SESRIC has published the findings of its “Global Muslim Diaspora Report”, the first comprehensive study of Muslim communities living in the non-OIC countries, aiming to analyze challenges, experiences and perceptions on a range of issues related to Muslim communities living in non-OIC countries.

The report is a study commissioned by SESRIC with the intention to fill the gap of the limited information that exists on the situation of Muslim Diaspora in non-Muslims countries.

The findings of the reports show that the main challenges of the Muslim communities remain racism, Islamophobia, discrimination by the state, and social prejudice.

Over half of respondents living in London (56.1%) mentioned racism and Islamophobia as the main disadvantage of living in the UK. However, 72.7% of London respondents indicated that religious and cultural freedom is the main advantage of living in the UK.

These figures illustrate the paradoxical situation, where the state guarantees the cultural and religious rights of Muslim communities, but it is under the influence of Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiments, which are rising across Europe.

The fieldwork findings show that one of the main issues of Muslim Diasporic Communities is the lack of unity and representation. Muslims communities appear to agree on the fact that the fragmentation and the lack of intra-communal and inter-communal interaction are amongst the biggest problem of the Muslim Community across Europe.

Another main problem is the lack of effective leadership. Due to the immense diversity of the Muslim communities in diaspora, a short-term solution it seems unlikely.

However, common challenges, such as negative representation in media, the raise of anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim incidents in Europe, bring Muslim communities closer. This might be signaling the emergence of a unified Muslim identity as a reaction to such negative experiences.

Everyday discrimination and violation of rights is another main challenge for Muslims leaving in Europe. Despite the general framework of rights and freedoms in these countries, which are considered to be very good by the Muslims, they still report experiencing discrimination in their daily life, at various levels and degrees of intensity.

The study offers also a range of useful data and insights on the similarities and differences of challenges faced by the Muslim Diaspora in different countries. The Reports provides the political elites, policy makers and analysts the opportunity to understand how the Muslim diaspora in selected countries views the most pressing issues, which they face today.

The report has been prepared within the framework of the Global Muslim Diaspora Project (GMD), which aims at mapping the societal, economic and legal presence and influence of Muslim communities in predominantly non-Muslim societies. The ultimate objective of the GMD is to create a comprehensive and reliable empirical data source on Muslim diasporic communities around the globe as well as to provide an in-depth analysis of today and prospects for the future.

GMD Project aims as well to create an up-to-date database in the form of an interactive map, called Global Muslim Diaspora Atlas, providing reliable data on diasporic Muslim communities living in 48 non-Muslim majority countries. In addition, the project is expected to carry out further field studies such as surveys, in-depth interviews and workshops in various countries such as Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. Based on the findings, the GMD will prepare country reports for the listed twelve countries that will integrate, discuss and analyse fieldwork findings.

Muslims constitute one of the largest Diasporas in the world. Islam is present in European soil as a religion, but also as a cultural and civilizational value for almost fourteen centuries. According to the Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, the estimated size of the European Muslim population in 39 European countries is around 25 million, with more than 19 million of them living in the EU Member States. Over one fifth of World’s Muslim population today lives in Europe, North America and Australia. Pew Research Center estimates that there were about 3.5 million of Muslims living in the U.S. in 2017.

Document

• Global Muslim Diaspora: Muslim Communities and Minorities in Non-OIC Member States - Diagnostics, Concepts, Scope and Methodology (English)