The Collective Against Islamophobia in Belgium (CAIB), the leading watchdog fighting Islamophobia in the country, has released its first report highlighting a shocking increase in discriminatory acts against Muslims and their places of worship.
Established last year, the Collective revealed that the number of Islamophobic acts increased by 94 percent in Belgium between 2011 and 2014.
“In 2014, there was at least one Islamophobic act every two days in Belgium,” the report said.
Based on the official annual figures of the Interfederal Centre for Equal Opportunities in Belgium, CAIB highlighted that in the period between 2011 and 2013, there were at least two Islamophobic acts every week, one of which was clearly in breach of anti-discrimination law.
The report added that Islamophobic acts are increasing in Belgium after “several consecutive years without the government’s awareness of the seriousness of the phenomenon and its impact on social cohesion and public freedoms.”
To fight effectively against racism and xenophobia, CAIB identified three priorities for this purpose:1) For the government to take concrete action by formally recognizing Islamophobia as a violation of fundamental rights and a threat to social cohesion; 2) to monitor permanently the Islamophobic acts reported regularly; and 3) to recognize Muslim women wearing headscarves in high schools and in the job market.
Amid the growing propaganda of the organized groups against Islam, CAIB expressed its concerns, calling on the government to assure personal freedoms and the right to practice one’s religion.
After the attacks that targeted France, discrimination against Muslims has become stronger than ever in Europe, and Muslim places of worships are being desecrated more frequently.