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It's time to take action against

Islamophobia in Europe
Published: 12/09/2014 - 14:32

The English Defence League in a rally against islam [Clive Chilvers/Shutterstock]

Islamophobia is one of the most violent and frequent forms of racist

violence and discrimination in Europe today. But it
remains unrecognized, leaving the EU powerless in quantifying and
countering this phenomenon, writes Elsa Ray.

By Elsa Ray, spokeswoman of the Collective Against Islamophobia in France

(CCIF), a member organisation of the European Network Against Racism
(ENAR).
Imagine a country where Muslim women are banned from restaurants and
beaten on the street. Where Muslim bearded men cant sit in the metro
without being avoided like the plague or insulted. Imagine a country where
mosques are being vandalised every week. Where Muslim cemeteries are
defaced every month. Now, imagine that these cases happened in Europe
in recent years. In France, the Collective Against Islamophobia (CCIF)
recorded 691 Islamophobic acts in 2013 (an increase of 47% compared to
2012), with women being the primary victims (78% of the total number of
incidents). The United Kingdom's biggest police force, the Metropolitan
Police, recorded 500 Islamophobic hate crimes in 2013.
The situation is already critical and the phenomenon is steadily increasing.
However, there is no comprehensive Europe-wide data collected on
Islamophobia, and no political will of EU Member States to combat this
worrying phenomenon. The Fundamental Rights Agency of the European

Union issued a report on discrimination against Muslims in 2009 and

reported that on average, 1 in 3 Muslim respondents stated that they had
experienced discrimination in the past 12 months. However, no further
meaningful investigation or political action by key European bodies such as
the European Parliament and the European Commission have taken place
since.
Data collected by NGOs show that in the UK, France, Belgium, northern and
southern European countries, women are the main targets of Islamophobic
discrimination and hate crimes, especially when they wear a headscarf.
Which makes Islamophobia a specific form of racism and sexism. These are
two very good reasons for Europe to act.
2014 is the year of the European elections, and they have been marked by
the rise of far-right parties and hate speech across the political spectrum. In
this very tense context, the European Parliaments role must be to combat
all forms of hate, including Islamophobia. Hate speech by members of the
European Parliament or by national politicians must also be systematically
denounced and sanctioned.
The lack of data must be the number one issue for the European
Parliament. Indeed, without strong data on Islamophobia, policy makers
cannot make a comprehensive assessment of the phenomenon and
therefore cannot adopt efficient measures to stop it. This leaves the victims
of Islamophobia unprotected and increasingly marginalised. Members of
the European Parliament should also ensure structured and effective
cooperation with civil society actors fighting racism and Islamophobia from
across Europe to have a first assessment of the situation. It would also be a
first step towards a true recognition of the phenomenon by the European
institutions.
The European Parliament and the European Commission should encourage
and support local, national and European initiatives to encourage victims to
report Islamophobic incidents or hate crimes, to support victims of
Islamophobia and to empower them with practical and legal tools. In
addition, the European Commission should live up to its mandate and
ensure that Member States are implementing EU anti-discrimination
legislation, by investigating more closely countries where concerns have
been raised.
Racism, and especially Islamophobia, have become commonplace. It is time
to reverse the trend and for Islamophobia to be recognised at the highest
level by EU decision makers. Ahead of the Council of Europes European Day
Against Islamophobia on 21 September, a first step would be for the
European Institutions to mark this day by publicly condemning the
increasing phenomenon in Europe.
EurActiv.com | Laurens Cerulus

Sections:
LANGUAGES & CULTURE

Locations:
FRANCE

Topics:
ANTI-ISLAM

XENOPHOBIA

RACISM

ANTI-DISCRIMINATION