News / Interviews

Muslims victim of hate culture in Europe: Activist

Tuesday, 17 January 2017 6:49 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 17 January 2017 6:49 PM ]

Supporters of the anti-immigrant, anti-Islam PEGIDA movement mark their second year of existence as they demonstrate in Dresden, eastern Germany, on October 16 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Amnesty International has warned that new counter-terrorism laws in Europe discriminate against Muslims and refugees and push the green continent into a deep and dangerous situation of securitization. The new regulations, adopted in 14 member states of the European Union, expose the minorities to unchecked government surveillance. The EU resorts to a series of terrorist attacks in Paris, Berlin and other European cities to justify a loose definition of terrorism.

Massoud Shadjareh, head of the Islamic Human Rights Commission from London, said that Western politicians and media are trying to misinterpret the threat of terrorism to demonize the Muslim community.

“The whole concept of fight against terrorism has become so Islamophobic,” which promotes the “culture of otherness” in European countries, Shadjareh told Press TV’s Top 5 on Tuesday.

The “environment of hate” against particular groups like the Muslim community has been created by the Western politicians and media in Europe and turned into a culture, he stated.

The analyst further noted that the hatred has always been present in the West, but it has been legitimized in recent years, because Western media and authorities put the blame for insecurity in their countries on the Muslim community while “only a small fraction of 7, 8 or 9 percent” of Muslims committed terror acts.

Some people resort to the false perception that Muslims are source of insecurity in the Western world in order to demonize and then annihilate the small minority, he noted.

Demonization of Muslim community in the West may lead to “fascism”, “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide,” the analyst argued.

The Muslim community and refugees have played an important role in the European society and have been mostly welcomed by the Europeans. Critics say policies adopted by certain European governments have fueled terrorism and the influx of refugees into Europe.

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