Fear and anxiety amid rise in religious hate crime

Religious communities are facing "fear and anxiety" amid a surge in reports of anti-Muslim and antisemitic hate crimes.

Reports of crimes across the Avon and Somerset Police area targeting Muslim people have risen by 240% between 2022 and 2025, while those targeting Jewish people have increased by 163% over the same period.

Professor Adeela Shafi from the Bristol Muslim Strategic Leadership Group said the figures, uncovered by a BBC Freedom of Information (FOI) request, were "startling".

A police spokesperson said there was "absolutely no place for hate, intimidation or violence in Avon and Somerset", and urged victims to report incidents to police.

A hate crime is defined as "any criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards someone based on a personal characteristic".

Through FOI requests sent to police forces across England and Wales, the BBC's England Data Unit has tracked trends in religious hate crimes since January 2019.

Across 33 of 43 police forces, reports of religious hate crime rose by 15% between 2022 and 2025.

This is the largest increase of any of the five types of hate crime, which according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) includes disability, race, religion, sexual orientation and transgender identity.

Of the 31 forces that provided a further breakdown by religion, the Avon and Somerset Police area saw the second largest rise in anti-Muslim hate crime, excluding the City of London.

It also recorded the fifth largest rise in anti-Jewish hate crimes of those 31 forces.

Though more anti-Muslim hate crimes are reported, there are more anti-Semitic hate crimes per 10,000 Jewish people than anti-Muslim hate crimes per 10,000 Muslim people.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimates that only 44% of hate crime incidents between April 2022 and March 2025 came to the attention of the police.

This under-reporting, combined with changes in recording practices by police and increased awareness, can contribute to percentage increases and decreases.

Shafi said although the figures were "startling", they reflect known lived experiences.

She recalled incidents where Muslim women had their hijabs pulled from their heads or abuse hurled at them in the street, alongside everyday microaggressions.

"What we are hearing is people are feeling a sense of fear, a sense of anxiety going about their daily lives," she said.

"The biggest issue is in [public] spaces where there's no accountability, where the perpetrators can kind of literally disappear into the ether."

Anton Goldenstein, a Jewish man living in Bristol, described receiving abuse throughout his life, ranging from coins being thrown at him on the playground to being labelled a "child murderer" after the 7 October attacks by Hamas on Israel.

He said his 10-year-old son has also received death threats at school, alongside casual antisemitism from close friends, telling him "you're alright for a Jew".

"However it sounds, I consider it sort of normal. It's something I've experienced in Britain since I moved here in the 1980s," he said.

"I spend too much time defending my position, my ethnicity. It doesn't make me feel scared, it just makes me sad and weary, especially with my child growing up."

The Community Security Trust, a charity which aims to provide safety, security, and advice to the Jewish community in the UK, described the trajectory as "alarming".

"These figures show that much more needs to be done across society to tackle this problem," a charity spokesperson said.

"There is an urgent need for the recent increases in policing in Jewish communities, combined with quicker prosecutions and stronger sentences to bring down these hate crime totals and reduce the impact of anti-Jewish hate crime."

A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police said the force was "listening carefully" to people's concerns, and urged anyone who had been affected to report incidents to police or the charity Crimestoppers.

"Where crimes are committed, we will act robustly and pursue those responsible," they said.

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