Perspectives on the rise of anti-Muslim hate crimes in Europe

Abstract

In the last couple of decades, a spike in anti-Muslim hate crimes was seen across Europe. Within this timespan, several events associated with Muslims or their religion took place including a series of terror attacks in the name of Islam, and war-torn countries forcing millions into refuge. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between these events and the spike of hate crimes against Muslims in Europe by observing the perspectives of University of Malta students on the issue. Additionally, this study also takes a deeper scope on what the issue of hate crime means in Malta, and the impact it has on victims. Due to the sensitivity of the topic, a questionnaire was used to collect the data and all participants were offered anonymity to ensure honest and clear results. The findings obtained indicate that the majority of participants have a general knowledge on hate crimes, and likewise, most hold no prejudices against Muslims. However, the findings also suggest that hate and prejudice towards Muslims is indeed active in Malta, but the efforts made to report or prosecute in comparison with other EU states, are minimal.