Countries in Europe allow hate crimes against Muslims by legitimizing "Islamophobia" and introducing laws that prohibit or limit their religious practices, according to one expert.

Anas Berkley, a professor at Istanbul-based Turkish-German University, told Anadolu Agency that the application of various types of laws, such as banning the call to prayer, mosques, hijab and burqa, every year, is becoming more and more normal in Europe.

Berkeley highlighted the current situation of Muslims in European countries, coinciding with the International Day against Islamophobia, which was established by the United Nations on March 15 each year.

"Every year, we see a new country in Europe coming up with a new plan, through a new law or a party that bans the practice of a religion for Muslims," he said.

Describing European efforts to legalize Islamophobia, Berkeley said it is being institutionalized and codified, and there are discussions in different parts of Europe to legitimize it.

Berkeley, co-editor of the annual European Islamophobia Report, shared the highlights of the 2022 report, noting that 3 European countries (France, Austria and Denmark) emerged as the most vulnerable to Muslims in 2022.

"Unfortunately, debates about Muslims in these countries are very extreme, and governments are taking really harsh stances towards Muslim NGOs and individuals fighting Islamophobia," Berkeley said.

On the International Day Against Islamophobia, the expert said that this could be the cornerstone of the global fight against Islamophobia.


Duality of dealing with refugees

Speaking about 2022, which began with Russia's war against Ukraine in February of the same year, Berkeley said that the war changed the political agendas in many European countries, sparking a new debate about refugees; this old debate about refugees that Europe is full and cannot absorb more of them suddenly collapsed. Suddenly, Poland was ready to accept millions of refugees, and Germany was also ready to shelter millions of people from Ukraine.

He pointed to media coverage in Europe and the United States, which welcomed refugees from Ukraine because of the color of their skin, while some argued that they were more civilized compared to Syrian refugees, at a time when Europe closed borders and erected walls to prevent refugees from other regions across the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, killing thousands, he said.

Berkeley said it showed "how racist this speech is... It was all about religion, as these refugees were rejected because of their religion and the colour of their skin."

A more difficult future for Muslims

Berkeley said that attitudes towards Muslims are likely to increase this year, not only at the individual level but also at the institutional level, and explained that it becomes more difficult every year not only for Muslims but also for Muslim NGOs.

He noted that Muslim NGOs, particularly in France, were under immense pressure from the government, which shut down many of them without any lawsuit or evidence of extremism.

This atmosphere of suspicion about Muslims, their institutions, mosques and religious life is fueled by "politicians, media and intellectuals in these countries. Unfortunately, this has become more and more acceptable and natural," says the same expert.


Avoid the term Islamophobia

Berkeley said that many countries in Europe now refuse to recognize Islamophobia and refuse to use the term in their speeches and narratives, noting in this regard the appointment of the Council of Europe as a coordinator to combat hatred against Muslims, while they refrain from using the word Islamophobia because they are under pressure from countries such as France.

Berkeley explains that there is political resistance to not acknowledging the problem of Islamophobia; "They try to walk away and manipulate this problem so that they don't use the word. When you don't use the word, it of course means that you don't politically admit that there is a problem," he says.

Report and findings

Berkeley pointed out that there is an annual report that records incidents of Islamophobia in Europe every year since 2015, noting that the 2022 report, due to be released next week, will shed light on the situation of Muslims in about 23 European countries.

Speaking about the policy recommendations proposed by the report, he said Islamophobia should be recognized as a political problem; "I think this is the first step. Next, we can talk about strategies on how to combat Islamophobia."

The expert also stressed the importance of daily recording of anti-Muslim hate practices, as well as the publication of data on an annual basis.

The report makes recommendations for NGOs and academics to work on Islamophobia from different perspectives and conduct field research.

"Islamophobia is not only anti-Muslim prejudice, it is all about racism. Islamophobia is anti-Muslim racism, in other words it is a new form of cultural racism, and it must be understood in this way, so that we can fight this problem in a more systematic way."