Growing Islamophobia worries European Muslims

The increasing phenomenon of Islamophobia, racism and attacks on mosques in Western countries raises the concern of Muslims in Europe, especially after more than 700 attacks on mosques in Germany were recorded between 2014 and 2020;

And then European Muslims demand the security authorities in European countries to take action to stop these attacks.

Kemal Arkoun, head of the National Vision Association of the Muslim Community in Germany - based in Cologne - says that the data show that there were 122 attacks on mosques in Germany during 2020 alone.

Arkoun added that a large number of mosques in Germany were subjected to attacks, bombing attempts and threats insulting to Islam during the past year.

Which led to the growing concern of Muslim communities in this country.

He stressed the need for security authorities in Germany to move to arrest the perpetrators who attacked mosques, especially after the number of attacks on mosques in Germany amounted to more than 700 during the period between 2014 and 2020.

"Some mosques are attacked repeatedly, while the level of violence and threats against Muslims, such as arson and writing threats and insults on the walls of some mosques, increases, year after year," he said.

Arkoun warned that racism against Muslims "has become more violent after the terrorist attacks in Europe. Unfortunately, the extreme right is working to incite society to display aggressive attitudes towards Muslims, and Muslim women, mosques and Islamic associations are the most affected by these attacks and the racist atmosphere."

Arkoun called on the security forces to conduct more meaningful investigations, and to find the perpetrators of these attacks on mosques in the shortest time.

He added, "We have seen the efforts made by the security forces in Germany to investigate the attacks on many mosques, but the attackers have not been arrested, and they continue to wander around German cities and threaten social peace."

For his part, the head of the European Islamic League, Darmush Yıldırım, said, “The racists in Western countries began organizing anti-Muslim activities, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the immigration of Turkish Muslim labor to Europe.

He explained that racist associations and parties "are working to stir fear within German society by referring to the growing number of members of Muslim communities in the country, and their reaching the level of representation in the Federal Parliament, and we are concerned about the increasing racial violence against Muslim immigrants, as a mosque is attacked every day." Approximately".

Yildirim condemned the exploitation of the issue of Muslim immigrants in local and general elections, "because this situation reflects negatively on Muslim immigrants within German society."

The German police discovered last year that there were elements inside it belonging to the far-right "neo-Nazis", and they were working to deepen anti-Muslims within German society.

He also noted, "Some populist politicians continue to spread hatred against Muslims, pursuing discriminatory policies against foreigners and immigrants, adding that nearly 900 mosques have been subjected to various attacks in the past two years."

Yildirim emphasized that the European Islamic League "is following the current negative developments in the file of the increasing attacks on members of Muslim communities and their mosques in European countries. He considered that" it is necessary to put an end to the racist and populist discourse as soon as possible, and to make a greater effort to promote the values ​​of coexistence. "

On the same level, the president of the International Union of Democrats in Germany, Blend Belke, says, "Unfortunately, in the past five years, hostility to Islam and Muslims has reached frightening proportions in European societies."

Noting that there is concern throughout Europe about the flow of Muslim immigrants from the Middle East and Asia to Europe;

This increased the popular base for Islamophobia that was already in place. "

He pointed out that security forces in both Germany and France launched raids on mosques without apparent reasons, as 150 masked policemen raided some mosques under the pretext of suspected misuse of the aid provided during the epidemic.

Belky added that "there is an effort to establish European Islam, French Islam, and German Islam, of course we are against such attempts ... There was never an Arab or Turkish Islam until Europe had its own Islam."

He considered that "the project of the Imams Council within the Islamic Council in France aims to lay the foundations for French Islam, but all these attempts will fail because they lack a popular incubator."

For his part, the head of the Turkish Culture Center in Brühl (Western Germany), Aydin Barmakszoglu, said, "There has always been phobia of Islam and Muslims in Europe and Germany, to the extent that associations bearing Islamic names were constantly monitored by the Organization for the Protection of the Constitution (Intelligence); This is evidence of the roots of Islamophobia within European countries. "

He also pointed out that the German constitution guarantees all citizens and residents the right to establish all kinds of religious and cultural activities, but the presence of racist elements within German institutions reflects negatively on the practice of foreigners of these rights.

He concluded by saying, "If Germany does not overcome extremist groups within it, we may lose peace in Europe tomorrow and go back. Germany must make great and serious efforts to get rid of racist elements within state institutions, and to reinforce the values ​​of social peace between citizens and members of the communities."