14/03/2025

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Nearly 1 in 2 Muslims (47%) experience racial discrimination, up from 39% in 2016. The highest rates in the 13 survey countries are in Austria (71%), Germany (68%) and Finland (63%). 

“Being Muslim in the EU – Experiences of Muslims” (2024) by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) presents findings from a survey on the lived experiences of nearly 10,000 Muslims across 13 EU countries, conducted between 2021 and 2022. The report is based on the experiences and opinions of 9 604 respondents who self-identified as Muslim when asked about their religion in 13 Member States: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.

Number of Muslims in EU have increased significantly

Muslims represent the second-largest religious group in the EU. They comprise a distinct mix of ethnicities, religious affiliations, philosophical beliefs, political persuasions, secular tendencies, languages and cultural traditions. The most recent available estimates from the Pew Research Center are from 2016 and show that around 26 million Muslims live in the EU. They represent about 5 % of the total population, with considerable variations in numbers across EU Member States. The number of Muslims in the EU has increased significantly in recent years due to people fleeing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

Discrimination remains unreported

“We are witnessing a worrying surge in racism and discrimination against Muslims in Europe, says FRA Director Sirpa Rautio. This is fuelled by conflicts in the Middle East and made worse by the dehumanising anti-Muslim rhetoric we see across the continent.”

FRA research over the last 15 years shows that incidents of discrimination remain largely unreported. Most incidents of discrimination remain invisible to institutions with a legal obligation to help victims.  Only 6 % of respondents who said that they felt discriminated against on any ground reported or made a complaint about any of the incidents they experienced in the year before the survey.

Freedoms of all at risk

In UN Secretary-General António Guterres message for the observance he says that when one group is under attack the rights and freedoms of all are at risk:

“We are witnessing a disturbing rise in anti-Muslim bigotry: From racial profiling and discriminatory policies that violate human rights and dignity, to outright violence against individuals and places of worship. This is part of a wider scourge of intolerance, extremist ideologies, and attacks against religious groups and vulnerable populations.”

Recent measures to combat Islamophobia include the adoption by the General Assembly of a new resolution requesting the Secretary-General to appoint a United Nations Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia.

source https://unric.org/en/eu-one-in-two-muslims-are-victims-of-discrimination-in-daily-life/