The first public inquiry into Islamophobia in Scotland has found that racism against Muslims has escalated.
Verbal and physical assaults have intensified, especially on conveyance , with more participants in Glasgow experiencing abuse.
Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who leads the group of MSPs behind the report, said the results “should shame us all”.
Several recommendations are made for the Scottish government to influence .
The inquiry was found out in 2018 by a cross-party group of MSPs charged with tackling islamophobia after levels of hatred increased.
Racism and Islamophobia ‘getting worse in Scotland’
The report, produced by Newcastle University professor Peter Hopkins, involves the mixing of an understanding of Islamophobia into Scotland’s education curriculum. It also wants to ascertain the recruiting of more cops from diverse communities.
It asks that each one political parties in Scotland adopt a “no tolerance” approach to Islamophobia.
The report suggests that the Scottish government funds and supports initiatives to teach people about the damage Islamophobia does to society.
And it calls on the Scottish government to instigate a full independent review.
‘Welcome and tolerant country’
Mr Sarwar started the group after he was allegedly subjected to racist comments by a Labour councillor.
He wrote to the primary minister outlining a series of proposals to tackle “everyday racism and Islamophobia” across Scotland.
He also involved a review of the legal framework surrounding racist and Islamophobic abuse on social media.
Responding to the report, Mr Sarwar said: “We pride ourselves on being a welcome and tolerant country, but it’s clear what proportion more work we’ve to try to to .
“There are people in Scotland who feel scared to go away their homes for fear of verbal of physical attack, are withdrawing from public services with devastating knock-on consequences on their health and education and feel they’re outsiders in their own country.
“This should shame us all.”
He said it had been clear that efforts had to be redoubled to challenge and overcome hatred and prejudice.
And he added: “The fight against hate may be a fight for all folks .”
image captionAnas Sarwar said there was tons more work to try to to in Scotland despite it priding itself as a welcome and tolerant country
The review was told by its participants that the abuse takes place most ordinarily within the street.
Public spaces like shops or restaurants and conveyance were also hotspots, then at work and places of education to a lesser extent.
Muslim women were more likely to encounter Islamophobia than men.
Report author Prof Hopkins has been researching problems with racism and Islamophobia in Scotland for 20 years.
‘Serious issues’
He said: “The evidence submitted to the present inquiry makes it clear that Scotland features a very serious set of issues to deal with in reference to everyday Islamophobia and racism.
“Inquiry evidence included numerous references to verbal and physical abuse, attacks in and around mosques and non secular buildings, and experiences of threatening behaviour on conveyance .
“Almost four fifths of respondents were scared of experiencing Islamophobia and this had real consequences for a way they lived their lives.
“Islamophobia permeates all domains of Scottish society; it’s not only restricted to at least one context. It threatens education, limits employment prospects, and impacts everyday issues including health, wellbeing and housing.
“It is time to deal with the difficulty of Scotland’s Islamophobia instead of denying its existence.”
He added: “The recommendations make it clear that each one sectors, agencies and departments got to make long-term changes to eradicate Islamophobia from Scottish society.”
Muslim woman looks at her phone
image captionWomen in Scotland are more likely to encounter Islamophobia than men
A Scottish government spokeswoman said: “We are committed to tackling hate crime and prejudice, including Islamophobia altogether its forms and that we will carefully consider this inquiry’s recommendations.
“New hate crime laws ensure our police and courts will have the powers they have so those that would deliberately target others thanks to their religion or other characteristics are often prosecuted.
“Later this year we’ll report on the progress of our Tackling Prejudice and Building Connected Communities Action Plan, which was published in 2017 and included actions on raising awareness of hate crime and encourage reporting.”
She said the govt would develop a replacement hate crime strategy later this year in consultation with stakeholders.
“As a part of this, we’ll consider the necessity to define Islamophobia, including consideration of the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group’s definition,” she added.