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Latest update: 24/04/2012
- Amnesty International - discrimination - Islam
Muslims in Europe face discrimination, says Amnesty
Human rights group Amnesty International said in a report on Tuesday that Muslims were victims of discrimination in European countries. The report was particularly critical of countries that have banned veils or religious symbols in schools.
By News Wires (text)
AFP - 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.
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A Brussels guy point of view
I can tell the report was done by people who don't have to deal with the moroccan community on a daily basis. I am a belgian living in Saint Gilles which is a mainly foreigner's district within Brussels where half of the citizens are muslims. I am quite liberal and by no means racist in fact I have many arab and/or muslim friends (even my ex is tunisian!) but aprox 30% of the population here is of moroccan origins and I can assure you non-muslims are far more discriminated. First of all muslims are the ones who are entitled to social free housing because they are the biggest families hence having priority. A single person like me would never get that kind of help. I have to pay 60% of my incomes to sponsor them though. Because of their religious status they have the monopoly on sunday's opening hours for their small business where usually all of the family works yet only one is declared and the rest many times are on welfare claiming being jobless (850EUR per month unlimited even if you have never worked or paid taxes!). They have been given the belgian nationality but many of them have no respect for our ideologies or the law. If you go to the city hall here in St. Gilles all the ladies wear scarfs (ALL) and they always greet me in arabic. Not french, dutch or english but arabic as in "salaam allekoum" which is in fact illegal!! My mom is italian so I have mediterranean looks (Is surreal). I feel much more in the Magreb here than in Casablanca. We are a very liberal country and when I see they attack jews and gays on the street on a daily basis it breaks my heart, that's not belgian-like. Even our prime minister is openly gay and nobody even cares, not even my 80yo grandparents. Finally they have far more advantages, liberties and rights than in their country of origin and needless to say much more than expats living in let's say Dubai or even Bahrain. And then there are the security reasons. My co-worker was stabbed by a moroccan, his daughter suffered an express kidnap and I have a jewish last name even if am not jewish and have had many anti-semitic encounters just because my last name is Silverman telling me I should get out of Belgium (my family has been here since the 16th century!) So for me this is just media propaganda because they are slowly taking over and is just a fact wether we like it or not. It's democracy I'm afraid and sharia law will be installed with time, I have no doubts. I'm not allowed to cross borders or entering a bank or university wearing a hat/cap due to security reasons so I don't see why women would be allowed wearing burqas specially in the car, work place or at school. Of course is just an excuse to soothe most of the western europeans' frustration but they hide their cell phones under their scarf all the time during classes or while driving so it is also on their best interest as well. It is really sad that even the most liberal guys like me would even consider to vote for the extreme right on the verge of desperation.
Yes, where are they when....?
Harold. You are spot on. Amnesty when non-muslims are killed like animals,discriminated in muslim countries, where are you then? ,see www.compassdierct.org ,why don't you S&*t speak out then? High time"Amnesty International" MUST be disband for good.People who run A I live in cuckoo land
Thanks for the care
I really do BELEIVE that all the Muslims in Europe are well educated enough to fight for their rights and for the right :)
Where, were you?
Where, were you Amnesty, when They were Killing and Enslaving, Christain, Christains do not deal with Devils, We Deny them. Praises be unto the Lord Jesus Christ. It is Jesus That Saves, these misguided human. Mercy, is on them for Now.