Islamophobia Is On the Rise in London, with Hate-Crimes Up 70 Percent on Last Year

Read: Shockingly, a Porno Featuring Hijabis and Niqabis Is Not Very Sensitive Toward Islam

Figures from London's Metropolitan Police show that anti-Muslim hate crimes have risen by over 70 percent in the last year.

The Guardian reports that there were 816 offences recorded in the capital in the last year, compared with 478 the year previously. In the London borough of Merton, hate crimes rose by 262 percent.

Women in hijab or a headscarf are the most at risk, with the face covering said to be the most popular target for violence.

The shocking reality of the attacks has been underlined in a video released today which shows a woman in hijab being knocked unconscious on a London street. Meanwhile, youth group British Muslim Youth has received ongoing racist abuse on their Facebook page. The abuse was highlighted by Tell MAMA, a service which measures anti-Muslim attacks.

Joni Clarke, a 22-year-old Muslim from Penge, told her story on YouTube, via the charity Fixers: "I experience discrimination on a day-to-day basis. I get called names, I've had cigarettes thrown at me and nearly been run over on several occasions."

Joni said the abuse intensified after soldier Lee Rigby was murdered by two Islamic converts on a Woolwich street in 2013. "After that the abuse got worse. People seem to think that because I'm dressed this way and I'm Muslim, I'm associating myself with these people… I've been called a terrorist in the street, just because I'm wearing the niqab."