Mapping the Discrimination against Muslims in Europe
The 160-page report of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) is based on information collected from a variety of official institutions, NGOs, mass media and individual religious and civil-rights activists in European countries.
The report consists of three parts: first, introduction and recommendations to the EU member states; second, a general summary on the situation of Muslims in the EU; and third, an in-depth mapping of intolerant attitudes and facts on discriminatory actions directed against Muslims in the eleven European countries where the largest Muslim communities exist.
The main aim of the report is to "raise awareness about intolerance and discrimination against Muslims in the EU as well as to highlight problems with respect to the exercise of freedom of religion by Muslims in the region".
Indeed, the report tackles a wide variety of issues that include the situation of the Muslims in public spheres (media, political speech, education, labour market), migration, integration and asylum laws, worship and public practice of religion (places of worship, religious education, attitudes and regulations concerning headscarves, burial facilities) and the rise of the far-right anti-Muslim parties.
The report focuses as well, in a special section, on cases where Muslim leaders have been found to promote hateful and violent ideas.
Muslims in the EU are not coherent communities
On the one hand, the report points out that it is misleading to refer to the approximately 20 million Muslims living in Europe as coherent communities. They come from "a broad range of backgrounds, the communities are diverse, with cross-cutting ethnic, cultural, linguistic and social affiliations. They also belong to different Islamic traditions".
On the other hand, the EU does not present a coherent socio-economic and judicial space, either. This becomes clear in the mapping of the situation(s) of Muslims in the selected eleven countries. For example, Islam has been officially recognised as a religion since 1912 in Austria and 1974 in Belgium with all the benefits of such status.
Or let us take the citizenship issue; more than 50% of the Muslims in France, UK, Netherlands and Belgium are citizens of these countries, while the corresponding figures for Germany and Denmark are less than 20%. The above-mentioned two issues play major roles in the formal relations between each state and the Muslim community in the country.
Nevertheless, the report finds common general characteristics of the Muslim communities in the EU: They are typically younger than the majority population, they live in urban areas and centres, they are of immigrant origin and due to high birth rates, they are expected to continue to grow rapidly.
Reinforcing of pre-existing prejudice
The key message of the report is that "in the aftermath of 9/11, the social climate facing Muslims has deteriorated in the countries covered by this report […] pre-exiting prejudice and discriminations against Muslims have been reinforced. The xenophobic prejudice against Muslims has resulted in attacks on Muslims in the streets and other public spaces.
Although the attacks have involved mainly verbal abuse, cases of physical violence and vandalism have been registered as well. Many attacks have never been reported to the police because victims lacked confidence that police would deal with their cases.
The report states that in some countries, it has become more "legitimate" to openly express hostility and to use intolerant language against Muslims. Nevertheless, it must be stated that the courts have acted, in general, as a positive example in protecting the rights of the Muslims against discrimination.
For example, the Austrian Constitutional Court ruled in October 2004 that parts of the new asylum law were unconstitutional and should be revoked. Another important decision was taken by the Danish Supreme Court to sentence a member of an ultra-right party to a suspended prison sentence for making defamatory remarks about Muslims.
Anti-Muslim rhetoric and political actions
The rise of the xenophobic far-right and the neo-fascist parties in Europe in the post 11/9 period presents one of the biggest challenges, not only for ethnic and religious communities, but rather for the democratic political systems themselves in the EU in general.
Yet the Muslim communities face a special challenge due to the anti-Muslim rhetoric of these parties. Riding the wave of the "war against terrorism", the ultra-right parties try to implement a xenophobic and chauvinistic agenda by (mis)using anti-Muslim and anti-migration rhetoric.
The French far-right Front National Party argues that the ethics of Islam are not compatible with values of French civilisation. (Party's leader earned a conviction in April 2004 for inciting racial hatred in a newspaper article.)
The far-right Danish People's Party is accusing Muslims of undermining democratic values and promoting violence. The murdered populist Pim Fortuyn of the Netherlands used to talk about the new Cold War against Muslims.
Unfortunately, some representatives of democratic parties and even acting governments occasionally repeated the far-right rhetoric of the Italian Liga Nord, the German Republikaner and NPD, the Belgian Vlaams Blok, the Austrian FPÖ etc. The report recalls anti-Muslim statements by leading democratic politicians: for example, the statement made by the Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi "Western civilisation is superior to Islamic civilisation" and the suggested concept of "leading culture/Leitkultur" by the German CDU.
The integration minister of the Belgian Flemish region indicated in January 2005 that mosques have to use the Dutch language, show tolerance for women and homosexuals and proscribe the preaching of extremist ideas. These conditions do not apply to other religious communities.
The role of the media
The report states that for the most part unbalanced and scandal-oriented mainstream media coverage of issues related to Islam and Muslims dominated in the absolute majority of the countries surveyed. Nevertheless, media landscapes in Austria, Belgium and Spain are praised as more balanced and open-minded than in the other EU countries.
The report registered a growing tendency in the media since 9/11 to portray Muslims in a negative and stereotypical fashion.
In the German media, for example, the coverage of the conflicts in the Near and Middle East largely serve to associate Islam with terrorism and therefore have a negative impact on public attitudes toward Islam and Muslims, while the British media is criticised for reinforcing prejudice and mistrust towards Muslims through irresponsible and unbalanced reporting.
Recommendations to the EU Member States
The IHF makes recommendations to the EU member states which can be summarised in three blocks: first, political block: the Muslim communities are an integral part of European society and have to be protected from all forms of discrimination; their religious freedom must be ensured and all adopted migration rulings and anti-terror measures taken must comply with international human rights standards; second, organisational block: the states should monitor discrimination against Muslims and systematically promote tolerance and dialogue among their citizens, institutions and media; third, social block: the states should engage actively in dialogue with Muslim communities and look for ways to accommodate the religious needs of Muslims in all areas of society.
Monitoring discrimination against Muslims in Europe is a pioneer effort of the IHF. The report results in a totally different perspective in the global context of the war-against-terror and the on-going deteriorating image of Islam and Muslims in Europe since 9/11.
"De-alienation" of the 'other'
Anti-Muslim attitudes, like all other forms of discrimination against minorities, are not compatible with democracy and human rights. An inter-cultural dialogue in Europe that is based on transparency, tolerance and "de-alienation" of the 'other' should aim to re-model the multicultural-concept from one of "living beside each other" to "living together".
On the one hand, governments, political organisations, NGOs and individuals have to acknowledge that the Muslims are an integral part of modern Europe. On the other hand, the integration process is a two-way street. Muslim communities have to find creative and pragmatic ways to adjust their lifestyles to European societies and cultures.
There are no secret and quick formulas to prevent intolerance and discrimination and at the same time avoid the difficulties of integration. It is the painstaking daily, local and regional efforts by all the parties involved that will bring the process forward. This report is a step in the right direction.
Ala Al-Hamarneh
© Qantara.de 2005
Dr. Ala Al-Hamarneh, born in Amman, Jordan, is a free-lance journalist and lecturer.
Qantara.de
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