this post was submitted on 23 Dec 2024
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So, The New Arab is a private publication funded from Qatar. The report itself is apparently sponsored by the Turkish state[1], which is something I found out when I tried to find the website of the ominous "Leopold Weiss Institute, Austria". (It doesn't exist because apparently the institute is fake..?)
Is there a good reason for this to be posted here?
[1]
https://www.meforum.org/why-turkiye-sponsors-a-fake-academic-report-on
(I am quoting them here for the claim that Leopold Weiss Institute appears to be a sham, but completely agreeing that this source is problematic too.)
To add to the problems of the meforum. An extreme rise in Islamophobia is also reported by the UN:
https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2024/03/un-experts-warn-islamophobia-rising-alarming-levels
For the US an extreme rise in Islamophobic attacks since October 2023 is reported:
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/04/02/cair-anti-muslim-crimes-2023-islamophobia-gaza/73117343007/
The EU reports a steady increase of Islamophobia for the time pre October 2023:
https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2024-10/muslimfeindlichkeit-deutschland-antidiskriminierungsbeauftragte-ataman
For the UK an 236 % increase between 2023 and 2024 is reported by the UK NGO Islamophobia Response Unit
https://www.theiru.org.uk/increase-in-islamophobia-from-january-2024-to-april-2024/
For Germany the CLAIM-Allianz also reports a surge in Islamophobic attacks since October 2023:
https://www.claim-allianz.de/aktuelles/news/pressemitteilung-gewaltvolle-uebergriffe-drohungen-diskriminierungen-zahl-antimuslimischer-vorfaelle-bundesweit-erneut-gestiegen/
https://www.claim-allianz.de/presse/pressemitteilung-antimuslimische-uebergriffe-und-diskriminierung-in-deutschland-2023-mehr-als-fuenf-antimuslimische-vorfaelle-pro-tag/
I would be surprised if similar findings would not be there for other European countries, whose languages i cannot speak unfortunately. There is a direct correlation between October 7 and Israels war on Gaza and the rise of Islamophobia, including violent attacks on Muslims or people perceived as Muslims. It should be of strong concern, that the meforum is trying to downplay this, as it appears to have extensive funding and is more well connected through other lobby groups. It is bewildering, that such organizations, who advocate for oppression and violence as "solution" are allowed to operate in Europe.
That's a dubious source you got there, totally criticised for anti-islamic approaches.
According to their page:
The Middle East Forum, a think tank founded in 1994 by Daniel Pipes, promotes American interests in the Middle East and protects Western values from Middle Eastern threats.
they also have an Islamic Watch and and an Israel Victory Project.
In honesty, I don't know the source, and you're right, they seem highly politically motivated. But, and that's still a valid point, it did one thing: Give a reasonable explanation why I couldn't find the website of the Leopold Weiss Institute. Or does the Leopold Weiss Institute actually exist?
An organization under this name does exist, but seems to not have a website or other public presence. Of course this does raise legitimate questions. However the author of the meforum text even provided the evidence for the existence of a registered organization on his own website.
Quite honestly, "Austrian Institute without a public presence whose main contributor moved back to Turkey" does still smell like a front group to me.
And ftr, none of that means that I think Islamophobia doesn't exist or hasn't increased.
The meforum is a radical pro Israel lobby group that wants the military defeat/annihilation of Palestinians. Their website proudly boasts a program called "Israel Victory Project"
https://www.meforum.org/ivp
Note that the emphasized statement follows an extremely dehumanizing cynicism like it was argued by European colonialists as they committed genocides all over Africa, the Americas and Asia.
The Leopold Weiss Institute is named after Muhammad Asad
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Asad
The university of Vienna reports an address in Vienna for a registered organization under that name, founded in 2007 with the state goal to "research contemporary Muslim life and thought".
https://www.islam-landkarte.at/detail/leopold-weiss-institut-zur-erforschung-zeitgenoessischen-muslimischen-lebens-und-denkens
The author of the text on the meforum Soeren Kern even published the registration information on his website
https://soerenkern.com/pdfs/islam/lwiwien.pdf
The head of the organization in the registration entry is Farid Hafez, who is mentioned in the meforum text too. As the meforum text admits. Hafez lived in Austria at the time. The allegations of terror affiliation made by the meforum text are absurd though, as a judge cleared Hafez, like the text itselfs admits.
To conclude: There is some legitimate questions regarding the connection to the Turkish government. However the meforum is an islamophobe lobby group, that tries to spread Islamophobia and call for Israels military "victory" over the Palestinians, which given the reality of the already existing occupation only leaves the ethnic cleansing or genocide of Palestinians. the meforum is part of a network to spread exactly the hate, whose existence and increase as a part of Israels political strategy, they try to deny.