Thames Valley police arrest man for kicking pregnant Muslim woman, who then lost her baby

The Thames Valley Police Department in the United Kingdom arrested a 37-year-old man Wednesday for a racially motivated assault on a pregnant Muslim woman and a 40-year-old man, the Independent reported. 

The assault occurred Aug. 6, when the alleged attacker, who appears to be white, hurled racial epithets at the woman after leaving a grocery store in Buckinghamshire, England, the Independent reported. He then followed the woman to her car and began kicking her until she fell to the ground. The attack resulted in the woman losing her unborn child.

The man also reportedly assaulted another man, who tried to help the woman, by hitting him on the head with a bottle and a bag of ice. He was treated for head injuries at a nearby hospital. 

This incident is among several other recent racially motivated crimes within the United Kingdom. The Independent reported Thursday that post-Brexit hate crimes have risen to approximately 60% — 14% higher than around the same point last year.

To be sure, anti-Muslim violence isn't just the United Kingdom's problem. In comparison to the immediate aftermath of 9/11, anti-Muslim hate crimes in the United States today are far more concentrated. In fact, according to the Washington Post, anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2015 are five times higher than the rate than before 9/11.

The Council of American-Islamic Relations, with the collaboration from U.C. Berkeley's Center for Race and Gender, saw a spike in mosques being targeted for vandalism from 22 reported incidents in 2014 to 78 in 2015. The council's 2015 report "Confronting Fear" also noted that the increase in attacks followed the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January 2015 in Paris and when Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump announced a "complete and total shutdown" on Muslims entering the United States.

Beyond the statistics, these numbers demonstrate how anti-Muslim sentiment has translated into actual violence against Muslims in the United States.

On Monday, the same day as Eid al-Adha, which is the holiest day of the year for Muslims, there were two high profile anti-Muslim hate crimes reported.

In New York City, a female Scottish tourist — dressed in traditional Islamic garments — was set on fire while standing outside a Valentino store on Fifth Avenue. She survived without any serious damage, after stomping out flames. 

Earlier that morning, the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, in Orlando, Florida, was also intentionally set on fire. It was the same mosque where the shooter in the Orlando massacre once worshipped.

On Thursday, two Muslim women were attacked by a woman in Brooklyn, New York. The women were pushing their baby strollers when the attacker yelled at them to "get the fuck out of America" and attempted to rip off their hijabs. On Aug. 13, Imam Alala Uddin Akongi and his assistant were fatally shot at their Queens mosque in Queens in a racially motivated crime.