Hate crimes on the rise in UK

In what is being considered a hate crime, a popular Gurdwara and a mosque in Leeds were set on fire on Tuesday (5) at the same time.

The Jamia Masjid Abu Huraira Mosque in Hardy Street, Beeston, and the Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha Gurdwara in Lady Pit Lane were attacked. According to the BBC, the main doors of the mosque and the gurdwara were set on fire shortly after 3.45 am (local time).

This incident has once again highlighted the increase in hate crimes across the nation.

A few months back, the UK Parliament hosted its first Turban Awareness Day in response to the rise of hate crimes against Sikhs in the UK. Many Sikhs believe turbans seem to act as a lightening rod for Islamophobic attacks.

Kam Singh, presenter and project manager at Sikh Channel who organized the event, said he wanted to hold it at the Parliament because of an incident in March where a Sikh man’s turban waspulled off his head by a racist who also shouted “Muslim go back’ at him.

“We wanted to go back to the same place where the attempt was made to pull of the turban and go in the opposite direction by promoting diversity. We had such fantastic support from MPs and cabinet ministers, men and women alike who came and donned the turban,” Singh was quoted as saying by TOI.

MP Preet Gill said, “Sikhs are clearly being targeted because visibly they stand out. This event also raises awareness that we can’t ignore the visibility of Sikhs and the hate crimes that they’ve been subjected to. A lot of people have become accustomed to the verbal hate crime and slurs that they face, possibly online as well, but we want more people to report it so that we get a good sense of the data.”

The number of Islamophobic hate crimes in London has also increased in recent times, reports indicate. Figures from the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime revealed that hate crimes soared by almost 40 per cent in the past year. There were 1,678 anti-Muslim hate crimes reported in the capital in the year up to January 2018 - up from 1,205 the year before.

Iman Atta, director of campaign group Tell Mama, which aims to combat Islamophobia, told the Evening Standard the increase in attacks had "created a heightened sense of tension in Muslim communities".

He blamed terrorist atrocities for the rise in hate crimes. “These attacks had ripple effects, triggering Islamophobic attacks and the large increment rise you have seen,” said Atta.