Islamophobia Awareness Month 2024 wants to inspire seeds of change

Muslims are highlighting the fight against Islamophobia throughout November. Founded in 2012, the non-profit organisation Islamophobia Awareness Month aims to raise awareness of the problem and showcase the positive contributions made by Muslims in society.

Birmingham's Muslim population has seen huge shifts this year, including the Israel-Hamas war that prompted mass protests across the city. Muslims, Jews and Christians took part in marches and peace vigils protesting the war in Gaza that has seen more than 42,000 Palestinians killed.

At the General Election, Gaza strongly influenced the Muslim vote in some Birmingham constituencies. Independent Muslim candidates, including Ladywood's Akhmed Yakoob and Perry Barr's Ayoub Khan, made Gaza a key policy issue.

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IAM announced this year's theme as Seeds of Change, to emphasise how small actions can lead to big change. This includes starting a conversation, challenging someone's views or something more. It said everyone can help tackle Islamophobia.

Previous research has revealed that Islamophobia was on the rise after the Covid pandemic. This included media narratives that portrayed British Muslims as 'super-spreaders' of Covid-19, which contributed to increased levels of hate against the community.

Researchers interviewed more than 130 Muslims across Birmingham and found over half had felt increased levels of anxiety since the pandemic. Muslims were said to be the UK's second 'least-liked' group after Gypsy and Irish travellers, according to research published in 2022.

According to IAM, Home Office data ending March 2024 showed 38 per cent of religious hate crimes in England and Wales, recorded by the police, was against Muslims. More than 70 per cent of young Muslims in the UK who said they experienced mental health struggles also said they have been victims of Islamophobia.

Supt Wayne Carter, the West Midlands force's lead for hate crime, previously said: "Hate has no place in the West Midlands and we will investigate all reported crimes where people are targeted just because of who they are. We have seen a slight rise in the reporting of hate crime that’s been generated online.

"Policing takes all reports of hate crime seriously, because we know that they have a devastating impact on not only individual victims but also targeted communities. While we'd prefer victims to come to us directly, experience tells us that for a variety of reasons, some people do not want to speak with officers preferring to report crimes anonymously or not at all. If you have been a victim of hate crime or witnessed an incident, you can report this in many ways.

"You can contact us online, by phone or at a network of third party reporting centres across the West Midlands. These are places within the community where you can report a hate crime. Anyone who has been subjected to hate crime can should call 999 if you are in danger, threats have been made against you or if a crime is in progress.

"For non-emergencies, call 101 or contact us through our Live Chat."