Over 1,000 Anti-Muslim Attacks Reported in Austria in 2021

Vienna, MINA – There were 1,061 incidents of anti-Muslim racism and Islamophobia in Austria in 2021, according to a new report released on Thursday.

According to the 2021 Report on Anti-Muslim Racism released by the Austrian Documentation and Counseling Center for Muslims (Dokustelle Osterreich), most attacks occur on digital platforms as more social interactions take place on the internet due to COVID-19 restrictions, Anadolu Agency reports.

The report said that 69% of those targeted by anti-Muslim racism, verbal and physical attacks, were women.

In many incidents, women wearing headscarves were verbally abused, and in some cases, they were subjected to physical assault.

While 65.4% of attacks against Muslims aare carried out on online platforms, 34.6% of them occur in various areas of social life.

The report also said 77% of racist attacks were perpetrated by men and 22% by women.

The report said hate speech and incitement against Muslims contributed to 78.5% of the total incidents.

While insults make up 9.1% of reported cases of anti-Muslim racism, physical damage to property belonging to Muslims is 2.4%.

About 4% of the reported cases are discriminatory practices and racist behavior towards Muslims, in various fields of social life.

It was also reported that several other forms of racist incidents, including police mistreatment, threats, psychological violence and physical abuse represented 6.2% of the total cases. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)