The 2020 Islamophobia conference was held online due to the Covid pandemic on Sunday 13 December.  This event was co-organised by DIN, IHRC and SACC on the theme, Attacks on Civil, Human and Political Rights for Muslims in Europe. Find links to the videos, reports and other material for the conference here. 

All across Europe there have been increased attacks on the civil and human rights of Muslims by governments and are indications of the rise of police states in Europe. This puts two important sets of questions on the agenda addressed at the conference:  What is political Islam? – and, What is the situation with regard to civil rights, human rights and the rise of fascism in Europe?

These questions were addressed as follows.

On Political Islam: (i) What is political Islam? (ii) Who is defining it?  (iii) Is it a single monolithic idea or a plurality of views? (iv) Is attacking political Islam a means of shutting down dissenting voices among Muslims? (v) What is the meaning of political Islam in comparison with political actions based on other ideologies such as Christianity, Judaism, Liberalism, Socialism? (vi) How do Islamic sources articulate political actions of Muslims compared to the sources of other ideologies?

On civil rights, human rights and the rise of fascism in Europe: (i) What is the role of Zionism in the depoliticisation of Muslims? (ii) How is anti-semitism used by national and EU governments to silence Muslims and their organisations? (iii) What is the relationship between civil liberties such as freedom of speech and political rights of Muslims in Europe? (iv) How will the repression of civil liberties and human rights in Europe effect the position of Muslims and non-Muslims? (v) How can we fight the rise of the police state in Europe?

Speakers included: Imam Mohamed Al-Asi, Hakimeh Saghaye-Biria, Houria Bouteldja, Abed Choudhury, Ramón Grosfoguel, Sheher Khan, Massoud Shadjareh.