Sunday, November 12, 2006

Comparing Islamophobia with Anti-Semitism

Last month the Mayor of London released a report into Islamophobia in London, it was co-authored by the head of the MCB. At the time, Ken Livingstone told us that Muslims were disproportionate victims. This was exposed as a lie based on 2005 figures.

Now, figures from the London Borough of Barnet tell an extremely interesting story. In an article discussing the threat to both Jewish and Muslim communities, it was revealed that between April and October this year there were 52 anti-Semitic crimes recorded by police and just 5 Islamophobic ones. Since both communities indicate that many cases are reported to religious or communal groups but not to police let us follow only those figures recorded officially.

The 2001 census shows there are 46,686 Jews in Barnet and 19,373 Muslims (total population 314,564). Simple maths shows that the rate of attacks against Jews is 4.3 times greater than against Muslims.

So, Mr Livingstone, who is disproportionately targeted?