Dramatic increase in Islamophobic incidents in Europe, United States
Since the war on Gaza Strip has begun, there has been an unprecedented surge in incidents of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias reported across the Europe and the United States.
According to data released by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, showed a tremendous upswing in complaints submitted between Oct. 7 — the day of the outbreak of the war— and Nov. 4, exactly four weeks later.
During that period of time, a total of 1,283 requests for help and reports of bias were submitted directly to CAIR, the organization said.
In Britain, incidents of hate crimes are increasing, with Islamophobia incidents exceeding 140% in London alone in October last year.
According to Zara Mohammed, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain, Muslims in the UK are particularly affected by developments in the Middle East, and a roundtable meeting was held in London, which included Mayor Sadiq Khan and leaders from the Muslim community, to discuss the impact of the war on local communities.
On his part, Mayor of Lond Mr Khan said: “The war has a direct impact on London and its residents, with an increase in cases of Islamophobia.”
In Germany, Aiman Mazyek, the head of the Central Council of Muslims in the European country, has expressed “great concern” about the situation of Muslims and the spread of hatred against them.
In an interview with the German Radio (ARD), Mazyek warned of the exclusion of millions of Muslims from German society, expressing concern about the division of different religious groups and the rise of hatred against Muslims.
Mazyek said that many Muslims in Germany “are afraid to express their opinion and feel that they are being intimidated to express their opinion in the ongoing events,” referring to the discussion by the political, media, and public opinion elites in Germany of the consequences of the Israeli-Palestinian war in the Gaza Strip and Germany’s relationship with the Jews.
