LONDON - Agence France-Presse
AFP photo
European countries are discriminating against Muslims for demonstrating their faith, especially in the fields of education and employment, rights group Amnesty International said Tuesday.
In a report focusing on Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland, Amnesty urged European governments to do more to challenge negative stereotypes and prejudices against Islam.
The report was particularly critical of countries that have brought in outright bans on face-covering veils or on the wearing of religious symbols in schools.
"Rather than countering these prejudices, political parties and public officials are all too often pandering to them in their quest for votes," said Marco Perolini, Amnesty International's expert on discrimination.
"Muslim women are being denied jobs and girls prevented from attending regular classes just because they wear traditional forms of dress, such as the headscarf.
"Men can be dismissed for wearing beards associated with Islam." The Amnesty report comes two days after the anti-immigrant National Front achieved a record score for the party in the first round of France's presidential election, with 18 percent of voters backing leader Marine Le Pen.
The report, titled "Choice and prejudice: discrimination against Muslims in Europe", says legislation prohibiting discrimination in employment has not been properly implemented in Belgium, France and the Netherlands.
Employers had been allowed to ban religious or cultural symbols on the grounds that they would annoy clients or colleagues, or that it conflicts with a company's corporate image or supposed neutrality, it said.
Amnesty said this was in direct conflict with European Union law.
"EU legislation prohibiting discrimination on the ground of religion or belief in the area of employment seems to be toothless across Europe, as we observe a higher rate of unemployment among Muslims," Perolini said.
This was especially true among Muslim women of foreign origin, he added.
In the last decade school pupils have been banned from wearing headscarves or other traditional religious dress in countries including Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands, Amnesty said.
The group also criticised Switzerland for a 2009 ban on the construction of new minarets for mosques.
It said that in Spain's Catalonia region many Muslims had to pray in outdoor areas because authorities were rejecting applications to build mosques on the grounds that they were incompatible with Catalan traditions and culture.
In a report focusing on Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland, Amnesty urged European governments to do more to challenge negative stereotypes and prejudices against Islam.
The report was particularly critical of countries that have brought in outright bans on face-covering veils or on the wearing of religious symbols in schools.
"Rather than countering these prejudices, political parties and public officials are all too often pandering to them in their quest for votes," said Marco Perolini, Amnesty International's expert on discrimination.
"Muslim women are being denied jobs and girls prevented from attending regular classes just because they wear traditional forms of dress, such as the headscarf.
"Men can be dismissed for wearing beards associated with Islam." The Amnesty report comes two days after the anti-immigrant National Front achieved a record score for the party in the first round of France's presidential election, with 18 percent of voters backing leader Marine Le Pen.
The report, titled "Choice and prejudice: discrimination against Muslims in Europe", says legislation prohibiting discrimination in employment has not been properly implemented in Belgium, France and the Netherlands.
Employers had been allowed to ban religious or cultural symbols on the grounds that they would annoy clients or colleagues, or that it conflicts with a company's corporate image or supposed neutrality, it said.
Amnesty said this was in direct conflict with European Union law.
"EU legislation prohibiting discrimination on the ground of religion or belief in the area of employment seems to be toothless across Europe, as we observe a higher rate of unemployment among Muslims," Perolini said.
This was especially true among Muslim women of foreign origin, he added.
In the last decade school pupils have been banned from wearing headscarves or other traditional religious dress in countries including Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands, Amnesty said.
The group also criticised Switzerland for a 2009 ban on the construction of new minarets for mosques.
It said that in Spain's Catalonia region many Muslims had to pray in outdoor areas because authorities were rejecting applications to build mosques on the grounds that they were incompatible with Catalan traditions and culture.
this is really bad .. Muslims should not be discriminated..they are just being hated due to their religion..oh come on people...this is modern era ..everyone should be granted the freedom of living their life according to their religion.. Muslim community never troubles the non Muslim community ..than why they do not get back the same response??
ReplyDeleteHearing this news, It was so really bad. I always believed that people should be treated equally even though they have a lot of differences. What they have done should not be tolerated. We can not blame people if he/she was born that way, we can not change them, thus we must change ourself if we saw something we do not want.
ReplyDeleteThis is so bad! Muslims in non-Muslim countries face prejudice and inconvenience. On the other hand, non-Muslims in Muslim countries face institutionalized persecution and endangerment of life.Must Need to change our self.
ReplyDeleteDiscrimination is very painful for all man or nation. I think, we should take step against discrimination from our own. If a nation depend on there government for remove discrimination, they will go in vane. Moral philosophers have defined discrimination as disadvantageous treatment or consideration. This is a comparative definition. An individual need not be actually harmed in order to be discriminated against. He or she just needs to be treated worse than others for some arbitrary reason. If someone decides to donate to help orphan children, but decides to donate less, say, to black children out of a racist attitude, he or she will be acting in a discriminatory way even if he or she actually benefits the people he discriminates against by donating some money to them. So we should just change our mentality.
ReplyDeleteI felt so bad for the Muslims in Europe. Even if they are not from Europe, the Europeans don't have the right to discriminate them. It doesn't make them better persons than Muslims. Muslims has their right to live equally like them. It is their right as human being to live freely. Even if some of them (Muslims) made a mistake by choosing to be terrorists it doesn't mean that all of them are terrorists. Also not all terrorists are Muslims, some of them are natives of their own country (Europeans). It's sad hearing news like this, we should treat each other like brothers cause we all came from one creator, GOD.
ReplyDeleteWe the muslims are really facing discrimination in the european countries. Beards associated with Islam, headscarves or veils do not harm or disturb other people. It is up to the choice of the muslim whether he/ she will maintain this. Other people should not prohibit one to follow his/her religion. Rather everyone should help others to follow and maintain/ do their prayers. Specially in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain our brothers and sisters are facing problems in the field of not only education employment but also they are being harassed socially. Mare legislation can’t stop the muslims from being discriminated rather it will need to develop the mentality of the people of the related countries. We are muslim and we have rights to live with equally facilities like other nations or religion.
ReplyDeleteIt so bad to see this discrimination for muslims in europe and in other country like USA also where muslim live other owise of discrimination in there religious, muslim should face those problem because they have right to live in freedom like others.
ReplyDeleteIt very sad for the Muslims people.For some bad person all the Muslims are facing discrimination.It effect mentally for a person who face those situation of the religious discrimination, it effect in human being.Now most of other religious people think that u are terrorist if you are a Muslim.I think this mentality should stop.
ReplyDeleteIt's a complete violation of individual rights,thoughts,beliefs as well as individual personality. If we see statistics, Hijab wearing women are least vulnerable than other non-hijab wearing women. If we look through recent crime statistics, France has got no. 1 position for rapes in 2009,then Germany,Russia,Sweden etc. Visit here http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_rap-crime-rapes
ReplyDeleteSee,2012 US statistical crime and crime rates abstract for forcible rapes at http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/law_enforcement_courts_prisons/crimes_and_crime_rates.html
These links are not for hitting someone. These are mainly mentioned to show the status of the countries who are shouting against scarfs and Hijab worn by Muslim women. If we look inside the statistics given,the major victims are half nude women or women who are used to expose their body parts,publicly.
Discrimination is indeed a fact of life for Muslims in Western countries. The prejudice that we face at certain times can be very bearing. European countries have taken the lead in ensuring the human rights around the world, so it is imperative that they work towards eliminating this last bit of hypocrisy from their society
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, the situation is much worse in Islamic countries. Non-muslims can not even hope for a decent and respectable life in countries like Saudi Arabia. Even in Pakistan Christians and Hindus pay with their life for the only “fault” of non being Muslim. While we definitely need to condemn the discrimination in western countries, let’s not forget that life is still better in these countries – a fact acknowledged my larger scale emigration from Pakistan.
It's very s sad news for the humanity. People has the right to follow their religious faith. But in recent days what's happening, that's really matter of sorrow. When we see a photo of mother Merry we always see her with a headscarf, so what's the problem if mulim girl wear a hijab.
ReplyDeleteIt's the right of mulsim women to wear their traditional dress. while it's not hampering the job environment of office or school. Why they are facing problem with Hijab?
There are many good people in Europe who work against all kind of discrimination. They should work on this matter also. And the muslim people also should raise their voice against discrimination.
Not only european muslim , but the muslim from whole should work on it.
Again not only Muslim, People who are respectable about otehr rights they should work on it also against discrimnation.