What we do
Preventing and protecting against anti-Muslim attacks and discrimination requires a clear understanding of the phenomenon of anti-Muslim racism and its actual scale. To record anti-Muslim racism nationwide in a unified manner and at the same time to make anti-Muslim racism visible, CLAIM is registering and documenting anti-Muslim prejudiced incidents via I Report. The reporting portal is in its pilot phase. We are planning to publish regular monitoring reports after the pilot phase has ended.
I Report is an addition to the already existing regional reporting offices and counseling centers.
How we work and our project progress
A working definition of anti-Muslim racism
We are working together with a group of scientists, NGOs, and political decision-makers on a unified working definition that will help us to record anti-Muslim attacks and discrimination in Germany and Austria in a unified manner. A study carried out by Dr. Farid Hafez from Paris-Lodron-University Salzburg between February 2020 – June 2020 offers a foundation for our work on the working definition.
Project update: The commissioned short study on anti-Muslim racism was explicitly developed for the sub-project I Report and serves as a discussion starter for the partners in the context of the project work. The short study has been completed, and you can download it here. The foundational objective of the I Report project is to work with various experts to develop indicators for recording hate crimes and thus to create a tool for a better monitoring of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hostility/racism. The working definition is not understood as a closed and general definition, as the title “working definition” already suggests.
Standardized recording of anti-Muslim racism
The number of unreported anti-Muslim attacks and discrimination incidents is far higher than what official statistics suggest. Through a standardized system for recording and documenting anti-Muslim attacks and discrimination, we want to contribute to a better recording and unified documentation of incidents. In cooperation with the Documentation-Centre on Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Racism in Austria (Dokustelle Österreich) and Germany’s anti-discrimination, counseling, and documentation centers, CLAIM has developed the reporting portal I Report, a standardized system for recording and documentation.
Organizations that have advised us in developing I Report:
- Antidiskriminierungsverband Deutschland e.V.
- Each One Teach One e.V.
- FAIR International e.V.,
- Inssan e.V.
- LIFE – Bildung Umwelt Chancengleichheit e.V.
- Muslimrat München e.V.
- VBRG – Verband der Beratungsstellen für Betroffene rechter, rassistischer und antisemitischer Gewalt
- ZARA – Zivilcourage und Anti-Rassismus-Arbeit
Reporting portal I Report: Recording of anti-Muslim prejudiced incidents
The reporting portal for recording anti-Muslim racism has been online since June 2021 and is in its pilot phase. The attacks and discrimination incidents that are reported via www.i-report.eu/melden flow into a database. The aim thereof is to have more accurate statistics on anti-Muslim attacks and discrimination incidents, thus making the scale and dimensions of anti-Muslim racism visible. In the long run, we aim to supplement this data with incident statistics from advice and counseling centers and bring everything into a common database.
Reporting form
Victims and witnesses of anti-Muslim racism can report discrimination and attacks using the reporting form. Verified incidents are anonymized, systematized, and evaluated. By request, we can establish afterward contact with a professional advice and counseling center.
Next steps
After the pilot phase, we aim to support and develop Germany’s regional civil society reporting and support networks. We also aim to facilitate incident reporting in several languages, and in the medium term, we intend to offer referral advice. We will conclude cooperation with advice and counseling centers to guarantee nationwide and unified recording and documentation by the civil society of anti-Muslim prejudiced incidents
In the coming years, we aim to make our experience and results from the data collection usable for other EU countries and work towards a unified recording and documentation of anti-Muslim racism at the EU level.
Are you a civil society organization or a competence center representative and would like to contribute to our work with your expertise?
Are you a representative of an anti-discrimination, counseling, or documentation center interested in working with us?
Get in touch with us at: info@i-report.eu
