Rights group warns anti-Muslim racism rising in Germany
A leading German human rights organization has raised the alarm about an increasing trend in anti-Muslim racism and hate crimes in the country.
The German Institute for Human Rights (DIMR) warned on Monday of rising anti-Muslim racism, advising authorities to avoid making over-generalizations and spreading negative stereotypes about Muslims.
DIMR raised concerns over the increased number of anti-Muslim incidents in a 32-page report review of the impact of the ongoing Israeli regime's genocidal war against the Palestinians on the Gaza Strip that Tel Aviv leaders launched last October.
The report called on community leaders and media outlets in the world not to generalize and relay negative stereotypes of Muslims.
The DIMR's director said making over-generalizations and spreading negative stereotypes of Muslims in political discourse and media coverage have negative impact on basic human rights and freedoms.
Beate Rudolf told reporters at a press conference in Berlin, “Generalizations only promote ... racism against Palestinians and Muslims.”
She said over-generalizations and negative stereotyping had led to anti-Semitism, as well.
The DIMR’s report showed that the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Germany had also increased since the Israeli regime unleashed its killing machine on Gaza in October 2023.
The DIMR called on German authorities to promote stronger civic engagement, expanding preventive measures such as awareness-raising programs in educational institutions and providing support for projects that combat misinformation and conspiracy theories in an effort to decrease anti-Muslim racism and hate crimes in Germany.
It also emphasized that restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly should only be implemented in exceptional situations as permitted by law.
“The bans on demonstrations described as ‘pro-Palestinian’ in the months after October 7, 2023 made it difficult for people, especially people with a Palestinian family history, to publicly express their grief for the many civilian victims in the Gaza Strip and their solidarity with the civilian population there and to demand an end to the war, and an independent Palestinian State,” the report said.
The DIMR report revealed that Germany's leaders and the media in the country oftentimes neglect the fact that Israeli Jews also attended some of the pro-Palestinian protests, advocating for the rights and concerns of both sides.
The DIMR's report showed that 1,926 anti-Muslim racist incidents were documented across Germany last year – averaging more than five cases per day and marking a 114 percent increase from 898 incidents in 2022.
A survey by a European Union agency showed that discrimination against Muslims was rapidly getting worse across Europe.
The EU's Vienna-based Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) found that nearly half of Muslims in Europe had faced discrimination over the past five years and the situation was getting worse rapidly amid the escalated tensions in the Middle East.
FRA warned "it was getting more difficult to be a Muslim in the EU."
"We are aware of reports from several EU countries, highlighting a spike in anti-Muslim hatred," FRA spokeswoman, Nicole Romain, said in an AFP interview in late October.
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