A surge in Islamophobic attacks in Europe

Ahmed Lamloum

Europe is witnessing a surge in hatred attacks against Muslims in particular. In the UK, the Home Ministry has warned in its report on October 15 that Islamophobic attacks were increasing  in the country. The British Home Ministry said that hatred attacks targeting Muslims alone increased by 52%.

The ministry attributed the growing phenomenon in this respect to the aftermath of the suicide bombing at Manchester Arena, in which 23 people were killed. However, the British government’s Brexit decision is said to have fueled hatred feelings in the country.  Far-right groups in Britain are also accused of abusing Muslims physically and online. In May this year, Paul Golding, the leader of the far-right group Britain First was given 9-month sentence after he was found guilty of religiously-aggravated harassment online against Muslims.

The record number (94098) of anti-Muslim attacks and incidents of abuse in the UK took place from April 2017 to March this year. About 42255 incidents were reported in 2012. According to the ministry’s report, about 70 people were killed in suicidal attacks by ISIS in the UK since 2014.

Islamophobia first swept across Europe in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in the US, giving the far-right groups the opportunity to oust their political opponents from the scene.

Muslims in France are not more fortunate, especially after ISIS claimed its responsibility for terrorist attacks, which took place in the country in the past few years. However, hatred against Muslims in France escalated by the terrorist attack on the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. According to the French daily Liberation, Islamophobic incidents increased to 72 this year from 67 in 2017.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb came under fire in this respect when he criticized Mariam Bogeto, Chairwoman of the National Union of Students of France, (Union nationale des etudiants de France) for wearing the hejab. Collomb’s alleged anti-Islam remarks shocked the Muslim community in France. Defending her integrity, UNEF’s chairwoman denied that her Hejab was displaying any political leanings. To contain the situation, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his respect to the veiled women.

In Germany, Der Spiegel magazine said that hatred crimes against Muslims by far-right groups had increased alarmingly. The weekly news magazine quoted the spokesman of Berlin police as saying that 950 attacks against Muslims and their mosques had taken place in 2017.

The German police said that 33 people were injured in these attacks. The spokesman of the Berlin police said that mosques came under 60 attacks launched by far-right groups in the country.  A report released by the German government showed that anti-Muslim incidents were higher in the second quarter of 2017 than any time before.