Current status: Answered by Alex Neil on 1 December 2015
To ask the Scottish Government whether there has been a quantifiable rise in anti-Muslim activity or violence in Scotland following the Paris attacks.
The Scottish Government recognises that international events, including the rise of the so-called Islamic State and the terror attacks recently in Paris, have negatively impacted on Scotland’s faith communities, especially Scottish Muslim communities who can face increased levels of prejudice in the aftermath of such events. This is completely unacceptable and such bigotry and prejudice have no place in Scotland.
Police Scotland has issued guidance and advice following the attacks in Paris and has highlighted that, while the overall threat level in the UK is severe, people in Scotland remain safe to go about their day to day business.
We are fully committed to working with Police Scotland and others to ensure that incidents of hate crime which are motivated by religious hatred, whether online or in public, are investigated appropriately.
The Scottish Government is in the process of establishing an independent advisory group, chaired by Dr Duncan Morrow, which will engage with communities on the issue of hate crime, prejudice and community cohesion, with a view to presenting initial findings to ministers in 2016.