LONDON: Islamophobic incidents have rocketed by almost 600 per cent in Britain following the New Zealand terror attack, the UK media reported.
The report said that in the week after 50 Muslim worshippers were gunned down, offenders used “language, symbols or actions” linked to the atrocity to target Muslims in the UK.
“Cases included people making impressions of pointing a pistol to Muslim women and comments about British Muslims, and an association with actions taken by the terrorist in New Zealand,” the report added.
It came after an alleged terror incident linked to the Christchurch massacre, attacks on mosques in Birmingham and several arrests over online statements.
The 593 per cent week-on-week rise is higher than that seen after the 2017 Manchester bombing, which was cited as an inspiration for Finsbury Park attacker Darren Osborne to plough a van into Muslims leaving prayers.
The report said the spike was “troubling” and “shows that some people see Muslims as fair game for hate”.
Ben Wallace, the security minister, has said an atrocity like the Christchurch attack “absolutely could happen” in the UK.
Official statistics show that 43 per cent of suspected terrorists arrested were white in 2018, compared to 32 per cent who were Asian.
Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the head of UK counterterror policing, has voiced his concern over rising hate crime and said it could be a “proxy measure” for the rising far-right threat.
The media annual report for 2017 recorded a record number of anti-Muslim attacks and warned of a “marked shift” towards more serious offline incidents like physical attacks, vandalism and abuse, as hatred continues to spread on social media.
It said perpetrators felt “emboldened” by terror attacks and political discourse.
