Austria recorded the highest number of Islamophobic incidents last year since record-keeping began in 2015, according to a report published on Monday.
The annual report by the Documentation Centre for Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Racism was published on its website. It said the number of recorded cases in Austria has increased, especially since the war between Israel and Hamas began on 7 October last year.
More cases were reported from October to December than in the first nine months of 2023. The first place where more cases were reported since October were schools, the report said. In education, anti-Muslim incidents were reported by parents, students and teachers.
Overall, 66.7 per cent of documented cases occurred online, while 33.7 per cent occurred offline. Some 87.8 per cent of the incidents documented online involved the spread of hate.
According to the report, online comments dehumanised Muslims and compared them to animals. Many also blamed anti-Semitism solely on Muslims, the report noted.
Offences against the religious backdrop
The report said 40.8 per cent of all reported incidents involved unequal treatment and 19.5 per cent involved insults. Spreading hatred accounted for 8.9 per cent and 2.6 per cent involved physical attacks.
The remaining incidents were categorised as vandalism (7.5%), police violence (7.3%), dangerous threats (3.2%), hate speech (1.8%), bullying and harassment (0.8%) and other (7.7%).
In its report, the Documentation Centre stressed that its statistics are a snapshot and that the actual number of cases is believed to be much higher. According to the organisation, these figures are a “worrying development” that is increasingly contributing to the divisions in society. The documentation centre has therefore called for more attention to be paid to Islamophobia.
In April and May this year, a wave of pro-Palestinian protests swept almost the entire world. The first protests took place at universities in the US, then spread to Europe. Thousands of people demanded a ceasefire in Gaza and recognition of Palestine.
