London, Feb 21 (ANI): A first help line service has been launched in Britain to provide assistance to victims of Islamophobia amid concerns that incidents of Muslim hate crimes are not being reported or categorised properly.
Last year 2,000 hate crimes were recorded against different faiths in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Faith Matters, a non-profit group, hopes to show the scale of the problem and provide support for victims.
"Many people think that Islamophobic crime does not exist. They say: 'Where is the data?'"said the director of Faith Matters, Fiyaz Mughal.
Mughal has therefore planned to set up the project 'Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks' (MAMA) with the help of government funding.
"This is a chance for the Muslim community to say: 'Let us present the case, in terms of the facts, let somebody collate it and present it to the authorities," The BBC quoted him, as saying.
"If someone has suffered abuse, been attacked or received a leaflet with inflammatory comments about Muslims in it, I want to hear about it," he added.
According to the report, Faith Matters will monitor incidents for an initial 12 months and then report its findings.
Meanwhile, Dr Leon Moosavi, an academic based at Lancaster University who has studied Islamophobia, pointed out that fear of Islam and Muslims is on the increase in Britain.
"It is a widespread problem in the UK. More education is needed in schools, and Muslims need to also educate people about their faith," he said.
At present, media reports of anti-Muslim incidents are monitored by Islamophobia Watch, Engage and the Islamic Human Rights Commission, but none are able to offer a personal service to victims. (ANI)
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Comments:
David
February 21, 2012 at 6:43 PM
We should stop using this divisive term "Islamophobia", which was invented by Muslims to demand respect. A more appropriate and factual word is “Islamonausea.” It allows a greater opportunity for Muslims to notice aspects of their behaviour that make the rest of us sick.
Nausea is a natural reaction to the epidemic practice of inter-family marriage in Muslim cultures, which increases the risk of genetic and psychiatric disease, or to the extreme social control, and honour killings practiced to prevent millions of women from enjoying their right to chose their own partners and lifestyle. The calls for vilence, hatred and supression of non-Muslims commanded in the Koran may also make one feel sick in the stomach.
The term "islamonausea" gives Muslims the chance to reflect on what needs to change in their religion and behavior if they wish to progress from the lowest rung of civilization's ladder and earn real respect.