Hostile Policies, Daily Struggles: How Islamophobia Shapes Life for Muslims in Europe

Over the past decade, Europe has seen a pronounced shift to the right, as far-right parties across the continent have moved into the mainstream. A significant driver of this shift has been the persistence and visibility of Islamophobia within European society. Anti-Muslim attitudes are widespread, and many elected officials have capitalized on these sentiments. By using Muslim communities as scapegoats, they deflect attention from policy shortcomings, and have instead gained support by appealing to negative perceptions of Muslims. 

This trend became especially evident in 2015 during the refugee crisis. As men, women, and children fled conflict, destruction, and war in Syria, Iraq, and a number of other countries, they looked towards Europe for safety. Right-wing voices seized on the moment, portraying refugees and migrants as threats to public safety and security. Dehumanizing narratives, which blamed Muslim immigrants and refugees for society’s ills, became prevalent. Additionally, the hostile response from political leaders and media organizations effectively helped bring far-right voices into the mainstream.

Europe has demonstrated that Islamophobia isn’t limited to the far right; instead, it is deeply ingrained in the mainstream. This pervasive bias has strengthened far-right parties, helping them shift from political fringes to influential positions within European politics. Furthermore, as the conflict in Gaza persists, both left- and right-wing parties have employed Islamophobic, orientalist, and racist rhetoric to defend their steadfast support for Israel. This has fueled a surge in anti-Muslim racism across Europe, with growing reports of harassment, discrimination, and violence against European Muslims.

As a result, life for Muslims in Europe has become increasingly challenging. In areas ranging from employment and healthcare to housing, European Muslims—the second-largest religious group in the EU—face discrimination in nearly every aspect of life, according to a recent report by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). Most alarming, the Being Muslim in the EU: Experiences of Muslims report found that almost 50 percent of Muslims across Europe have experienced some form of discrimination. The survey highlights the grim reality that Muslims in the EU continue to endure racism, hatred, and discrimination in their daily lives.

The FRA’s survey looked at the experiences and opinions of 9,604 Muslim respondents in 13 Member States: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.

Discrimination, the report notes, occurs on “multiple and intersecting grounds,” as half of Muslim respondents (50 percent) said that they felt discriminated against, with ‘ethnic or immigrant background’ and ‘religion or religious belief’ being the two most mentioned grounds of discrimination. The highest rates of racial discrimination were reported in employment, both when looking for work (39 percent) and at work (35 percent). Additionally, 35 percent of respondents also experienced racial discrimination when it came to housing (either renting or buying a house), a drastic increase from 22 percent in 2016. The feeling of not being treated equally even carried into the healthcare sector as the report noted that Muslims in Europe are “twice as likely as others in the general population to not have their medical needs met properly.”

When it comes to racist harassment and hate crimes, the vast majority go unreported. The survey found that there is little trust in law enforcement and the legal sector when it comes to protecting Muslims in the EU. 39 percent of respondents who experienced discrimination did not report it because they felt “nothing would happen or change by reporting it.” This belief was also present amongst those who experienced racist violence, as 68 percent of these individuals did not report the incidence, with 44 percent agreeing that “that reporting would not change anything.”

The country where Muslims reported the highest levels of racial discrimination was Austria. 74 percent of Muslim respondents from Austria reported they had experienced discrimination in the five years before the survey. This isn’t entirely shocking given the right-ward shift in the country and the incremental increase in anti-Muslim rhetoric and policies from government figures. 

In September 2024, Austria’s far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), a party originally founded by former Nazis, won the largest share in the national elections. As Dr. Farid Hafez noted, it was “the first time in postwar Austrian history that a party originally established by ex-Nazis, for ex-Nazis, won the national parliamentary elections.” According to The Bridge Initiative, the FPÖ has been able to regain power after “mobilizing against immigrants and Muslims and is one of the main factors in the institutionalization of Islamophobia in Austria.” Herbert Kickl, the leader of the FPÖ, has himself made anti-Muslim remarks and supported anti-Muslim policies, including calling for a total “ban of the Hijab in the public space.” 

However, anti-Muslim rhetoric and policies aren’t limited to the FPÖ. Austria’s current Chancellor, Karl Nehammer, has been a key figure in supporting anti-Muslim policies. Nehammer was in charge of Austria’s largest-ever peacetime police raids involving 930 police officers, known as “Operation Luxor,” that targeted 70 Muslim individuals and NGOs. The government falsely accused these individuals and organizations of being tied to the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Higher Court of Graz later ruled that the raids were unlawful. Such actions illustrate how state-led Islamophobia in Austria—and other parts of Europe—profoundly impacts the safety, security, and prosperity of Muslims. When elected officials support inflammatory anti-Muslim rhetoric and discriminatory policies, it emboldens individuals to act on their own biases and prejudices.

Over the past decade, several European countries have implemented laws restricting Muslim women and girls’ rights by banning the hijab in public spaces. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) reports that wearing traditional or religious clothing—such as the headscarf, hijab, or niqab—negatively affects Muslim women’s employment prospects. Muslim women who wear the hijab are less likely to be employed than women who do not (46 percent compared to and 61 percent). For women who wear the hijab, the report notes that “they encounter obstacles in finding employment and advancing their careers on an equal footing with Muslim men of the same age or with Muslim women who do not wear similar clothing in public.” 

The discrimination extends beyond employment. From challenges in finding housing to financial instability, Muslim households are at a “higher risk of poverty, social exclusion, and energy poverty than the general population.” The survey also highlighted Islamophobia in education, showing that Muslim children are often subjected to racial discrimination at school; 16% of Muslim parents reported that their children experience harassment or bullying based on their ethnic or immigrant background. These issues increase the likelihood that Muslim children may leave school early, further limiting their future opportunities. This chain of discrimination illustrates how prejudice can create lasting, compounding impacts on individuals and communities.

The EU’s leading rights agency has reported rising anti-Muslim racism across Europe, particularly exacerbated by the Israel’s war in Gaza. Over the past year, Islamophobia has surged across the continent. Reflecting on these developments, the FRA’s Director Sirpa Rautio said: “We are witnessing a worrying surge in racism and discrimination against Muslims in Europe. This is fuelled by conflicts in the Middle East and made worse by the dehumanising anti-Muslim rhetoric we see across the continent.” The agency warns that “one of the most alarming aspects of anti-Muslim discrimination is how often it happens – it is now almost normalised.” Islamophobia is closely linked to state policies that stigmatize and criminalize Muslims across the EU. This hostile climate places around 26 million Muslims in a precarious situation, where daily discrimination and state-sponsored policies threaten their human rights.