Welcome to the British Muslim Trust
Welcome, 'Roadshows' and updates on our work.
Salaam and welcome to our very first British Muslim Trust (BMT) newsletter. Behind the scenes BMT have been working hard to start launching aspects of our services and want to use this first newsletter to share these with you. In this week’s Substack our CEO, Akeela Ahmed MBE, warmly welcomes you to our organisation and shares some updates about us. We will be taking you through our most recent developments such as the UK-wide roadshows where we will be coming to a city near you. We have also shared our statement on the arson attack on Peacehaven Mosque and the terrorist attack on Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester. We have been supporting communities in both places and will be sharing a reflection on anti-Muslim hatred over the summer. On this note, make sure to follow all our socials (below) to keep up with our Hate Crime Awareness 2025 Campaign. Lastly, you can report to us any experiences of hate-crime incidents - we are ready to support you. Read more below on how to report.
Welcome from our CEO, Akeela Ahmed MBE.
Dear friends and colleagues,
Welcome to British Muslim Trust’s first newsletter.
Yesterday the Home Office released data showing a 19% rise in anti-Muslim hate crime. These figures are deeply concerning and confirm what British Muslims and anyone who cares about community cohesion already know - hate crime is rising in the context of anti-Muslim hatred becoming normalised.
It is within that context and backdrop that I write to you to provide insight into who we are and our upcoming activities.
When I stepped into the role of CEO at BMT, I started with the knowledge that for too long, anti-Muslim hate crime and incidents have been under-recognised and under-reported.
British Muslim Trust exists to change that — by listening to communities, amplifying their voices, and working with partners across society to ensure that no one is left to face hate alone. We are here to stand with victims and help shape a more inclusive, united Britain for all.
Communities and earning their trust is at the heart of everything we do at BMT. That is why we intentionally decided to prioritise outreach around the country. As you will see below, we began, our twenty cities and towns Roadshow outreach programme across the UK, in Manchester and London. We have already learnt a lot about the challenges and issues Muslims are dealing with on a daily basis in those areas and are truly looking forward to meeting more members and allies of British Muslim communities over the coming months, to see how we can shape BMT to be an organisation which serves them.
Our hope is that these listening consultations will give us unique insights into the issues and will also help yourselves develop a better idea of what the future holds for British Muslims. British Muslim Trust is here to make sure that Muslims are seen and treated as equal members of society, free from racism, prejudice, and fear.
With warm wishes,
Akeela Ahmed MBE
CEO, British Muslim Trust
This Week: BMT Supporting Communities
In the shadow of last week’s despicable Manchester Synagogue attack and the horrifying arson attack on Peacehaven Mosque, today’s hate crime figures make for grim reading. But in a sense, for Muslim and minority communities across the UK they merely confirm what we already knew: hate crime is rising.
A year-on-year rise in recorded hate-crime against Muslims of 19% is staggering, up to more than 4,000 incidents, the highest levels since records began, but it’s not the full story. We know there are more – far more – which victims simply do not report because they have no faith in the system.
Nevertheless, for British Muslims these figures mark the end of a terrible 12 months. Last year’s riots - which saw openly racist, anti-Muslim, violent attacks across the country - were shocking and disgraceful, but sadly not unpredictable. They took place in an era of deepening social divides and weaponisation of misinformation. This is obviously impacting minorities, but it’s also unravelling the social fabric and affecting all of us. Put bluntly, more people are prepared to make nakedly anti-Muslim statements than at any point this century, and those words have consequences we see today.
Violent attacks on Muslims are up, verbal abuse has soared, even primary schools have been attacked, and of course just last week in Peacehaven a Mosque was firebombed - on the back of a string of more than 10 attacks on mosques across the country in recent weeks.
We have to be clear without urgent change, this is escalating toward an increasingly volatile and dangerous point for this country. The British Muslim Trust (BMT) exists to help deliver that change.
So it is with a sombre sense of duty that we take on the task of monitoring and reporting anti-Muslim hatred across the UK and will be opening the hotline from this Autumn.
Of course, you don’t have to be a Muslim to find all of this intolerable. If you care about law and order, an escalation on this scale requires a response. If you are remotely interested in people in the UK living together well and community cohesion you will want to see action that provides better support and protection for 4 million Brits.
And to do that, we have to restore trust. The founders of the British Muslim Trust were approached by members of the British Muslim community because there was a growing sense that anti-Muslim hate in this country was not being recorded correctly to the true extent, and because of that, correct protections weren’t in place, and victims, as well as the wider public, were losing out. People want a service they can trust - and we intend to provide it.
This isn’t about special pleading or asking to be treated differently. This is about ensuring that we can all feel safe and secure. One in three Muslims don’t feel welcome in the UK and most feel less safe than they did a year ago. Those figures are terrible - and without an organisation able to provide a high quality monitoring and advice service it is understandable that people will feel lost.
But taking on the task is the easy part. Earning and maintaining trust is hard – and it can only be done through a sustained record of delivering a high-quality service that is in touch with the community, authoritative in its reporting, and exemplary in the support we offer and the analysis and advice we provide.
That means working with partners all over the country, it means full operational independence, transparent processes and a victim-first approach, and it means monitoring and reporting that drives change thanks to robust data and detailed analysis.
Fundamentally our goal is simple - we are working towards a country where everyone, including British Muslims, live free from hatred and thrive as equal members of society. And let me be clear - we do mean everyone. We will work with those mistaken for muslims, ex-muslims and victims who are not themselves British. And we stand in solidarity with anyone facing prejudice, hate and abuse of any kind across the UK.
Hate-crime against any community - from the Peacehaven firebomb to the Manchester synagogue attack, from the targeting of mosques to the violence we saw last summer - damages us all. As a country we thrive together, and by providing a new and improved service to help tackle anti-Muslim hatred we hope to play our role in making that happen.
National Roadshows - coming to a city near you!
Our roadshows will serve as an introduction to BMT, answering questions such as who we are? How do we plan to tackle anti-Muslim hate? What services we will be offering? Just to name a few. Our engagement team have identified 20 cities with the highest Muslim populations where we plan to hold panel discussions on our organisation.
You’ll also be able to share feedback to help shape services and ensure they reflect lived experiences in your community.
Our first event took place in Manchester at the iconic British Muslim Heritage Centre. Our panel included: Jennifer Taylor (Manchester City Council), Akeela Ahmed (CEO), Shabir Randeree (Chair) and Shaukat Warraich (Head of Engagement).
The conversations that we had in Manchester were useful in shaping our work. Through both our Q&A and networking event, we were fortunate to meet a range of students, Imams, leaders of grassroots organisations, Greater Manchester Police and the local authority to share their views on how BMT could help the local community.
Our senior leadership team were overwhelmed by the support we received by Manchester in September and left the Roadshow with ideas on how to tailor BMT to serve the community well. This includes developing the helpline, research, policy and our relationship with partners.
Thank you to the British Muslim Heritage Center for hosting us and to the Manchester community for giving up your valuable time to help shape vital work.
Interested in attending one of our Roadshows? Take a look at our upcoming dates and register interest below.
Bradford - 13th October
If you would like to be notified about when a Roadshow will be taking place near you, please sign up via this form:
Your voice matters.
If you have been a victim/witness of anti-Muslim hate, report it to us.
Our multi-channel helpline is now open to taking calls and receiving online reports. This is a free, confidential service to report anti-Muslim hate crime. Your report will be dealt with our specialist team to support you.
Phone: 0808 172 3524 (Mon–Fri, 10am–3pm). Our helpline is not yet operating as a live service. However, you can leave a voicemail, and a member of our team will return your call within 48 hours. The line is scheduled to go live soon.
Email: support@britishmuslimtrust.co.uk
Online report, please click here:
Summer 2025: Mosque Attacks, Flags, and a Call for Community Unity
Keep an eye on out for our upcoming blog post reflecting on the summer and the pattern of anti-Muslim hate crime across the UK.
We’ll be taking a look at incidents from Peacehaven, Oxford, Oldham, Portsmouth and Sunderland just to unfortunately name a few.
Hate Crime Awareness Week 2025
11th - 18th October
Follow us on our social media handles (see below) to stay up-to-date on our first online campaign.