Concerns Escalate Over Anti-Muslim Incidents Targeting Mosques in Germany
The Secretary-General of DİTİB, Eyüp Kalyon, has urged both the German public and political figures to address the issue more vigorously.
DİTİB, which supervises more than 800 mosques and represents the largest Turkish community in Europe, has observed a worrying trend of threats, desecration of the Holy Quran, and offensive deliveries to mosques, including pork, which is proscribed in Islam.
Despite reporting these incidents to law enforcement, there is a perception that the police have not given them due attention, with some accusations of denial of the problem.
DİTİB has also noted an uptick in hate mail, receiving at least 17 pieces of correspondence laden with hateful and threatening language.
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Kalyon conveyed the community's distress to Anadolu Agency, stating, "They try to damage our mosques, to challenge Muslims. The DİTİB swiftly reports such attacks to the police... But we are worried. It scares Muslims here, especially children. We expect the German politicians to view this as serious and tackle it."
In the year 2023, CLAIM, an NGO network monitoring Islamophobia, documented 1,926 anti-Muslim incidents, a significant increase of 114 percent.
The escalation of these incidents has been linked to the aftermath of the Israeli regime’s aggression on Gaza, with a reported rise in vandalism, harassment, and threats against Islamic sites, including 90 attacks on religious establishments, cemeteries, and other institutions.
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The majority of individual attacks involved verbal abuse directed predominantly at Muslim women, along with four recorded attempts on lives. Furthermore, CLAIM's survey revealed that half of the German population harbors Islamophobic sentiments.
This surge in Islamophobia coincides with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party's rise in popularity, now ranking second in the polls. The AfD's manifesto explicitly states that Islam does not belong in Germany.
Source: Agencies
