Featured in Europe
The Taliban in Kabul: What does it mean for Refugee Policies in Europe
August 31, 2021, marked the deadline set by the US and NATO to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan after a two-decade long military presence. In the wake of this decision, the return of the Taliban to power has led to a surge of Afghan refugees fleeing their country and to a renewed debate over asylum…
Enforcing the French law against “Islamic Separatism”: Consequences on religious freedom
The law aimed at safeguarding French “republican principles” and fighting “Islamic separatism” was approved by the French National Assembly on July 23, 2021, after months of debates about its limitation of freedom of association and expression and its discrimination against Islam. [1] Based on the bill’s articles, public authorities will fund only Muslim organizations that…
Teaching Islam in Spanish schools: an ongoing debate
For the first time, Islamic religious education has been offered as an elective course in public schools in Catalonia, an autonomous community in north-eastern Spain, during the academic year 2020-2021. Despite Catalonia being the region in Spain with more Muslim students (around 90,440), until now, they were not able to attend classes on Islam in…
UK Labour Party Under Fire for Readmitting Trevor Phillips after His Suspension for Alleged Islamophobia
In March 2020, Trevor Philipps, the former politician and ex-chairman for the European and Human Rights Commission, was suspended by the UK Labour Party pending an investigation into allegations of Islamophobic statements1. At the time of the suspension, the Labour Party stated that allegations of Islamophobia are taken extremely seriously and complaints “are fully investigated…
Islamophobia in Scotland: New Findings
A report on the first public inquiry into Islamophobia in Scotland has been released by the Cross-Party Group on Tackling Islamophobia, in collaboration with Newcastle University Professor Peter Hopkins. The inquiry was set up in 2018 following an increase in levels of both Islamophobia and racism in Scotland1. At the time, the Cabinet Secretary for…