Elham Asaad Buaras
Rising anti-Muslim political rhetoric has fuelled distrust of authorities and increased the frequency of unreported Islamophobic attacks in Germany, according to a prominent Berlin-based Muslim community leader.
Figures provided during a parliamentary question and answer session last month, revealed there were 124 attacks on Muslims and mosques in Germany in the first 90 days of 2023, an average of more than one per day.
Chair of the Islamic Council for the Federal Republic of Germany, Burhan Kesici, told Anadolu Agency, “The number of attacks against mosques has increased in the past few months… and we assume that the number of unreported cases is much higher.”
“Many Muslims do not report incidents of Islamophobia because such acts are not clearly defined or because they do not trust (the authorities). So, we assume the number of unreported cases is much higher.”
Another issue raised by Kesici is that sometimes attacks against mosques are not always categorised as Islamophobic attacks. “They are registered in other categories, for example, as just arson attacks, so one needs to take a closer look at these statistics,” he said.
Germany has the second-largest Muslim population in Western Europe, after France. According to official data, almost 5 million Muslims live in a country of over 84 million people.
Between January and December 2022, German police recorded at least 610 Islamophobic hate crimes, including attacks on 62 mosques, with at least 39 individuals injured in anti-Muslim violence. There were at least 662 Islamophobic crimes committed in 2021, including attacks on 46 mosques, and at least 17 people were injured.
According to Interior Ministry data for 2020, over 900 Islamophobic hate crimes were committed in Germany that year, with roughly 80 mosques attacked and at least 48 people injured.
The majority of the attacks, according to the police, were carried out by neo-Nazi and right-wing extremist groups.
The growing Islamophobia threat in Germany also ties in with a surge in support for far-right political forces.
According to the latest polls released earlier this month, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats for the first time since the 2021 elections.
In such a climate, ugly comments from politicians, according to Kesici, are driving anti-Muslim sentiment in Germany. “I do not think that authorities are doing enough (against Islamophobia). They must send a message underscoring that Muslims belong to this country and enrich our society. They must take stronger action against anti-Muslim hostility,” he said.
Last December, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser promised tough anti-Islamophobia measures at a conference. Faeser acknowledged that “many people face racism each and every day in Germany.”
“Muslims experience double racism. They are often facing hostility and rejection as members of the Islamic religion, but also as people with immigration backgrounds,” she said.
According to Kesici, policymakers must address counter-Islamophobic discourse concealed as critical dialogue.
“If someone starts disseminating anti-Muslim hatred, one should intervene and counter this. But, unfortunately, what we see is that in politics, and also in society, what is often presented as ‘criticism of Islam’ is actually anti-Muslim hostility,” he said.
