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Islamophobia in the UK - and Scotland's New Hate Crime Law

November being Islamophobia Awareness Month in 2024, it is critical to share information on the unfortunate recent rise of anti-Muslim hate speech online. Cases of Islamophobic hate doubled from 2012-2022, according to Tell MAMA’s 2023 report. Tell MAMA, Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks, is a non-governmental organization which has been working to put an end to anti-Muslim hate incidents throughout the UK, and has been used as a safe space to report these incidents and crimes.  

In the four months following 7 October 2023, there was over triple the number of Islamophobic incidents compared to the same timeframe in the previous year, as detailed in this BBC article referencing Tell MAMA data. This increase is due to the West’s determination to stand by Israel’s apartheid in Palestine, which has seemingly led to some directing hatred toward the entire Muslim community.  

Riots in the summer of 2024 plagued England and Northern Ireland after the Southport attack, when three girls under the age of ten were killed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event. Following the tragedy, disinformation was spread on Telegram, a messaging app, that the perpetrator was a Muslim asylum seeker, and the first rally was organized. This disinformation could not have been effective to the extent that it was, without the context of other anti-Muslim and anti-Arab sentiment being spread prior. 

April 2024 introduced Scotland’s new hate crime law, which brought forth the new crime, ‘stirring up hatred,’ something that includes threatening or abusive hate speech. This was a big win for both Jewish and Muslim communities, as they had been pushing for the Scottish government to work harder against the hatred being spread about them.  

However, some of the public was not entirely happy with this and claimed it to be a threat to freedom of speech. This is a key talking point that always seems to arise when discussing the complications of criminalizing hate speech, though it does make one wonder: why do people want to be able to say or write threatening or abusive language about others? Why should freedom of hateful speech be considered more important than a person’s safety? 

With culture wars running amok in the UK, it is reassuring to know that despite the backlash, the Scottish Parliament has not rolled back on this new law and does not plan to.  

If you or anyone you know have been a victim to hate speech, contact the Stop Hate UK Line 24-hours a day on 0800 138 1625. To contact TellMAMA to report anti-Muslim hate, click here. 

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