London: A third of Muslim students have experienced abuse or crime at their place of study, with most victims believing it was motivated by Islamophobia, a National Union of Students (NUS) survey has found.

The Muslim Students’ Survey was launched in 2017 to better understand the Muslim further and higher education student population in Britain and received 578 responses among UK-based students.

One in three respondents experienced some type of abuse or crime at their place of study, with 79 per cent of those believing it was motivated by prejudice relating to their Muslim identity, the NUS said. Prejudiced statements or gestures before, during or after the incident were cited.

A third of the respondents said they were “fairly or very worried” about experiencing verbal abuse, physical attacks, vandalism, property damage or theft at their place of study, relating to their religion or belief.

Women respondents who wear a religious Islamic garment — such as a hijab, niqab or jilbab — were more likely to be very worried.

Hareem Ghani, the NUS women’s officer, said: “We are deeply concerned about Islamophobia and anti-Muslim sentiment within the education sector and society as a whole. Action must be taken immediately by institutions and students’ unions to safeguard Muslim students — especially women — against racism in or around campus.”

Racism and prejudice in universities was highlighted earlier this month when it emerged two men were arrested after a black university student complained that a group of people subjected her to racist abuse in her hall of residence.

Officers began an investigation after Rufaro Chisango, a student at Nottingham Trent University, posted a video in which a group of men can be heard chanting “we hate the blacks” and “sign the Brexit papers”.

The survey found that Prevent, which forms part of the government’s counter-terrorism strategy and requires education institutions to identify and report students suspected of being vulnerable to radicalisation, significantly affects Muslim students.

One-third of respondents felt negatively affected by Prevent. Some had been referred to authorities under the scheme, had organised events that were cancelled or significantly changed because of it or had disengaged from political debate specifically due to concerns around being reported under its terms.

As a result, 43 per cent of those who reported being affected by Prevent felt unable to express their views or be themselves.

The survey found only 38 per cent of respondents agreed that their students’ union understands their needs as a Muslim student, while 39 per cent of respondents felt able to participate in their union’s sports activities only rarely or never.

Drinking culture, a general lack of inclusiveness and mixed sex sports were stated as barriers to getting involved in sports.

Some 90 per cent of respondents said they had a prayer space or mosque on or near campus, while 68 per cent had halal food — food permitted by Islam — on or near campus. Twenty-eight per cent were clear they had a Muslim chaplain or cleric at their educational institution, while 24 per cent were sure that theirs had a Muslim imam.