What’s really going on in France?
France has been facing violent mass protests in the wake of a recent police shooting. The killing of a 17-year-old boy named Nahel, who was of Algerian descent, by French police in Nanterre on June 27 has sparked outrage among the public. The tragic incident has been viewed as a violation of human rights, prompting widespread protests and riots across several cities in France. The response from the public has gone beyond solely addressing this particular incident, reflecting a broader concern over human rights violations and long-time discrimination faced by individuals of migrant origin, particularly those of African descent and Muslims.
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Why has the West turned against Islam?
Historically, Western governments prefer liberal values and principles in their foreign relations only when they enjoy a competitive advantage. When the governments experience crises and find themselves in a disadvantaged position, hatred, alienization and otherization increases. This has been the case recently with the Western world knee-deep in political, social and economic crises.
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A French high school teacher, Samuel Paty, was brutally murdered by a young, Russian-born Muslim of Chechen descent, Abdoullakh Abouyedovich Anzorov. This heinous terrorist attack caused outrage in French society. The murder of Paty was not the country's first such incident. France had also previously suffered Daesh violence and the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack. Many leaders, including those from Muslim countries, demonstrated solidarity with France in the aftermath of those acts but Muslim communities and institutions were still put under surveillance and heavy pressure.
People trying to put labels on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s strong reaction to French President Emmanuel Macron’s Islamophobic provocations make plenty of accusations – all part of a broader, ideologically charged campaign to distort the truth. Critics accuse Erdoğan of waging a "culture war" and contributing to the radicalization of Muslims by promoting an atmosphere of violence. Others question why the Turkish president seeks to write a new, anti-Western story.
French President Emmanuel Macron is in a dangerous tailspin. His government not only turned a blind eye to offensive depictions of Prophet Muhammad, an insult against Muslims’ sacred values but projected them on public buildings in the name of free speech.
The current European governments and politicians who face many political, social and economic problems try to use other states, peoples and civilizations as a tool for their own interests. They try to instrumentalize them for their own good, no matter how it might harm others.
French Muslims accuse Macron of dividing society
It’s a joke when President Macron says ‘We are one’ while excluding Muslims, human rights activist tells Anadolu Agency
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Indonesian Muslim scholars worried by Europe Islamophobia
West needs greater understanding of pluralism, says Muslim scholar, illustrating Islamophobia across world
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Turkey and the European Union have worked closely in many areas and can also do so against racist anti-Muslim movements, Turkey's communications director, Fahrettin Altun, said Saturday.
Turkey ready to support EU efforts to achieve equality for Muslims, other religious communities, says Turkish official
We are happy to present the fifth edition of the annual European Islamophobia Report (EIR). The EIR 2019 includes a general assessment of Islamophobia in Europe in the year 2019 and 32 country reports that include almost all EU member states and additional countries such as Russia, Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Montenegro. The EIR 2019 brought together 35 scholars, experts, and civil society activists from various European countries who are specialized on racism and Islamophobia studies.
The Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) will publish its yearly European Islamophobia Report (EIR) on June 20, which sets light to growing racism and anti-Islam sentiment on different fields such as media and politics in various regions.
L’islamophobie en France Rapport National 2018
Islamofobie in Nederland Nationaal Verslag 2018
Islamophobia in Italia Rapporto Nazionale 2018
Mosques were directly targeted in 25 cases, says government in answer to parliamentary question
Cavusoglu voices concern over growing racism, discriminatory policies against Turks, Muslims in Western Europe
Ankara-based think tank releases report, underlines dynamics that support Islamophobia in Europe
“The overwhelming majority of European states do not record Islamophobic incidents as a separate category of hate crime. The recording of anti-Muslim/Islamophobic crimes by the police as a separate category of hate crime is essential to uncover the real extent of this problem and to develop counter-strategies to combat it.
Violent acts are an outcome of the violent ideology of racist dehumanization. Muslims are increasingly becoming victims solely because of their faith.
Islamophobic language by high-ranking politicians, mostly from the far right, normalizes a dehumanizing and racist language when it comes to the por- trayal of Muslims. This reduces the threshold of what is considered utterable and overall acceptable in public discourse and legitimizes discrimination of Muslims as human beings and as citizens.
