ENORB welcomes release of the latest European Islamophobia Report 2022 The European Network on Religion and Belief (ENORB) is pleased to welcome the release of the European Islamophobia Report (EIR) 2022. Published on 21st March 2022, coinciding with the UN’s first International Day to Combat Islamophobia, the 600-page report is the most comprehensive analysis of the current state of anti-Muslim hatred in Europe, including trends, developments and patterns of discrimination. ENORB President, Maryana Hnyp, congratulated the team behind the report. She said, “It must have been a herculean task to successfully publish these invaluable reports since 2015. The new 8th edition provides invaluable insights and data into anti-Muslim hatred and racism that seems to be gripping our societies. I am proud that ENORB has been collaborating with report authors and editors, namely Dr Farid Hafez and Enes Bayrakli over recent years; including an online session about the report’s findings and next steps planned for May 17th”

Hnyp added, “ As one of the leading civil society organisations in Europe campaigning against racism and discrimination, ENORB greatly appreciates the need to ground our work on data and evidence compiled by reputable scholars and academics. There is no better example of this when it comes to combatting anti-Muslim hatred and racism than the European Islamophobia Report.” At a time when fake news and misinformation has become harder to separate from facts and truth, the European Islamophobia Report is more crucial than ever for anyone serious about combating the rise of anti-Muslim hatred and racism in Europe and across the world. The report’s some 600 pages are rich with facts, analysis and trends that must be placed at the centre of anti-Muslim hatred campaigns. In addition, ENORB share’s the concerns about Islamophobia raised last year by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The Commission concluded that anti-Muslim policies have been adopted by a number of European governments across Europe as well as discriminatory legislation passed that impacted the lives of many Muslims. Echoing the trends highlighted by the European Islamophobia Report, the Commission went on to add that under claims of countering extremism, European governments have justified the closure of mosques, in France and Austria, and banned the construction of new minarets, and proscribed or shut down Muslim civil society organisations – in Switzerland all under the pretext of countering extremism.

ENORB commends the UN for unanimously adopting a resolution which declared March 15th as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia. This is a major success in the global recognition of the proliferation Islamophobia globally. Anti-Muslim racism is a pervasive problem. Some European governments have themselves been either instigators of Islamophobia or are in denial about the scale of the problem as is the case in the UK where the current Conservative Government has refused to adopt a definition of anti-Muslim racism drafted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Islamophobia.

ENORB is deeply concerned about the rise of Islamophobia in Europe. Our work is guided and informed by fundamental values and rights of all citizens of Europe. Discrimination based on religion or belief is against everything the European Union stands for. We urge European policymakers to take urgent action to combat Islamophobia and ensure that all individuals are treated with dignity and respect, irrespective of faith, race, ethnicity or background.

You can watch the event HERE