Published: 22 March 2013
Region: Europe
The European Network against Racism warned that Islamophobia, or discrimination against Muslims, is widespread in many European countries. Prejudice towards Muslims is often more visible than that affecting other religious or ethnic minority groups – concludes the survey released on International Day against Racial Discrimination.
Muslim women and girls are particularly affected, facing an extreme form of double discrimination on the basis of both their religion and their gender.
In France for instance, 85% of all Islamophobic acts target women.
The survey which is part of ENAR’s Shadow Report on Racism in Europe says that manifestations of Islamophobia include discrimination and violence towards Muslims, criminal damage to Islamic buildings, and protests against the building of mosques even in countries, such as Poland, where some Muslim communities have been established and integrated for centuries.
In addition, anti-Muslim and anti-immigration discourses, promoted and exacerbated by both extremist and mainstream political parties, are fuelling discrimination and preventing ethnic and religious communities from participating fully in the European society and economy.
ENAR’s Shadow Report also highlights that discrimination continues to affect the lives of many ethnic and religious minorities throughout Europe as regards their access to education, employment, housing, goods and services as well as how they are treated by the police and criminal justice systems.For instance, Roma children form approximately one third of the ‘special needs’ school population in the Czech Republic.
In Ireland, a study was conducted whereby fictitious CVs were sent to recruiters, half with recognisably Irish names and the other half with African, Asian and German names. It found that candidates with Irish names were twice as likely to be invited to interviews as non-Irish candidates with comparable levels of skills and qualifications.
You can read ENAR’s Shadow Report on Racism in Europe in full here