RECENT findings of the EU’s human rights agency point to a troubling rise in bias against the bloc’s 26m Muslims. The survey was conducted before Oct 7, 2023, and the findings of the EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights show that being a Muslim in Europe had been “getting more difficult” even before violence in the Middle East erupted. A spike in anti-Muslim hatred has been witnessed after the Oct 7 events, while antisemitism is also on the rise. The research shows that 47pc of Muslims surveyed in 13 EU states faced discrimination. The highest numbers were recorded in Austria and Germany — the far right has made electoral advances in both states, with Austria’s Freedom Party, which has Nazi roots, receiving the most votes in recent elections. As the head of the EU rights body notes, conflicts in the Middle East are affecting the situation in Europe, as is the “dehumanising anti-Muslim rhetoric … across the continent”. In many instances, Islamophobia and racism have combined; the study observes that along with religion, Muslims in Europe are targeted because of their skin colour, ethnic or immigrant background. Racism is also having a debilitating effect on European Muslims’ socioeconomic well-being, as they face obstacles in accessing jobs, housing, education and healthcare.

Muslims in the West began to feel the very real effects of Islamophobia after the Sept 11 events. Ever since, Muslims have become easy prey for far-right extremists in Europe and North America, as it is easy to blame the ‘other’ — whether it is the religious, racial, or linguistic ‘other’ — in times of national crises and financial depression. Moreover, the electoral gains extremist parties have made across Europe should be seen in the context of higher immigration and economic woes. As the EU study observes, the influx of Muslims in the bloc was given a boost by people fleeing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. It should be noted that in nearly all these conflicts, many EU states, under the Nato umbrella, played a central part in destabilising these countries. The EU rights body has called for better enforcement of anti-discrimination laws, and cracking down on hate crimes. EU states certainly need to do more to protect Muslims and other minorities, especially keeping in mind the unspeakable horrors perpetrated by fascist forces on the continent a few decades ago.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2024