Austria Reports 1,061 Islamophobic Attacks Over Last Year, Islamic National Map Contribute?

Illustration of one of the centers of Muslim activity in Austria. (Wikimedia Commons/Wolfgang Glock)

JAKARTA - More than 1,000 Islamophobic incidents were reported in Austria in 2021, according to a new report released on Thursday last week.

According to the 2021 Report on Anti-Muslim Racism released by the Austrian Documentation and Counseling Center for Muslims (Dokustelle Osterreich), the majority of the 1,061 attacks occurred on digital platforms as more social interactions take place on the internet due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The report said 69 percent of those exposed to anti-Muslim racism, verbal and physical attacks were women, while only 26 percent were men.

In many incidents, women wearing headscarves were verbally abused, and in some cases, they were subjected to physical assault. While 65.4 percent of attacks against Muslims are carried out on online platforms, while 34.6 percent of them occur in various fields of social life.

Furthermore, the report also said that, of these, 77 percent of them were committed by men, while another 22 percent were carried out by women.

It said hate speech and incitement against Muslims contributed to 78.5 percent of the total incidents. While insults made up 9.1 percent of reported cases of anti-Muslim racism, physical damage to Muslim-owned property accounted for 2.4 percent.

Around 4 percent of the reported cases are discriminatory practices and racist behavior towards Muslims in various fields of social life. Other racist incidents, including police abuse, threats, psychological violence and physical abuse represented 6.2 percent of the total cases.

Attacks on Muslims escalated rapidly after the Austrian government released its controversial Islamic National Map in 2021. It placed signs across the country warning nearby mosques, which might pose a threat.

The Council of Europe demands Austria withdraw the controversial 'map of Islam'. The publication of the map is hostile to Muslims and potentially counterproductive, the European human rights body said in a statement.

Muslims across Austria feel threatened by the publication of the appeal and other details, amid growing Islamophobia in the country, especially after the deadly attacks in Vienna in November 2020.

The Islamic Religious Community in Austria (IGGOE), which represents the interests of some 800,000 Muslims in Austria, warned against stigmatizing Muslims living in the country "as a potential danger to society and the country's democratic legal order."