Lee Rigby murder sparks hate crimes against Muslims
Hate crimes against Muslims have soared this year, new figures have shown. Hundreds of anti-Muslim offences have been carried out across the country.
Staffordshire police said it recorded eight anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2013, up from two last year and four in 2011.
West Mercia Police said 393 race or faith-related hates crimes were recorded in 2013 which included 25 that referred to the victim being Muslim. While Britain's biggest force, the Metropolitan police, recording 500 Islamophobic crimes alone.
Many forces reported a surge in the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes following the murder of soldier Lee Rigby by two Islamic extremists in Woolwich, south-east London.
And it is feared the figures could be much higher after nearly half of the 43 forces in England and Wales did not reveal how many hate crimes had targeted Muslims – with some forces admitting they do not always record the faith of a religious hate crime victim. Freedom of Information requests were sent to every police force in England and Wales. Of the 43 forces, 24 provided figures on the number of anti-Muslim crimes and incidents recorded.
Tell Mama, a group which monitors anti-Muslim incidents, said it had dealt with some 840 cases since April - with the number expected to rise to more than 1,000 by the end of March.
This compared with 582 anti-Muslim cases it dealt with from March 2012 to March 2013.
Fiyaz Mujhal, director of Faith Matters, which runs the Tell Mama project, said reaction to the murder of Fusilier Rigby had caused the number of Islamophobic crimes to 'significantly jump'.
"The far right groups, particularly the EDL (English Defence League) perniciously use the internet and social media to promote vast amounts of online hate," he said.
