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While Islamophobia is a major, regular occurrence in Austria, hijab-wearing women are more subject to acts of anti-Muslim racism than Muslim men in the country, the Austrian NGO Dokustelle has reported.
Munira Mohamud, an activist with Dokustelle, recently spoke to Anadolu Agency (AA) about the struggles that women wearing hijab face in the European country, stressing that a “lot of women face more anti-Muslim racism.”
Women wearing headscarves face anti-Muslim racism because “of the visibility of the hijab,” the activist said.
According to Dokustelle, anti-Muslim hate crimes Austria witnessed over 1,000 Islamophobic acts in 2021, of which around 69.2% were perpetrated against women..
Mohamud, who also wears the hijab, said she was repeatedly subject to Islamophobic acts in 2022. She especially recalled one man hurling insulting, racist words at her in German before adding: “What is this on your head? Take it away.”
Austria’s Federal Statistical Office identified 645,600 as Muslims in the country, AA said.
Mohamud criticized the Austrian government’s approach to Islam, describing it as the “biggest player of Islamophobia.”
Read also: French Muslims Have Much to Lose Ahead of the 2022 Election
The activist stressed that the government has been diverting attention from its policy failures by discussing issues related to Muslims instead of tackling the country’s most pressing crises, including corruption.
In particular, Mohamud pointed fingers at the Austrian government’s attempts to adopt France’s growing nativist and xenophobic discourse about Muslims.
France has seen a significant increase in Islamophobic attacks over the past decade, with the most recent attacks targeting Muslim businesses, cemeteries, and mosques.
In addition to a proliferation of acts of anti-Islam vandalism over the past two years, France’s far-right MPs and activists have adopted a pointedly anti-Muslim rhetoric.
According to most observers of French politics and society, the country has been experiencing a severe trend of “droitisation,” the normalization and banalization of right-wing political discourse.
Most recently, France sparked a new wave of Islam-themed controversy last week after the country’s football federation announced its refusal to allow Muslim football players to break their Ramadan fast during matches.
In a statement on March 31, the France Football Federation (FFF) notified football clubs and players in the country of its rejection of calls for pausing evening matches during Ramadan so that Muslim players can break the fast.
The FFF claimed that its decision reflected its commitment to the principle of “football neutrality,” but many football fans and observers rubished that claim and criticized the French federation for dismissing the well-being and religious beliefs of Muslim footballers.
Many others compared FFF’s decision with that of its English counterpart. Unlike France’s football league, England’s Football Association has urged referees in the Premier League and the FA Cup to pause evening matches to allow Muslim players to break their fast.
