News / Germany

Islamophobia on rise in Germany, study shows

Wednesday, 15 June 2016 3:45 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 15 June 2016 3:45 PM ]

A supporter of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party displays a placard against Chancellor Angela Merkel during a demonstration against the government's asylum policy in Berlin on November 7, 2015. (AFP photo)

A new study shows that Islamophobia has considerably increased in Germany amid influx of refugees into the European country.

According to the results of the survey released on Wednesday, every second respondent in the study of 2,420 people said they sometimes felt like a foreigner in their own state due to the high number of Muslims, up from 43 percent in 2014 and 30.2 percent in 2009.

Over 40 percent of those who participated in the study believed that Muslims should be banned from entering Germany, up from about 20 percent in 2009.

The survey was carried out by researchers at the University of Leipzig in cooperation with the Heinrich Boell Foundation, the Rosa-Luxemburg Foundation and the Otto-Brenner foundation.

The study found that supporters of the anti-refugee right-wing political party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), were most likely to favor preventing Muslims from coming to Germany while Green respondents were most likely to disapprove of the statement that Muslims made them feel like foreigners.

Demonstrators protest against the German government's asylum policy on October 7, 2015 in Erfurt, eastern Germany. (AFP photo)

The extreme right-wing views and resentment towards other groups in the country have also risen, according to the poll.

"While general prejudice against migrants fell slightly, the focus of resentment towards asylums seekers, Muslims as well as Sinti and Roma, increased," the authors of the study said.

The survey also said that more than 80 percent of respondents wanted the government not to be very open-handed in examining applications for asylum.

Muslims make up nearly five percent of the total population of Germany, which is home to some four million Muslims.

The Western European state registered about 1.1 million refugees, mostly Muslims, between January and December 2015.

Europe is facing an unprecedented influx of refugees, most of whom are fleeing conflict zones in Africa and the Middle East, particularly Syria.

Many blame major European powers for the unprecedented exodus, saying their policies have led to a surge in terrorism and war in the violence-hit regions, forcing more people out of their homes.

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