C L O S E R

EUMC – Reports on Discrimination and Islamophobia in the EU

Posted on December 18th, 2006 by .
Categories: Multiculti Issues, Young Muslims.

EUMC Website
Two reports on Discrimination and Islamophobia in the EU are published. First of all:

Muslims in the European Union: Discrimination and Islamophobia

The report “Muslims in the European Union: Discrimination and Islamophobia”, published presents available data on discrimination affecting Muslims in employment, education and housing. Manifestations of Islamophobia range from verbal threats through to physical attacks on people and property. The report stresses that the extent and nature of discrimination and Islamophobic incidents against European Muslims remain under-documented and under-reported. The EUMC report recommends therefore that Member States improve the reporting of incidents and implement measures to counter discrimination and racism more effectively. The report also includes initiatives and proposals for policy action by EU Member State governments and the European institutions to combat Islamophobia and to foster integration.

Firm political leadership is needed to ensure equal treatment of all Europeans, whatever their background. This includes:

* Implementing EU legislation and adequately resourced equality bodies;
* Recording and policing Islamophobic incidents;
* Implementing social integration and inclusion policies for migrants and minorities,
* Granting equal treatment in employment;
* Improving educational achievement;
* Ensuring equal access to housing;
* Encourage European Muslims to engage more actively in public life (e.g. in political, economic, social and cultural institutions and processes).

And second:

Perceptions of discrimination and Islamophobia

The Report “Muslims in the European Union: Discrimination and Islamophobia” is accompanied by a study on “Perceptions of discrimination and Islamophobia”, which is based on in-depth interviews with members of Muslim communities in ten EU Member States. This study provides a snapshot of the opinions, feelings, fears, frustrations, and also the hopes for the future shared by many Muslims in the EU.

“Integration is a two-way process. Many European Muslims acknowledge that they need to do more to engage with wider society. At the same time Europe’s political leaders must make a stronger effort to promote meaningful intercultural dialogue and tackle racism, discrimination and marginalisation more effectively,” said EUMC Director Beate Winkler.

Some notes about the Dutch situation here, but first of all a general remark. The EUMC reports are usually quite good and also these two reports are very interesting. It would be wrong however to say anything conclusive about the state of Muslim integration in Europe, because one has only looked to the perspective and experiences of Muslims. Although this is a valid endeavour in itself, it is one sided.

With regard to the first report and the current Dutch situation the following is important. However the report is subjective because it is based upon experiences of Muslims and, in my view a lot is taken to be signs of discrimination and islamophobia, it is not necessarily important that these experiences are true. The report itself acknowledges this:

As an
illustration, the Dutch study on migrants’ experiences of racism and xenophobia,
conducted on behalf of the EUMC, reveals a relationship between the amount of
discrimination perceived by migrant groups and their integration in Dutch society
(expressed through their feeling of belonging to the Netherlands, their socialising
habits and opportunities). Those groups that feel most discriminated against, e.g.
Turks, Moroccans and Surinamese, are also the groups that seem to be least
integrated and/or most isolated in Dutch society. According to the survey, these same
groups also socialise less often with ‘Dutch’ people, and display the strongest sense
of belonging to the country of origin of their parents.
The study raises an interesting “chicken and egg” issue: Do higher rates of
discrimination lead to a feeling of isolation and lack of integration, or does a lack of
integration make migrants more vulnerable to discrimination?

It means that people base their actions upon these experiences; true or false does not matter. The chicken and egg debate is an important one but also a dangerous one. Blaming Muslims for discrimination because they are supposedly not well integrated, can lead to a legitimization and even naturalization of discrimination. When it is argued that Muslims cannot integrate because of their religion and it is therefore self evident that they are discriminated against, discrimination becomes a natural result of the proces of integration. It builds the essentialist construction of unbridgeable differences between us and them and renders institutional and other forms of racism unvisible and unchallenged.

The second report is very interesting concerning feelings and experiences of islamophobia. Striking is that many of interviewees show how the Muslim community is struggling at the moment and how young people feel frustrated not only by non-Muslims but also by the slow changes in their own communities. Consider the next quotes:

Even among participants for whom religion is an important part of their identity
there is also a need to be seen as more than just Muslim:
“The main question is, if you are a Muslim or a non-Muslim. So,
everything is focussed on being a Muslim. They don’t care if I am a
teacher or a father or grandfather, if I have children. The first thing
which is important to them is the fact that I am a Muslim. So they
want to know what kind of a Muslim I am. ‘Are you a liberal
Muslim?’ ‘Are you fundamentalist?’” (Male, Netherlands)

During the focus group interviews young Muslims were asked what they thought
were the key issues facing young Muslims that mosques were not addressing.
Among the issues identified were questions around everyday interactions and
activities, relationships, and sexuality, crime and drugs. Young respondents from
the Netherlands raised issues about relationships with Dutch people, at work or at
school.
“For example, when you are a working woman, it raises different
questions about how to talk with men or how to behave around men
and women and how to join in parties at work or dinner. If you ask
them to a general imam – because in a traditional way the woman
does not work – they don’t have the answers to that kind of
question.” (Young male, Netherlands)
“You have to come up with the answers yourself and go
through many conflicts; external conflicts with the people around you, as well as
internal conflicts.”
“I think that the imams are not capable of giving the right answers,
so they defend themselves by saying ‘No, according to our tradition
and culture you should not even think about joining a dinner or a
party or whatever’. But they don’t realise that when you don’t do
this, that you are becoming a solo person, a single person who is not
joining the group so you will never enter that group.” (Young male,
Netherlands)

This shows what I said in the beginning, the participation of Muslims in European societies is not only a matter of dealing with non-Muslims (and cases of discrimination and islamophobia) but also of intra-group issues. Things are certainly improving; mosques are opening up for young people but it goes very slow and every now and then they take one step forward and two steps back. It is necessary that the national umbrella organizations, local mosques speeden up the process and this should be supported by the state on a national and local level.

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