Surging anti-Muslim sentiments, discrimination take centre stage in 2023

Increasing anti-Muslim sentiments in Europe and the US have brought discrimination to the forefront in 2023.

The bigotry has been supported directly or indirectly by governments that are held up as beacons of freedom and in one particular case as the "only democracy in the Middle East."

Israel's attacks on residential areas, hospitals, schools, mosques and churches in Gaza have left the world demanding a ceasefire. The attacks have targeted the Al Aqsa Mosque and the sacred values of Palestinians.

But human rights violations have continued in occupied Palestinian territories since October 7, when the Palestinian resistance group launched a surprise attack against Israel.

More than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict with at least 8,000 children and 6,200 women dead. More than 52,600 victims have also been injured. Gaza, where thousands are still reportedly under the rubble, has witnessed the destruction of civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, educational institutions and places of worship, in targeted attacks.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced on October 9 that Gaza would be completely besieged and electricity, food and fuel would not be allowed to enter.

In the days that followed, Israeli forces blocked humanitarian aid.

Beginning October 10, Israel indiscriminately targeted residential areas, hospitals, schools and places of worship with airstrikes.

Western countries, notably the US, have turned a blind eye or openly supported Israel's bombing of the enclave, where civilians are being killed.

Despite the attacks by forces affiliated with the Tel Aviv administration, Western countries, including the US, the UK, France, Germany and Italy, refrained from issuing condemnatory statements against Israel's attacks.

Quran-burning provocations in Europe

Danish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan burned the Quran in front of Türkiye's Stockholm Embassy on January 21 and its Copenhagen Embassy on January 27.

Paludan continued his Quran-burning provocations in Malmo, Norrkoping and Jonkoping during the Easter holiday in April.

Iraqi-origin Salwan Momika also burned the Muslim holy book under police protection in front of the Stockholm Mosque on June 28, coinciding with the first day of the Eid Al Adha holiday.

Momika, on July 20 in front of Iraq's Stockholm Embassy and on July 31 in front of the Swedish Parliament building, trampled the Quran and the Iraqi flag under police protection.

The UN Human Rights Council said Quran-burning provocations in Europe fuelled hate speech and increased discrimination.


Following the announcement by Education Minister Gabriel Attal on August 27 that the use of the abaya by women in schools in France would be prohibited, the ADM Association, which advocates for the rights of Muslims, took the ban to the Council of State.

The Council of State in France rejected the request to suspend the ban on September 7. It argued that female students wore the abaya and male students wore the kamis, a traditional tunic, for religious reasons.

A report published in November on anti-Muslim sentiment in Germany noted that one in every two people in the country approved or used expressions that contained "anti-Muslim hatred."

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced that anti-Muslim sentiment had risen recently and mechanisms and advisory centres documenting it would be increased next year.

In the Netherlands, at least 10 municipalities conducted secret investigations on mosques, imams, leaders of religious organisations and influential individuals in congregations.

It was reported that the research, financed by the Dutch Security and Counterterrorism Agency through municipalities, was conducted by a private firm called NTA, Nuance door Training en Advies.

Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Karien van Gennip expressed regret about the investigation and said lessons would be learned.

Anti-Muslim sentiment in US

A Human Rights Report released by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in April noted that complaints about anti-Muslim sentiment, prejudice and discrimination had fallen compared to 202, but complaints in the education sector had increased by 33 percent.

In June, three Democratic members of the US Congress introduced the "International Islamophobia Combat Act" against the increase in anti-Muslim incidents worldwide.

Swiss computer hackers, who seized an FBI's watchlist on June 13, leaked the information to the public. It was revealed that 1.5 million individuals, including children as young as 7, and 2,500 mosques, mostly with Arab and Muslim names, were secretly monitored by the bureau dating back 20 years.

CAIR filed a lawsuit against the government for the "FBI terrorism watchlist." The lawsuit included 29 high-ranking government officials and agencies, including ministers, as defendants, along with the FBI, the CIA and the National Security Agency (NSA), including President Joe Biden's government.

Rising hate in India

In the Gurugram region of the Haryana state in India, Muslim-owned businesses that experienced arson, along with a mosque, as well as the killing of an imam by ultra-nationalist Hindu groups on August 8, raised concerns among Muslims.

Following the attacks on minorities, the Hindutva Watch organisation reported on September 26 that more than 250 hate incidents against Muslims were carried out in India in the first half of 2023.

The report highlighted an increasing trend in hate speech against Muslims since the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014, noting that government officials have engaged in insulting and derogatory rhetoric against Muslims and Islam‘s sacred values.