Surging Islamophobia

The wave of Islamophobia in Europe is not receding which has both racist and anti-immigrants shades. A gunman imbibed with far right beliefs killed nine people, five of them Turks, in a shisha par in the German city of Hannu. It merits mention that far right political party Alternative for Free Deutschland (AfD) is gaining strength and currently it has 70 plus seats in the German parliament. But unlike some European Union Countries like France, Belgium and Denmark, Germany has not passed laws, targeting Muslims’ culture. However, the spell over effect in society is there.

Other reason is the increasing number of asylum seekers and presence of Syrian and Afghan war refugees in Germany against whom feelings of prejudice are becoming more visible. The CDU government of Germany is often criticised by the opposition AfD for its soft policy on immigration and granting asylum. But unfortunately immigrants from Islamic countries are the target of far right racist groups.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has forcefully and logically agitated a number of times the rising feeling of Islamophobia in western democracies where their leaders advocate human tolerance and human rights. But in practice, laws are passed to compel Muslims to abandon their religious and cultural identities. The legislations passed in France, Belgium and Denmark against wearing full-face veil by Muslim women amply explains this phenomenon. Likewise, the closure of seven Islamic centers in Austria and expulsion of 40 Turkish Imams is a glaring example of state sponsored Islamophobia.

Ironically, leaders of majority of OIC member countries have shown an oblivious attitude to this extremely dangerous trend in the western countries except Prime Minister Imran Khan, Malaysian leader Dr.Mahatoir Mohammad and Turkish President RecepTayyipErdogan.