catalogue anti-Muslim bias incidents. This list, which includes reports from the UK, France, Canada, and Europe generally, will grow as new data becomes available.

EUROPE-WIDE

Islamophobic Crimes Up in Some European Countries. According to the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), “Islamophobic crimes are on the increase in France, England and Wales.” Their report found that in 2013 “Muslim women are more likely to be victims of Islamophobic crimes and these crimes are often physical and very violent.” The report also details official numbers of crimes against Muslims, as well as complaints, from other European countries. Read the full report , and read coverage from Newsweek here.

UNITED KINGDOM

2014 to 2015: Hate crimes against Muslims soar in London A report released from TellMAMA, the U.K.-based group that monitors attacks against Muslims, found that there were 816 Islamophobic attacks against Muslims in London between July 2014 and July 2015. That is a 70% rise in attacks compared to the 478 attacks reported in London during the previous 12 months. Read more here, and share TellMAMA’s infographic.

Attacks Against Muslims Spiked After “˜Jihadi’ Attacks. A 2014 study from Teesside University found that spikes in hate crimes against UK Muslims occurred in the wake of “jihadi” attacks in Paris, Sydney, and Copenhagen. The study also found that media coverage Read the Guardian’s coverage of the report’s findings here.

Hate crimes in London, 2012-2014. According to the U.K.-based monitoring organization, TellMAMA, anti-Muslim hate crimes increased in London between mid-2012 to mid-2014. Based on Metropolitan Police data, TellMAMA’s analysis found that a large spike in incidents occurred after the murder of Lee Rigby by a Muslim in 2013, and that a steady increase also continued through 2014. Check out their infographic here.

Racially and religiously aggravated attacks up in England and Wales. In 2013 and 2014, attacks based on racial or religious bias went up. Though the report does not separate out attacks against Muslims from attacks against other religious communities, much of the increase occurred after the murder of Lee Rigby, indicating that many of the attacks were retribution against Muslims for Rigby’s murder by a Muslim. See the report here.

FRANCE

Early 2015 Worse than Early 2014 for Islamophobia Attacks. The Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) found that in the first half of 2015 Islamophobic attacks went up, when compared to the same six month period in 2014. Most reported incidents were instances of institutional discrimination, and the victims were usually women. Instances of physical and verbal violence increased drastically by 500% and 100%, respectively, compared to 2014, and mosque vandalisms went up 400%. Read the full report here.

Two Days after Charlie Hebdo, 15 Attacks. TellMAMA logged 15 major attacks against Muslims and Muslim institutions in France. See their infographic here.

2014 Saw a Rise in French Anti-Muslim Acts. The Collective Against Islamophobia (CCIF) in France noted an increase in attacks against Muslims, from 691 in 2013 to 764 in 2014. It found that cases of institutional discrimination were most common, and that women were more likely than men to be the victim of these acts. You can read about the methodology and the report’s full findings here. Also check out coverage of the report in Middle East Eye. CCIF also provides an interactive map documenting anti-Muslim acts, and the collective’s from previous years.

CANADA

2013: Hate Crimes Against Muslims Up. According to Canadian police statistics, hate crimes committed on the basis of a victim’s religion went down, except for Muslims. Hate crimes against Muslims went up 44% between 2012 and 2013. You can read the report at Statistics Canada here. Additional coverage of the numbers can be found here.

Interactive Map of Recent Incidents The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) has created an interactive map to track reported anti-Muslim incidents across Canada. The resource compiles alleged or confirmed hate crimes, along with hate incidents reported to police, the media, or NCCM, from 2013, 2014, and 2015.

UNITED STATES

2014: Reported bias incidents go up in California. The California offices of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) recently released a report document incidents of anti-Muslim bias in 2014. They found that “reports of bias incidents nearly doubled between 2013 (63) and 2014 (115.)” Read the full report here.