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Anti-Muslim sentiments prevalent in Germany, and growing – study
Germany has witnessed growing racism and Islamophobia in recent years, fueled by the propaganda of far-right groups and parties.
Western Europe after France. (Reuters Archive)
Anti-Muslim attitudes are widespread in Germany, according to a recent study conducted by the Expert Council on Integration and Migration (SVR).
Nearly 48 percent of respondents said they believe “Islam is not compatible with German society,” while 29 percent suggested restricting practice of Islam in the country.
Nearly 44 percent of Germans surveyed argued that Muslim organizations should be monitored by the state’s security agencies, while only 16 percent opposed such a move.
Anti-Islamic attitudes were slightly more common among migrants who arrived in Germany from non-Muslim countries. People who had social contacts with Muslims, however, were less inclined to hold anti-Islamic attitudes, according to the report.
The SVR’s study also analyzed anti-Semitic attitudes in Germany and concluded that anti-Semitism was widespread both among Germans and migrant communities in the country.
“Negative attitudes towards people of the Muslim and Jewish faiths are divisive and undermine social cohesion. However, attitudes of this kind are not only held by people without a migration background, but also by people with a history of migration,” the report said.
Stronger action urged
The SVR called for stronger action to counter anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic attitudes in all population groups, by promoting intercultural contacts and anti-discrimination work.
Among other things, religious communities need to be more closely involved, interfaith dialogue and related forms of interaction can also contribute to reducing prejudice, the group said.
A country of over 84 million people, Germany has the second-largest Muslim population in Western Europe after France. It is home to around 4.7 million Muslims, according to the official figures.
The country has witnessed growing racism and Islamophobia in recent years, fueled by the propaganda of far-right groups and parties, which have exploited the refugee crisis and attempted to stoke fear of immigrants.
German authorities registered at least 662 anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2021. More than 46 mosques were attacked between January and December last year, and at least 17 people suffered injuries due to the anti-Muslim violence.
The obvious question now is: how many hate crimes were committed by Muslims or Jews in 2021? You almost never hear of Jews committing crimes against Germans. How many Germans suffered injuries from violent Muslims last year? They don't tell us that because the government and the media don't want you to know. It is this attitude that sparks right-wing groups to form and to spread propaganda, some of which may actually be the truth.
Iran protesters' families forced to lie about death - source
Published 3 days ago
Nika Shakarami messaged a friend to say she was being chased by security forces
By Parham Ghobadi
BBC Persian
Relatives of a girl who died during protests in Iran have been forced into making false statements, a source close to the family has told BBC Persian.
Nika Shakarami, 16, went missing in Tehran on 20 September after telling a friend she was being chased by police.
On Wednesday night, a state TV report showed her aunt, Atash, saying: "Nika was killed falling from a building."
Her uncle was also seen on TV speaking against the unrest, as someone seems to whisper to him: "Say it, you scumbag!"
The source told BBC Persian that these were both "forced confessions" that came "after intense interrogations and being threatened that other family members would be killed".
Atash and Nika's uncle, Mohsen, were detained by authorities after Atash posted messages online about her niece's death and spoke to the media. The televised statements were recorded before they were released, according to the source.
Atash told BBC Persian prior to her arrest on Sunday that the Revolutionary Guards had told her that Nika was in their custody for five days and then handed over to prison authorities.
The judiciary has said that on the night she disappeared Nika went into a building where eight construction workers were present, and that she was found dead in the yard outside the next morning.
Tehran judiciary official Mohammad Shahriari was cited by state media as saying on Wednesday that a post-mortem showed Nika suffered "multiple fractures... in the pelvis, head, upper and lower limbs, arms and legs, which indicate that the person was thrown from a height".
He declared that this proved her death was nothing to do with the protests.
However, a death certificate issued by a cemetery in the capital, which was obtained by BBC Persian, states that she died after suffering "multiple injuries caused by blows with a hard object".
Nika's Instagram and Telegram accounts were also deleted after she went missing, according to Atash. Iranian security forces are known to demand that detainees give them access to the social media accounts so that the accounts or certain posts can be deleted.
Wednesday night's state TV report also featured footage in which Atash was seen confirming that her niece's body was found outside the building mentioned by the judiciary, even though that contradicted previous statements made by her and other members of the family.
The family have said they located Nika's body at the mortuary of a detention centre 10 days after she went missing, and that they were only allowed by officials to see her face for a few seconds in order to identify her. Atash said before she was detained that she did not go to the mortuary.
Nika's family transferred her body to her father's hometown of Khorramabad, in the west of the country, on Sunday - on what would have been her 17th birthday.
A source close to them told BBC Persian that the family agreed, under duress from authorities, not to hold a public funeral. But, the source said, security forces then "stole" Nika's body from Khorramabad and secretly buried it in the village of Veysian, about 40km (25 miles) away.
Hundreds of protesters later gathered in Khorramabad's cemetery and chanted slogans against the government, including "death to the dictator" - a reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
Hadis Najafi, 22, and Sarina Esmailzadeh, 16, died after taking part in protests in the city of Karaj
Nika is not the only young female protester to have been killed during the unrest that erupted last month following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was detained by the morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic's strict hijab law.
The family of Hadis Najafi, 22, have said that she was shot dead by security forces while protesting in the city of Karaj, west of Tehran, on 21 September. Officials allegedly asked her father to say that she died of a heart attack.
Another 16-year-old girl, Sarina Esmailzadeh, died after being severely beaten on the head with batons by security forces during protests in Karaj on 23 September, Amnesty International cited a source as saying. The source also told the human rights group that security and intelligence agents had harassed the girl's family to coerce them into silence.
Several videos made by Sarina before her death have now been posted on social media. In one recorded after finishing some school exams, she says: "Nothing feels better than freedom."
TERROR ATTACK IN NORTHERN JERUSALEM
– SOLDIER KILLED
written by Micha Gefen
October 8, 2022
Israel Unwired
UPDATE: The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday identified the soldier killed in the deadly East Jerusalem shooting attack as Sgt. Noa Lazar, 18.
The military said Lazar, from the community of Bat Hefer in northern Israel, was a member of the Military Police’s Erez battalion. Lazar, a corporal, was posthumously promoted to the rank of sergeant after her death.
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An Arab terrorist walked up to a security post in the Northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat at 9pm in the evening and shot at border police. The terrorist fled the scene by way of a car after wounding three Israelis – two of them serious.
A female soldier, aged 20, was critically wounded, while a guard, 25, was seriously hurt. The two were rushed to a hospital in Jerusalem for medical treatment. The third Israeli was lightly injured and treated at the scene of the attack.
“A short time ago, a report was received regarding gunfire towards the Shu’afat Crossing,” a police statement read. “As a result of this, there are two people injured at the scene, whose condition was initially declared serious (according to medical sources). Police forces were called to the scene and began searching for the suspect in the incident, who escaped.”
Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed the attack.
Prime Minister Lapid denounced the attack, but has yet to detail how he and his government plans on curbing the growing amount of terror attacks across Israel. Public Security Minister Omer Barlev, who arrived on the scene alongside top police commanders, said security forces “will lay their hands on the attacker, alive or dead.”
One of the leaders of the nationalist camp, MK Itamar Ben Gvir arrived at Shuafat and confronted Bar Lev. “How many failures will you bring to us, Bar Lev? How many times? Again and again. The left just gives in.”
Hammersmith Apollo is evacuated during performance by
legendary Iranian pop singer and anti-regime activist after
‘bomb threat’
The move sparked protests outside the venue with crowds chanting ‘woman, life, liberty’
Thousands of people were evacuated during a performance by Dariush tonight
The 71-year-old artist is an anti-regime activist who has lived in exile for decades
It comes after police received an anonymous threat against the concert venue
The move sparked protests, with people calling for the end to the Iranian regime
By MATTHEW LODGE FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 17:27 EDT, 9 October 2022 | UPDATED: 19:16 EDT, 9 October 2022
For the complete story please go to The Daily Mail
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