Nearly half of Muslims living in Europe face racism and discrimination in their daily lives, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has said in a report.

The report Being Muslim in the EU, based on 2022 data, highlighted a sharp increase in anti-Muslim sentiment, with 47 percent of Muslim respondents reporting racial discrimination, up from 39 percent in 2016.

The survey shed light on the increasing challenges faced by Muslims across the EU, particularly in employment and housing.

“Muslims most often face discrimination when looking for work (39 percent) or in the workplace (35 percent),” it said.

It underscored that these issues have ripple effects in other areas, such as housing, education, and health care.

The report added that women who wear religious attire experience higher levels of racial discrimination than those who do not, particularly when looking for employment, and the rate has risen to 45 percent in 2022 from 31 percent in 2016, with young women aged 16-24 experiencing the highest incidence at 58 percent.

‘A worrying surge in racism’

Discrimination in the housing market has also surged, with 35 percent of respondents saying they were unable to rent or buy a house due to discrimination, a significant increase from 22 percent in 2016.

The report also highlights issues with law enforcement, with nearly half (49 percent) of those stopped by police believing they were subjected to racial profiling.

FRA Director Sirpa Rautio called the situation alarming, saying, “We are witnessing a worrying surge in racism and discrimination against Muslims in Europe.”

She attributed this to conflicts in the Middle East and “dehumanizing anti-Muslim rhetoric across the continent.”

“We need to ensure that everyone in the EU feels safe, included, and respected, regardless of their skin color, background, or religion,” Rautio added.

Source: TRT World

Opinion by Zara Mohammed

The reverberations of the Israel-Gaza conflict have been felt acutely by British Muslims in the year since the attacks of 7 October. As I travel across our communities, I’ve witnessed first-hand how the conflict has challenged once again our sense of security and our place within British society.

The human cost is staggering. I’ve spoken with British Palestinians who have lost dozens of family members in Gaza. Parents call me, distraught after their children have been arrested for their pro-Palestinian advocacy. University students fear deportation for criticizing Israel.

The calls for peace and justice for Palestinians echo far beyond the Muslim community. People of all faiths and none have taken to the streets in diverse, impassioned marches. With each passing day, as the civilian death toll in Gaza and beyond mounts, the case against Israel for having committed war crimes grows stronger. This is not a Muslim issue; it’s a human rights issue that concerns us all.

Yet British Muslims find themselves caught up in this, thrown into “culture wars” not of their choosing. While we stand in solidarity with those facing mortal suffering, we are confronted by an alarming surge in Islamophobia. The conflict has been cynically manipulated to stoke hatred against Muslims, orchestrated not only by far-right elements, but also by those who deploy harmful tropes to silence peaceful advocacy for Palestine.

The racist riots we witnessed in England in the summer were, in part, a reflection of this – fueled by false narratives of “two-tier policing”. Just this summer, we saw leading politicians make calls to ban the sacred Muslim affirmation “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) and declare that “Not all cultures are equally valid” when talking of recent immigrants who apparently “hate” Israel. Muslim politicians face accusations of being controlled by Islamists or pursuing “sectarian” agendas.

In workplaces across the country, Muslims struggle to process the horrors they are witnessing while navigating difficult conversations with colleagues. Even longstanding inter-faith relationships have been strained. While many Jewish and Muslim colleagues have reached out to support one another, the polarization has taken its toll. There has been a concerted effort to frame this as a Muslim-Jewish issue, disregarding the millions of others who oppose the violence on humanitarian grounds.

Communities have turned to us for guidance on how to help, how to challenge harmful narratives, and how to maintain hope as the violence continues. Mosques, seeking to provide spiritual solace, have faced vandalism and attacks. Schools grapple with students wearing Palestinian badges, leaving many young people confused and conflicted.

The physical manifestations of hate are impossible to ignore. I myself experienced a hate crime on the London Underground, where someone shouted at me: “You lot are all taking over.”

Yet despite these challenges, there is hope. We can build common bonds that would bypass the urge to “choose sides”, while adhering to our deeply held view that the unfolding genocide in Palestine must stop.

Source: The Guardian

Muslim workers in the National Health Service (NHS) have reported a surge in abuse and racism since the start of the far-right riots in the UK last week, hindering their ability to provide effective care, a British Muslim medical body has told The New Arab.

Muslim medical staff across the UK have been targeted in their personal and professional spaces, forcing them to close practices early, avoid certain routes home, and feel unsafe when travelling to work.

Dr Sahira Dar, the vice president of the British Islamic Medical Association (BIMA) said health workers have been on the receiving end of racial slurs and serious threats.

“There are lots of stories being shared about things that are happening in different localities, and we’re hearing of GP practices that have had to close early out of fear for their staff, some staff are also working remotely,” she told TNA.

“There’s been an incident of someone randomly walking into a GP practice shouting ‘kill this Muslim man’…people are very understandably extremely afraid,” she added.

Dozens of far-right riots spread across the UK after misinformation over the identity of a perpetrator of a Southport attack which killed three girls spread.

Social media was awash with false information suggesting the attacker was Muslim or an immigrant, triggering a wave of violent anger and mob riots across the country.

Impact on access to healthcare

According to Dr Dar, the far-right abuse has not just affected Muslim staff, but people of color (POC) staff more generally.

“It is affecting people that share characteristics with Muslims, and people are afraid of being attacked at work, including Hindu and Sikh staff,” she said.

It has had a knock-on effect on patients, as more doctors were forced to stay home during the riots, despite others still going in while afraid.

“Because of staff shortages and various other things, the NHS is already under a lot of stress, and now we have staff fearing for their lives…some patients will now not be able to access healthcare and we know that ethnic minorities, marginalized communities, asylum seekers, refugees are affected greatly by health inequalities and access to health,” she added, saying the full extent of the consequences of healthcare will be seen in the coming weeks and months.

Other medical organizations have also reported a skyrocket in abuse, raising alar over the impact it was having on the medical sector.

The London ambulance service on Monday said staff were reporting an “increase in racial abuse and hostility from a small minority”.

According to the Guardian, the British Egyptian Medical Association (BEMA) said it observed a “troubling increase in fear of racist abuse and discrimination” among the 11,000 doctors, dentists and pharmacists it represents.

The association said the abuse hindered their ability to provide proper care to patients, particularly as some staff were forced to work remotely or could not do home visits.

Dr Dar told TNA there had been a “mixed response” around the country to the riots and abuse against Muslim medical staff.

“It’s really important for our NHS leadership to call it what it is, and use precise language because that helps with the support element of it. We have asked for certain organizations to correct their statements and call these attacks Islamophobic because that is what they are. We have had a positive response to this campaign” she said, noting one institution issued a correction and called the attacks ‘Islamophobic’ following a request from BIMA.

She also urged the media and the British government to be “very careful” of the language that they use and be responsible when reporting information.

This week, chief executive of NHS England addressed the rising concerns and feelings of unsafety among Muslim NHS workers.

“We shouldn’t let dedication to duty disguise the fact that for many NHS workers, seeing this flare-up of racism will leave them feeling afraid and unwelcome,” Amanda Pritchard said.

Source: Arab News