Balkans | Anti-Muslim sentiments around the world lead to terrorist acts

Increased anti-Muslim hate crimes (Islamophobia) against Muslim communities in recent years have turned into terrorist incidents all over the world, especially in European countries.

Reporter A. a. By compiling terrorist incidents caused by anti-Muslims (Islamophobia) around the world.

The bill submitted by Turkey and Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) within the scope of combating Islamophobia has been accepted as the “International Day to Combat Islamophobia” on March 15, 2022 at the United Nations (UN) General. crowd.

The resolution adopted at the United Nations called for strengthening international efforts based on respect for human rights and various religions and beliefs, promoting a culture of tolerance and peace, and global dialogue.

All over the world, Muslims continue to face various manifestations of anti-Muslim violence and hate crimes, despite their continued social and economic contributions.

Many Muslims have lost their lives or been injured in organized or individual terrorist attacks for years.

In a 2022 report published by the Brussels-based Group Against Islamophobia in Europe (CCIE), it was determined that the rise of the far right in European politics in 2022 led to an increase in cases of anti-Islamism.

In the report, which emphasized that anti-Muslims are often denied and underestimated in Europe, it was mentioned that there is a big gap between the statistical data on Islamophobia and the facts on the ground.

According to the report, the CCIE received 787 complaints last year and identified 527 of them as anti-Muslim cases. These included acts such as discrimination, provocation, hate crimes, insults, physical assaults, and moral harassment.

While the victims were women in 427 out of 527 cases, 251 of these incidents occurred in the public domain, while 186 incidents occurred in private companies.

It has been 4 years since the terrorist attack against Islam in New Zealand

On March 15, 2019, an attacker named Brenton Tarrant attacked the Noor and Linwood mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, with automatic weapons, during Friday prayers.

The Australian terrorist Tarrant, who settled in the house he rented in Dunedin, New Zealand, to carry out the terrorist attack, and it was found that he was practicing target practice in the shooting ranges there, attacked Muslims with automatic weapons who were praying in two mosques in Christchurch.

51 people, including women and children, died, and 49 people were injured, two of whom were Turkish citizens.

The far-right terrorist, who live-streamed the attack through his social media account and advocated for “white supremacy,” was arrested by police immediately after the attack.

Tarrant was sentenced to life without parole after being found guilty of 51 murders, 40 separate attempted murders and one terrorist offense at Christchurch High Court in 2020.

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who responded forcefully to the terrorist attack and never used the terrorist’s name, described the attack as “today is one of New Zealand’s darkest days”.

Ardern’s Labor government, which has supported Muslims in the country by reading the upcoming Friday prayers live on state television, has passed a law banning semi-automatic military weapons in the country.

Europe is the most widespread epicenter of Islamophobia

In its report published in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation 2020, it was reported that anti-Muslim sentiment has become the main component of campaigns by far-right groups in Europe.

While it was recorded that hate speech and physical attacks on Muslims on social media were mostly experienced in Europe, it was determined that Europe remains the most active hotspot for anti-Islamists.

A call to “shoot the radical Islamists” in Sweden

Ebba Bosch, then head of the Christian Democrats and now deputy prime minister of Sweden, told the police to “don’t shoot the radical Islamists,” after some Muslim groups protested against acts of Quran-burning by Danes’ now-right politician Rasmus Paludan in Sweden. .

In 2017-2021, 996 anti-Islamic acts were recorded in the country, and it was reported that children experience serious discrimination by 20 percent, especially in the health and education sector.

The European Islamophobia Report indicates that in 2021, racism against Islam is seriously felt in many areas of social life in the old continent, and draws attention to the institutionalization of anti-Muslims through regulations that countries such as Austria and others have put into effect. France.

According to the report, 1061 racist acts were carried out against Muslims in Austria, while 68 percent of these acts took place on digital platforms.

It is noteworthy that the perpetrators of acts targeting Muslims are 77% of men, and the victims are women, at a rate of 69%.

In 2022, 732 anti-Islam racist acts were recorded in Germany. 54 mosques and 43 people in the country became the target of physical attacks.

In Finland, 852 hate crimes were committed in 2021, 85 percent of the cases were due to racism on the basis of race, and about 13 percent were due to differences in religion and belief.

With the implementation of the anti-discrimination law, which was opposed by many human rights advocates and opposition parties, oppression and discrimination against Muslims intensified.

Under the law, in the name of fighting “terrorism” and “radical Islam,” the government implemented practices such as banning Islamic symbols, not allowing religious activities, and arbitrarily shutting down some Islamic organizations throughout 2021.

While 213 anti-Muslim acts were reported in the country, half of them (109) were reported as physical attacks targeting mosques, associations and cemeteries owned by Muslims, and 22 percent targeted individuals.

The veiled government commissioner in Belgium resigns as a result of pressure

In Belgium, discrimination against Muslim women who wear the hijab has increased in business and politics. While women are the biggest victims of Islamophobic racist attacks at 89 percent in the country, most of said attacks are reported to take place online and in the media at 46 percent.

Ihssane Hawash, a Moroccan-Belgian activist and politician who was appointed government commissioner for the Institute for Gender Equality, resigned after 6 weeks due to the anti-Islamic reactions she was subjected to because she wore the hijab in 2021.

A threatening message to mosques and Muslim homes in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, threatening messages were sent to the mosques and homes of Muslims, stating that “Islam does not belong to the Netherlands,” and the cases in which Muslims followed were repeated in the past year.

The fact that the court did not decide to prosecute the cases for threatening letters and did not characterize these acts as crimes also generated controversy.

While there has been a 41 percent increase in racist attacks in Spain in the past five years, it has been seen that anti-Islamic hate speech has increased dramatically, particularly on digital platforms.

Hate crimes in the United Kingdom increased by 9% in 2021. He stated that 45 percent of all incidents recorded under the heading of religious hate crimes were directed against Muslims, and that crimes committed in this area increased by 291 percent in the past ten years.

Knife attack on a mosque in Albania

In the attack on the mosque community of the Hajj Mosque in the capital, Tirana, on April 19, 2021, Rudolf Nicoli entered after noon prayers and stabbed five people. “All Muslims must be punished,” Nikoli shouted, as the police arrested him. A total of 3 cases of Islamophobia were recorded in the country last year.

The report, which stated that the Muslim community in the country still suffers from basic human rights such as prayer, concealment and protest, stressed that non-governmental organizations have an important role in this regard.

While 14 cases of Islamophobia were recorded in Greece in 2021, it is noted that discriminatory methods against Muslims in the country are widespread in the eyes of the public, politicians and the Greek Orthodox Church.

While there were 6 cases of Islamophobia in Hungary in 2021, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s discriminatory statements against Muslims stood out. “Immigration must be stopped because only Muslims come, and this changes the Christian cultural identity of the European Union,” Orban said. His statement and statements that the potential EU membership of Bosnia and Herzegovina would be a challenge to the Union drew attention due to the large number of Muslims in this country.

In Romania, where a total of two cases of Islamophobia have been recorded, the results of public opinion polls revealed that people do not want Muslims around, although the reported hate speech was not as intense.

More than 60% of the population see Muslims as a potential danger, while 52% believe illegal immigrants should be stopped at European borders.

AA