AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in its latest annual Islamophobia Report, announced that Europe ranked as the world’s second most Islamophobic region in 2024.
According to the report, a significant portion of Islamophobia across Europe manifests through online hate speech, with its intensity surpassing that of other regions. The OIC noted that August and September witnessed a steady increase in Islamophobic incidents, particularly in the United Kingdom amid heated debates over immigration policies, and in Germany with the rise of far-right rallies targeting Muslim communities.
Muslims, numbering around 26 million, constitute the second-largest religious group within the European Union. The latest data from the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights revealed that nearly half of Muslims in the EU have experienced racial discrimination, up from 39 percent in 2016. These discriminatory acts have been most common in the labor and housing markets. Following the events of October 7, 2023, Islamophobic incidents surged across Europe, especially in Austria, Belgium, and Bulgaria. In Austria alone, more than 1,500 anti-Muslim hate crimes were recorded in 2023, the highest figure since 2015.
Among 13 EU member states surveyed, Austria (71%), Germany (68%), and Finland (63%) reported the highest rates of discrimination against Muslims.
Globally, far-right movements accounted for 25 percent of all Islamophobic cases, making them the largest driver of such incidents, followed by online hate speech, which represented about one-fifth of the total. Discrimination, verbal abuse, and physical attacks collectively comprised more than a quarter of all cases.
The OIC identified France and Germany as the main centers of Islamophobia within the European Union, attributing this trend to the resurgence of far-right groups and growing anti-immigrant sentiment in countries such as France, Germany, and Sweden.
Nevertheless, the organization emphasized that Europe’s existing legal mechanisms against discrimination are actively working to reduce Islamophobic attitudes and policies.
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