Amnesty International has released a report on discrimination against Muslims in Europe, has highlighted cases of prejudice in education and employment sectors against the community.
The report titled Choice and Prejudice: Discrimination against Muslims in Europe has urged European governments to work on the negative stereotypes and prejudices that have fueled discrimination against Muslims, especially women, in Europe.
The group also appealed the European governments to avoid introducing bans on wearing religious and cultural symbols on the community, Gulf News reports.
Amnesty has also criticised Switzerland for a 2009 ban on the construction of minarets.
"Muslim women are being denied jobs and girls prevented from attending regular classes just because they wear traditional forms of dress, such as the headscarf. Men can be dismissed for wearing beards associated with Islam," Marco Perolini, Amnesty International's expert on discrimination, said.
The report has mainly focused on countries such as Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland.
Despite various legislations against discrimination, Muslims in Europe suffered from inequality in education and employment sectors.
The report mentioned that according to 2010 figures, there were nearly 44 million Muslims living in Europe. Moreover, Muslims made up to less than 10 percent of the population in any Western and Northern European country.
Â
The report has come after far right leader Marine Le Pen scored a surprisingly strong third-place showing in France's presidential elections. Her anti-immigrant platform singled out Muslim practices for criticism.
One can read the full report on http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR01/002/2012/en/d9765dfe-058c-4edf-a15d-5cc31da93c06/eur010022012en.pdf
The Oslo Times
Norwegian
The Oslo Times welcomes your comments and invites you to discuss topics with other readers. Your comment will be posted automatically to enable a live discussion.
Your feedback is important to us and The Oslo Times would be glad receive your suggestions and opinions on your favorite sections. So, please take a minute and help us improve and grow it by filling our feedback box.