Motion for a resolution | Doc. 13631 | 08 October 2014

Rising Islamophobia in Europe

Signatories: Ms Tülin ERKAL KARA, Turkey, EC ; Mr Pedro AGRAMUNT, Spain, EPP/CD ; Mr Deniz BAYKAL, Turkey, SOC ; Ms Tinatin BOKUCHAVA, Georgia, EPP/CD ; Mr Reha DENEMEÇ, Turkey, EC ; Ms Ismeta DERVOZ, Bosnia and Herzegovina, EPP/CD ; Mr Manlio DI STEFANO, Italy, NR ; Mr Arcadio DÍAZ TEJERA, Spain, SOC ; Mr Şaban DİŞLİ, Turkey, EPP/CD ; Mr Andreas GROSS, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Mike HANCOCK, United Kingdom, ALDE ; Mr Giorgi KANDELAKI, Georgia, EPP/CD ; Ms Valentina LESKAJ, Albania, SOC ; Ms Ganira PASHAYEVA, Azerbaijan, EC ; Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria, SOC ; Mr Ömer SELVİ, Turkey, EC ; Mr Samad SEYIDOV, Azerbaijan, EC ; Mr Eduard SHALSI, Albania, SOC ; Ms Maria Edera SPADONI, Italy, NR ; Ms Chiora TAKTAKISHVILI, Georgia, ALDE ; Mr Tuğrul TÜRKEŞ, Turkey, EC ; Mr Ahmet Kutalmiş TÜRKEŞ, Turkey, ALDE ; Mr Petrit VASILI, Albania, SOC

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

Islamophobia, as a form of intolerance and discrimination motivated by fear, distrust and hatred, often manifests itself along with racism, xenophobia, anti-immigrant sentiments and religious intolerance. It creates an abstract and imaginary enemy of millions of Muslims all over the world.

Islamophobic rhetoric, at the least, associates Muslims with terrorism and portrays them as international and domestic threats. It reinforces negative stereotypes about Muslims as a monolithic group whose culture is fundamentally incompatible with human rights and democracy.

At the most, it bears violence: between the years of 2000-2014, 484 acts of Islamophobic aggression of various forms have been documented in Western Europe alone, exponentially increasing after 2009. In 95 instances, the aggression amounted to arson.

This trend is testament to a more serious problem that should concern not just Muslims, but the adherents of all faiths and religions. The alarming increase in the number of acts that defame religions and their followers, has now serious implications for international peace and security.

A successful fight against all forms and manifestations of discrimination and intolerance requires concerted efforts of the international community as a whole. The Parliamentary Assembly should unequivocally condemn the rise of the phenomenon of Islamophobia in Europe and formulate recommendations for policy and law-makers, as well as actors of civil society and youth movements.