The Turkish Parliament is concerned about the treatment of Muslims in Europe. The Assembly wishes therefore to lead an investigation on Islamophobia in four countries of the Old Continent — including Belgium — reported on Monday Flemish newspapers Het Nieuwsblad, Gazet van Antwerpen and De Standaard.

Such an initiative follows the numerous racist reactions to the birth of the first baby in 2018 in Vienna, a girl of Turkish origin. Numerous xenophobic remarks appeared on the social media when an Austrian paper published on Facebook a photo of the new-born and her parents in the maternity clinic.

This led to a small riot in the country where the extreme right party, FPÖ, recently joined the government. It is deemed sufficient reason for the Turkish Parliament to initiate an investigation of Islamophobia in Europe, write the Mediahuis papers, quoting Turkish media.

A new parliamentary commission has been created. It will begin its work on Tuesday. The deputies will focus on four European countries, where, according to them, Islamophobia is the strongest, that is: Austria, Belgium, France and Germany. They also want to be authorized by these countries to carry out their research on spot.

Oscar Schneider

The Brussels Times