LONDON
Hate crimes against Muslims were up 70 percent in London in the 12 months up to July, according to police statistics.
The figures indicated there were 816 Islamophobic crimes in the U.K. capital compared to 478 the previous 12 months.
Islamophobic hate crime in the U.K. has been on the rise following the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich during the summer of 2013 and January’s Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, according to previous reports by various organizations such as Tell MAMA -- a service that allows people from across England to report any form of anti-Muslim abuse.
“An Islamophobic Offence is any offence which is perceived to be Islamophobic by the victim or any other person, that is intended to impact upon those known or perceived to be Muslim,” Metropolitan Police indicate on their website.
According to the 2011 census, over 1 million Muslims live in London (12% of city population).
4.8 percent of the total population in the U.K. are Muslims.
