Our list of 11 most racist Islamophobic European countries towards Muslims is neither here nor there – the whole world pretty much hates Muslims and Muslims have learned to deal with it.
Let’s get the definition out of the way; what is Islamophobia? There are many definitions of the term, and while Merriam Webster defines it as “irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against Islam or people who practice Islam”, Oxford English Dictionary says that Islamophobia is a “dislike of or prejudice against Islam or Muslims, especially as a political force”. In general, all of the definitions have something in common, and that is; fear of Islam or fear of Muslims. In this manner, Islamophobia can definitely be marked as one way of racism, and if you want to know more about Europe in that regard, make sure to read our list of 11 Most Racist Countries in Europe.
The history of Islamophobia in Europe is a long one, and that cannot be neglected, but the issue was mostly provoked by two very crucial events. The first is definitely 9/11, that shook the whole world and marked the beginning of the new history of the world, while the second occurred in France in 2015. As you may suppose, I talk about Charlie Hebdo shooting, after which nothing was the same for Muslims in Europe. Additional attacks throughout various European countries only contributed to the fact that Islamophobia is on the rise in Europe, but we should not act numb and pretend that there are not some other things outside this continent that contributed to this since there are many. And, yes, I am talking about Trump and his politics, especially about the travel ban from several Muslim majority countries.
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The growing of Islamophobia in Europe was also supported by this constant European backlash against Islam, and that can be mostly visible in the prohibition of headscarves in public institutions or wearing burqa or niqab in public places. Today, when we talk a lot about human rights, these prohibitions that are mostly present in France and Belgium only contribute to forming a distorted image of women who decide to cover and of Islam as an oppressive religion in general. And, although Europe is constantly trying to present itself as a cradle of democracy, Islamophobia in Europe statistics show something completely opposite, especially in these most racist Islamophobic European countries toward Muslims on our list below. Yes, you are welcome to be whatever you want in Europe, as long as you are not a Muslim.
To support the statement, it would only be enough to mention Slovakia among many other examples, with the clear message: “Islam has no place in this country”. When seeing all this, one can probably think that Slovakia has all predispositions to be marked as first among the most racist Islamophobic European countries towards Muslims, but believe it or not, there are some worst cases, and this list will definitely deal with them. However, this is definitely not going to prevent the further settlement of Muslims in Europe, and the list of 10 Countries Where Muslim Population Will Increase The Most By 2050 is there to prove this.
Nevertheless, it is important to emphasize the following; many people are afraid of Muslims and Islam, without even knowing anything about that religion. I bet that the majority of people would be scared to death if someone told them he or she is going through the “jihad”, not knowing that its meaning is also related to the spiritual struggle within oneself against everything that is bad. Additionally, how many people know that there are many groups even among Muslims? If you have no idea, please read our list that deals with 7 Major Differences Between Shia and Sunni Muslims, and you will see how much you actually don’t know about Islam.
Eventually, making of this list would be impossible without the European Islamophobia Report. It has provided a very deep insight into various European countries when it comes to Islamophobia. However, make sure to understand that the report of Islamophobia in Europe 2017 has not been done yet, so I will use the one from 2016. My starting point was a survey conducted by the Chatham House Europe Programme that dealt with attitudes towards the migration from predominantly Muslim countries where the respondents from various European countries needed to say “yes” or “no” to the following statement: “All further migration from mainly Muslim countries should be stopped”. However, to make it even more credible and better researched, I also went through information provided by Huffington Post, with an additional excellent article about Islamophobia. Telegraph also tackled the issue, as well as many other credible websites. The countries on the list are mostly there as they are usually mentioned in the news when you search for “Islamophobia in Europe”.
Additional information will be provided for each of them, so let’s see together what are 11 most racist Islamophobic European countries towards Muslims.
