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A study conducted by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, an agency that provides advice on a range of issues in the European Union, suggests based on new findings that the Muslims living in the EU face discrimination when looking for a job. The survey released on the 21st of September and entitled «Second European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey (EU-MIDIS II) Muslims-Selected», insists that Muslims suffer from unequal treatment when trying to access private or public services.
Authors of the study investigated closely the experiences of 10,500 Muslim immigrants and descendants of Muslim immigrants in 15 EU Member States. It also shed light on many aspects related to discrimination such as «citizenship, trust and tolerance, through harassment, violence and hate crime and rights awareness». The report is also based on data collected by the Fundamental rights Agency which interviewed around «26, 000 people with immigrant or ethnic minority backgrounds living in the EU», states the agency’s official website.
The survey interviewed Muslim immigrants residing in the European Union from Turkey, North Africa, Sub-Saharan African, South Asia and Asia.
The Findings
Findings indicate that «76 % of Muslim immigrants feel strongly attached to their country of residence». On the other hand 53% of the same category hold citizenship of their country of residence and enjoy full set of rights for nationals or EU citizens while only 15% have only a residence permit valid for five years and suffer from insecure legal status.
When it comes to discrimination and rights awareness, the study indicates that «four out of 10 Muslim respondents (39 %) felt discriminated against in the five years before the survey because of their ethnic or immigrant background in one or more areas of daily life» adding that «one in four (25 %) experienced this in the 12 months preceding the survey». For working, «many Muslim respondents report experiencing unequal treatment in employment: 13 % of those who looked for work in the 12 months before the survey, and 9 % of those at work», according to the study.
Findings also show that «clear gaps persist in the practical implementation of the EU’s equal treatment legislation, namely in terms of public awareness of organizations providing independent assistance and support to victims of discrimination».
Moreover, 27 % of Muslim immigrant claimed that they were subject of harassment because of their ethnic or immigrant background in the 12 months preceding the survey, with another 2 % having been physically assaulted on this basis in that period.
The agency also reported that 16% of the interviewed Muslims were stopped by the police in 12 months preceding the survey and 8% indicate that it was because of their ethnic background.
