Turkish officials are urging Muslims living abroad to report incidents of Islamophobia to relevant authorities, including the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), as many have become desensitized to daily discrimination.
Fatih Mehmet Karaca, the deputy head of Türkiye’s Directorate of Religious Affairs, told the Sub-Committee on Turks Abroad and Related Communities at an event on Thursday that Muslims often refrain from filing complaints because they see Islamophobic acts as routine.
“We must bring Islamophobic incidents to the attention of the relevant authorities at every level, both individually and institutionally, including the ECtHR,” he said, adding that the directorate provides guidance to citizens on reporting procedures.
The committee, chaired by Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Istanbul Deputy Seda Gören, also heard from Ensari Yentürk, director general of foreign relations of the Presidency of Religious Affairs. Yentürk noted that a significant portion of Islamophobic incidents go unrecorded due to fears of retaliation, but confirmed that verified data collected by the directorate is submitted to authorities to ensure appropriate action.
Karaca emphasized that while some European organizations can take even minor cases to the ECtHR and obtain outcomes, Turkish citizens abroad must also actively document and report discrimination.
European Muslims, including people of Turkish background living in the European Union, have faced persistent and in many cases increasing levels of Islamophobic discrimination, harassment and hate crimes over the past decade, according to official surveys and incident data.
Nearly half of Muslims surveyed across 13 EU countries reported experiencing racial discrimination in their daily lives during the five years before 2022, with figures rising to about 47% from 39% in 2016, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) said in its most recent “Being Muslim in the EU” report.
Discrimination was particularly prevalent in employment, housing and public services, and was reported more frequently by visible Muslims such as women wearing religious clothing. Turks and other Muslims of immigrant background fall within these broader figures, which reflect patterns of exclusion some say have persisted for years.
The FRA update also highlights a notable increase in anti‑Muslim incidents since Israel’s war on Gaza that began in October 2023, with countries such as Austria reporting more than 1,500 reported hate crimes in 2023, the highest total since 2015. Nearly one in four Muslims reported racist harassment in the five years leading up to the survey, and around 4% said they had been subject to physical racist attacks in that period.
Separate monitoring by projects like I‑Report shows high levels of Islamophobic hate crimes in individual countries. In Germany, some 1,926 anti‑Muslim hate crimes were officially recorded in 2023, while Austria logged 1,522 incidents, both representing increases over prior year totals. Experts warn these figures likely underestimate the scale of prejudice because many victims do not file official reports.
