Scotland has always considered itself a society that is “open, inclusive and outward-looking” according to its first minister, Nicola Sturgeon. But the nation’s popular and persistent belief that it does not have a problem with racism has been contradicted by a study by Tackling Islamophobia, a cross-party group of the Scottish government. This starkly reveals that 75% of Muslims experienced Islamophobia as a regular or everyday issue. The report highlights that Muslim women are most likely to suffer from discrimination. The majority of respondents believe that Islamophobia is getting worse in Scotland, with Glasgow showing the highest levels. Mainstream print and broadcast media were seen to promote Islamophobia by the majority of the study’s respondents. Social media was also cited as an arena where Islamophobic attitudes are circulated in Scotland. However, Islamophobia in Scotland is most often experienced on the street in the form of verbal abuse.
75% of Muslims say that Islamophobia is a regular or everyday issue in Scottish society. 75% state that Islamophobia is getting worse, 20% that it is staying the same and only 5% that it is declining. Of the Muslim respondents, 78% say that Islamophobia is getting worse, and this rises to 82% of Muslim respondents with a Glasgow postcode.
(Information obtained from:
https://www.mend.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/MEND_Manifesto_Scotland_2021.pdf)
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