Half of Muslims living in the EU say they suffer discrimination on a daily basis, according to a report published on Thursday, October 24, a situation that worsened significantly even before the “peak of hate” caused by Hamas attacks on Israeli soil.
The data collected shows that it is “increasingly difficult to be a Muslim in the EU,” European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) spokesperson Nicole Romain told AFP.
Of 9,600 people surveyed between October 2021 and October 2022 in 13 EU countries, almost one in two Muslims said they faced racism in their daily lives, up from 39% in 2016, when the previous study was carried out. .
“A peak of hate”
Since October 7, 2023, studies show “a spike in hatred against Muslims”, fueled by the conflict in the Middle East, adds Romain.
In July, this Vienna-based EU body published a study on the “rising tide of anti-Semitism.”
Austria (71%) and Germany (68%) are the two countries where they most complain about being victims of racism. France stands at 39%, with Spain and Sweden being the best results.
Especially in the labor market and in the search for accommodation, the study points to a “dizzying increase” in discrimination, with women who wear religious clothing being more exposed than those who do not, and only men.
skin color
According to this study “Muslims are attacked not only because of their religion, but also because of the color of their skin and their ethnic or immigrant origin.”
“Nearly half of them think their last arrest was due to illegal racial profiling” and they are “three times more likely to leave school early than the general population.”
Given these “worrying” conclusions, the FRA recommends that the EU focus on racism against Muslims, “aggravated” according to its president Sirpa Rautio “by the dehumanizing rhetoric that we observe across the continent.”
Muslims represent the second largest religious group in the EU and, according to the most recent Pew Research Center estimates from 2016, 26 million, or 5% of the total population, live there. The majority reside in France and Germany.
This number has “increased significantly in recent years due to people fleeing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria,” according to the report.
The first report was accompanied by the creation by the European Commission of the position of coordinator of the fight against hatred of Muslims.
Source: BFM TV