LONDON: Three-quarters of Muslims in Britain fear for their safety following a series of far-right riots, a poll by the Muslim Women’s Network has found. Before the violence, only 16 percent of respondents said they felt unsafe, indicating a significant rise in fears within the community.

The unrest began after a stabbing at a youth club in Southport on July 30, in which three young girls were killed and several others injured. Misinformation quickly spread on social media, falsely attributing the attack to either a Muslim or an asylum seeker. The suspected attacker was later identified as 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, a youth from Cardiff.

The unrest escalated across the country, with mosques being attacked in several cities. At the Abdullah Quilliam Mosque in Liverpool, two Muslim women voiced their concerns in an interview with Sky News. Lila Tamea, a 26-year-old student, expressed the community’s fears: “There was almost a feeling that the police were not going to protect us. So it was really important that it wasn’t just the Muslim community that showed solidarity. There were quite a few from the non-Muslim community who came out on the streets that Friday to defend the mosque.”

Amina Atiq, a 29-year-old poet, expressed her dismay at the situation: “I felt it was unfair that we as a Muslim family had no chance to mourn the three little girls. Because shortly afterwards, we felt that we ourselves were even more suspect for the attack.”

Baroness Shaista Gohir, CEO of the Muslim Women’s Network, told Sky News that hate crimes have increased over the past decade and current strategies are outdated. She called for tougher hate crime laws with a clear definition of “hostility”. Gohir stressed that more hate crimes need to be reported, particularly by Muslim women, to better understand the scale of the problem. “What really worries me is when women call and say, ‘We were abused and we were with our children,'” she added.

In order to support those affected and encourage other victims to come forward, the aid organization is now setting up a hotline.