Islamophobic hate in the 20th and 21st century

Zempi, Irene and Awan, Imran (2026) Islamophobic hate in the 20th and 21st century. In: De Gruyter European Handbook on Hate Crime. De Gruyter, pp. 59-76. ISBN 9783110892864

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Abstract

There has been a spike in racist and Islamophobic hate crime across Europe over recent years. This is no more exemplified than in Britain, where following the tragic murder of three children in Southport on 29 July 2024 far-right riots erupted across England and in Northern Ireland that were fuelled by false claims circulated online that the perpetrator was a Muslim (BBC, 2024). As of 2024, the police made a total of 1,117 arrests and identified hundreds more suspects whilst the CPS brought a total of 677 criminal charges (NPCC, 2024). The Muslim Women’s Network (2024) surveyed its members on how safe they felt in the UK before and after the riots. Three-quarters of Muslims stated that they were worried about their safety – a rise of almost 60% since the week of the riots. Evidence demonstrates that Islamophobia is racialised. According to Modood (1997), Islamophobia is at the heart of contemporary British and European cultural racism. In this context, Islam is routinely portrayed as an external ‘threat’ to distinctly European norms and values, especially in the globalised world that we live in. This chapter discusses the nature and scope of Islamophobic hate crimes, with specific attention paid to the role of ‘trigger’ events. The chapter also examines the impacts of Islamophobic hate crimes. It is argued that Islamophobic hate crimes have a disproportionate impact on the victim on the basis that individuals are being targeted because of their identity and visibility as Muslims. However, Islamophobic hate crimes not only impact the individual victims, but they also impact the wider Muslim community.

Item Type:	Book Section
Identification Number:	10.1515/9783110799989-006
Dates:	Date Event 21 April 2026 Published
Subjects:	CAH15 - social sciences > CAH15-01 - sociology, social policy and anthropology > CAH15-01-02 - sociology
Divisions:	Law and Social Sciences > Criminology and Sociology > Criminology
Depositing User:	Gemma Tonks
Date Deposited:	18 May 2026 09:19
Last Modified:	18 May 2026 09:19
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/17050

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