Islamophobia in Europe has become institutionalized, researcher warns

Researcher Farid Hafez, of the University of Limerick and Georgetown University’s Bridge Initiative, reports that Islamophobia in Europe has deteriorated significantly over the last decade. According to Hafez, who co-edits the annual ‘European Islamophobia Report’ with Anas Bircali, anti-Muslim sentiment has transitioned from extremist rhetoric into institutional practices and daily political policy.

Hafez notes that the anti-Islam agenda is no longer confined to far-right parties. Instead, it has been adopted by centrist and even left-leaning parties under various justifications. For instance, Social Democrats in Denmark have adopted similar stances, while conservative parties in other nations have followed suit. In Germany, such policies have long been present, and in Austria, they have become increasingly common in recent years.

The report examines how this discrimination manifests across legal, media, security, and educational sectors. Hafez observes that while some awareness is growing, the trend toward normalizing Islamophobia within mainstream political discourse remains a dominant force, often accompanied by the decline of political centrism in Europe.