Islamophobia rises in Europe amid Gaza conflict media coverage
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Islamophobia is on the rise in Europe as the conflict in Gaza continues, in what could trigger a major political shift in the West, according to Anadolu on December 22nd.
The “European Islamophobia Report 2023”, edited by Enes Bayrakli from the Turkish-German University in Istanbul and Farid Hafez from William & Mary University in the US, revealed that Israel’s war in Gaza has caused a significant increase in anti-Muslim sentiment on the continent.
Major factors included, French president Emmanuel Macron’s pro-Israel statements following the October 7th attack, the re-affirming of the ban on head scarfs in French state-schools, Swiss Muslim women facing workplace discrimination and the closure of several mosques in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where historic tensions lie dormant.
The report noted the French police’s killing of Muslim Nahel Merzouk in June 2023, and the delayed arrest of the officer involved, which fuelled protests and fears from the Muslim community.
READ: Germany: Shock at Israeli acts of genocide
Also mentioned was the implication of the United Arab Emirates in funding anti-Muslim groups in Austria, referencing the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood which started in 2021.
In March 2023, the New Yorker revealed that the UAE had hired Alp Services, a private intelligence firm based in Geneva, to target Muslim charity Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW).
Alp services trawled through the social media of a member of IRW’s board of trustees, Hesmat Khalifa, discovering antisemitic posts after Israel’s attack on Gaza in 2014.
The Times in London published the posts, forcing Khalifa’s resignation and putting the charity under international scrutiny, including from former president Donald Trump who suggested all governments examine “their relationship with IRW”.
READ: Lawsuit claims US failed to rescue Palestinian Americans in Gaza
More recently, Al-Jazeera reported in October 2024 on the alleged pro-Israeli bias in Western media outlets, which considering the polarising nature of the Gaza conflict, could also bolster Europe’s anti-Muslim sentiments.
A journalist at CNN began distrust his employer’s integrity after October 7th, seeing pro-Israeli news lines that “really shook me”.
He said: “There were times where CNN was happy to push hard. But on balance, it’s very clear where we lie, regrettably. And it’s not entirely with the truth.”
A moment deserved of the ensuing vitriol was when a CNN editor embedded in the Israeli army shared a hospital calendar written in Arabic, claiming it was a Hamas roster.
READ: Israel violates fragile ceasefire six times in single day
Former BBC employee, Sara, told Al-Jazeera that she saw intense vetting of Palestinian interviewees, even flagging up any mention of the word “Zionist” on their social media accounts, while Israeli guests were screened “now and again”.
She said: “But there was no balance in what was going on. Israeli spokespeople who we did have on were given a lot of free rein to say whatever they wanted with very little pushback.”
Is it surprising Islamophobia is on the rise, when media coverage such as when Israeli politician Idan Roll, unchallenged, told BBC presenter Maryam Moshiri on October 17 that “babies were set on fire” and “babies were shot in the head” during the Hamas incursion into southern Israel.
Anadolu, New Yorker, Al-Jazeera
