Rishi Sunak is urged to clamp down on Islamophobia as figures show a seven-fold rise in reported anti-Muslim incidents since the outbreak of violence between Gaza and Israel

Rishi Sunak has been urged to clamp down on Islamophobia after a seven-fold increase in anti-Muslim incidents was reported since the outbreak of hostilities in Gaza and Israel.

Some 515 cases were reported between October 7 and October 29 – compared to just 73 during the same period in 2022.

The newly-formed Anti-Islamophobia Working Group (AIWG), a coalition of anti-racist organisations backed by the US State Department, have now called on Mr Sunak to crack down on anti-Muslim hatred.

AIWG founder Anisa Mahmood said: ‘With a dramatic surge in Islamophobic incidents since the conflict, it’s urgent now more than ever for the Prime Minister to engage with this issue. 

‘That’s why we’re calling on him to meet with the working group so we can create meaningful change and tackle Islamophobia.”

‘There’s no better time to do this than Islamophobia Awareness Month.’

The incidents, which were revealed at the start of Islamophobia Awareness Month, include a mosque in Oxford being targeted with a petrol can being thrown into the car park.

Of the 515 cases, 247 happened offline – including 24 assaults – while the remainder consisted of online hatred and threats.

Tell MAMA, a national project which records and measures anti-Muslim incidents, said there has been a two-fold increase in London alone – citing racist, dehumanising and threatening behaviours targeting Arab, Palestinian and Muslim communities both offline and online.

Reports of antisemitism have also risen by over 600 per cent. Pictured, police officers talking to people during a Campaign Against Antisemitism rally outside New Scotland Yard

In a letter to the Prime Minister, the group, which contains major organisations such as Hope Not Hate and Show Racism the Red Card, wrote: ‘This Islamophobia Awareness Month we are calling on you to protect and safeguard the British Muslim community from the scourge of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred.

‘It is with a deep commitment to justice, equality and social cohesion that we call upon the government to take decisive and immediate action to address and eradicate Islamophobia.’

Anti-Semitic incidents have also risen by over 600 per cent. The Community Security Trust recorded 126 between October 7 and October 31 last year compared to 893 in the same period in 2023.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities said: ‘There must be zero tolerance for any form of racism or hatred, and that the police should act immediately to crackdown on any criminality – both in our streets and online.

‘We have taken action to tackle hatred and the Government regularly engages with community voices to understand the issues that affect them.’