The “European Islamophobia Report 2023”, which examined anti-Muslim sentiment in 28 European countries, revealed that Israel’s ongoing military actions in Gaza have contributed to a significant rise in Islamophobia across Western Europe.

Edited by Enes Bayrakli of the Turkish-German University in Istanbul and Farid Hafez of William & Mary University in the U.S., the report highlights how the Gaza conflict intensified Islamophobic rhetoric. It notes that pro-Palestinian solidarity has increasingly been framed as extremism, prompting protest bans and restrictive measures in countries such as Germany, France, and Denmark.

“No other political development has shaped the life of Muslims in 2023 as much as the war in Palestine,” the report said. “With the rising voices against the genocide in Gaza also coming from Muslims in European countries, the political response by various governments has put Muslims into an even more securitized position.”

Key highlights of the 2023 report include:

• Neglect of the International Day to Combat Islamophobia: Apart from Spain, no European government recognized this UN-designated day in 2023.
• Mainstream and far-right media, along with social media platforms, amplified anti-Muslim narratives, dehumanising Muslims and fostering disinformation.
• Hate crimes against Muslims increased significantly, especially in Norway, Spain and Greece.
• Legal and educational systems perpetuated biases against Muslims, with France and Denmark enforcing controversial policies targeting Muslim communities.

The report also focused on Islamophobia in several European countries:

United Kingdom

Aristotle Kallis, a professor at Keele University, UK, said that the UK witnessed a significant increase in Islamophobia in 2023, with a 600% surge in reported cases following the Hamas attack on Israel in October.

Mainstream Islamophobia saw a surge with the government’s anti-radicalization program, Prevent, continuing to focus disproportionately on “Islamist extremism” despite evidence of more significant threats from far-right ideologies.

Muslims faced workplace discrimination, underrepresentation, and hostility. In education, there were issues with teacher recruitment, student discrimination, and the influence of Prevent on Muslim students. The justice system showed biases with higher Muslim incarceration rates.

Media portrayal often vilified Muslims, contributing to Islamophobia. The internet, especially post-conflict, saw a surge in anti-Muslim content, with platforms like X (formerly Twitter) under scrutiny for poor moderation.

Suella Braverman’s role as Home Secretary in 2023 is highlighted for promoting anti-Muslim sentiments through policy and rhetoric.

France

The report noted that in France, President Emmanuel Macron’s pro-Israel statements following the attacks in Gaza by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, have exacerbated institutional racism against Muslims.

Kawtar Najib, who authored the France section of the report, pointed out that the government’s ban on headscarves in schools has led to significant concern for Muslim students and their families. The move has been viewed as a sign of the institutionalization of anti-Muslim sentiment in France.

Najib referenced the police killing of Nahel Merzouk, 17, in June 2023, and the subsequent lack of an immediate arrest of the officer involved, which fueled protests and fears for the Muslim community.

Germany

Fabian Goldmann, a journalist focused on improving media coverage of Islam and immigration, said that the war in Israel and Palestine marked a significant escalation in violence, discrimination, and hostility towards Muslims in Germany in 2023, reaching unprecedented levels in recent history.

Police records showed a 140% increase in Islamophobic crimes, totaling 1,464 incidents, the highest since records began. The Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency noted a record 10,772 consultation requests.

Migration policies became more restrictive, mirroring demands previously associated with far-right politics, with the AfD gaining significant support in polls.

German media coverage of Islam was predominantly negative, focusing on themes of violence, crime, and cultural clash. Notable outlets like Bild and Die Welt were highlighted for their role in shaping anti-Muslim discourse.

The AfD remained a key producer of Islamophobia, with individuals like Ahmad Mansour and Susanne Schröter influencing public discourse.

Switzerland

In Switzerland, researcher Nadia Lahdili found that increasing anti-immigrant sentiment has directly contributed to rising Islamophobia.

There were 1,058 Islamophobic incidents reported in 2023, including 876 involving racial discrimination and 62 instances of anti-Muslim attacks.

Lahdili noted that Muslim women, particularly those wearing headscarves, face significant discrimination in the workplace, where they are often blocked from career advancement.

The report also discussed the political exploitation of Islamic dress by politicians during election campaigns, which has contributed to increasing institutional Islamophobia.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Hikmet Karcic from Sarajevo University highlighted the rise of radical anti-Muslim rhetoric in Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly by Serbian nationalists.

It has led to tensions that mirror the situation in France and Switzerland, with hostile language used to weaken the multicultural fabric of Sarajevo.

The report noted that the closure of several mosques and the construction of hotels on land intended for mosques are part of efforts to erase the country’s cultural heritage and foster anti-Muslim sentiment.

Austria

Farid Hafez drew attention to Austria, where the United Arab Emirates has been implicated in funding anti-Muslim groups.

Anti-Muslim rhetoric surged after the outbreak of Israel’s attacks on Gaza, and schools in Austria held workshops against radicalization, which, in some cases, propagated Islamophobic sentiments.

The report also highlighted how protests against the Gaza violence were suppressed by police, with Austria voting against a UN General Assembly resolution that urged a cease-fire.

To address these challenges, EIR 2023 calls for:

• Full recognition of Islamophobia as a systemic issue by European governments.
• Strengthened legal frameworks to combat discrimination and hate crimes.
• Increased efforts by civil society and international organizations to promote inclusivity and counter anti-Muslim narratives.
• Enhanced monitoring and accountability for media and social media platforms to prevent the spread of hate speech and disinformation.

Source: 5Pillars 

Those “certain groups of women” are Muslim women.

It is ironic that the vote will take place on the eve of International Women’s Day on March 8, which strives for a gender-equal world. Removing a Muslim woman’s right to wear a face veil is not equality.

Why should a Muslim woman who chooses to cover her face because of her faith not be allowed to do so? People of different faiths adhere to different dress codes, yet it is Muslim women who bear the brunt of this policing around the world.

Switzerland is far from the first country to propose laws limiting Muslim women’s choice of attire: France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Latvia, Austria, Bulgaria, Belgium, Republic of the Congo, Chad, Gabon and Sri Lanka all have laws prohibiting the wearing of religious face coverings. These bans are called a “security measure,” even though women’s role throughout history in political violence is not linked to the clothing they wore.

Source: Washington Post

The number of cases with a right-wing extremist connotation also rose in 2019. Every tenth attack falls under this category, notes the Blick newspaper in its Sunday edition. “The extreme right-wing scene is on the move,” says the president of the Federal Commission against Racism (EKR) Martine Brunschwig Graf, in remarks quoted by Blick. “This must be taken seriously; we must not underestimate it.”

Only a small number of victims of racism, she notes, seek help from an advice centre. The number of unreported cases is believed to be higher than the number of reported cases.

The 352 figure represents a 27% increase relative to 2018. The government has already published some of its main findings for 2019 but is expected to release a full report on the issue soon. In its 2020 report, the Council of Europe’s Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) urged Switzerland to boost the capacity of counseling centers for victims of racism.

Source: swissinfo.ch

Series: Contemporary Issues in the Middle East

Publisher: Syracuse University Press (February 11, 2019)

In the last few decades, the media, academics, and the general public have put considerable focus on Muslim culture and politics around the world. Specifically, the rising population of young Muslims has generated concerns about religious radicalism, Islamism, and conflicts in multicultural societies. Few studies, however, have been devoted to how a new generation of Muslims is reshaping society in positive ways. In Political Muslims, Abbas and Hamid provide a new perspective on Muslim youth, presenting them as agents of creative social change and as active participants in cultural and community organizations to practice resistance and to negotiate change.

In a series of case studies that cross the globe, contributors capture the experiences of being young and Muslim in ten countries—the United States, Canada, Britain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, and Indonesia. They examine urban youth from various socioeconomic backgrounds, addressing issues that range from hybrid identities and student activism to the strategic use of music and social media. With diverse disciplinary and methodological approaches, Political Muslims gives readers a nuanced and authentic understanding of the everyday social, economic, and political realities of young people.

About Authors

• Tahir Abbas is a visiting senior fellow in the Department of Government at the London School of Economics and a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London. He is the author of Contemporary Turkey in Conflict: Ethnicity, Islam, and Politics.
• Sadek Hamid is a senior research assistant at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. He is the author of Young British Muslims: Between Rhetoric and Realities.

Reviews

– “Muslim youth, like Muslims in general and Islam itself, resist narrow stereotypes and incendiary shibboleths. In Political Muslims both Islamism and Islamic radicalization are addressed, but so are music, sports and education. Indeed, no topic, no problem and no prejudice is omitted from this comprehensive, insightful and timely volume. Highly recommended.” (Bruce B. Lawrence, Professor Emeritus of Islamic Studies, Duke University)

– “Political Muslims represents a significant work insofar as it provides an important and valuable alternative portrait of socially and politically engaged Muslim youth mobilizing their religious identity and particular interpretations of religion in ways that allow them to pursue political agendas.” (Peter Mandaville, professor of international affairs, Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University)

Source: Syracuse University Press

This pattern is evident across several different questions the Center asked of non-Muslim Europeans to gauge attitudes toward Muslims, including whether they think Islam is compatible with their country’s culture and values and whether they would be willing to accept a Muslim as a member of their family.

One question asked non-Muslim Western Europeans if they agree or disagree with the statement “In their hearts, Muslims want to impose their religious law on everyone else in the country.” In Switzerland – which has a relatively large Muslim population (about 6% of the total population) – those who say they personally know a Muslim are 37 percentage points more likely than those who do not to disagree with this statement. More than eight-in-ten (85%) of those who say they know a Muslim disagree with the statement, compared with just 48% of those who do not know a Muslim.

Large gaps also exist in the UK (37 percentage points), Austria (35 points), Germany (34 points), Ireland (29 points), Italy (27 points), Denmark (26 points) and France (24 points).

By contrast, there is less of a difference on this question between those who say they know “a great deal” or “some” about Islam and those who know “not very much” or “nothing at all.” Regardless of their level of knowledge about Islam, similar shares of people in most surveyed countries disagree with the statement that Muslims “want to impose their religious law on everyone else in the country.”

While knowing a Muslim is prevalent in most countries across Western Europe, it is less common in the United States, where 45% of adults know someone who is Muslim, according to a separate Pew Research Center study.

Source: Pew Research Center

The weekend-long dedication culminates a years-long effort by Muslim groups in Switzerland to overcome resistance to building a mosque in Wil. The new mosque also conforms to the 2009 Swiss voter-approved constitutional ban on the construction of minarets.

A decade ago, plans to build minarets on mosques in the towns of Langenthal, Wil and Wangen near Olten in the German-speaking regions sparked controversy. It peaked in a nationwide ballot on November 29, 2009, when 57.5% of voters approved an initiative by rightwing parties to ban the construction of minarets.

It is the newest of more than 200 Swiss mosques that serve up to 400,000 Muslims in Switzerland, or nearly 5% of the nation’s 8.3 million population. Muslims in Switzerland represent an extremely diverse community divided along ethnic and linguistic lines. The vast majority, however, originate from the Balkans region and Turkey.

Source: The Muslim Times

This week, it decided that schools can force parents to send their kids to co-ed swimming lessons. It argued that “the full school curriculum” was essential for children’s “successful integration” into society.  It also said that the measure “protect[ed] foreign pupils from any form of social exclusion.” And it noted that Switzerland should be able to design its education system according to its particular needs…The court did acknowledge that religious freedom was being interfered with but said that didn’t make it a violation. The ruling fits into a much larger debate in Europe, one that pits the religious rights of minorities against a commitment to integration and secularism.

Experts say there’s more at work than simple Islamophobia. Americans tend to privilege the rights of the parent. But in Europe, children have their own rights, ones that the state takes an active role in enforcing. For example, children have a right to an education and an obligation to go to school, no matter what parents say. NYU professor Elayne Oliphant writes: “Such bans or regulations are ostensibly aimed at enforcing ‘integration,’ but instead confirm Muslims’ status as second-class citizens in Europe. That the ECHR has continually supported such efforts in the name of protecting majority ‘cultures’ — which are often equated with the majority religion of Christianity — suggests that the cultural and religious practices of Muslims are simply unworthy of similar protections. At a time when Islamophobia is rampant, the lack of national and European level support for Muslims exacerbates very difficult and painful experiences of exclusion.”

Source: The Washington Post