Worrying trend of anti-muslim hate growing across the capital, warns charity Tell Mama
The anti-muslim hate charity says behind every reported incident is “a Londoner who was made to feel unsafe simply because of their faith”.
The number of reports of anti-Muslim hate and prejudice in London in the first half of the year has surpassed the total annual count for 2023, an organisation monitoring the issue said.
Anti-Muslim hate-monitoring organisation Tell Mama branded the statistics it had collated “alarming”, showing a sixfold increase in the yearly totals from 2021 to 2025 in the capital.
It said the data shows a “sustained escalation of anti-Muslim hate” and that behind each report is “a Londoner who was made to feel unsafe simply because of their faith”.
There were 313 reports in 2021, more than doubling to 818 in 2022, and rising each year since to a record of 1,909 last year.
Between the beginning of January and end of June this year, Tell Mama recorded 1,031 reports, surpassing the 1,028 reports in the whole of 2023.
In May, a Unite the Kingdom rally, organised by activist Tommy Robinson, took place in central London, and was criticised by one of the capital’s deputy mayors for instances of Islamophobia she said occurred at the event.
Some protesters held a demonstration outside Parliament where they called for the “removal of Islam”, while Mr Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, reposted a video of himself saying that, were he to become prime minister, he would “stop Islam”, adding: “It’s time for many Muslims to leave this country.”
Iman Atta, director at Tell Mama, said: “What is most alarming is the trajectory: from just over 300 reports in 2021 to nearly 1,100 in the first half of this year alone.
“A worrying rise in repeat victimisation and heightened levels of targeted anger are leaving victims with a fractured sense of personal safety, highlighting the urgent need for robust counter-extremism strategies rather than political platitudes.
“This is not a temporary blip, it is a sustained escalation of anti-Muslim hate, and it demands a sustained and uncompromising no-nonsense response from our public institutions.”
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “We will not tolerate attacks on the Muslim community. Hate crime in all its forms – including ongoing efforts to tackle racism, anti-Muslim hate crime, and other forms of hatred in the capital – remains a core policing priority.
“Our focus on tackling these hateful offenders is starting to work, and in the last 12 months the Met has increased positive outcomes – including arrests and charges – for anti-Muslim hate crime by 57%.”
In July, another organisation recording anti-Muslim hatred said it had noted 70 attacks at Muslim places of worship across the UK in the 12 months to July, including vandalism and intimidation.
The British Muslim Trust was appointed last year to receive investment from the Government’s Combatting Hate Against Muslims Fund.
The trust brought together the Aziz Foundation and Randeree Charitable Trust and analyses data to help identify the drivers behind a rise in anti-Muslim hatred.
A spokesperson for the mayor of London said: “Anti-Muslim hate has absolutely no place in London. The rise in attacks on Muslims in London and across the country is vile and the police have the mayor’s full support in taking a zero-tolerance approach.”
They said the mayor had invested “a record £16 million – more than any other mayor – to support grassroots community groups to stand up to hate and intolerance and fund services for victims of hate crime”.