A MUSLIM scholar living in Scotland has called for urgent action on the rising tide of Islamophobic extremism amid "emergency levels" of attacks.
Paigham Mustafa – who has been living under a fatwa for more than 20 years – has said there needs to be a national conversation about what Islam truly stands for and why misunderstanding of the religion is fuelling division.
He is also calling for greater learning within schools and wider society, arguing that education about Islam remains one of the most effective ways of reducing prejudice and strengthening community cohesion.
There have been some 70 attacks on UK mosques in the past year, about one every five days.
Hate crime against Muslims also grew 19% in the year to March 2025, according to the Home Office, to a record of 4476 reported incidents.
In the past few weeks, Amnesty International has said that Islamophobic attacks across the UK were “reaching emergency levels".
“Anti-Muslim hate crime has risen significantly, and mosques across the country have increasingly become targets of vandalism, arson and intimidation. We must have a national conversation about what Islam really teaches, and defuse the toxicity of bigotry,” said Mustafa.
"The greatest tragedy is that Islam is too often defined by those who neither understand nor properly practise it. Extremists distort its teachings from within, while bigots misrepresent it from outside.
"Between these opposing forces, the authentic message of the Quran – peace, justice, mercy and human dignity – is frequently lost."
Mustafa has been living under a fatwa – a religious edict calling for "action to be taken against him" – for more than 20 years. This was organised by Glasgow Central Mosque and was issued against him because of his view that Islam should return to the teachings of the Quran.
In 2023, The National reported how Mustafa claimed the police have not “adequately addressed” the threat on his life after the force admitted to being institutionally racist.
In 2021, Police Scotland said hate law does not apply to Mustafa’s case as it requires an intention to stir up hatred against a group rather than an individual, but Mustafa said this raises questions about whether individuals are sufficiently protected from hate crimes committed by institutions.
With Mawlid al-Nabi, the commemoration of the Prophet Muhammad's birth, approaching later this month, Mustafa believes the moment offers an opportunity to kickstart a national conversation on anti-Muslim extremism.
“The antidote to hatred is understanding. When people encounter Islam through authentic scholarship rather than sensational headlines or social media, fear gives way to knowledge, and division gives way to dialogue,” he said.
