Religious Persecution of Muslims in Europe

By: Fuad Nahdi
The editor of Q-News Fuad Nahdi
In Islam, the significance and valuation for human rights and dignity can be found throughout the Holy Quran, the holy scripture for Muslims, and throughout other religious texts.
In matters of faith, the language is explicit and unequivocal: "There is no compulsion in religion; Truth stands out clear from Error." [2:256].
Thus, the rights of Muslims and non-Muslims alike in expressions of faith is guaranteed, not only in theory but in practice as the Holy Quran states: "O you who believe! Be ever Steadfast in your devotion to God, bearing witness to the truth in all equity; and never let the hatred of others lead you into the sin of deviating from justice. Be just: This is the closest to being conscious of God." [5:81]
Yet it is hatred and rage that is at the root of anti-Muslim sentiment and violence plaguing Europe today. The status of Muslims in Europe is precarious, for they represent a group that is viewed as alien, unacknowledged, or threatening throughout the region. Racist tendencies fuelled by paranoia regarding Islamic extremism have rendered Europe hostile, unresponsive to, and in violation of the human rights of Muslims.
In an interfaith meeting in Rome in 1995 with Father General Kastalneck of the Jesuit Order of the Catholic Church, it was made clear that "Europe has a problem with Islam."
The human rights violations suffered by Muslims in Europe range from police brutality and right-wing extremist attacks that often result in murder to confinement to the role of second-class citizen. When expedient, the card of fears of Islamic fundamentalism is used to justify persecution and discrimination as Europe and her allies do not question such a characterization. Muslims are erroneously portrayed as intolerant and uncivilized, therefore as the Runnymede Trust’s report on Islamophobia noted, even in the most liberal of Western psyches, they do not deserve the rights of a free people.
The hatred of Muslims throughout Europe is well summarized by the findings of the Runnymede Commission in the United Kingdom which examined the "growing phenomenon of Islamophobia- dread or hatred of Muslims".
While focusing on Great Britain, the findings can be applied anywhere anti-Muslim prejudice is expressed. The key features of Islamophobia include "the portrayal of Muslim cultures as monolithic, intolerant of pluralism and dispute, patriarchal and misogynistic, fundamentalist and potentially threatening to other cultures. A further, and particularly disturbing feature of Islamophobia is its apparent acceptability as the expression of anti Muslim ideas and sentiments is increasingly respectable.'"
Reports regarding the persecution of Muslims can be found in the reporting and research of human rights groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the UN Commission on Human Rights and others. The one broad based Muslim organization which is dedicated to the documentation of persecution of and discrimination against Muslims is the Islamic Human Rights Commission, based in London, UK. At just under three years old, it is the new kid on the block, and grotesquely under-funded to boot. Its problems are offset by a variety of achievements that other human rights organisations have not addressed. The tackling of persecution as religiously as well as racially based, has given focus to global trends and patterns of Islamophobia. It has been able to build bridges with persecuted communities world-wide who have hitherto either been unaware that human rights lobbies exists, or who have been distrustful of Western organisations and their agendas. It has also provided support to the many country based, Islamic human rights organisations, hitherto ignored or marginalised in the field of human rights, some parts of which have sadly exhibited the prevalent Islamophobia of society in general. As a result of IHRC’s work, there has been some acceptance at international level – be it governmental or intergovernmental organisational (Commonwealth, UN etc) – of problems specific to Muslims. To compliment its research, campaigning and reporting programme, IHRC also has a major research work in progress – charting Islamic Rights and Justice.
We can only assume, given some of the problems Muslims have faced with human rights organisations oin the past, that the extent of the persecution of Muslims in Europe, and elsewhere, is not fully reflected in the reports currently available.
Genocide, mass killings, forced migration, torture, and rape Clearly, the most significant tragedy in Europe since the Holocaust was the war in the former Yugoslavia where Bosnian Muslims were the victims of a
widespread, government sponsored campaign of ethnic cleansing by Serbian armed forces and civilians. Neighboring European nations as well as the US justified their inaction and lack of involvement by claiming that the conflict was motivated along ethnic lines: yet Serbian leaders such as Slobodan Milosevic and Radovan Karadzic used anti-Islamic rhetoric to fan the flames of hatred that allowed 200,000 Bosnian Muslims to be slaughtered, over 1 million expelled from their homes and communities, 20,000 women raped and countless more civilians, men, women and children to endure physical and psychological trauma. At the time when the international community chose not to act, many felt that if the victims had been Christian or Jewish then intervention would not have been delayed.
Current focus on the persecution of Christians, receiving support in Congress for severe response to similar crimes lends credence to this view of a double standard for the protection of some religious minorities to the exclusion of others. This hypocrisy is further manifested by the lack of will on the part of the global community to take definitive action in bringing the indicted war criminals in both Bosnia and Kosova to justice.
Further traumatization of Balkan Muslims continues, particularly among refugees, who are being forcibly repatriated from countries like Germany even when conditions in Bosnia-Hercegovina and Kosova are not favourable for resettlement.
In the war in Chechnya, Russian troops are carrying out a disproportionate amount of violence against non-combatants including indiscriminate killings, extrajudicial executions of civilians, torture, rape and hostage-taking.

Police Brutality
Reports of police brutality against Muslim minorities including assault, verbal abuse, murder and other degrading treatment that qualifies as torture are clearly documented in Europe, particularly in Germany, France and the United Kingdom. The depth and severity of police brutality is only slightly outdone by the atrocities committed by right-wing extremists. In Germany, the overwhelming majority of victims are Turks and Kurds, usually refugees or asylum seekers. A clear pattern, not isolated incidents, has emerged of ill-treatment of foreigners and ethnic minorities. On some occasions, police officers have continued the assault on individuals who called for police assistance as they were being attacked by right-wing extremists. In other instances, the victims are not informed of the basis for their arrests; are accused of being combative, meaning the officer only acted in self-defence; and are not given due process once detained. When police officers are prosecuted for the use of excessive force, the degree of punishment is inadequate according to the crimes committed. The victims' families do not receive compensation and there is good evidence that the problem of police brutality is ignored by most of the European authorities.
The participation of the police force in racist attacks has resulted in under-reporting of the extent of the problem and in seeing the perpetrators brought to justice. Victims keep silent in fear of repercussions and they are unable to call on law enforcement to protect them against hate crimes committed by neo-Nazis, particularly in Germany. In France, there are similar reports of the use of excess force by police officers against Muslim minorities, particularly from North Africa (e.g. Algeria and Morocco). In addition to beatings, mass arrests of immigrants, and other forms of verbal and physical abuse, several detainees have been shot and killed while in police custody. ( In two cases, the victims were shot in the back or the head while trying to escape.)
In 1993, Rachid Ardjouni, a 17 year old Algerian immigrant, was shot in the back of the head when he was face down on the ground. The officer, who was drunk at the time of the killing, was given a reduced sentence by the Court of Appeal which also reduced the financial compensation to the victim's family. In addition, the court ruled that his conviction would not be entered on his criminal record, thus allowing him to continue to serve as a police officer and carry arms.
Similar reports of police brutality, deaths occurring while the victims were in custody and inadequate punishment of the perpetrators have emerged from Great Britain where the targets are primarily of Indo-Pakistani origin. Isolated incidents have also been documented against Swiss police officers.
While they are being massacred in their own country in front of television cameras, innocent Chechens living in Moscow and other parts of Russia are also victims of police brutality. In all of the cases mentioned above, medical care for injuries sustained while in custody was either delayed considerably or withheld altogether.

Hate Crimes
The incidence of hate crimes against Muslims, immigrants and visible minorities is reaching an alarming rate throughout Europe. In some countries, official government response to the violence is inadequate allowing the problem to continue. Although racially motivated crimes are apparently on the decline in Germany, over 1000 incidents occurred in a two year period. As mentioned earlier, many victims of assault and abuse do not report the incidents because of fear of repercussions such as retaliation or deportation.
Additionally, if the police force is also known to be participating in similar acts of brutality, the victims would not call on the authorities for assistance. Therefore the actual occurrence of hate crimes is under-reported and can be assumed to be more widespread. Some of the most heinous acts in Germany include arson attacks on residences resulting in the deaths of children and the elderly. Similarly, arson and vandalism have been reported against mosques and businesses owned by Muslim immigrants or members from the visible minorities.
In Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, the victims of hate crimes which often includes murder, are members of the Romani population, many of whom are Muslim. Additionally in Bulgaria there are significant Turkish and indigenous Bulgarian Muslim communities, all of whom face exclusion from better education, job opportunities et al, despite having their own political representation in Parliament. Discrimination by government institutions against these minorities can be interpreted as a form of endorsement of similarly motivated prejudice, only expressed in a more extreme fashion.
Discrimination exists in areas of citizenship and employment. This is especially problematic in Germany, the United Kingdom and France. In Greece, members of the Muslim minority from Thrace are commonly
discriminated against as they are confined to low level, low paying jobs. They encounter difficulties obtaining licenses to operate businesses.
In Serbia and Montenegro, Muslims and ethnic Albanians are frequently fired from their jobs based on religion and ethnicity. Similar difficulties are encountered by Chechens and other Muslim minorities in Russia.
In France, mass arrests and deportation of thousands of illegal immigrants from Northern Africa are justified based on fears of terrorist attacks, similar to those which have already occurred in Paris over the past several years. In the Czech Republic, a town council denied the permit for the building of a mosque, arguing that it would become a "center for terrorism".
In Uzbekistan, where the majority of inhabitants are Muslim, the government suppresses groups that oppose state appointed religious authorities. Muslim leaders have been detained and harassed for acts perceived as insubordination. As a result of such allegations, three mosques have been closed and the "disappearance" of several Muslim leaders has been reported.
The crackdown on Islamic education in secondary schools further reflects government control over the ability of individuals to study their religion; the hope is that by reducing the amount of time students spend learning about Islam, they will decrease the popularity of and enthusiasm for religious activism.
The Ministry of Defense forced a Turkish judge into retirement due to his religious convictions, claiming that he demonstrated "unlawful fundamentalist opinions." Fifty one protestors against the hijab ban in Turkish universities face the death penalty if found guilty of “trying to overthrow the Turkish state,” for participating in the peaceful demonstration.

Women as specific targets
Muslim women who choose to wear a head-covering (referred to as hijab) in addition to overall modest attire are frequently subject to attacks, discrimination and other forms of abuse and harassment. They become an easy target for right-wing extremists, government officials and ironically even feminist groups.
The French government has claimed that the "ostentatious" wearing of the headscarf violated laws in place prohibiting proselytizing in schools. The legal and political fracas continues after almost five years, and hundreds of school girls are still excluded for adhering to their principles. Similar forms of discrimination exist throughout Europe and are mainly reported anecdotally. IHRC has a number of cases on its books in the UK regarding school girls facing exclusion if they do not remove their hijab. In one case a junior school girl had her scarf ripped off by a teacher.
Expressions of anti-Muslim sentiment in the UK are profound. IHRC has been contacted by non-Muslims working in aid agencies and charities, complaining of institutional Islamophobia. One cleaner found himself sacked for praying in his lunch break at work. University applicants have found themselves routinely grilled at interviews on Salman Rushdie, Islamic terrorism and the like, regardless of their profession of faith or the subject they study. Unfortunately it appears that the situation is worsening.
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