Opinion: Hard Evidence: Muslim women and discrimination in Britain

Julian Hargreaves (Centre of Islamic Studies) discusses the forms of discrimination faced by Muslim women in Britain. The controversy surrounding a now-infamous "I confronted a Muslim" tweet - and a subsequent race-hate charge - reminds us that tackling discrimination against British Muslims remains as big a challenge as ever. For those who missed it, PR-man Matthew P Doyle took to Twitter to announce: "I confronted a Muslim woman in Croydon yesterday. I asked her to explain Brussels. She said 'Nothing to do with me'. A mealy mouthed reply." Police were alerted to the incident when Doyle's ill-judged comments about the encounter were retweeted by bemused internet users. While charges were eventually dropped, the story is a prime example of the type of discrimination encountered on a daily basis by many British Muslim women and an exception to an otherwise overlooked phenomenon.