Nadine Osman
Legal ambiguity allows increased Islamophobic offenses to go unpunished across Europe, according to the Belgium-based think tank Thinkout.
Thinkout’s Baker Gunes said certain legal loopholes in Europe did not punish people who commit Islamophobic crimes.
“In most places you cannot open a case personally [over a complaint of Islamophobic crime],” he said, adding that certain new legal arrangements for such crimes should be made.
Azra Junuzovic, who is the Deputy Chief of the Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Unit under the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said on February 19 that intolerance and discrimination against Muslims posed a serious problem.
Junuzovic also said discrimination against Muslims is on the rise, according to recent research.
More than 40 million Muslims live in Europe, according to the US-based think tank Pew.
