MEND statement – the CPG inquiry into Islamophobia in Scotland

The Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group (CPG) on tackling Islamophobia has today published the findings from the first ever public inquiry into Islamophobia in Scotland. MEND was grateful for the opportunity to contribute evidence to this inquiry and welcomes the hard work of the CPG. We would like to extend special recognition for its chair, Anas Sarwar MSP, who led this CPG to become the largest CPG in Holyrood and firmly established the issue of tackling Islamophobia as a priority within Scottish policy.

MEND’s submission to the inquiry can be found here.

The key findings from the inquiry illustrate the harrowing nature and extent of Islamophobia in Scotland:

• 35.5% of Muslim respondents said Islamophobia was an everyday issue, and 41.3% said it was a regular issue.
• 78.8% of Muslim respondents said Islamophobia is getting worse in Scotland.
• 83.4% of Muslim respondents said they had experienced Islamophobia.
• 76.5% of Muslim respondents reported being verbally abused.
• 36.6% of Muslim respondents reported being abused at work and 32.6% of Muslim respondents reported being abused on social media.
• 92.3% of Muslims said they feared to experience Islamophobia.
• 60.5% of Muslim respondents said they had altered their behaviours as a result of experiencing Islamophobia.
• 93.9% of Muslim respondents think that the print media increases Islamophobia; 90.4% said the same for broadcast media; and, 88.7% said the same for social media.

While the findings from the inquiry may come as a shock to some, we hope that these findings encourage tangible actions in the form of meaningful policy development and implementation.

As such, we look forward to this inquiry feeding in to real changes on the ground and hope it encourages parliamentarians across the UK to proactively engage and consult with representative and grassroots organisations within British Muslim communities to tackle Islamophobia.