Students at Kingston University have reported noticing a worrying rise in Islamophobic incidents.
A staggering 95% of Kingston students believed there had been a rise in Islamophobic incidents in the UK. Meanwhile, a further 57% of students reported being victims of Islamophobia
The survey results come after the Muslim-faith charity Tell MAMA revealed that anti-Muslim hate crimes have started to dramatically increase each year.
Between 2022 and 2024, they found that incidents of vandalism increased by 60%; these incidents included damage or defacement of private homes, businesses or any properties perceived to be associated with Muslims.
In the same time period, they found a large rise in reports of threatening behaviour, defined as direct and indirect threats of physical harm, which rose by 328%.
“Students believe that greater levels of education and understanding around Islam will help curb unhelpful and misinformed views on the religion”
Hate crimes against Muslims also increased following the Southport murders last year, where three young girls were murdered at a dance class in Southport, although the perpetrator was not a Muslim.
Kingston student Zuhaib Khan said, “Every time there is an incident, people always ask which religion it is. It always comes back to Islam, even though religion doesn’t matter in that aspect.”
Another reason for the increased levels of violence towards Muslims in the UK may be related to the conflict in Gaza. The Islamophobia Response Unit (IRU) reported that there was a 763% increase in reports to the IRU of Islamophobia in the year following 7 October 2023. This is the biggest increase in Islamophobic crimes in the organisation’s history.
Meanwhile, students believe that greater levels of education and understanding around Islam will help curb unhelpful and misinformed views on the religion.
Kingston student Mohammed Hassan said, “We need to eliminate the stigma by showing that Islam is not related to crimes.”