The U.K. has recorded a spike in anti-Muslim hate crimes, with over 2,000 cases since Oct. 7, a crime monitoring group said Thursday.
"Tell MAMA recorded over 2,000 anti-Muslim cases in the four months that followed Hamas’s deadly ... attacks on October 7. This is the largest recorded number of cases in four months, since Tell MAMA was founded in 2011," it said in a statement.
The number of cases increased by 335% in a year, it added.
"In stark contrast, between 7 October 2022 and 7 February 2023, Tell MAMA recorded 310 offline cases and 290 online cases, respectively," the statement said.
The types of cases were abusive behavior, threats, assaults, acts of vandalism, discrimination, and acts of hate speech and women were the main target in 65% of the cases.
"We are deeply concerned about the impacts that the Israel and Gaza war are having on hate crimes and on social cohesion in the U.K.," Tell MAMA Director Iman Atta said.
She expressed the hope that "political leaders will speak out to send a clear message that anti-Muslim hate, like antisemitism, is unacceptable in our country."
Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.
The ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed at least 29,313 people and injured nearly 70,000 with mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
