Germany’s 5.5 million Muslims often face everyday structural racism, report says

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BERLIN — Racism, hatred and sometimes violence against Muslims in Germany are widespread and often part of their daily experience, according to a new report presented to the Interior Ministry in Berlin on Thursday.

The Independent Panel on Muslim Hostility worked for three years on the comprehensive report on racism and hostility towards the country’s 5.5 million Muslims. The group analyzed scientific studies, police crime statistics and documentation of anti-Muslim incidents by anti-discrimination agencies, counseling centers and non-governmental organizations.

The report concludes that at least a third of Muslims in Germany have experienced hostility because of their religion. However, experts have pointed out that the true numbers are likely much higher since only 10% of Muslims appear to report hostility and hate crimes against them.

Muslim life naturally belongs to Germany, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in a statement. This makes the conclusions of this first comprehensive report on Muslim hostility in Germany all the more bitter.”

“Muslims in Germany experience exclusion and discrimination in their daily life up to hatred and violence, she added. It is very important to make this visible and to raise awareness of a resentment still widespread.

German Muslims are not only exposed to brutal racism but also to everyday stereotypes from kindergarten to old age, experts said.

The group found that negative community biases included the attribution of widespread, largely unchangeable, retrograde, and threatening characteristics to Muslims and people perceived to be Muslim.

These stereotypes lead to exclusion and discrimination by the mainstream German society which often perceives Muslims as any other, even though 50% of Muslims in the country have German passports.

Germany’s Muslim community is diverse, with the majority claiming Turkish roots. Others originally emigrated from Arab countries such as Morocco or Lebanon. Many first arrived in West Germany more than 60 years ago, when they were recruited as guest workers to help the country advance economically.

The first generation of Muslim immigrants were mainly employed in coal mining, steel production and the automotive industry. Many of those who initially came as temporary workers decided to stay and bring their families, giving Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt and other cities in the west and south-west of the Germany large immigrant communities.

About 19 million people, or 23% of today’s German population, have immigrated to the country since 1950 or are the children of immigrants not only of Muslim background, but also from countries such as Poland, Romania , African or Asian countries and, more recently, Ukraine. .

Researchers have found that Muslim hostility is common in virtually every aspect of life, from schools to the police, to national, regional and municipal agencies, the private employment sector, the housing market, media and politics.

Karima Benbrahim, one of the authors of the study, said a joint effort is needed from society and its institutions to both raise awareness of Muslim hostility and combat it.

Muslim hostility is something that affects everyone in this society and not just those affected, she said.

As an example of anti-Muslim sentiment in education, the study authors read excerpts from a 2019 political science textbook, which claims that Muslims want to live better than they do at home, but they insist on their identity, which includes the headscarf. , mosques, prayers in schools, forced marriages, oppression of women.

The book concludes that for many of them, this is part of their perception of us”. The problem is: it collides with our sense of ourselves.

Another author of the study, Kai Hafez from the University of Erfurt, pointed out that racism against Muslims is not only widespread in Germany’s far-right fringe, but that the middle of society must also get rid of his stereotypical views about Muslims.

It is time to introduce fundamental structural anti-racist reforms in Germany, Hafez added.

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