7 Out of 10 Muslims in UK Experience Islamophobia at Work, Survey Shows

Date: 08 June 2022 - 21:43

News ID: ۱۰۳۴۴۰

LONDON (Dispatches) - Seven in ten British Muslims have experienced some form of Islamophobia in the workplace, according to a new poll released, Anadolu News Agency reports.
The survey showed some 69 percent of Muslims currently employed in the UK faced some sort of Islamophobic behavior during work-related engagements.
These included interactions with customers, clients and other people (44 percent), during work-related social events (42 percent) and when seeking promotions (40 percent).
The survey was commissioned by Hyphen, an organization monitoring Islamophobia and discrimination against Muslims in Europe, and conducted by polling company, Savanta ComRes.
A total of 1,503 British Muslims were interviewed between 22 April and 10 May to collect data that, according to the pollsters, is representative of UK Muslims by age, gender, ethnicity and region.
Black Muslims were found to have experienced higher levels of Islamophobia compared to other Muslims.
While 37 percent of all Muslims reported instances of discrimination at the recruitment stage, the figure spikes to 58 percent for Black Muslims.
The Muslim community in the UK has also felt the brunt of the cost of living crisis, with 54 percent of respondents saying that affording basic household expenses – water, gas and electricity bills, food and fuel – is a greater challenge than five years ago.
Despite rising Islamophobia and discrimination, as well as the financial crunch, there is optimism among UK Muslims over broader participation in society, according to a report detailing the poll results.
Just over 50 percent said their lives have improved over the past five years, 68 percent felt participation of Muslims in society has increased, while 53 percent were of the view that Muslims today enjoy more acceptance in the UK.
Additionally, 55 percent said there are better opportunities for Muslims to be successful in the UK and 58 percent agreed that young Muslims now have more role models to look up to in the UK.
Nonetheless, the report emphasized that the government needs to change its approach towards Black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, if it is to deliver on the promise of creating an equal society.
And also on Tuesday, more than a hundred women in London marched 16 kilometers (10 miles) to highlight women’s fear and “malignant racism and misogyny” against Black women.
The march, organized by the Women’s Equality Party, stretched from Fryent Park in Northwest London to the Metropolitan Police headquarters, known as the New Scotland Yard.
It came on the second anniversary of the murder of two sisters, Nicole Smallman, 27, and Bibaa Henry, 46, in Fryent Country Park, Wembley.
The sisters, who were both daughters of the Venerable Mina Smallman -- the first-ever female archdeacon of a Black and minority background -- went missing after celebrating Henry’s birthday in the park, with their bodies found there 36 hours later. Both had died of stab wounds.
Two police officers sent to guard the bodies and the scene were later on charged and jailed for taking selfies with the bodies and sharing them, fueling the anger towards the police force amid uproar against increasing institutionalized racism and misogyny against Black women.
The march, dubbed the March on the Met, gathered more people at Trafalgar Square and reached the New Scotland Yard building in central London, where speakers gave voice to their reactions.