Council of Europe warns Germany over rising anti-Muslim hatred and curbs on Palestinian protest
Human rights commissioner calls for legal reform and greater protection of Muslim communities, citing mounting discrimination
STRASBOURG / BERLIN (MNTV) — The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights has issued a pointed rebuke to Germany, warning of a troubling escalation in anti-Muslim hatred while also raising alarms about what he characterised as disproportionate restrictions on pro-Palestinian free expression and peaceful assembly.
Commissioner Michael O’Flaherty released a formal memorandum on Wednesday addressing freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, as well as Germany’s efforts to combat racism and discrimination — with a particular focus on antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred.
The document follows his recent in-person visit to Germany.
It is the most comprehensive human rights assessment of Germany by the Council of Europe in recent years, and its findings were met with pushback from the German government.
Pattern of hatred
O’Flaherty noted a concerning rise in both antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred, welcoming Germany’s commitment to protecting Jewish life while stressing that anti-Muslim hatred must also be recognised as a societal problem requiring enhanced awareness and action across all state institutions.
The figures underpinning those concerns are stark.
Germany recorded more than 1,550 anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2024, according to official Interior Ministry figures. At least 54 mosques were attacked over the course of the year, and 53 people were injured in Islamophobic incidents.
The crimes ranged from physical assaults and property damage to social media harassment, threatening letters, and disruption of religious practice.
A parliamentary response to the Left Party revealed that anti-Muslim criminal acts numbered 572 in 2022 and rose to 1,536 in 2023, before climbing further to 1,554 in 2024. Officials acknowledged that these figures represent only a fraction of actual incidents, with the true number of unreported cases estimated to be significantly higher.
The trajectory in 2025 showed little sign of improvement. Between January and September 2025 alone, 930 Islamophobic crimes were reported to the Federal Criminal Police Office — including 31 mosque attacks in which 37 people were injured, one of them seriously. Authorities identified over 500 suspects across the first three quarters of the year.
The CLAIM network — a coalition of NGOs monitoring Islamophobia — recorded 1,926 anti-Muslim incidents in 2023 alone, a 114% rise on the previous year.
Rima Hanano, head of CLAIM, said the streets, public transport and mosques are no longer safe spaces for people who are Muslim or perceived as Muslim, adding that anti-Muslim racism had never been as socially acceptable as it is today.
Germany is home to one of Europe’s largest Muslim communities. With nearly 5.5 million Muslims among its 85 million residents, it has the second-largest Muslim population in Western Europe after France.
A survey by the EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights found that 68% of Muslims in Germany reported experiencing discrimination — the second-highest rate among 13 EU member states surveyed, behind only Austria at 71%.
Calls for legal reform
O’Flaherty did not limit his recommendations to rhetoric. He urged German authorities to reform the country’s General Equal Treatment Law — known as the Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz — so that its protections extend to discrimination by public authorities and cover all areas of life, not just employment. He also called for legislation to eliminate and prevent racial profiling.
Human Rights Watch, which published its own assessment of Germany’s handling of anti-Muslim racism in 2024, identified the absence of a working definition of anti-Muslim racism as a core obstacle, alongside a lack of official data on incidents and insufficient investment in institutional support for victims.
“The German government’s failings in protecting Muslims from hatred and discrimination start with a lack of understanding that Muslims experience racism and not simply faith-based hostility,” the organisation’s researcher on racism in Europe said.
Palestine Dimension
The commissioner’s memorandum also addressed what he described as a chilling effect on freedom of expression and the right to protest, particularly in the context of the ongoing war in Gaza.
O’Flaherty noted increasing pressure on democratic freedoms, warning that Germany must ensure its fight against all forms of hatred fully respects the rights to peaceful assembly and expression for all members of society.
He cited reports of excessive force by law enforcement officers during protests in Berlin and elsewhere, and argued that any restrictions on demonstrations must be grounded in individual assessments rather than sweeping assumptions about the likely conduct or content of a given gathering. Banning an assembly outright, he said, should be treated as a genuine last resort rather than a default measure.
Civil society under pressure
Beyond the specific issues of hate crime and protest, O’Flaherty flagged a broader erosion of civic space.
The commissioner noted reports of a shrinking environment for civil society organisations and human rights defenders, calling for stronger protections against smear campaigns and threats that hinder their work, and urging authorities to ensure stable funding for such groups.
“In Germany, as across Europe, civil society serves as a vital public watchdog,” he said.
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