logo
Israel-Gaza war fuels record level of anti-Muslim hatred in Britain, monitoring group says

Israel-Gaza war fuels record level of anti-Muslim hatred in Britain, monitoring group says

Reuters19-02-2025

LONDON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The number of anti-Muslim incidents in Britain rose to a new high in 2024, according to data compiled by monitoring organisation Tell MAMA, which said the war in Gaza had "super-fuelled" online hate.
Tell MAMA said it verified 5,837 anti-Muslim hate cases - a mix of both online and in-person incidents - last year, compared with 3,767 cases the year before and 2,201 in 2022.
The organisation's data goes back to 2012 and is compiled using data-sharing agreements with police forces in England and Wales.
"The Middle East conflict super-fuelled online anti-Muslim hate," the group said in a statement, adding that "the Israel and Gaza War, the Southport murders and riots ... created a surge in anti-Muslim hate cases reported to Tell MAMA from 2023-2024".
Its director Iman Atta described the surge as unacceptable and deeply concerning for the future.
Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) describes itself as an independent, non-governmental organisation which works on tackling anti-Muslim hatred.
Separate data last week showed levels of hatred towards Jews across Britain have also rocketed to record levels in the wake of the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.
The surge in hate incidents against Muslims due to Islamophobia has also been linked to the killing of three young girls in the northern English town of Southport last summer, Tell MAMA said.
False reports spread on social media that the killer, who has since been sentenced to at least 52 years behind bars, was a radical Islamist migrant, leading to racist riots involving far-right and anti-immigration groups across the country.
"We urge the public to stand together against hatred and extremism, and we urge those in positions of influence and public authority to consider how their language risks stereotyping communities," Atta said, calling for coordinated government action to tackle anti-Muslim hate.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

What are the 'less lethal' weapons used by law enforcement in Los Angeles protests?
What are the 'less lethal' weapons used by law enforcement in Los Angeles protests?

Reuters

time39 minutes ago

  • Reuters

What are the 'less lethal' weapons used by law enforcement in Los Angeles protests?

WASHINGTON, June 10 (Reuters) - Law enforcement officials in Los Angeles began deploying "less lethal" munitions on Sunday as they clashed with crowds protesting federal immigration raids. "Less lethal" or "less-than-lethal" weapons are designed to cause pain and discomfort, normally to disperse hostile crowds, but have caused serious injury and death in the past. Here is a list of the less lethal weapons that have been deployed in Los Angeles in recent days, according to Reuters witnesses and the Los Angeles Police Department. Media outlets, and a reporter hit in the leg by a projectile on Sunday, have said LAPD officers have been firing rubber bullets, a metal casing covered in rubber. In fact, the LAPD do not use rubber bullets, the department told Reuters. Instead, the LAPD uses foam rounds, a condensed sponge projectile that resembles a hard Nerf ball. One version, which has a plastic body with a hard foam nose, is fired from a 40mm launcher and usually aimed directly at a target. A second version, fired from a 37mm launcher, disperses five foam baton rounds toward the ground in front of a hostile crowd once an unlawful assembly has been declared, before bouncing up into the crowd. It is not to be fired directly at individuals, the LAPD said. Both are designed to cause pain on impact without penetrating the skin. Police are forbidden from aiming sponge rounds at the head, neck, groin, and spine. Bean bag rounds are normally 37mm cloth bags filled with 1.4 oz of lead or rubber pellets. They are fired from shotguns and spread out as they fly toward the intended target. They are designed not to penetrate the skin but to cause an impact hard enough to render a target temporarily immobile. Flash bangs, otherwise known as "distraction devices" or "noise flash diversionary devices," produce an ear-piercing bang and bright light to disorient targets by temporarily disrupting their sight and hearing. They are often used to target protesters who have become violent in a section of a crowd, and also to allow police to enter a section of a crowd to extract offenders. One type of flash bang device that has been used in Los Angeles is the 40mm aerial flash bang. These are launched into the air and ignite above the heads of protesters. Tear gas, one of the most common riot control tools, is designed to temporarily incapacitate people by causing excessive irritation to the eyes, nose, lungs, and skin. It can cause temporary blindness, streaming eyes and nose, coughing, chest tightness, and difficulty breathing. Tear gas canisters usually contain CS gas, a chemical compound, or OC gas, which stands for oleoresin capsicum, the active ingredient in pepper spray. Pepper spray, which has similar impacts as tear gas, is sprayed from a handheld canister and is often used when police come into close quarters with rioters or are engaged in hand-to-hand encounters. It mainly irritates the eyes, causing temporary blindness. Pepper balls mirror the effects of pepper spray, but are delivered in a projectile similar to a paintball. On impact, it bursts open, releasing powdered OC into the air. Police often do not fire pepper balls directly at a person, but at street signs, onto buildings or into the ground to cause them to burst open. Known as the oldest less lethal weapon, the baton has been used for crowd control for decades. Police officers have been using batons to push and strike protesters in recent days.

Boy, 9, died trying to escape abuse at Fife school as family make 'cover-up' claim
Boy, 9, died trying to escape abuse at Fife school as family make 'cover-up' claim

The Courier

timean hour ago

  • The Courier

Boy, 9, died trying to escape abuse at Fife school as family make 'cover-up' claim

The brother of a nine-year-old boy who died while trying to escape a Fife residential school has accused the UK Government of a cover-up. The youngster was knocked down and killed as police chased him along the M90 in April 1972. It was the 13th time the boy had run away from Corsbie Hall, in Thornton, amid claims of horrific abuse. A Fife MP later claimed the school could be part of 'a major education scandal'. However, Secretary of State for Scotland Gordon Campbell rejected calls for an inquiry. The family of the youngster who died told the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry they were astonished at Lord Campbell of Croy's reaction. They claim documents suggest the secretary of state and George Taylor-Bryant, Corsbie Hall's headteacher, were friends. Francis, the boy's brother, said: 'They've airbrushed everything out of existence and it will come back to haunt them. 'My reaction is it's a cover-up.' Corsbie Hall was located in the old Thornton Fever Hospital, near Glenrothes, from 1970 to 1972. The inquiry heard children were regularly beaten, starved and forced to take cold showers at the school for 'mentally and socially disturbed pupils'. And Margaret Thatcher, education secretary at the time, stopped English youngsters from attending. The nine-year-old boy who died cannot be named due to legal restrictions. However, the inquiry heard he was removed from his Stirling home against his family's wishes because was dyslexic. Francis and sister Sharon, both pseudonyms, said their brother complained of being locked in a cupboard in just his pants almost every night. He spoke of being hit with sticks, refused food and forced to scrub floors and carry rocks. Then, in a letter home, the youngster told how he had run away 12 times but promised not to do it again. However, Sharon said: 'He ran away one more time and that's when he was killed.' The youngster's death had a devastating impact on his family and many years later they started looking for answers. They discovered Parliamentary records which show Fife Labour MP Willie Hamilton pushed several times for an official inquiry into Corsbie Hall. He said the situation was 'extremely unsatisfactory'. However, a letter from the secretary of state described their brother running away as 'no more than a boyish escapade'. And Lord Campbell, who died in 2005 aged 83, said: 'No blame can be attached to the school.' He later accused Mr Hamilton of 'being a little hard on the school', adding: 'I don't think an inquiry will serve any useful purpose.' The records show Corsbie Hall headteacher Mr Taylor-Bryant had no teaching or childcare qualifications. They also revealed one of the teachers had previously been charged with sexual offences against children.

SNP opposition to new nuclear power stations ‘makes no sense', says Miliband
SNP opposition to new nuclear power stations ‘makes no sense', says Miliband

STV News

timean hour ago

  • STV News

SNP opposition to new nuclear power stations ‘makes no sense', says Miliband

Scotland will not get a 'golden age of nuclear' while the SNP holds firm in its opposition to new nuclear power stations, Ed Miliband has said. The energy secretary said Holyrood's position 'makes no sense', as Labour MP Gregor Poynton claimed the policy had cost workers and taxpayers north of the border 'billions of pounds of investment and thousands of high-skilled jobs'. SNP MP Kirsty Blackman described the UK Government's new £14.2 billion investment into Sizewell C in Suffolk as a 'splurge', when she pressed Miliband on whether the Government will back the Acorn carbon capture and storage project. Miliband said the Sizewell development along East Anglia's North Sea coastline will 'power the equivalent of around six million homes with clean homegrown energy for 60 years, and it will be a jobs and growth engine for Britain, supporting 10,000 jobs in the peak construction and creating 1,500 apprenticeships'. It is one of several nuclear projects which the Government has backed, which also include a prototype fusion plant at West Burton, Nottinghamshire, and a partnership between Rolls-Royce and Great British Energy – Nuclear to rollout small modular reactors. Poynton, the MP for Livingston, told the Commons: 'Scotland was once a pioneer in nuclear energy and should be again, but due to the SNP Scottish Government's outdated, backward, quite frankly bizarre opposition to nuclear energy, turning away billions of pounds of investment and thousands of high-skilled jobs. 'So, does the secretary of state agree with me this is yet another way the SNP Scottish Government has lost their way?' Miliband replied that Poynton was 'so right', and added: 'People in Scotland will be looking at these announcements and saying, 'well why isn't it us that are benefitting from this? Why are we not even in the race?'' The Scottish Government, led by SNP First Minister John Swinney, has a policy of opposing the building of new nuclear power stations. Lillian Jones, the Labour MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, criticised the position as an 'ideological block on nuclear power, blocking billions in investment, blocking thousands of well-paid, secure Scottish jobs, and blocking growth'. In his response, Miliband said: 'We can announce a golden age of nuclear with our investments but not in Scotland, because of the position of the SNP Government. 'It makes no sense.' Aberdeen North MP Blackman had earlier said: 'This £14 billion splurge on English nuclear power plants comes on top of £22 billion for English carbon capture and storage, while there's nothing for Scotland's Acorn project. 'With Grangemouth (oil refinery) allowed to close, with a fiscal regime that is ruining north-east energy jobs, this latest announcement shows that Scotland isn't just an afterthought, it isn't a thought at all. 'If nearly £40 billion can be found for English energy projects, why is it that money is never found for Scotland's carbon capture project?' Miliband replied: 'Well look, I think maybe there is an SNP change in position coming. If she wants to have a conversation about Scottish nuclear power stations, then absolutely. 'We're in favour of the Acorn project and we'll be saying more about this in the coming weeks. 'But let me just say to her – on nuclear power, they've really got to think again. 'They are absolutely sticking their heads in the sand when it comes to this. This is about jobs, it's about investment, it's about clean energy, they should really rethink.' In an earlier statement, Miliband said: 'The Government is taking decisive steps today to usher in a new golden age of nuclear for Britain.' He added: 'For too long, our country has not made the crucial energy – or indeed other infrastructure investments – we need. A short-sighted failure to invest for which the British people have paid the price in lower living standards, insecurity and declining public services. 'This week's announcements symbolise a decisive change in approach, to invest in the future – the right choice for energy security, the right choice for jobs, the right choice for climate and our children and grandchildren, the right choice for Britain, investment, not decline. 'This Government has made its choice.' The energy secretary's comments came as leaders of the GMB Scotland union urged the Scottish Government to rethink its opposition to new nuclear power stations north of the border. The nuclear industry already supports almost 3,700 jobs in Scotland, adding £400 million to the economy, the union said. But it said more could be achieved if SNP ministers would back the construction of new power stations. Louise Gilmour, GMB Scotland secretary, said: 'New nuclear can help provide a baseload of safe, clean and secure energy while creating thousands of skilled, well-paid, unionised jobs in Scotland. 'The Holyrood Government's absolute refusal to seriously consider its potential is an abdication of responsibility and needs to change. 'It makes no sense if ministers want to achieve net-zero targets and it makes no sense if they want Scotland's economy to grow again.' But a Scottish Government spokesperson said that 'our position is now changing'. The Holyrood administration has been 'tremendously successful in attracting renewables investment in Scotland', the spokesperson said. 'That is because there has been a clear policy direction from the Scottish Government.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store