Muslims targeted in nearly half of all religious hate crimes

The government’s own figures show the spikes were predictable, and preventable

MEND statement, 8 October 2026

For the third year in a row, anti-Muslim hate crime in England and Wales has reached a new high. Police recorded 3,866 religious hate crimes against Muslims in 2023/24, 4,479 in 2024/25 and 5,132 in the year to March 2026, a rise of a third in two years. Muslims are now targeted in nearly half of all religious hate crimes.

The worst months on record show what drives this; the Southport riots in August 2024, far-right protests in September 2025, and the start of the US-Iran war in March 2026. When politicians and commentators cast Muslims as a threat, and when Muslim countries come under fire, Muslims in Britain are attacked. The Home Office now admits the rise is real and cannot be put down to better police recording.

Muslims have warned ministers about this for years. Spikes this predictable are preventable. A government that has watched the same pattern repeat three years running has no excuse for being caught off guard again.

Its own data also exposes the weakness of its chosen language. Muslims are ten times more likely than Christians to suffer racially motivated hate crime. That is racism, and calling it “anti-Muslim hostility” will not change that. Only one in ten hate crimes leads to a charge, so most victims see no justice.

Hatred against any community for its faith is wrong. But concern expressed every October means nothing without action for the rest of the year. MEND is calling on the government to:

1. adopt the APPG definition of Islamophobia
2. put in place a protection plan for mosques and Muslim communities, triggered by far-right mobilisations and overseas conflicts
3. commission an independent review into why so few hate crimes are charged.