Anti-Muslim sentiments on rise in Britain

The number of children seeking help over abuse, including Islamophobia and racism, in Britain is on the rise, Press TV reports.

The children’s counseling charity ChildLine said earlier last week that over 1,400 people aged under 18 called in to report bullying because of their backgrounds, with incidents of Islamphobia a particular problem in schools.

Child-Line said there has been a 69 percent increase over the past 12 months in those seeking help from the group.

The charity also said contacts about cyber bullying, self-harm and suicidal thoughts have soared by 87, 41 and 33 percent respectively since 2011-12.

Massoud Shadjareh, from Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) described the number as “shocking,” but “not unusual”, saying such incidents are reported on a daily basis.

“The number of those who are victims of hate crime, within the Muslim community, is increasing shockingly and it is becoming a matter of norm rather than exception”, he told the Press TV.

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said the British government provided more than £4 million to schools and anti-bullying organizations to help tackling abuse. But for those who witness the effects of prejudice on a daily basis, this is simply not enough.

“Changing the culture needs to have a political will, cultural will, and indeed we need to tackle it in the media and we see the home secretary and the PM, and even the opposition figures demonizing that Muslims are either terrorists or possible terrorists,” Shadjareh added.

With the official narrative usually painting Muslims as “the other,” the government’s previous attempts to tackle diversity and integration seem to be less than successful.