Anti-Islamic sentiment in Germany is continuing to rise, as negative attitudes toward Muslims and Islam are becoming culturally acceptable.
In an article titled “German Bigotry Shifting From Race to Religion,” Germany’s Local reported that outright racism and xenophobia—which have been taboo in Germany—are giving way to Islamophobia. Alexander Häusler, a neo-Nazi expert from Düsseldorf’s technical university, explained that religious-based racism is more culturally acceptable in Germany, being seen as exercising freedom of opinion. “Criticism of Islam or Muslims appear acceptable, because it is not seen as classically racist,” he told German newspaper Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung on January 7.
