Germany recorded more than 900 Islamophobic hate crimes in 2020 and there has also been an increase in attacks targeting migrants, according to official figures announced Monday.
Nearly 80 mosques were attacked between January and December last year, and at least 48 people suffered injuries due to Islamophobic violence.
The Interior Ministry released the figures in response to a parliamentary question by the opposition Left Party (Die Linke).
The German police recorded 901 anti-Muslim hate crimes and attacks last year, up from 884 a year earlier, according to latest figures. These included insults on social media, threatening letters, disruption of religious practice, physical assaults, and damage to property.
The number of people injured in Islamophobic violence rose from 34 in 2019 to 48 in 2020, according to the official figures. These attacks were mostly carried out by the neo-Nazis and right-wing extremists, according to the police.
Meanwhile, 1606 attacks targeting migrants and refugees were made in the country in 2020, while 84 were made against refugee shelters and 67 attacks were made against organizations and volunteers helping migrants.
Left Party lawmaker Ulla Osnabrücker noted that 1606 attacks indicate that Neo-Nazis carry out four to five attacks on average on a daily basis and that the figures show how rooted far-right violence is in the country.
Jelpke told Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung daily that the numbers reported by the police were “only the tip of the iceberg.” She said the real figures were likely to be higher, as many victims do not file criminal complaints with the police.
In 2019, 884 Islamophobic crimes were reported across Germany.
A country of over 80 million people, Germany has the second-largest Muslim population in Western Europe after France. Among the country’s nearly 4.7 million Muslims, 3 million are of Turkish origin.
The country has witnessed growing racism and Islamophobia in recent years, fueled by the propaganda of far-right groups and parties, which have attempted to stoke fear of Muslims and immigrants to win more votes.
