The network concerned with combating hostility toward Islam and Muslims in Germany (CLAIM) documented a remarkable increase in the number of attacks against Muslims in the country during the past year, confirming that the numbers are much larger than announced and warning against normalization of the phenomenon.
The network said in a press conference that cases of assault on Muslims reached 4,096 during the year 2025, including 224 cases of physical assault, explaining that these cases include insults, discrimination, and physical violence, adding that it relies in its studies on reports received from counseling centers and civil initiatives in 15 German states, in addition to data on politically motivated crimes, police reports, and the media.
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The network indicated that there are a large number of unreported cases, especially in schools and when dealing with the authorities and police, due to the presence of obstacles facing those affected that prevent them from submitting the necessary complaints.
Warning against habitual crime
She warned against becoming accustomed to these crimes due to repetition, which may deter those affected from reporting them despite the negative impact of these experiences on their lives and sense of security.
A report submitted by the network in Berlin captured the attention of the German media, especially the liberal and leftist media.
Der Spiegel magazine quoted the network as saying that it notes that there is a kind of habituation to incidents related to discrimination, insults, or incitement to hatred, and that everyday forms of racism are less reported, because repeated experiences of discrimination often lead to a gradual normalization of these practices.
Der Spiegel quoted the network as saying that among the cases documented in the report was that a girl in the city of Greifswald was subjected to racist insults by a group of boys after one of them tried to strip her of her hijab. Likewise, a 52-year-old Muslim woman was beaten in the city of Dusseldorf because of her hijab, which led to her being seriously injured.
According to the magazine, the report confirmed that practices against Muslims are not limited to physical attacks, but also include psychological pressure and daily discrimination. The report quoted a Muslim student in the state of Schleswig-Holstein as saying that he is always exposed to questions from his teacher when talking about extremism and terrorism about his personal position or the position of people of his religion and whether he disavows terrorism.
Much bigger
In turn, Tats newspaper quoted the organization’s co-director, Rima Hanano, as confirming that the number of unreported cases is much higher, saying, “Those affected have lost confidence in the authorities, the police, and the government.”
According to Hanano, the study “Being a Muslim in the European Union,” which was presented in the network’s report and issued by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, confirms that only 4% of Muslims who were subjected to discrimination during the past year reported that they were subjected to discrimination or insult.
According to TATS, the verbal attacks documented throughout the year constituted the largest percentage of cases, reaching 61% of the total incidents. But the report also indicated an increase in serious crimes, as two murders and 214 physical assaults were recorded, including four attempted murders. In addition, 320 cases of property vandalism and five arson incidents were documented.
The report indicated that 64% of anti-Muslim attacks targeted women, while 34% targeted men.
The report provided examples of documented cases, including an incident in the state of Lower Saxony in June 2025, where 26-year-old Rahma A. was attacked by her 31-year-old neighbor at the door of her house, which led to her death after being stabbed several times in the chest and abdomen. According to the report, the perpetrator was sentenced to life imprisonment, but the racist motive for the crime was not acknowledged.
Discrimination within institutions
The newspaper points out that Muslims are also subjected to discrimination within institutions. In a survey that included 468 Muslims, 44% said that they had been exposed to discrimination in employment offices, while 55% said that they had been exposed to discrimination in foreign affairs departments.
The report also indicated – according to the newspaper – that the portrayal of Muslims in the media as perpetrators and the ongoing debates about immigration, asylum and security increase racial and social tensions.
The newspaper quoted Hanano as saying that the attacks are increasingly coming from the “extremist” right, but they are also appearing from within the centrist political movement.
Rima Hanano:
Attacks increasingly come from the “extreme” right, but they are also emerging from within the political centrist.
Lack of feeling of belonging
The Frankfurter newspaper (Rudenschau) says that the report indicates that these incidents reinforce the feeling of Muslims that they do not belong to German society and the increasing denial of the existence of anti-Muslim racism, as Muslims are addressed in the public debate as potential criminals or people who pose a danger to society and not as victims of attacks.
For its part, the leftist ND website quoted Saeed Idris Hashemi, one of the report’s authors, as saying that the spread of anti-Muslim rhetoric through politics and the media could turn into violence. Hashemi said that anti-Muslim racism is not a marginal phenomenon, but rather a reality experienced by many people in Germany.
Hashemi expressed his concern that the problem of racism and hostility towards Muslims is not receiving the necessary attention from the German government that it deserves, noting that the organization’s funding itself may be threatened in light of the restructuring of the programs supporting the organization’s work.
