At their plenary session in Strasbourg on Thursday 10 October, MEPs debated the worrying rise in religious intolerance in Europe. While the phenomenon affects several faiths, the Jewish and Muslim communities are the most affected. And with good reason: since the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023, the escalation of violence in the Middle East has been mirrored by the escalation of hate speech in Europe.
Margarítis Schinás, Vice-President of the Commission responsible for promoting the European way of life, who opened the discussions, reiterated the European Union’s commitment to this issue. The EU works against all forms of discrimination, and in so doing strives to safeguard fundamental freedoms, in particular the religious freedom protected by Article 10 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
Mr Schinás also pointed to the upsurge in anti-Semitic acts, which have reached “unprecedented levels since the founding of the European Union”, and expressed concern “at the growing presence of anti-Muslim hatred in the media and in public political debates”.
A series of measures, such as the adoption of a communication entitled ‘No place for hate’ last December and the 2021 strategy to combat antisemitism, must be coupled with a collective response to strengthen legislation against hate speech and hate crime.
Collaboration with online platforms and the recent law on digital services were also mentioned as levers to curb comments that are going viral online.
Several MEPs echoed Mr Schinás’ view that outlawing the use of religious instrumentalisation must go hand in hand with greater inter-religious and intercultural dialogue. During the discussions, a consensus emerged on the need to act quickly.
Ana Catarina Mendes (S&D) called for “the protection of religious freedom in all its diversity” and the promotion of inter-religious dialogue as a means of integrating refugees and migrants. Like Abir Al-Sahlani (Renew Europe, Swedish), she deplored the tendency of certain groups to use these issues to fuel anti-immigration political discourse.
According to Ms Al-Sahlani, it is essential for the EU to go beyond legislation and take tougher action against those who use their position to stir up religious hatred.
Javier Zarzalejos (EPP, Spanish) recalled that religious freedom is a fundamental human right. Citing figures from the Fundamental Rights Agency (96% of Jews in Europe have experienced anti-Semitic acts), he called for urgent action.
However, some speeches, in particular that of Marieke Ehlers (PfE, Dutch), provoked stronger reactions. Ms Ehlers stressed that Islamist radicalisation was, in her view, one of the main sources of religious violence, an argument criticised by several MEPs for its one-sidedness. Mounir Satouri (Greens/EFA, French) called for no single religion to be stigmatised and criticised rhetoric that pits religious communities against each other. He reiterated that “racism and religious discrimination (...) are crimes, not opinions”. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)