Germany

- Recently, a wave of racism and Islamophobia has escalated against Arab voices in European and Western societies in general.

One of those voices was the Palestinian-American journalist Heba Jamal, who used her Twitter account to tell her story and the racist harassment she was subjected to during her time in Germany.

According to her personal information via Twitter, she was born in the US state of New York before she moved to live in Germany during the past two years, and worked for a number of English-speaking press organizations.

Contacting Heba to learn more about her story, she confirmed that Islamophobia is a crime that is not recognized by law in Germany, wishing that this European country would take actual steps to address hatred against Muslims.

Turn to Twitter

"I don't think I can leave the house alone without my husband or at least a family member with me," Heba said in a series of tweets, adding, "Every time I'm alone, a German person takes it upon himself to tell me that I'm not welcome here."

She explained that living in Germany as a Muslim woman meant for her that she should lose her independence and personal identity by staying at home, rather than repeatedly insulting herself when he left.

After two years in Germany, she said, "This country is really terrible. I can tell a number of incidents that happen to me that are similar to each other, and when I'm with my son too. But it never happens when I'm with my husband, nobody dares to say anything."

Living in Germany as a Muslim woman means I have to forfeit my independence for my safety.

I rather stay at home than risk being humiliated time and time again.

— Hebh Jamal (@hebh_jamal) September 17, 2022

The law does not protect her

Heba said - in an e-mail to Sanad Verification Agency on Al Jazeera Network - that Islamophobia is not a crime punishable by German law, and indicated that racist attitudes to which she is exposed are not always direct.

She explained that when she was talking through the Zoom application in a café, a "white" woman attacked her and demanded her to leave the place because she was causing inconvenience to those around her, before a number of white people in the café joined her at that time.

On the role of the authorities in protecting immigrants and minorities, Heba said, "I do not want to go to the police and tell them that I am subjected to hatred, especially since there are many reports documenting racism and ideas of white supremacy among German policemen."

mixed reactions

Heba confirmed that many authorities and public figures in Germany sent messages of support to her because of the tweets she posted on her account last week.

"I received a large number of messages filled with racism and hatred, which confirm my view that this society may never accept me as a Muslim woman," she said.

The Palestinian-origin journalist concluded her letter to Sanad Agency, wishing Germany would take actual steps to address hatred against Muslims, but she expressed her pessimism, saying, "Part of me is still convinced that this will never happen."

The German government had announced - in response to an interrogation by the Left Party - that 83 Islamophobia crimes had been recorded during the first quarter of this year, resulting in the injury of 5 people.

In this context, a report prepared by the Brandeilig.org initiative of the Association Against Discrimination (FAIR) indicated that 768 attacks on mosques in Germany were recorded between January 2014 and June 2021, indicating that the number of cases that did not It is reported much higher.