World

EU sees rise in anti-Muslim sentiments

EU report reveals a rise in anti-Muslim sentiment, with nearly half facing racism and discrimination daily.

AFP October 25, 2024

A man holding up the Muslim holy book the Quran, leads a rally against anti-Muslim sentiment, following a one-man protest outside parliament last month, where a supporter of the Dutch chapter of the German anti-Islam group Pegida, tore pages out of the Holy Quran, in The Hague, Netherlands, on February 5, 2023. Photo AFP

BRUSSELS:

Muslims in Europe are facing "ever more racism and discrimination", the EU rights agency said on Thursday, noting a "sharp rise" even before the Hamas attack against Israel caused "a spike in anti-Muslim hatred".

Several EU nations have reported a rise in anti-Muslim, as well as anti-Semitic acts since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, which then launched a retaliatory offensive on Gaza, according to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). So far, more than 42,000 civilians have been killed in Palestine.

"We are aware of reports from several EU countries, highlighting a spike in anti-Muslim hatred - as well as anti-Semitism - after the Hamas attacks," FRA spokeswoman Nicole Romain told AFP. But even before then, a new FRA report shows "it was getting more difficult to be a Muslim in the EU".

Nearly one in two Muslims in the EU face racism and discrimination in their daily life, "a sharp rise" from 39 per cent FRA found in the last edition of its survey in 2016.