EU needs legislation to counter rise of Islamophobia— 1

Syed Qamar Afzal Rizvi

03166364928
APRIL 22, 2021

Islamophobia is the negative representation of irrational ‫ﻏﯿﺮ‬

‫ ﻣﻌﻘﻮل‬hostility ‫ دﺷﻤﻨﯽ‬, fear, or hatred ‫ ﻧﻔﺮت‬of Islam, Muslims,
and Islamic culture, and active discrimination ‫اﻣﺘﯿﺎزی ﺳﻠﻮک‬
against these groups or individuals within them. Today,
Islamophobia in Europe manifests ‫ ﺻﺎف ﺻﺎف دﮐﮭﺎئ دﯾﻨﺎ‬itself
through individual attitudes and behaviours, and the policies
and practices of organizations and institutions. Many
European states have a tendency to prefer ‫ ﺗﺮﺟﯿﺢ دﯾﻨﺎ‬the
freedom of speech over religious freedom. Against this
backdrop ‫ ﭘﺲ ﻣﻨﻈﺮ‬, Pakistan has justifiably ‫ ﺑﺠﺎ ﻃﻮر ﭘﺮ‬asked the
European Union to deter ‫ روﮐﻨﺎ‬Islamophobia through
meaningful legislation ‫ ﻗﺎﻧﻮن ﺳﺎزی‬.

A horrendous ‫ ﮨﻮﻟﻨﺎک‬rise of Islamophobia in Europe:  According

to the March-2021 report published by the United Nations
Rights Council (UNHCR), ’’suspicion ‫ ﺷﮑﻮک وﺷﺒﮩﺎت‬,
discrimination and outright ‫ ﺳﺮاﺳﺮ‬hatred towards Muslims has
risen to epidemic ‫ وﺑﺎ ﮐﮯ ﻃﻮر ﭘﺮ‬proportions”. : Conversely ‫ﺑﺮﻋﮑﺲ‬
to the urge ‫ ﺗﺎﮐﯿﺪ‬of multiculturalism manifested in the European
Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the rise of Islmophobia
in the West is evident ‫ واﺿﺢ‬of the fact that Professor Samuel
Huntington’s theory of civilizational clash holds leverage ‫ﺑﯿﻌﺎﻧﮧ‬
in Europe. Sadly, in a climate of rapidly expanding ‫ﺑﮍﮬﺘﯽ ﮨﻮﺋﯽ‬
diversity ‫ اﻣﺘﯿﺎزی ﺣﯿﺜﯿﺖ‬in Europe, Muslim minorities have been
portrayed ‫ ﻧﻘﺸﮧ ﮐﮭﻨﭽﻨﺎ‬as non-belonging and wanting to separate
themselves from the rest of society. Government policies have
failed to ensure equal rights for all, forcing significant sections
‫ ﮔﺮوہ‬of Muslim minorities to face unemployment, poverty, and
limited civic and political participation, all of which aggravate
‫ ﺷﺪﯾﺪ ﺗﺮ ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬discrimination.

There isn’t a single country in Europe where Islamophobic

attacks are not on the rise. France saw a 52% increase from
2017 to 2018; in Austria it was 74%. And in the same year,
seven pig’s ‫ ﺳﻮر‬heads were left threateningly around Dutch
mosques.  The current rise of Islamophobia in Europe can be
gauged ‫ اﻧﺪازہ ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬by the 2017 EU Minorities and Discrimination
Survey found that on average one in three Muslim respondents
faced discrimination ‫ اﻣﺘﯿﺎزی ﺳﻠﻮک‬and prejudice ‫ ﺗﻌﺼﺐ‬, and 27
percent experienced a racist ‫ ﻧﺴﻞ ﭘﺮﺳﺖ‬crime. Also, 
 Islamophobia seriously impacts women in day to day life, as is
highlighted in recent research by the European Network
Against Racism ‫ ﻧﺴﻞ ﭘﺮﺳﺘﯽ‬.

EU’s double standard approach on religious freedom:

ً
Undeniably ‫ﯾﻘﯿﻨﺎ‬/‫ﺑﻼاﻧﮑﺎر‬ , for the last 70 years, the European
community law (acquis communautaire) is much active about
antisemitism ‫ ﯾﮩﻮد دﺷﻤﻨﯽ‬, whereas, on 16 March 2021 in a
conversation with the President of Central Council of Jewish
Communities in Finland, Yaron Nadbornik, the European
Commission Coordinator on Combating antisemitism and
fostering Jewish life, Katharina von Schnurbein, addressed the
question of safety and ways to safeguard Jewish life in
Europe.
Today, the European Union shows profound ‫ ﮔﮩﺮی‬concern
‫ ﺗﺸﻮﯾﺶ‬regarding the protection of the Jewish rights (the
Holocaust laws in the European community law) — while at the
same time demonstrating ‫ ﻣﻈﺎﮨﺮہ ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬its callous ‫ﺳﻨﮕﺪﻟﯽ‬/‫ﺳﺨﺘﯽ‬
disregard to the Islamic values or the fundamental traditions
of the Muslims– is a glaring ‫ واﺿﺢ‬example of the European
hypocrisy ‫ ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻘﺖ‬in terms of social equality, harmony ‫ﮨﻢ آﮨﻨﮕﯽ‬
and justice guaranteed to the European Muslim community by
the European Convention on Human Rights. Yet hardly
deniable is the fact that the EU should ever ignore the feelings
of discomfiture ‫ﺗﮑﻠﯿﻒ‬/‫– ﮨﺰﯾﻤﺖ‬of the Muslim community at large
—regarding the blasphemous ‫ ﮔﺴﺘﺎﺧﺎﻧﮧ‬move against the Holy
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as some extremist
European writers in Norway, Denmark, Netherlands and France
demonstrated ‫ ﻣﻈﺎﮨﺮہ ﮐﯿﺎ‬their disdain ‫ ﺣﻘﺎرت‬for Islam and the
Muslim culture.

The credo ‫ ﻋﻘﯿﺪہ‬of the European Convention on Human Rights?

The European Convention on Human Rights protects the right
to hold religious or other beliefs People with a wide range of
different faiths have brought cases to the European Court of
Human Rights Judgments from the Strasbourg court have
protected people’s right to practice their religion, and the right
of organisations to operate without government interference.
At European level, the Council of Europe swiftly followed the
United Nations in developing its protection of individuals’ right
to freedom of religion and belief, set out in the 1950 European
Convention on Human Rights, specifically Article 9, which
grants freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and
Article 14, which prohibits discrimination based on, inter alia
‫ دوﺳﺮی ﭼﯿﺰوں ﮐﮯ درﻣﯿﺎن‬, religion and opinions.
Article 9 – Freedom of thought, conscience and religion: 1.
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or
belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others
and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in
worship, teaching, practice and observance. 2. Freedom to
manifest one’s religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such
limitations as are prescribed ‫ ﻣﻘﺮر ﮐﺮدہ‬by law and are necessary
in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the
protection of public order, health or morals , or for the
protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

EU’s legal framework on Xenophobia/ Islamophobia?

Objectively, the EU values are those of equality, freedom and
respect for human rights. Freedom of religion and belief has
significant ‫ اﮨﻢ‬protections in the EU and under the international
legal framework. It is important to view the EU measures
aimed ‫ﻣﻘﺼﺪ‬/‫ ﻣﻨﺸﺎء‬at addressing racism and xenophobia in the
context of the broader ‫ وﺳﯿﻊ‬EU legislative framework.
Instruments aimed at supporting victims of crime and
antidiscrimination measures are of particular relevance ‫ﻣﺪﮔﺎر‬
‫ ﺛﺎﺑﺖ ﮨﻮﻧﺎ‬in this respect.

These include Directive 2012/29/EU 5 (Victims’ Support

Directive) and the EU’s equality and anti-discrimination
legislation (e.g. Directive 2000/43/EC6 (the Racial Equality
Directive)). In 2018, the European Commission took the
initiative to appoint a religious coordinator on anti-Muslim
hatred. This has been a key opportunity to re-assess ‫دوﺑﺎرہ ﺗﻌﯿﻦ‬
‫ ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬this role and ensure the coordinator has a clear human
rights based mandate ‫ ﻣﻨﺸﻮر‬and meaningful resources to
tackle ‫ ﻧﻤﭩﻨﺎ‬racism ‫ ﻧﺴﻞ ﭘﺮﺳﺘﯽ‬and discrimination ‫اﻣﺘﯿﺎزی ﺳﻠﻮک‬
against Muslim communities in Europe, which have been
lacking so far.

Nevertheless, , the role of religion in the human rights arena

‫ ﻣﯿﺪان ﻋﻤﻞ‬is sometimes perceived ‫ ادراک‬as challenging, since
some religious actors and some secular human rights actors
may not see eye-to-eye in some areas. This existing
ideological gap requires a congenial ‫ ﻣﻮزوں‬balancing through
novel legislation in the EU parliament. Despite the
commendable ‫ ﻗﺎﺑﻞ ﻣﺬﻣﺖ‬role played  by numerous European
organizations  combating ‫ ﺳﺎﻣﻨﺎ ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬Islamophobia in Europe ,
particularly, Center for Danish Muslim Relations, Denmark
(CEDAR);Collective against Islamophobia and Discrimination,
The Netherlands (CTID);Collective against Islamophobia in
Belgium (CCIB); and Collective against Islamophobia in France,
France (CCIF, the challenge to deter ‫ روﮐﻨﺎ‬Islamophobia
remains unaddressed because of the passive ‫ ﻏﯿﺮ ﻓﻌﺎل‬role of
the European institutions—the European Parliament, the
European Commission and European Council (the
intergovernmental and transnational hubs ‫ ﻣﺮاﮐﺰ‬of  the
European law reforms).

EU institutions, the European Parliament, the European

Commission, the European Council, the European Court of
Justice (ECJ) and the European Court of Human Rights
(ECHR) all need to adopt ‫ اﭘﻨﺎﻧﺎ‬a mitigating ‫ﺷﺪت ﻣﯿﮟ ﮐﻤﯽ ﻻﻧﺎ‬
approach on Blasphemy and Islamophobia. The horizontal and
transnational application of the Blasphemy laws can be an
instrumental measure in this regard.

The writer is an independent ‘IR’ researcher and international

law analyst based in Pakistan
 03166364928

GROWING UPBEAT IN PAK-GERMAN TIES

| By Syed Qamar Afzal Rizvi

April 22, 2021

THE political, economic and cultural relations between

Germany and Pakistan are longstanding, robust ‫ ﻣﻀﺒﻮط‬and
reliable ‫ ﻗﺎﺑﻞ اﻋﺘﻤﺎد‬.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Foreign Minister
Shah Mahmood Qureshi at a joint press conference in Berlin
agreed to strengthen ‫ ﻣﻀﺒﻮط ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬bilateral ‫ ﺑﺎﮨﻤﯽ‬ties with focus
on increasing trade and investments. Germany and Pakistan
enjoy intimately ‫دﻟﯽ ﻃﻮر ﭘﺮ‬/‫ ﺑﮯ ﺗﮑﻠﻔﺎﻧﮧ‬cordial ‫ ﺧﻮﺷﮕﻮار‬relations.
Germany has taken large measures to aid the south Asian
countries in its economic and governmental hardship.

Commercial trade between Berlin and Islamabad has also

been very essential ‫ ﺿﺮوری‬as Germany is Pakistan’s fourth
largest trade partner, also Germany is home to 35,081
Pakistani immigrants overall, two nations have almost always
had a friendly bond.
Pakistan and Germany enjoy a deep rooted ‫ ﮔﮩﺮا‬tradition of
cordial and cooperative ties. We greatly value our relations
with Germany; and are keen to sustain ‫ ﺑﺮﻗﺮار رﮐﮭﻨﺎ‬and
strengthen a multifaceted ‫ ﮐﺜﯿﺮ اﻟﺠﮩﺘﯽ‬and mutually beneficial
cooperation.
Pakistan has a strategic geo-political location at the corridor of
world major maritime ‫ ﺳﻤﻨﺪری‬oil supply lines, and has close
proximity ‫ ﻗﺮﺑﺖ‬to the resource and oil rich Central Asian
countries.

Both countries remain deeply engaged on political, economic,

and socio-cultural levels to strengthen this partnership.
To give a robust ‫ ﻣﻘﺒﻮط‬framework to the multi-sectorial
relations between the two countries is the crying need ‫اﮨﻢ‬
‫ ﺿﺮورت‬of present time.
In Berlin, the assumption ‫ ﺧﯿﺎل‬is that Germany is likely to
become a more important player in Pakistan once London,
former colonial power, withdraws from European Union.

Talking to media personnel in the German capital Berlin, Mr

Qureshi said Pakistan and Germany had great prospects
‫ اﻣﮑﺎﻧﺎت‬for cooperation in trade and investment and expressed
confidence that the new consulate would expedite ‫ﺗﯿﺰﮔﺎم‬
matters in this regard.The foreign minister said a consul
general would be, appointed at the Munich mission to
supplement the diplomatic efforts of the country’s embassy in
Berlin.

The German foreign minister termed the Qureshi’s visit a good

opportunity for launching new German initiatives ‫آﻏﺎز‬/‫ﭘﮩﻠﻮؤں‬
and projects in Pakistan.Maas expressed satisfaction over the
interest of 35 German companies ready to invest in Pakistan
and added that the encouraging trend would help tap into
immense ‫ ﻋﻈﯿﻢ‬business potential.
German-Pakistani relations cannot be analyzed in isolation of
the larger domestic and international trajectories, economic
and political, on both sides of the partnership.The instable
security situation in the region exerts ‫ دﺑﺎؤ ڈاﻟﻨﺎ‬pressure on the
Pakistani state, multiplying domestic challenges like
macroeconomic and trade instability, societal conflicts ‫ﺗﻨﺎزﻋﺎت‬
and crises ‫ ﺑﺤﺮان‬in energy supply and infrastructure.

In light of these aspects, this paper explores the magnitude

and development of German-Pakistani relations, focusing
especially on trade, economic cooperation and strategic
interests on both sides.
The analysis of the German-Pakistani trade and investment
relations over last decade show only very moderate volumes
with room for expansion.
These dynamics are mirrored in private trade business
relations with German SME’s active on the Pakistani market
(mostly through agents) and a lack of internationalization and
economic diversification ‫ ﺗﻨﻮع‬among Pakistan’s private
businesses.

A related structural reason for these predicaments ‫ ﺣﺎﻟﺖ زار‬is

the lack of a dedicated and clearly-defined policy infrastructure
among both states, resembling the long-standing and
amicable ‫ دوﺳﺘﺎﻧﮧ‬, though unenthusiastic ‫ ﺟﻮش ﺳﮯ ﺧﺎﻟﯽ‬German-
Pakistani relationship.
The recent EU-Waiver assignment, the adoption of the EU’s
GSP+ and related trade diversification programs signify the
most significant parts of the EU-Pakistani partnership, and
mirror ‫ ﻇﺎﮨﺮ ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬an integral ‫ﻻزﻣﯿﺐ‬part of the discourse in
German-Pakistani relations.

Pakistan should attempt to reap ‫ ﻓﺎﺋﺪہ اﭨﮭﺎﻧﺎ‬the benefits of these

developments. Strategic relationships between Germany and
Pakistan need to be developed further and
strengthened.Strategic Dialogue serves as a multi-sectoral
framework to further deepen‫ ﮔﮩﺮا ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬and broaden ‫ وﺳﯿﻊ ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬the
existing bilateral relations in diverse ‫ ﻣﺨﺘﻠﻒ‬areas including
political, trade, economic and investment relations, higher
education, science, cultural exchanges, energy, health,
education, governance, renewable energy and environment.

The Dialogue envisages ‫ﺗﺼﻮر ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬/‫ روﺑﺮو ﮨﻮﻧﺎ‬annual bilateral

consultation ‫ ﻣﺸﺎورت‬at the level of the Foreign/ State
Secretary.First Round of these consultations between Pakistan
Foreign Secretary Jaili Abbas Jilani and the German Secretary
of State Dr. Emily Haber was held on 17 December 2012 in
Berlin.The consultations reviewed progress on ongoing
projects in various areas besides discussing new initiatives
especially in the field of trade, investment and energy.
Pakistan and Germany also enjoy substantial ‫ ﺑﮭﺎری‬economic
and trade relations. Germany is Pakistan’s fourth largest
trading partner globally; and the largest within the European
Union.

Germany is also an important investment partner. Pakistan’s

liberalized trade and investment approach, as manifested in
Pakistan’s Strategic Trade Policy Framework (SPTF) 2015-18
and Investment policy 2013, has generated yet greater interest
among German companies.
Recent establishment of German Pakistan Trade and
Investment (GPTI) and joint German-Pakistan Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (GPCCI) in Pakistan and GATE
Pakistan in Germany are also indicators of the growing desire
among German and Pakistani companies for fostering ‫ﻓﺮوغ‬
‫ﺑﮍﮬﺎﻧﺎ‬/‫ دﯾﻨﺎ‬greater bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
A major goal of Pakistan’s foreign policy is to cultivate /‫ﺗﯿﺎر ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬
‫ ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬deep and friendly relations with other members of
international community and collaborate ‫ اﺷﺘﺮاک ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬with them
to cope ‫ ﻧﻤﭩﻨﺎ‬with the issues of global dimension like
environment, population, poverty reduction, energy, human
migration, refugees, drugs and last but not least development
and cooperation.

—The writer, an independent ‘IR’ researcher-cum-international

law analyst based in Pakistan, is member of European
Consortium for Political Research Standing Group on IR,
Critical Peace & Conflict Studies, also a member of
Washington Foreign Law Society and European Society of
International Law.

03166364928

Islamophobia
A hatred and fear of Islam or muslims , especially when feared
as a political force.

Antisemitism

The belief or behavior hostile toward Jews just because they

are Jewish. It may take the form of religious teachings that
proclaim the inferiority of Jews, for instance, or political
efforts to isolate, oppress, or otherwise injure them. It may
also include prejudiced or stereotyped views about Jews.
If two people see eye to eye, they agree with each other: My
sisters don't see eye to eye with me about the arrangements.
Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples. to have the
same opinion as someone else. agreeWe agree on most
things.

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