Islamophobic hate crime up 500% in Manchester after Arena bombing

Hate crimes against Muslims have risen 500 percent in Greater Manchester since the bombing that killed 22 people in the city in May.

According to the Manchester Evening News, the Greater Manchester Police say a total of 224 cases of Islamophobic hate crimes were reported in the month following the attack.

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By comparison, the same period last year saw a much lower number (37) of hate crimes reported to police.

Some of the events were later classified as hate “incidents,” which means although they did not break the law, they were serious enough to be documented.

Complaints ranged from physical violence to threats and vandalism targeting Muslims in the Greater Manchester area. 

In one case, a mosque in Oldham was firebombed mere hours after the Manchester Arena attack.

The Greater Manchester Police, however, believe the rise in Islamophobic incidents is only a temporary trend.

“Greater Manchester has a diverse population, with people from different faiths and backgrounds and this is something that we are proud of, it’s what makes us the city we are. We will not tolerate hatred or discrimination of any kind,” Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts said.

“When a major tragedy occurs such as the attacks in Manchester and London, it is sadly not unusual for there to be a spike in the amount of hate crimes, specifically against race and religion, but thankfully they do decrease again quickly.

“We continue to monitor the levels of hate crimes that are reported and it is essential that we remind people about the importance of reporting when a hate crime happens to you, or you see it happening. Hate crime is often under reported for a number of reasons, but we want people to have the confidence in coming forward as no one should be the subject of hate and intolerance.”

Anti-Islamophobia organization Tell MAMA has recently warned that complaints of hate crime targeting British Muslims had been on the rise across the country over the last few months.