Facing Islamophobia is an everyday reality for young Scottish Muslims

By Kazim Ukka

This article was also featured in The National and can be accessed here.

A study conducted by Dr Joel White (Newcastle University), Dr Robin Finlay (Sunderland University), and Professor Peter Hopkins (Newcastle University) has shed light on the lived experiences of young Scottish Muslims. This research builds on a 2017 study that explored similar issues in the aftermath of the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum. The study, entitled Young Muslims in Scotland: politics, racism, and the media, offers a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and contributions of young Muslims in Scotland, particularly their engagement in national and global politics, their experiences of racism and Islamophobia, and their perceptions of mainstream and social media. The release of this report is particularly timely, coinciding with Islamophobia Awareness Month in the UK.

Everyday Racism and Islamophobia

The study underscores that racism and Islamophobia are heavily embedded in the daily lives of young Muslims in Scotland. Participants expressed concerns about inadequate education on racism, which they believe fosters an environment for bullying and discrimination in both primary and secondary schools. Indeed, Muslim students across the UK face high levels of bullying based on their religious and ethnic identities. Common slurs include “P*k*” and “terrorist”, labels rooted in harmful stereotypes that are often amplified by media and political narratives.

The Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group (CPG) on Islamophobia’s public inquiry revealed deeply concerning statistics about the prevalence of Islamophobia in Scotland. According to the inquiry, 18% of young Muslims have directly experienced Islamophobia in school, while 45% have witnessed such incidents firsthand. These figures underscore that Islamophobic bullying is not an isolated occurrence but a widespread issue affecting the daily lives of many young Muslims. Even more troubling, 75% of respondents described Islamophobia as a regular or everyday issue within Scottish society. This highlights the enduring nature of anti-Muslim racism, suggesting that many Muslims face discrimination and abuse long after leaving the school environment, with significant long-term impacts on their wellbeing and sense of belonging.

Political events surrounding October 7^th 2023 have considerably heightened feelings of insecurity among young Muslims, particularly women and girls. Many expressed feeling increasingly vulnerable to harassment and abuse, especially those who are visibly Muslim, such as females wearing the hijab or males with beards. This concern is underscored by data from the Islamophobia Response Unit (IRU), which recorded a staggering 365% increase in reports of Islamophobic hate crime in the aftermath of October 7^th. Many of these incidents involved Muslims being targeted for expressing support for Palestine.

Participants in the study also viewed Israel’s onslaught in Gaza and the responses of Western nations as emblematic of a global climate of Islamophobia, where Muslim lives are systematically devalued. This perceived climate not only amplifies the risk of prejudice and hostility at home but also reinforces feelings of alienation and vulnerability. Even those not directly targeted demonstrated an acute awareness of everyday manifestations of Islamophobia, reflecting the deep and pervasive unease that shapes their experiences.

Distrust in the Mainstream Media

The study also reveals a profound distrust of mainstream media among young Scottish Muslims, rooted in the negative and unbalanced portrayal of Muslims in the press. Participants specifically pointed to a racial double standard in the reporting of the conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine, whereby media narratives surrounding Palestine often dehumanise Palestinians and Muslims more broadly. This misrepresentation is largely achieved through subtle language choices that manipulate audience perceptions of violence and its aggressors. For instance, attacks initiated by Israeli forces are frequently described using passive terms like “clashes” or “violence erupting”, which obscures accountability and distorts the realities of the situation. In contrast, acts of aggression by Palestinians tend to be framed in far more active and emotive terms.

The Centre for Media Monitoring’s report analysing the British media’s coverage of the Gaza war between 7^th October and 7^th November 2023 offers striking evidence of this disparity in reporting. For example, Israelis were 11 times more likely than Palestinians to be described by the media as victims of attacks, exposing a clear emotive language bias. Similarly, broadcast media promoted “Israel’s right” to defend itself five times more often than the rights of Palestinians, reflecting a stark imbalance in the framing of rights. Moreover, only 24% of online articles mentioning Israel, Hamas, or Gaza included references to Palestine or Palestinians, framing the conflict predominantly as an “Israel-Hamas war”, which erases crucial historical and political context.

This reporting not only skews public understanding of the situation but alienates Muslim communities by marginalising their narratives and dismissing their experiences. The effect is profoundly disempowering, leaving them feeling gaslighted, silenced, and excluded from public discourse. Such biased narratives further erode trust in mainstream media, deepening the divide between these communities and the institutions meant to serve them.

Islamophobia and Hate Speech on Social Media

The study reveals that while young Muslims often rely on social media as an alternative source of news, they are cautious about its pitfalls, including the spread of mis/disinformation and hate speech. In response to the mainstream media’s misrepresentation of the war in Gaza, many young Muslims have turned to platforms like Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) to gain a clearer understanding of the situation. However, these platforms are also rife with Islamophobia, including far-right content and targeted comments against Muslims. Such exposure not only affects their mental wellbeing but also increases their fears of encountering Islamophobia in their everyday lives.

The recent far-right riots serve as a poignant reminder of how social media can be weaponised to amplify far-right ideologies, ultimately acting as a catalyst for real-world violence and hatred. Following the Southport stabbings, disinformation spread rapidly online, falsely identifying the attacker as a Muslim refugee. This fabricated narrative, strategically propagated by far-right influencers and fake news outlets, sparked outrage and mobilised far-right groups. High-profile figures such as Andrew Tate, Laurence Fox, and Tommy Robinson played a prominent role in amplifying these claims, leveraging their vast followings to spread disinformation. As a result, the false narrative gained significant traction, culminating in violent clashes with police during a vigil for the victims in Southport.

In recent years, social media platforms have come under pressure from governments and civil society to curb extremist content, leading to increased efforts to remove far-right material and ban extremist accounts. However, Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter (now X) in October 2022 marked a pivotal shift in content moderation policies. Under the pretext of promoting “free speech”, Musk implemented changes that weakened safeguards against misinformation, hate speech, and extremist content – elements central to the violence seen in the riots. Notably, Musk reinstated several accounts previously banned for violating platform policies, including those of far-right figures like Tommy Robinson. Once relegated to the “digital wilderness”, Robinson became a key figure in spreading disinformation and inflammatory rhetoric that fuelled the riots. Robinson even credited Musk for giving him a platform, calling him a “voice for the truth”. These policy changes have, therefore, led to a noticeable surge in the visibility and normalisation of far-right, racist, and Islamophobic content online, enabling the conditions that led to real-world violence.

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This study by Dr White, Dr Finlay, and Professor Hopkins provides a crucial exploration of the challenges faced by young Scottish Muslims in their daily lives, revealing the deep-seated racism and Islamophobia that pervades both personal and institutional contexts. It underscores the enduring consequences of biased media narratives, online hate speech, and the global climate of Islamophobia on their security and sense of belonging. At the same time, the findings highlight the resilience of young Muslims and their efforts to overcome these challenges by amplifying their voices in local and national arenas. By shedding light on these lived experiences, the research underscores the importance of reforms in education, media representation, and social media policies to foster a more inclusive and equitable society.