Surging Anti-Muslim Discrimination Takes Center Stage in U.S., Europe in 2023

ISTANBUL (KI) – Increasing anti-Muslim sentiments in Europe and the U.S. have brought discrimination to the forefront in 2023.

The bigotry has been supported directly or indirectly by governments that are held up as beacons of freedom and in one particular case as the “only democracy in the Middle East.”
The Zionist regime’s attacks on residential areas, hospitals, schools, mosques and churches in the Gaza Strip have left the world demanding a ceasefire.
Western countries, notably the U.S., have turned a blind eye or openly supported the Zionist regime’s bombing of the enclave, where civilians are being killed.
Danish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan burned the Qur’an in front of Turkey’s Stockholm Embassy on Jan. 21 and its Copenhagen Embassy on Jan. 27.
Paludan continued his Qur’an-burning provocations in Malmo, Norrkoping and Jonkoping during the Easter holiday in April.
Iraqi-origin Salwan Momika also burned the Muslim holy book under police protection in front of the Stockholm Mosque on June 28, coinciding with the first day of the Eid al-Adha holiday.
Momika, on July 20 in front of Iraq’s Stockholm Embassy and on July 31 in front of the Swedish Parliament building, trampled the Qur’an and the Iraqi flag under police protection. Increasing his attacks. He continued to burn the Qur’an in various locations in Stockholm on Aug. 25, 26, 27, and 29 under police protection.
The UN Human Rights Council said Qur’an-burning provocations in Europe fueled hate speech and increased discrimination. The Council also expressed that future sessions would discuss religious hate actions in more detail.
Following the announcement by Education Minister Gabriel Attal on Aug. 27 that the use of the abaya by women in schools would be prohibited, the ADM Association, which advocates for the rights of Muslims, took the ban to the Council of State.
The Council of State in France rejected the request to suspend the ban on Sept. 7. It argued that female students wore the abaya and male students wore the kamis, a traditional tunic, for religious reasons.
And Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera announced that no French woman in the French delegation would be allowed to wear a headscarf during the Paris Games.
UN Human Rights High Commissioner’s spokesperson, Marta Hurtado, said in response that the ban was not justified. “The Human Rights Office generally emphasizes that no one should dictate what a woman should or should not wear,” she said.
A report published in November on anti-Muslim sentiment in Germany noted that one in every two people in the country approved or used expressions that contained “anti-Muslim hatred.”
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced that anti-Muslim sentiment had risen recently and mechanisms and advisory centers documenting it would be increased next year.
In the Netherlands, at least 10 municipalities conducted secret investigations on mosques, imams, leaders of religious organizations and influential individuals in congregations.
It was reported that the research, financed by the Dutch Security and Counterterrorism Agency through municipalities, was conducted by a private firm called NTA, Nuance door Training en Advies.
Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Karien van Gennip expressed regret about the investigation and said lessons would be learned.
A Human Rights Report released by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in April noted that complaints about anti-Muslim sentiment, prejudice and discrimination had fallen compared to 2021, but complaints in the education sector had increased by 33%.
In June, three Democratic members of the U.S. Congress introduced the “International Islamophobia Combat Act” against the increase in anti-Muslim incidents worldwide.