Germany: Assaults on Mosques and Anti-Muslim Racism

July 2014

In a recent interview Aiman A. Mazyek, chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, emphasized the increase of anti-Muslim racism in Germany. Mazyek stressed that assaults on mosques have increased in significant ways and urged to address this issue. First and foremost it would be necessary to accurately capture anti-Muslim racism. For this, it would be essential to have a distinct category which captures anti-Muslim offences. Other than that he suggested to implement special departments in political-administrative bodies of the state, dealing with and monitoring anti-Muslim racism in Germany.

In a different incident Nicolaus Fest, vice editor-in-chief for Bild am Sonntag, forwarded Islamophobe and anti-Muslim comments leading to a public outcry about his racist theses. In an op-ed article Nicolaus Fest not only stereotyped Muslim youth as being criminal in general, but equated Islam with oppressing women and homosexuals as well as encouraging forced marriage and honor killings. The editors-in-chief of the tabloid newspaper Bild, Kai Diekmann and Marion Horn, distanced themselves from these comments.

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