High levels of trust despite pervasive discrimination: Survey on Muslims in EU

The majority of Muslims living in the European Union, EU, have a high level of trust in democratic institutions, despite experiencing widespread discrimination and harassment, according to a major survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, FRA.

The survey captured the experiences of Muslim immigrants and their EU-born children, revealing that public attitudes have not significantly changed over the last decade.

"Our survey outcomes make a mockery of the claim that Muslims are not integrated into our societies. On the contrary, we see a trust in democratic institutions that is higher than much of the general population," said Michael O’Flaherty, Director of the FRA.

"However, every incident of discrimination and hate crime hampers their inclusion and reduces their chances of finding employment. We risk alienating individuals and their communities, with potentially perilous consequences," he added.

"I am encouraged by the confidence of Europe's Muslim communities in our public institutions and the rule of law, despite the personal challenges of discrimination, which they have attested to," said Frans Timmermans, First Vice-President of the European Commission."

"But I am disheartened by the FRA's report that shows that over the past five years, almost one in three Muslims have felt that they have been discriminated against while looking for work, but only 12 percent have reported the latest cases of discrimination. I want to assure our Muslim citizens that the European Commission will not tolerate intolerance, as it goes against our values and laws," Timmermans added.

"The FRA report shows that discrimination against Muslims is too widespread. I am especially concerned about the challenges faced by Muslim women in Europe. It is now our duty at European, national and local levels to ensure that anti-discrimination measures are respected and that the Muslim community can trust the police," said Vera Jourova, European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality.

The selected findings of the Second European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey, EU-MIDIS II: Muslims, is the second large-scale survey of Muslims carried out by the FRA. As well as markers of integration, such as a sense of belonging and trust in public institutions, the survey asked about their experiences of discrimination, harassment, police stops and rights awareness.

The key findings of the survey of 10,527 Muslims, which was conducted in 15 EU member states, also state that 76 percent of Muslim respondents felt strongly attached to their resident country, and 31 percent of those seeking employment felt discriminated against over the last five years while 42 percent of respondents who were stopped by the police over the last year said that this happened because of their migrant or ethnic minority background.

The report suggests several solutions, including effective sanctions for violations of anti-discrimination legislation, the reinforcement of trust in the police through targeted outreach activities, and greater efforts to increase the participation of Muslims in the decision-making process.

Today’s report is part of a wider survey of 25,500 migrants and minorities in all 28 EU member states, following the FRA’s first related survey in 2008.

The FRA is the EU’s independent body for providing fundamental rights assistance and expertise to the EU and its member states.