Responding to the announcement of a 500% increase in hate crimes against Muslims since the London bombings, the Muslim Association of Britain have blamed media hysteria for the reaction coupled with a lack of strength from the government in combating it.
The organisation have also said they believe the true figure of Islamophobic crime to be much higher as Muslims who have suffered abuse are not reporting it to the police.
Commenting, Anas Altikriti of MAB said:
“Blaming all Muslims for the heinous London bombings as some people have plainly done, is as stupid as blaming all white people for the extremism of the BNP.
“We don’t know the true backlash against Muslims as it is clear to us that many Muslims have not reported the crimes perpetrated on them to the police. We urge anyone who has suffered to come forward so we can truly grasp the scale of the problem and move to remedy it.
“We’re not surprised by the figures we’ve seen though as the media hysteria against the Muslim community, their beliefs, and their personalities has been beyond the pale. The government also has to take responsibility for this as they have been happy for Muslims to carry the can as it has meant a lack of focus on the role of foreign policy in the bombings.”