Many victims believe that filing a report would be futile, feeling that it would not lead to any meaningful action or change.
Several complex and interconnected factors contribute to the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment in the UK. It's important to understand that these factors don't exist in isolation, and they often reinforce each other.
The Being Muslim in the EU: Experiences of Muslims report, published last year by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, offers insights into racial discrimination and harassment faced by Muslim individuals. It highlights a significant rise in such discrimination since the agency’s previous report in 2016.
The report identifies employment and housing as the sectors with the highest levels of reported discrimination. It also documents incidents of racial harassment and violence against Muslims, with visibly Muslim women being particularly vulnerable.
A common theme among these experiences—beyond their racist nature—is the low rate of reporting to relevant authorities. Many victims believe that filing a report would be futile, feeling that it would not lead to any meaningful action or change. This sentiment aligns with previous research conducted within the Irish context.
Women are almost twice as likely to experience anti-Muslim racism when compared to men
Ireland was included in this survey for the first time. While the available data from Ireland are not sufficient to make definitive statistical claims, an interesting trend emerged—those who experienced racial discrimination in Ireland reported lower levels of trust in the police compared to those who had not.
Previous studies examining anti-Muslim racism in Ireland have provided valuable insights into this issue. The first such study revealed that nearly one in three Muslim men and women who faced hostility or discrimination believed it was due to being identified as Muslim. Women were found to be almost twice as likely as men to experience anti-Muslim racism. Reports of hostility included physical assaults, verbal abuse, and property damage, with employment, housing, and access to goods and services being key areas where discrimination occurred.
Further research, commissioned by the Immigrant Council of Ireland and published in 2016, reinforced these findings, particularly in Dublin. Participants recalled facing hostility and discrimination because of their Muslim identity. Crucially, the study also highlighted the emotional and psychological toll of such experiences, with individuals reporting feelings of fear, shock, anger, frustration, and depression, illustrating the lasting impact of racist acts.
Several other reports have documented the realities of anti-Muslim racism in Ireland, not only highlighting similar patterns of hostility and discrimination but also drawing attention to the rise in online abuse. Additionally, they have noted the concerning growth of far-right groups that exploit racist, anti-Muslim, and anti-migrant rhetoric for political purposes.
One of the most prominent instances of such hostility in Ireland occurred during the Dublin Riots of November 2023, an event that was heavily influenced by anti-migrant and anti-Muslim narratives. In the aftermath, Gardaí described the scale of violence as "unprecedented" for modern Dublin.
The riots were triggered by a knife attack earlier that day, which targeted three young children and their carers outside a school in Dublin’s North Inner City. In response, far-right and anti-migrant agitators spread misinformation on Irish social media, falsely framing the incident as an act of Islamist terrorism and calling for mass protests. This led to widespread chaos, with vehicles set on fire, buildings looted, and violent clashes between rioters and Gardaí.
Recommendations from projects and reports like these point to pathways forward in the fight against racism
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