European Human Rights Organizations Call on EU Leaders to Tackle Islamophobia

Brussels,20 Dzulhijah 1437/22 September 2016 (MINA) – A coalition of human rights organisations fighting Islamophobia in Europe called on EU leaders and European decision makers Wednesday to tackle rising anti-Muslim hatred as a matter of urgency, KUNA reported.

“The recent human rights violations and abusive political discourse around the burkini bans in France epitomised the hatred faced by Muslims, and Muslim women in particular.”

Both politicians from across the political spectrum and the judiciary have capitalised on this structural Islamophobia to enforce discriminatory policies,” said the organizations in a joint statement to mark European Day Against Islamophobia.

It noted that France is not alone. A study in Germany has shown that Islamophobia has risen markedly, with 40% of people surveyed who believe Muslims should be forbidden from coming to Germany.

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Government and political representatives in eastern European countries, including Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, repeatedly talk of a “Muslim invasion” and refuse to accept Muslim refugees.

There has been a surge in racist incidents, including against Muslim communities, following the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom, noted the statement. In addition, it lamented, that security-oriented counter-terrorism measures are having a disproportionate impact on Muslim individuals, including racial profiling by law enforcement authorities, police abuses during raids.
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The statement urged the EU to publicly recognise and condemn Islamophobia as a specific form of racism.

It called on the EU to agree on a roadmap to ensure that member states adopt national strategies to combat Islamophobia in areas such as employment, education, health, hate crime and criminal justice.

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EU and national counter-terrorism measures must build on independent impact assessment studies and include human rights safeguards , it added.

The signatories of the statement include the European Network Against Racism, Centre of Islamophobia in Belgium, European Forum of Muslim Women, Euro-Mediterranean Centre of migration and development, Federation of European Muslim Youth and Student Organisations, Karamah – Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights , and Muslim human rights committee of Sweden. (T/R07/R01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)