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Data in Focus Report 2: Muslims
This EU-MIDIS report on Muslims provides data on how Muslims across the EU experience discrimination and victimisation. It covers Muslim respondents with diverse ethnic origins in 14 Member States. Key Findings
► Racist crime, harassment and discrimination grossly under-reported 1 in 3 Muslim respondents were discriminated against in the past 12 months and 11% experienced a racist crime. The highest levels of discrimination occurred in employment (when looking for work 18%; at work 13%), and in private services (at a bar restaurant, shop, by a landlord; total 14%). In comparison, of all ethnic groups surveyed within EU-MIDIS, 37% experienced discrimination, and 12% had been a victim of a racist crime. Muslims aged 16-24 experience more discrimination in comparison with other age groups, with overall discrimination rates declining with age.
Lower discrimination of Muslims with citizenship and longer period of residence The length of stay in the country also affected levels of discrimination experienced. Those who have lived in a country for longer experienced less discrimination. On average 45% of those who lived in the country for 1-4 years experienced discrimination in contrast to 25% of those born in the country. 29% of youths aged 16-24 who are citizens of the Member States in question experienced discrimination, in contrast to 48% of youths who are not citizens. On the whole, there are only small differences between Muslim men and women’s experiences of discrimination.Overwhelming majority do not report their experiences of racism On average, 79% of Muslim respondents, particularly youths, did not report their experiences of discrimination. This means that thousands of cases of discrimination and racist crime remain invisible, and are therefore not recorded in official complaints and criminal justice data collection mechanisms. People without citizenship and those who have lived in the country for the shortest period of time are less likely to report discrimination. Regarding the reasons for not reporting incidents, 59% of Muslim respondents believe that ‘nothing would happen or change by reporting’, and 38% say that ‘it happens all the time’ and therefore they do not make the effort to report incidents.
Vulnerable groups are not informed about their rights This survey provides evidence that victims of racism in the EU are not informed about their rights. For example, only 41% of those Muslims surveyed knew that there is a law that forbids discrimination against people on the basis of their ethnicity when applying for a job. 80% did not know of any organisation that can offer support or advice to people who have been discriminated against. This demonstrates an urgent need for better information. In addition, this could reflect a real absence of support services in many Member States. What can policy-makers do about this?
►Ethnicity is the main reason for discrimination Of those Muslim respondents who experienced discrimination in the past 12 months, the majority believed that this was mainly due to their ethnic background. Only 10% stated that they thought that the discrimination they experienced was based solely on their religion. However, 51% of Muslims compared to 20% of non-Muslim ethnic minorities surveyed believe that discrimination on grounds of religion or belief is “very” or “fairly” widespread.
Wearing traditional or religious clothing
does not influence discrimination What can policy-makers do about this?
►Ethnic profiling widespread The survey also asked questions about contact with law enforcement bodies, so as to identify possible experiences of discriminatory treatment. On average, 25% of Muslim respondents stated that they had been stopped by the police in the last 12 months. Of those who had been stopped, 40% considered that they were stopped on the basis of their ethnicity (‘ethnic profiling’). However, this differs greatly depending on the Member State and group. While most respondents in Italy and Spain believe that they were stopped because of their ethnicity, in Bulgaria, Slovenia and Luxembourg this was not the case. What can policy-makers do about this? |
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Printed version available in English (EN). German (DE) and French (FR) will be available in 2010. Event: 28-29/05/2009 Debating Islamophobia, Madrid (Spain) |




















