Muslims in U.K., Canada and U.S. fighting fear and anxiety in wake of attacks

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In the U.K., U.S. and Canada, Muslims say they've encountered numerous incidents of Islamophobia, and recent events have them even more on edge: the Finsbury Park van attack and the death of Nabra Hassanen, a Muslim teenager killed after leaving a late Ramadan prayer in northern Virginia.

Police arrested and charged a 22-year-old man with murder, but are treating it as a "road rage" incident and not a hate crime.

Statistics Canada released new data that shows a sharp rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2015 — an increase of 60 per cent compared to the year before.

Zara Mohammed, president of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies, says the Muslim community feels fearful about the recent attack in London, especially because of its timing.

The Muslim community has really been made to feel that they need to defend themselves, defend their faith and really say they're not terrorists.- Zara Mohammed

"This attack has come at a time where it's Ramadan. People are praying. And it was specifically targeted against worshippers, which is such a terrible thing," she tells The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti. 

"The Muslim community has really been made to feel that they need to defend themselves, defend their faith and really say they're not terrorists," she says.

According to Mohammed, there have been reports of Muslims being the targets of hate crimes online and offline, such as students having their veils ripped off on campus.

Although such Islamophobic incidents have created a widening sense of fear across the community, she says Muslims have a high stake in making sure they "don't allow this division to carry on."

"And we keep building strong alliances within the community and no to hate and absolutely no to extremism," says Mohammed.

Islamophobia: A gendered issue?

When Dalia Mogahed conducted research on how Muslims feel in America, she was alarmed at the findings.

According to the director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, a think tank focused on Muslim Americans, nearly half of Muslim women say they fear for their personal safety from white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups in the U.S.

"We also found that Muslim women are more likely than Muslim men to experience anxiety and depression after the election," she says.

Islamophobia is not hitting everybody equally.- Dalia Mogahed

Mogahed says there needs to be a discussion around how anti-Muslim sentiments and hate crimes are gendered.

"Islamophobia is not hitting everybody equally," she explains.

"I think Muslim women, according to our data, really bear the brunt of this kind of discrimination and this kind of anxiety."

Feeling of unease

The National Council of Canadian Muslims communications director Amira Elghawaby draws parallels between the Finsbury Park attack and the Quebec City mosque shooting on January 29, which left six people dead.

"I think it's really feeling not only deep, deep sadness at injury and the loss of life, but for many Canadians, they feel a sense of deja vu," she says.

While Elghawaby believes that Canada is a country where diversity is celebrated and more governments are speaking out against hate crimes, there is still a lingering feeling of unease when her family goes to the mosque for prayer.

'For many Canadians, they feel a sense of deja vu.'- Amira Elghawaby

"It's the feeling of looking behind your shoulder, not feeling safe," she adds.

Related: How Muslim Canadians are coping after Quebec City attack

However, Elghawaby sees a surge of vigilance in the Muslim community, with a few mosques installing metal detectors as a safety precaution. She says the increase of security shows there is palpable fear, but they are trying to also remember the good things, like the thousands of Canadians who held rallies and vigils following the Quebec City shooting.

"It's trying to find the balance between understanding that there is a heightened sense of anxiety, but at the same time trying to temper that with the reality that overall, we're very fortunate to live in Canada, and it is overall safe," says Elghawaby.

"But I think we're worried that that may not be always true."

Listen to their conversation at the top of the web post.

This segment was produced by The Current's Pacinthe Mattar, Donya Ziaee and Willow Smith.