Many Muslims in Britain feel less safe after far-right rioters attacked mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers, a survey shows.

The survey, commissioned by Muslim Census, a data organisation that focuses on Muslims and ethnic minorities, found that 92 per cent of respondents feel “significantly less safe” as a result of the violent unrest. The poll, conducted between August 5 and 6 with a panel of 1,519 participants from diverse backgrounds, found that one in six people have personally experienced racist attacks since the unrest began on July 30, while two in three people have witnessed such an attack.

Muslims are most likely to experience verbal attacks (28 percent), followed by 16 percent reporting online abuse. Four percent said they had been physically attacked in the weeks since the unrest.

Sadiq Dorasat, co-founder of the Muslim Census, said: “We have heard stories of women wearing hijabs not feeling safe leaving their homes or going to work.

“We have seen a witch hunt targeting people of the Muslim faith who mentioned Allah and his Messenger, and people are worried about their safety.”

For days, far-right figures attacked mosques, Muslim businesses and hotels housing asylum seekers in cities including London, Liverpool, Bristol, Blackpool and Belfast. Violence erupted after misinformation was spread about the fatal knife attacks on three girls during a Taylor Swift dance class in Southport on July 29.

The Southport Islamic Centre was one of the mosques attacked by far-right rioters who set fire to cars and pelted buildings with stones. Since the unrest, more than 900 people have been arrested across the country and more than 400 have been charged, including with racial hatred.

Mosques across the country have advised worshippers to take safety measures, including not walking alone, not leaving home after sunset and travelling in groups to “avoid becoming a target”, the Leicester Islamic Centre said.

The pollster fears that the number of racism cases and widespread security concerns have now increased even further. He points out that the “shocking rise in Islamophobia” is not an isolated case.

Mr Dorasat said: “This is a growing and increasing problem. We see it on a daily basis and some people may not even be surprised by the unrest that is taking place.

“Muslims have been experiencing these anti-Islamic incidents since the beginning of the year, and the situation has worsened in the last week. This should come as no surprise to anyone.”

He argued that the increase did not happen overnight and had escalated over the past five years like a “domino effect”, leading to violence across the country.

According to the survey, half of those surveyed were victims of a racist attack in the past year alone and an overwhelming 93 percent of Muslims believe that Islamophobia has increased in the past five years.

The polling institute believes that the government should have condemned the violence in stronger terms and criticises the party leadership for not committing to establishing a definition of Islamophobia.

“The word has been used very rarely in recent weeks and there is a certain reluctance to use it. This is because there is no consistent definition of Islamophobia from either our current or previous government,” he added.

In the United Kingdom, the closest to an official definition was that of a cross-party parliamentary group in 2019, which stated that Islamophobia is “rooted in racism and is a form of racism directed against expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.”

Although the term was used by some politicians from several parties – including Labour, Liberal Democrats and Scottish Conservatives – it was never officially recognised by the then Tory government.

Mr Dorasat said: “The discussion about this term needs to be brought to the table so that when we discuss these events we can properly name them and deal with them appropriately. At the moment some people simply use the term ‘anti-Muslim hatred’.”

Following the riots, Sir Keir Starmer stressed that his government was determined to combat violence and hatred towards “those affected”. The Home Secretary also promised to provide greater protection to mosques across the country.

Despite these measures, Mr Dorasat called on the Prime Minister to highlight the threat that racism poses to ethnic communities and to “appropriately denounce and punish” perpetrators.

He added: “We hope that what we see on the streets will provoke a real response to prevent this from happening in the future. And it sets a precedent that attacks on a particular faith group will be denounced and appropriately punished.”

“I urge these people to talk to the police, to talk to the Islamophobia Task Force. Don’t think this is OK or to be expected and just be calm. Raise the alarm because these cases need to be handled properly.”