Muslim leaders across the UK are warning that anti-Muslim hatred has reached unprecedented levels, with a rise in violent attacks, vandalism, and harassment. Akeela Ahmed, head of the British Muslim Trust (BMT), the government’s official partner for monitoring anti-Muslim hatred, said the scale of the problem has not been fully recognised by the public or political class. She described the current situation as “unprecedented since the Southport riots of 2024”, comparing the violence to racism experienced by her parents in the 1970s and 1980s.
Home Office figures show anti-Muslim hate crime in England and Wales rose by 19% in the 12 months to March 2025. In Scotland, Muslims were the target of nearly a third of religious hate crimes. Over a three-month period last year, the BMT documented 27 attacks against 25 mosques in 23 different parts of the country. Incidents in the past six months include attempted firebombings, vandalism, and violent attacks on mosques in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Blackburn, Manchester, Liverpool, Shrewsbury, and east London, as well as an alleged firebomb attack on an imam’s family home in Bolton, the torching of activist Salma Yaqoob’s car in Birmingham, and a pig’s head left outside a Muslim family’s home in Stockport.
Muslim women appear to bear the brunt of hostility, with reports of hijabs being ripped off, abuse on public transport, and harassment in public. A BMT survey found that more than half of Muslims (56%) had experienced religious prejudice in the past year. Official figures are widely regarded as an undercount.
Campaigners have criticised the government’s response, accusing ministers of hesitancy as Reform UK has risen in the polls. Shaista Gohir, founder of the Muslim Women’s Network, said ministers acted “quickly and swiftly” after the 2024 riots but have since become “weak and feeble”, fearing “saying the wrong thing”. She argued that the far right has exploited this caution. Labour insiders have acknowledged Downing Street previously hesitated to challenge anti-immigrant language over concerns of appearing “soft on immigration”.
In the House of Lords this week, Lady Gohir pressed the government to renew its hate crime strategy, which lapsed in 2020, and to strengthen hate crime laws. The attack near a mosque in Edinburgh last weekend, in which five people were injured and a man charged with attempted murder aggravated by a terrorist connection, has intensified concerns. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told parliament the attack appeared motivated by anti-Muslim hatred, but some MPs and broadcasters questioned the level of press attention and why a Cobra meeting had not been called.
