Southwark Council marks Islamophobia Awareness Day on November 14 even as activists point to a rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes.

The event, at the Council offices from 17:00, is billed as “an evening of solidarity, understanding and action” against anti-Muslim sentiments in the London borough.

Southwark’s event comes as the mayor of London Sadiq Khan pledges £875,000 to counter hate crimes and extremism related to the current situation in the Middle East. Khan said: “I’m appealing to Londoners to continue to look out for their friends and neighbours whatever their faith and backgrounds and stand united against all forms of hate.”

Southwark Council describes itself as having “vibrant diversity”. According to the 2021 Census, more than half its residents – 173,000 people – identified themselves as having religious beliefs and nearly 30,000 of that number self-identified as Muslim.

Tell MAMA, which describes itself as an independent, non-governmental organisation that works on tackling anti-Muslim hatred, recently reported nearly 5,000 attacks between September 2023 and October 2024, the highest number in a decade. Most of these, it said, took place in London and northwest England.

Iman Atta, director of Tell MAMA, said: “It falls on politicians, the media and other public bodies to do more to help Muslim communities”. Atta praised Southwark’s Islamophobia Awareness event as a useful template for London.

The event will have informative sessions, engaging discussion and offer the opportunity to connect with others who are keen to fight discrimination.

However, it has drawn some online criticism. On X, formerly Twitter, one user asked: “Do we really need to host evenings that police thought and speech? Last I checked, Britain was still a nation that believed in free expression—or at least, it was supposed to be.”

Tickets for the event are available through eventbrite.co.uk or by emailing the Southwark mayor’s office.