Muslims In Europe Face Substantial Discrimination, Especially At Work

MADRID — Muslims still face substantial discrimination in Europe, especially at work, and many fail to report racist incidents because of a lack of trust in authorities, a European Union human rights agency said Thursday.

In a survey of Muslims in 14 EU member states, the Agency for Fundamental Rights said one in three Muslims had faced discrimination, and 11 percent of those questioned said they had experienced a racially motivated crime.

The highest level of discrimination against Muslims occurred in the workplace, the agency said.

"Employment is a key part of the integration process. It is central to the contributions that migrants make to society, and to making such contributions visible. Discrimination may hamper the integration process," agency director Morten Kjaerum said in a statement.

The agency urged EU governments to tackle discrimination by making people aware of how to file complaints about discrimination and racism.

The report was part of the first-ever EU-wide survey on the experiences of immigrants and ethnic minorities, which reported last month that more than half of those groups believe discrimination is widespread where they live in Europe. Gypsies and Africans reported the most abuse.

Thursday's survey suggests similarly high levels of discrimination against Muslims.

In line with other minority groups, 79 percent of Muslims responding to the survey said they do not report discriminatory incidents and cases of racist crime to any authority, the agency said.

Young Muslims in particular have little faith in the police as a public institution. The survey said people without citizenship and new arrivals in a country were even less likely to report discrimination.

It said 59 percent of Muslim respondents believe "nothing would happen or change by reporting" and 38 percent said "it happens all the time" and therefore they do not make an effort to report incidents.

"Truly accessible mechanisms are needed, where victims of racism can report in confidence," said Kjaerum.

Comments

[truthartbeauty]

maybe if they would take those ridicuous towels off of their heads and stop dressing like bundles of laundry they would have more success.

[Paulo1]

The natural tension for an immigrant group that does not wish to assimilate into the larger culture. They will iron it out.

[Horst]

In Holland Geert Wilders the once obscure provincial politician is now the most popular politician solely on the basis of his anti-Islamic platform.

[Bariis]

Ignorance and hate is an incurable DISEASE the world can never seem to get rid of. Unfortunately, it is something that will never fully dissipate. However, fighting for equality and justice is something we, as citizens of this world, should never give up on!

[Steven Anderson]

Sad story. I remember when I lived in Sweden and was told a few times about the problems with "svart Skaller" or, in English, "black heads", which was a general reference to any foreigner in the country. When I brought up that I was then one of those "svart Skaller" they would laugh it off and say "not you...you are an American". When I mentioned that obviously most Americans are not blond and blue eyed like myself, the discussion would abruptly stop with a puzzled look on their face. This was back in the 80's...hate to see what it must have evolved to now.

[Horst]

Much of the problem is due to the resistance of recent Muslim immigrants to assimilate into various European societies. Most European countries have a strong national identities even though in most cases these are completely based on myth. There still is plenty of intense nationalism in Europe as any visit to an international football match will attest. Muslims have to start getting over feeling constantly aggrieved and demanding special privileges.

[nohamasmas]

Well at least in Muslim nations people of other religions are not discriminated against in the work place!!! LMAO!!!

[joeinvt]

It's really shocking given the freedom and opportunities available to Westerners throughout the Muslim world.

[Bariis]

I agree

[Doomestic]

Anti-Islamism is the hip state-of-the-art acceptable antisemitism of today.

[GZLives]

Oh BS ....
These are the biggest anti semites of all

[Horst]

Personally, I don't care what idiocies or nomadic desert prophets people believe in, but I do draw the line when people screaming Allahu Akbar murder my neighbors (16 of them within two blocks of my house on 9/11).

[LMPE]

In a few decades, Europe might be mostly Muslim, so it might not matter by then.

[Green-sky]

I often see this idea (fear? fantasy?) of a Muslim Europe among Northern Americans and Australians, and this never ceases to bewilder me. Yet, there's no real possibility for this to happen.

First, because the movement of Muslim immigration is recent and may stop one day just like it began.

Second, because the demographic growth of Muslims in Europe tends to decrease, as their integration in Europe increases.

Third, because sooner or later, the effect of Europe's secular societies will also affect Muslim immigrants and their descendants.

The worm of secularity and women's rights is in the fundamentalist fruit. Eurabia just isn't going to happen.
:-)

[mivogo]

1) Have you been to England lately?

2) "The worm of secularity and women's rights"?? (got to be a better way to put this!)

[Freenation]

oh just when we were thinking where the tro.lls are, time for you to tune into Rush..

[Bariis]

Even if they were to become a majority, the would-be minority-Majority would still have the upper-hand.

[funktor]

Who know what comes tomorrow!

[deluk]

Its rather irritating when Americans refer to 'Europe' as if it's some sort of homogenous lump. Attitudes are very different between western Europe and Eastern Europe, northern Europe and southern Europe
It's rather like ascribing all the negative attributes of Mexico (poverty. drug related executions etc, etc,) to the United States on the grounds that it's all 'America'.

[korbermeister]

It's more like how people refer to Africa as if it were 1 nation with a homogeneous population. I hear this all too often!

[GeromeBaker]

Don't Americans do that to everyone? Latin America, for many (most?) of them, is another homogeneous lump. Take Brazil, for example: it is bigger than the continental US, and one of the ten biggest economies in the world, besides being one of the most, if not the most important country in Latin America and still, Americans think Brazilians eat tortillas, speak spanish, sleep the siesta, and dance the Mambo in their sunny beaches of the Brazilian capital, Buenos Aires. Before any angry american tells me to get lost (or worse), let me explain that it is not their fault that their schools don't teach them the most basic geography and history. There's probably a reason for keeping people ignorant (and proud of it!) about other people and other areas of the planet. I don't know, maybe it's a bad thing to create any empathy to other people and other realities, I don't know. Sorry if anyone gets annoyed about my comment. It may not apply to you, but that's what I have seen for a long time: a complete lack of interest, disdain and disregard for all things foreign to them.

[rudiy]

View and read European media. You find it irritating when Americans refer to Europe as homogenous. I find it irritating when Europeans do the same of 300 million US citizens in an area larger than all of Europe.

[kissthestick]

nah, we're the same :( blame spain

[jasjohn128]

Dyslexia kicked in and I misread the article and headline first time through. I thought it said: "Europeans in Muslim Countries Face Substantial Discrimination, Especially At Work".

It's a shame too. Our Western countries have been bollocked for decades, and since we've got no idea how to fix them (or inclination/incentive to do so, if we did), we've had no choice but to re-establish ourselves in Muslim lands for the past two or three dozen years and bring all our customs, laws and social behavior patterns with us.

So what's wrong with these people that they don't welcome us with open arms and adapt to the way we're changing the way they think they're entitled to live? Are they racist or something?

Then the dyslexia went away and it all makes more sense now. Yes indeed, it sure does.

[totaldisbelief]

Who's surprised?

[Torsin]

What???? I thought Europe was more 'enlightened' about such matters than the US

[hulagirrrl]

They are, they learned from the US how to treat some people a little bit different, but yet claim they are all the same. The only difference is that the Europeans do not waste as much time with phoniness as the Americans do. Unfortunately as it is, but Muslims probably face unfair and a lot of discrimination where ever they live and work outside their own country.

[DeniseA]

It's my understanding that in the USA Muslims tend to be very successful and well educated. They earn more money than average.

[Doomestic]

To the complete contrary.

[rudiy]

I guess you think the class you are born in, family status, country, ethnicity and bigotry do not exist anymore in Europe. Travel to Europe sometime.