04 October 2016

Muslim school changes curriculum after Sky News investigation

Online hate speech targeting Muslims in the UK has “soared” alongside inflammatory reporting about Muslims and Travellers in the media, according to a new report by the Council of Europe. The British justice system is ignoring race as a motivation in too many attacks, according to the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (Ecri). Police are “unsure what the law is” and fail to understand the issues, according to a prominent criminologist.

The report found that targeting of Muslim women in particular has risen on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Of 548 Islamophobic incidents reported to the anti-discrimination Tell MAMA group, 408 took place online. ‘Lack of understanding’ Dr Imran Awan, a criminologist at the Birmingham City University who has worked with anti-discrimination group Tell MAMA, welcomed the report, saying: “A lot of the online hate speech, especially anti-Muslim hate speech, isn’t dealt as seriously by agencies such as the police.” [inews.co.uk] Read more