Expert group presents final report on Muslim hostility in Germany

On behalf of the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI), the experts had identified and analysed concrete problematic situations of Muslim hostility in important areas of education, politics, media and culture, justice, administration and Muslim everyday life and formulated recommendations for action since autumn 2020. Their 400-page report was presented this week together with Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser at the Federal Press Conference and then discussed and presented to the public in the presence of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Bellevue Palace. It presents a social picture of the situation regarding Muslim hostility based on scientific studies, police crime statistics and the documentation of Muslim-hostile cases by anti-discrimination offices, counselling centres and NGOs. The report is followed by concrete 20 recommendations for action directed at all levels of government and society. These include the demand to think more strongly about Muslim hostility and racism together; the establishment of a council of experts and the appointment of a federal commissioner for Muslim hostility; a strategy of the federal government to promote the equal participation of Muslims; the sensitisation of various professional groups through further education on this topic, the expansion of counselling and reporting centres with expertise on Muslim hostility, as well as a revision of school curricula in this regard, and much more. In addition, the expert group proposes measures to combat structural Muslim hostility in state institutions and in the mass media. Among other things, it advocates for more Muslim employees in institutions, more pluralism in reporting and action, and consistent further education against racism for the police and security authorities.

According to the final report, Muslim hostility can be found in large parts of the population. "Unconscious preconceptions, misinformation and sweeping attributions, but also structural disadvantages have a stigmatising effect and pose a danger to living together in plurality," the report states. "A primarily negative image of Muslims has spread, so that associations with violence and terror still dominate. Belonging to society, to a common 'we', is denied to Muslims: they are seen as 'the others', to whom (supposedly) unchangeable negative characteristics are attributed." This affects not only Muslims but also other marginalised groups - as the reports on anti-Semitism (BMI 2017), antiziganism (BMI 2021) and racism (Federal Government January 2023) clearly show.

Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser thanked the expert group for its work and declared: "Muslim life is a natural part of Germany. We want all people in our diverse society to have the same opportunities and rights. This makes the findings of this first comprehensive report on Muslim hostility in Germany all the more bitter: many of the 5.5 million Muslims in Germany experience exclusion and discrimination in their everyday lives - up to and including hatred and violence. It is very important to make this visible and to create awareness for still widespread resentment."

+++ Update (20/03/2024): The report of the expert group is currently being revised and will be published shortly by the German Islam Conference. You will then find the link here on our website. +++