Islamophobia: 'The threats we face as Muslim Londoners are real'

BBC News

a day ago

"I've been called names on the train. I've been told to go home. I've been told I'm not welcome, that I'm not British."Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Hina Bokhari - the first woman from an ethnic minority to lead a group on the Assembly - says she and other Muslims are facing increasing levels of Islamophobia.Ms Bokhari says that despite a promise by Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan to address this in the wake of the anti-immigrant riots last summer, and tensions over the conflict in the Middle East, no Islamophobia training has yet been forthcoming for those working across the Greater London Authority (GLA).A spokesperson for Sir Sadiq said the GLA had mandatory training courses in place for staff to tackle all racism, prejudice and unconscious bias.
'Couldn't leave my house'
Ms Bokhari told BBC London: "I really do not want to be talking about Islamophobia. I want to be talking about young people and their future in the city, I want to be talking about the need for more homes, the fact that there is a welfare system that we need to fix, championing disabled people. "But the reason I'm pushing this is because there hasn't been any training across the Greater London Authority," explains Ms Bokhari, who taught for 20 years in some of London's most deprived schools and was recently appointed OBE."It should have happened immediately after the riots in the summer. That was such a pivotal moment when Islamophobia was seen at its worst. I knew, as a Muslim, that I couldn't leave my house that day."The threat of being attacked because of who I was, being the colour that I was, the faith that I was. I've never had that experience before in my life growing up in this city."There were images of people throwing bricks at mosques and setting buildings on fire. I never thought I would see that day."
Much of the aggression last summer was aimed at Muslim communities, after false information spread online about the race and religion of the man - later identified as Axel Rudakubana - who murdered three little girls at a dance class in Southport. The war in the Middle East is also a trigger.In the wake of the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks, and subsequent conflict in Gaza, Ms Bokhari was offered training in combating antisemitism, which she willingly undertook, along with many of her colleagues."I'm really pleased I did antisemitism training; learning what it's like to have that lived experience of being Jewish was so helpful. We need that for Muslims, too."But no specific Islamophobia training has been given by either the GLA, the Metropolitan Police or the London Fire Brigade.In a letter to Sir Sadiq, Ms Bokhari said: "The threats we face as Muslim Londoners are not abstract or hypothetical - they are immediate, real, and growing."For many of us, this is not merely about perception or politics. It is about safety. Muslims today live in legitimate fear. Whether walking down the street, engaging online, or simply existing visibly as Muslims, we find ourselves bracing for abuse, harassment or worse."
'Go home'
In 2019, the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims proposed the following definition: "Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness."In February, a group was established to provide the government with a working definition of Islamophobia.Statistics published by the Met Police for the calendar year of 2024 show that hate crime fell by 16%, with just under 22,300 offences recorded. Islamophobic hate crime in the same timeframe was down 2%, with about 1,350 offences recorded.Antisemitic crimes reported were down 14% in the same period, with just over 1,400 offences recorded. Overall, faith crimes were down 8.7%, with 3,229 offences recorded.Tell Mama, an organisation that supports victims of Islamophobia, recorded 6,313 cases of anti-Muslim hate in 2024, a 43% increase on the previous year - with 5,837 of the reports verified by the group.It documented a steep rise in offline incidents, with 3,680 cases reported - a 72% increase on the number two years ago.Iman Atta, from Tell Mama, said its figures were higher than those recorded by the police because "as a victim support service, Muslim communities can report anti-Muslim hate and Islamophobic incidents to Tell Mama in confidence". "With victims' consent, we flag and refer matters to the police where appropriate," she added.
Ms Bokhari believes Islamophobia has been getting steadily worse since 9/11, and was exacerbated by the 7/7 Tube and bus attacks and then by the conflict in the Middle East."In recent months it has definitely got worse. I was recently abused at a surgery where I had a woman who asked me if I was a Muslim and then began a tirade of ranting and screaming at me, saying Muslims should all die."I was at London Bridge station when someone came up to me and said a racist word to me and told me to 'go home'."Islamophobia is becoming so normalised that people think they can say these things to you."
'Extremely concerning'
Last year, Tell Mama recorded the highest number of anti-Muslim hate cases since its founding in 2011. In its report, the organisation said there had been a "surge in rhetoric that falsely portrays Muslims as terrorists or terrorist sympathisers" following the Israel-Gaza conflict and Southport murders.A government spokesperson described the findings as "extremely concerning" and said it would "seek to stamp out anti-Muslim hatred and racism wherever it occurs"."The mayor of London has been providing moral leadership on tackling anti-Muslim hatred and antisemitism," said Iman Atta from Tell Mama."He convened the first-ever engagement between Jewish and Muslim communities post the October 7th attacks and the ongoing war in Israel-Palestine."One of the things I'd hope from the mayor," continued Ms Atta," is to back and endorse training on anti-Muslim hatred to understand the dynamics around it and how the Greater London Authority members can understand it, can challenge it, can prevent it and can call it out."
A spokesperson for the mayor said: "Islamophobia has absolutely no place in London and the mayor continues to ensure the police take a zero-tolerance approach."Sadiq has invested a record £15.9m investment – more than any other mayor – to tackle hate crime in all its forms in our communities and strengthen Londoners' resilience to extremism, help stop the spread of hateful narratives and safeguard vulnerable young Londoners from radicalisation and misinformation online."At a time of rising tension and online hate, the mayor's Shared Endeavour Fund is tackling Islamophobia and other hate crime as a priority area, delivering programmes to tens of thousands of young Londoners over the last five years."The GLA also has mandatory training courses for staff to tackle all racism, prejudice and unconscious bias. The mayor will continue to do everything possible to ensure Londoners of all backgrounds and faiths feel welcome and safe, building a better London for everyone."
'We need to eradicate Islamophobia'
But Ms Bokahri doesn't think the mayor is doing enough to address Islamophobia specifically."We need to eradicate Islamophobia, and that will only happen through training. I don't think people really understand what Islamophobia is, or believe it exists. Some of the attacks I've been getting online have been about the fact that people think there is no such thing as Islamophobia."If we had training then at least people would know what we mean by Islamophobia."Asked whether she was surprised that no specific training had been forthcoming on Islamophobia despite the fact that London has a Muslim mayor, Ms Bokhari replied: "I look forward to working with the mayor to make sure that there is action across the GLA."I want the mayor to implement this training not because he is Muslim, but because he is the mayor."