Government’s commitment to record anti-Muslim offences as hate crime is designed to reassure Muslim communities that strategy is balanced

The government is to press ahead with requiring police forces in England and Wales to record anti-Muslim hate crimes and to treat them as seriously as antisemitic attacks, David Cameron is to confirm.



The commitment to record anti-Muslim offences as a separate category of hate crime was first made in the Conservative party manifesto and is designed to reassure Muslim communities that the government’s strategy will be balanced, and not just focus on clamping down on potential sources of Muslim extremism, such as its announcement that madrasas will be subject to Ofsted inspection.

The prime minister will make the announcement at the first meeting of his new community engagement forum, convened to discuss the government’s counter-extremism strategy, due to be published later this month. He will also announce extra funding to boost security at faith establishments including mosques.

At present the Tell Mama project, which was set up in 2012, is the best unofficial source of statistics on anti-Muslim hate crime, although the Metropolitan police does compile numbers.



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In 2013, 14 police crime statistics showed religious hate crimes increased by 45% and race hate crimes by 4%, with new statistics being published by the Home Office this morning expected to show further rises. Creating a separate category will enable police, prosecutors, local authorities and the communities they serve to have a better understanding of the prevalence of anti-Muslim hate crime and allocate resources accordingly. It will provide the first accurate picture of the extent of anti-Muslim hate crime in England and Wales.

The community engagement forum is the latest in a long line of government efforts to reach out to key figures in the Muslim community.

Downing Street said the group will principally discuss the themes and objectives of the forthcoming counter-extremism strategy, including mobilising a national coalition to challenge and speak out against extremism in all its forms. It will also consider what more government can do to help young British Muslims reach their full potential.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Muslim girls read the Qur’an at madrasa at a Bradford mosque. David Cameron will also announce funding to boost security in mosques. Photograph: Murdo Macleod/The Guardian

Ahead of the meeting Cameron said: “I want this government to be as bold in delivering social reform as we have been in economic – and a big social problem we need to tackle to rebuild Britain as an even greater country is extremism.

“We all have a role to play in confronting extremism. That’s why I have invited important Muslim and non-Muslim figures to join the new community engagement forum so I can hear directly about their work in our communities, the challenges they face and so that they can be part of our one nation strategy to defeat it.

“I want to build a national coalition to challenge and speak out against extremists and the poison they peddle. I want British Muslims to know we will back them to stand against those who spread hate and to counter the narrative which says Muslims do not feel British. And I want police to take more action against those who persecute others simply because of their religion.”

Cameron has said in recent speeches he will clamp down on intolerance and the meeting is certain to focus on the roots of extremism, as well as the role Muslim communities can play in countering the roots of a terrorist threat.

Explaining the measures on hate crime, the home secretary, Theresa May, said: “Hate crime has no place in Britain and I am determined to make further progress to ensure we can eradicate this deplorable act.

“Working with police to provide a breakdown in religious-based hate crime data will help forces to build community trust, target their resources and enable the public to hold them to account.

The forum will initially include about 30 multi-faith representatives from across the country and is an opportunity for the PM to hear directly from those taking a leading role challenging extremism in British communities.

They will also be consulted on how best to improve the security of faith institutions and their recommendations will be considered as part of the wider work of Cameron’s extremism taskforce led by Louise Casey.

At present some forces do record Islamophobic crimes as such. Other forces categorise them as hate crimes or specific offences such as assault or grievous bodily harm.