Almost half of Muslims living in Leeds feel they’re treated unequally because of their faith, a new report has suggested. A survey of 221 Muslims in the city found 49 per cent disagreed with the idea they were “currently treated as equal citizens in Leeds”.
The report, which examined Islamophobia and anti-Muslim prejudice in the city in great detail, concluded many local victims were “suffering in silence”. It found two thirds of those who’d experienced hate did not report abuse and attacks to the police or any other authority.
Leeds Labour councillor Javaid Akhtar, who is himself Muslim, said many minority groups had “lost confidence” in the system, because “they don’t feel they will be listened to”. Councillor Akhtar said: “We need to build that relationship and that confidence so people feel able to report it and then at least we have a database and a record of it.
