The results provide for optimism and reassurance as the poll suggests that the public are being more open and receptive to others and there is a British sense of optimism that is very much part of the country, even though on bleak grey days, we as Brits certainly know how to complain.

However, there is also a worrying thread which runs through the poll in relation to how the public perceive Islam and Muslims. The poll indicates that attitudes have become more hostile to both and with just 10% of the public feeling that Muslims are similar to themselves. This is a stark and deeply worrying statistic.

Worst still, the poll shows that 52% of those who answered the 140 questions agree that Islam poses a threat to the West and 42% highlight a growing suspicion of Muslims, after the recent terrorist attacks. Going on, nearly 1 in 4 of the respondents believe that Islam is a dangerous religion which incites violence and older subsets of respondents demonstrated a receptiveness to Islamophobic views and discourse.

These are stark responses and show a divide that is clearly opening up between wider communities and British Muslim communities.

Communities Coming Together After Terrorist Attacks

As suggested earlier, there were some points for optimism. The results were heartening with 4 in 5 respondents responding positively to communities standing together and being seen to be visibly responsive immediately after terrorist attacks. A similar figure also could distinguish the actions of terrorists from all Muslims and more positively still, 1 in 2 of the respondents had noted that they had come across material where Muslims were seen to speak out against terrorist attacks. The latter makes a change from the narrative which seemed to be circulating for many years, which suggested that Muslims were not seen to be speaking out against extremism and terrorism and thereby passively accepting extremist rhetoric.

The report, however, raises some red flags. Members of the public seem to be tiring of post terrorist scenarios where communities come together and 2 in 3 respondents wanted to see Muslims hold demonstrations and marches against terrorism. In other words, they wanted to see a more forward-facing posture from Muslims against terrorism, rather than the passive cohesive style approach now taken after such major national incidents.

Furthermore, the poll also showed a hardening attitude to Muslims which should be a major wake-up call for them. Whilst we know that many British Muslims have gone out of their way to speak up against extremism and terrorism and to reach out to others, this work needs to be ramped up, better organised and much more vocal in many ways.

Knowing Muslims

The Populus poll for Hope Not Hate also highlights the fact that 1 in 2 white respondents did not have deeper links and associations with Muslims signifying deeper community divides, whilst they over-estimated the population of Muslims in the UK.

There has also been a hardening of attitudes around human rights with calls by respondents for a relaxation in the human rights protections of those suspected of terrorism. The majority of respondents also preferred stronger laws and more authoritarian solutions which clamped down on issues such as extremism and terrorism, possibly showing that the patience of the public is being stretched by terrorist attacks. Also, 3 in 4 respondents believed that integration was best assisted by Muslims speaking English and with closer monitoring and Muslim faith schools in particular.

These results are therefore, both heartening but also worrying. They show a growing divide between the wider public and British Muslim communities and with the divides becoming stark, as highlighted through this report. If we are to ensure that community tensions, extremism and marginalisation are to be tackled in our country, we have to find ways which address the concerns of the wider public, whilst also ensuring that British Muslims feel that they have a future and a space in the United Kingdom. We firmly believe that this country provides the best opportunities in Europe to British Muslims and that Muslims have the freedom to practice and be who they are in the UK. However, it is also clear that more needs to be done to bridge divides, challenge extremism and be seen to stand up for the safety, security and rights of each other. Last but not least, there is one clear result from this poll. If we don’t collectively make a change, there is a slippery slope ahead which does not bode well.

The post Hope Not Hate’s Poll Shows a Deepening Mistrust of Muslims appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Participants in the report talk about the disturbing nature of verbal and physical violence that they have suffered. A convert to Islam, Sophie (who wears the Hijab) stated, “a guy walked past, he spat at me and called me a ‘Muzzi’. Also, I’ve been called dirty Paki, (I am white), as a group of guys walked past and shouted ‘speak English in our country.’ I was looking at a map and did not say anything.”

Some participants also warned about the risks of radicalisation, especially for young people as a result of suffering online and/or offline anti-Muslim hate crimes. One respondent, Hamza, noted that “anti-Muslim hate crime has affected Muslims. This is why Muslims are going to Syria. This is why they support ISIS. When people experience Islamophobic abuse, they will be easily radicalised. They feel weak, lonely, isolated, and rejected from British society. This is when these hate preachers pick them up and brainwash them. If you are constantly victimised, you are weak.”

This report also highlights an impact on Muslim communities which is rarely discussed and which includes changes in dress style so that attention is not drawn to the visibility of their faith. The report highlights the issue of Muslims managing their Muslim identity on-line and off-line with the aim of reducing future abuse. It states that, “the reality of anti-Muslim hate crime creates ‘invisible’ boundaries, across which members of the Muslim community are not ‘welcome’ to step. The enactment of both virtual and physical boundaries impacts upon ‘emotional geographies’ in relation to the way in which Muslims perceive the spaces and places around and outside their communities of abode. Rather than risk the threat of being attacked, either off-line or on-line, many actual and potential victims opt to change their lifestyles and retreat to ‘their own’ communities.

The post REPORT: “We Fear for Our Lives”: Offline and Online Experiences of Anti-Muslim Hostility appeared first on TELL MAMA.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW REPORT

The Centre for Fascist, Anti-fascist and Post-fascist Studies at Teesside University, independently analysed Tell Mama’s anti-Muslim incident data for 2013/2014.

Some of the key findings include:

– Tell Mama recorded 734 self-reported anti-Muslim incidents between May 2013 and February 2014 (599 online and 135 offline) – a near 20 per cent increase on the same period last year.

– More than half of anti-Muslim incidents are committed against women (54 per cent); women were often targets because they wore traditional Islamic dress.

– The under-reporting of incidents remains a serious problem (nearly 5 out of six victims of offline and online abuse did not go to the police.)

– Three months after Lee Rigby’s murder, Tell Mama recorded 34 anti-Muslim attacks on properties (most notably mosques), incidents ranged from arson to graffiti.

– In May and June of 2013, there were 354 verified anti-Muslim incidents (281 online and 73 offline.)

– Two-fifths of all anti-Muslim incidents recorded by Tell Mama reported a link to far-right groups (e.g. BNP/EDL.)

Improving Data Collection

In the past year alone, we took great care in improving the robustness of our data collection, following recommendations from stakeholders in the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and Community Security Trust (CST).

The CST’s wealth of experience in recording anti-Semitic abuse is a model that continues to inspire the Tell Mama project.

So what are the improvements?

– Before any data is categorised, senior members of Tell Mama staff independently verify that incidents are indeed anti-Muslim in nature.

– Caseworkers now require secondary validation (e.g. an additional witness in the case of offline violence or link to abusive online content.)

– Islam is not immune from criticism and these changes will ensure better support for genuine victims of abuse.

– Any ‘scraped data’ that is not self-reported (from third-party sources, newspapers or other online sources) is discounted.

– Improvements in flagging up repeat reports minimises double counting.

– Sub-coding of incidents (e.g. for online abuse) include ‘drop-down’ options for ‘anti-Muslim literature,’ ‘life-threatening abuse’ and ‘non-life-threatening abuse.’

– Offline incidents are categorised as ‘property damage’, ‘assault’, ‘threat’, ‘extreme violence’ and ‘anti-Muslim literature.’ That way, a distinction between online and offline abuse is clear.

Cases now face a secondary random check from a senior member of the Faith Matters staff. A failure to meet the above criteria results in removal, triggering a full audit of the preceding week of reports.

But we should not downplay the seriousness of online abuse, and the hurt it causes victims, as often, it is not solved by simply walking away from the computer.

For example, in the aftermath of Lee Rigby’s murder, a far-right supporter went to prison after posting online threats against Muslims. Others got in legal hot water after posting online threats about burning down mosques.

Bucking the Hate Crime Trend

Of the 734 self-reported incidents, 135 were offline in nature. Whilst most of the offline incidents were non-violent in nature (ranging from property damage to abuse), the 23 cases of assault and 13 cases of extreme violence are very alarming given the short data cycle. For example, the CST had no self-reported incidents of extreme violence last year.

The alleged perpetrators of offline abuse were overwhelmingly young (60 per cent were between 10 and 30 years old.) A fifth of alleged perpetrators were female.

Both stats broadly follow the CPS statistics on racial and religiously motivated hate crimes in 2012/13. Yet, the most alarming difference is the volume of women (54 per cent) self-reporting hate crimes.

The religiosity of female British Muslims makes them a target for abuse – nearly a quarter of female victims wear various Islamic clothing (e.g. hijab, abaya and niqab.)

Attacks against visibly dressed Muslim females may not accurately explain away the trend of hate crimes being opportunistic and situational. The data suggests that the alleged perpetrators of anti-Muslim hate crimes at a street-based level, are young white males targeting Muslim women, and that is a cause for concern.

More than that, the Tell Mama data bucks the trend of hate crime reporting, which the government figures show as falling.

The ‘Post-Woolwich’ Spike

Following the murder of Lee Rigby, there was a dramatic increase in anti-Muslim incidents during the week following his death when compared to the previous week, but the volume of incidents did reduce months later.

Various police forces noted a rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes during this period:

– Anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes rose by a third (to 206 and 523 respectively) across all 32 reporting boroughs of London. A fifth of anti-Muslim incidents took place in May alone.

– The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) noted 71 incidents of anti-Muslim abuse five days after Rigby’s murder.

– Greater Manchester Police (GMP) recorded an increase of religious hate crime, which rose from 31 recorded incidents in April to 47 in May, it did not return to its average spike (of 25 incidents) until July 2013.

– The Birmingham Mail reported that religious hate crimes increased by 63 per cent (to 82 offences) in the West Midlands.

The Role of the Far-Right

– Two-fifths of all anti-Muslim incidents recorded by Tell Mama reported a link to far-right groups (e.g. BNP, EDL, etc.)

– Nearly half of online abuse is linked to the far-right, thanks to their use of the EDL’s NFSE (No f*cking surrender ever) slogan, avatars with neo-Nazi connotations, and hashtags linked to far-right groups.

– The neo-Nazi terrorist Pavlo Lapshyn, attempted to bomb several mosques, and murdered Mohammed Saleem.

– Another neo-Nazi, Ian Forman, plotted to bomb two Merseyside mosques in the aftermath of Rigby’s murder.

To quote from the report’s conclusion, “Various indicators suggest that anti-Muslim hate crimes notably rose in Britain between 1 May 2013 and February 2014.”

The post ‘Anti-Muslim Overview, Analysis & Cumulative Extremism’, July 2014 appeared first on TELL MAMA.

The heart of Feldman and Littler’s report is a detailed analysis of anti-Muslim hate crime that looks at 734 cases between 1 May 2013 and 28 February 2014. 599 of these were online, and 135 were street-based. In many cases, they find close parallels between anti-Muslim hate crime and other forms of anti-minority violence. Only 17% of victims reported in to the police, for example, the same figure as with anti-learning-disability and anti-Roma/Sinti/traveller attacks, a problem that severely complicates the broader assessment of hate crime, and underlines the importance of confidence-building mechanisms and third-party reporting services. Perpetrators are largely male, although are often younger in cases of anti-Muslim hate crime.

Yet Feldman and Littler identify a number of disturbing trends distinctive to anti-Muslim hate crime, which have long been of great concern to us. Muslim women represent the majority of victims (54% of offline victims, compared to only 25.5% for hate crime victims in general). Even after a much more stringent verification process that Tell MAMA has adopted, 45% of online cases were found to have a clear verbal/slogan-based link to online far right movement.  Hate crime may have decreased in general across the UK, but anti-Muslim hate crime – alongside antisemitic and homophobic hate crime – has noticeably increased. Cases of extreme violence were also notably higher than in other cases, particularly after the murder of Lee Rigby on 22 May 2013, as were attacks on mosques and places of worship.

In noting these issues, this report builds on the findings of previous Tell MAMA-based reports on Islamophobia and the far right, and anti-Muslim attacks and Muslim women by Teesside and Birmingham universities, but the detailed approach taken by this report reinforces our understanding of this as a serious issue, and provides a robust basis for further discussion. Where figures on anti-Muslim hate crime coincide with those faced by other communities, we can understand them as part of a larger social problem issue and phenomenon; where they are distinctive for Muslims in Britain, they represent areas for particular concern, and help direct and shape our future endeavours in this field.

One of the most significant events in the field of anti-Muslim hate crime over the past few years was doubtless the ruthless murder of Lee Rigby, and the ensuing anti-Muslim backlash. While different agencies reported different rates of increase – Tell MAMA found a 373% increase over the course of a week relative to the week before – one London Borough Commander suggested that there had been an eightfold increase in parts of London, and Home Office Statistics suggesting a low estimate of a 63% increase in the West Midlands – it is clear that anti-Muslim hate crime spiked after this. Feldman and Littler productively apply ideas of cumulative extremism to this field, looking at the ways in which anti-Muslim attacks – both online and offline – may have been spurred by violent acts which were seen as the fault of ‘all Muslims’. They also note the way that the impact of attacks may have been particularly drawn out, having effects and impacts for months after the original event – a worrying trend that initial Metropolitan police data obtained by Tell MAMA appears to confirm. Here and elsewhere, these issues have been discussed at length. Yet this report makes a valuable, authoritative, academic contribution to the field, and also contains useful recommendations.

The report not only covers anti-Muslim hate crime, but is also about Tell MAMA itself. It analyses the Tell MAMA reporting process, making it more transparent to external scrutiny, and identifying areas that have been either improved or need further focus. Tell MAMA is now two and a half years old, and continues to grow, develop, and refine its recording processes – like any organisation, it has encountered obstacles and problems along this road. The report identifies the problems that any self-reporting facility is likely to face, and identifies some of the ways in which these problems have been addressed. More exacting standards of evidence for validating cases; a regular/randomised case-review system; and a standardisation of definitions have all been noted by the report, which reflects part of our ongoing improvements to the system. To retain confidence beyond an initial ‘honeymoon’ period, and for its data and work to have an impact, Tell MAMA will have to continue developing its rigour and effectiveness. Teesside’s review, from an examination of this (and the broader issues introduced by changing visibility and increasing confidence) finds that Tell MAMA’s data ‘can be approached with both methodological caution and statistical confidence’. Consequently, we are confident that we can continue to develop on this front, and make Tell MAMA an organisation worthy of the UK’s Muslim community in the same way that the CST stands for Britain’s Jews.

Finally, it is extremely useful to have Tell MAMA’s work contextualised in a broader academic and policy making framework. Tell MAMA has ongoing lobbying efforts and work in this field, but the expertise and background of the authors provides a significant backdrop of academic rigour that we are glad Tell MAMA’s dataset contributes. One organisation’s work alone can achieve some change, and apply some pressure to bring about policy, but this report represents a timely and convincing synthesis of a broad range of work into a cohesive whole

Tell MAMA continues to grow and mature as an organisation, and, through reports such as this, it – and its work – can improve to better protect and support British Muslims.

The post Teesside / TELL MAMA Publication Out Today. A Summary of Developments by Leah Owen appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Collection of Data

– As suggested previously in the FAQ section of our site we do not trawl for data. Individuals report in hate incidents and crimes and this means that our caseworkers will record information on the basis of the perception of the victim. This is the same procedure and basis of recording used by police forces and other agencies like the CST, (Community Security Trust). However, we also believe that it is essential to have some form of corroborating evidence such as a snapshot of targeted hate on-line which specifically mentions the Muslim identity of the victim, for the case to be classified as anti-Muslim in nature. Only then will the case be counted in the final statistics published annually. Without corroborating evidence, the incident will be recorded, fed into the Association of Chief Police Officer’s reporting web-site and will not form part of the final statistics in the annual report. Triangulation and corroboration of data is therefore key.

– Front-line caseworkers will work with victims on a case by case basis and will record material, pass it to police forces, support the emotional and practical needs of victims and make adequate referrals where appropriate. A Senior Caseworker will then check the cases by looking at the contents of the case, the data that is inputted to validate whether it is an anti-Muslim incident or not, the actions taken and outcomes of the case. At this second stage, changes can be and have been made and we have changed the classification of some cases and this oversight is key in building a robust set of checks and balances in the data capture process. Finally, the Director of the TELL MAMA project undertakes a weekly ‘ dip test’ of 30 cases that the caseworker will have dealt with to ensure that a tertiary check of the data collected takes place. If there is a discrepancy or error, the Senior Caseworker is directed to re-check all of the cases in the 2 weeks prior to this incident to ensure consistency and to re-check for any other errors.

On-line vs Offline and Feedback

– Our report breaks the data into the on-line and off-line world. Possibly, the ease of reporting on-line makes a majority of our cases clustered around on-line anti-Muslim hate. We are aware that there are some on the right of the political spectrum who do not believe that on-line hate and targeted prejudice is worth recording or reporting. They believe that only the most violent crimes are the ones to monitor and track and on-line targeted hate should not be included in hate crime monitoring work. Yet, the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Ministry of Justice and other civil society actors all stipulate that people should have the right to report in targeted prejudice and this forms the basis for hate crime reporting work. This means that all hate crime third party reporting centres are based on the fact that on-line and off-line hate incidents can be reported in.

– The British Crime Survey of 2010/2011 states clearly the emotional and mental health impacts of hate crimes. Also, targeted cyber-hate campaigns lead victims to feel fear, anger, heightened anxiety levels and a sense of violation and vulnerability. Dismissing these impacts on the basis that there are no ‘physical scars,’ is not only far from how hate incident/crime reporting and recording takes place, it dismisses the views, feelings, sense of hopelessness and internal anger that builds up with some victims after an incident. Therefore on-line hate incidents do have very real impacts and also affect the sense of dignity and identity of the victim.

– We also acknowledge that we receive some cases where actual (and not threatened violence), has taken place against individuals. The impact on the victim does also include a heightened sense of fear and anxiety after the incident, anger, depression and a sense of despair, apart from the physical injuries. In the Teesside report to be launched tomorrow, (4/07/14), both on-line and off-line cases are listed separately and we may consider listing descriptive case studies in the future showing the types of cases we receive. Reviewing cases where actual physical violence has taken place and listing them as case studies will also help to show the actual impact that street based and real world cases have on victims.

Example of Incidents

– We have been asked about the types of on-line cases that we have included in the statistics which Teesside University have reviewed. Here are some examples with the specifics on the cases removed to ensure anonymity:

On-line Anti-Muslim Hate Incidents:

Case 1: The victim received a series of 7 tweets that were targeted at them. The tweets ranged from wishing death to the individual involved because they were Muslim, through to the posting of the address (the wrong address), on-line. The address posted, according to the perpetrator, was where the victim lived. This case was included in the statistical database passed on for independent analysis by Teesside University. Key factors for its inclusion in the database were based on (i) the victim reporting in (ii) the perception and corroborating evidence that the person was targeted because they were Muslim (iii) Consistent targeting of the individual and substantive evidence and material on the case. We also verified that there was a victim behind the incident.

Case 2: A mosque reported in threats to damage the mosque which had been reported to it by a member of the congregation who picked up the threats on-line. The individual had found postings from a Far Right splinter group which suggested that individuals call, harass and to damage the mosque in question. Given the context of the Far Right group involved and the targeting of the faith institution, this case was reported in and was included in the final statistical database passed on for independent analysis by Teesside University.

Street based incidents that have been included in the final database include threatening comments made against people where the language reflects abuse against the individual because of their Muslim faith identity. Other cases include (i) actual arson (ii) hate letters sent to mosques (iii) Hijab and Niqab pulling incidents (iv) spitting and assaults (v) extreme violent incidents, (though thankfully, these are in the very low numbers and end up with the police where they rightly belong.)

The post Background to the Release of the 2013/2014 TELL MAMA Data appeared first on TELL MAMA.

We are also aware that Muslims who have suffered street based incidents have been looking for an ‘app’ that they could report through. With this in mind, we have developed the TELL MAMA reporting in application which was launched by iTunes today. The application can be downloaded from iTunes here.

We will respond to reports that come in with a phone call to the victim and we will also be able to geo-locate where the incident has taken place if reported in immediately and within the vicinity of the location where the incident took place. We would advise that you download the application so that it can provide you with added re-assurance, that you are not alone!

The post Launch of TELL MAMA’s iPhone & iPad Reporting In Application appeared first on TELL MAMA.