A number of leaflets have been pushed through letterboxes on the lower Ravenhill Road area of Belfast which calls for people to “resist Islamisation”.

The leaflet claims to be from a group called “Generation Sparta”, a white supremacist group.

Mr Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, Sinn Féin MLA, said: “A leaflet circulating across parts of our city is targeting our Muslim citizens for racial hatred…it also targets Sinn Féin for our commitment towards a diverse, inclusive and pluralist society”.

Mr Muilleoir added: “Those racist elements behind this anti-Muslim and fascist propaganda intend only to stoke fear, hatred, and division amongst the people of our shared city…Sinn Féin unequivocally condemns hatred of this kind…We all have a responsibility to show solidarity and compassion with our Muslim brothers and sisters in the face of this callous bigotry”.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) are treating it as a hate crime.

Mr David Moore, Chief Inspector, said: “We are treating this as a hate incident at present and we are making a number of enquiries…the PSNI continues to make it clear that hate crime, in any form, is unacceptable”.

Mr Moore added: “We in PSNI are working with our partners across the public, private and voluntary sectors to provide reassurance, support to victims and promote tolerance and respect for all cultures and identities…You can find out more about what constitutes a hate crime and more importantly how to report it on the PSNI website”.

You can access the PSNI website from here.

It is important that anyone who believes they are in immediate danger from a prejudice-based hate crime should contact the police as soon as possible on 999. If not in immediate danger, or if you have suffered a prejudice-based hate crime in the past, then you can report it using the non-emergency number 101.

You can also – in addition to the police – report any Islamophobic hate crime to MEND’s Islamophobia Response Unit (IRU) here. This allows us to monitor levels of abuse and compile accurate data on the levels of Islamophobia.

The IRU can also help you contact and deal with the police (if you choose to do so), and signpost you towards free legal advice and emotional support that may be available.