Five years ago, many Muslims wondered if the prejudice(偏见)s they faced were set to fade away(逐渐消失). The “war on terror” was dwindling in prominence, and new enemies such as Russia seemed to be displacing fears of Islamic terrorism. Yet Britain’s Islamophobia has only intensified since then. A poll published in July found that two out of five(五分之二) Britons believe Muslims cannot integrate(融入；整合) into British society. Earlier in the summer, it was reported that more than half of Muslims in Britain had personally experienced anti-Islam prejudice in the last year, and a quarter in a public place.(今年夏天早些时候有报道称，过去一年里英国超过半数穆斯林亲身经历过反伊斯兰偏见，其中四分之一是在公共场所。)
五年前，许多穆斯林还在想，他们遭受的偏见是否会逐渐消退。“反恐战争”的重要性日渐式微，俄罗斯等新敌人似乎正在取代对伊斯兰恐怖主义的恐惧。然而自那以后，英国的伊斯兰恐惧症反而愈演愈烈。七月公布的一项民调发现，五分之二的英国人认为穆斯林无法融入英国社会。今年夏天早些时候有报道称，过去一年里，英国超过半数的穆斯林亲身经历过反伊斯兰偏见，其中四分之一是在公共场所。
The evidence of a worsening climate for Muslims has been mounting(不断增加的) since two summers ago, when racist riots erupt(爆发)ed across the UK, targeting mosques and asylum hostel(收容所；旅舍)s. Watching videos of those events, I was disturbed by the parents who brought their young children to watch while mobs attempted, with apparently murderous intent(显然带着杀意), to break into the buildings. It was not only hardened far-right activists but a much broader cross-section of British society that was willing to participate in racist violence directed at Muslims or asylum seekers assumed to be Muslim.(参与针对穆斯林或被误认为穆斯林的寻求庇护者的种族主义暴力的，不只是顽固的极右翼活动分子，还有英国社会广泛得多的人群。)
自两年前的夏天以来，穆斯林处境日益恶化的证据不断累积。当时英国各地爆发种族主义骚乱，清真寺和寻求庇护者收容所成为攻击目标。观看那些事件的视频时，让我感到不安的是，有些父母竟带着年幼的孩子围观，而暴徒显然带着杀意，试图闯入那些建筑。参与针对穆斯林或被误认为穆斯林的寻求庇护者的种族主义暴力的，不只是顽固的极右翼活动分子，还有英国社会广泛得多的人群。
But it is the widespread indifference(冷漠) to anti-Muslim racist violence that is most distressing(令人痛苦的). Last October, a white man raped a Sikh woman in her Walsall home while shouting Islamophobic abuse(仇视伊斯兰的辱骂), believing her to be Muslim, and telling her he was a “British master”. The case attracted little public comment, despite seeming to be part of a pattern of racist sexual crimes in the region. Likewise, there was only modest coverage of the rampaging knife attack that began at an Edinburgh mosque in June that left a number of men injured.(同样，六月从爱丁堡一座清真寺开始、造成多名男子受伤的疯狂持刀袭击，也只得到有限的报道。)
但最令人痛心的，是人们对针对穆斯林种族主义暴力的普遍冷漠。去年十月，一名白人男子在沃尔索尔一名锡克教女性家中将其强奸，一边高喊仇视伊斯兰的辱骂，一边认定她是穆斯林，还告诉她自己是“英国主子”。这起案件几乎没有引起公众评论，尽管它似乎属于该地区一系列种族主义性犯罪的一部分。同样，六月从爱丁堡一座清真寺开始、造成多名男子受伤的疯狂持刀袭击，也只得到有限的报道。