Germany sees rise in anti-Muslim incidents: Report
Germany recorded over 3,000 anti-Muslim incidents in 2024, the highest annual figure to date, according to a civil society report released by the NGO CLAIM. The group, which monitors Islamophobia and anti-Muslim racism, documented 3,080 cases last year, marking a 60% increase from 1,926 cases in 2023 and a steep rise from 898 incidents in 2022.
The report attributes the sharp escalation to a broader normalisation of anti-Muslim racism and the political following Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Analysts and activists warn that this surge reflects a dangerous mainstreaming of far-right ideology across German society.
According to CLAIM, verbal attacks accounted for the majority of incidents in 2024, with 1,558 cases, more than half the total. Discrimination made up another 25%, while 21% of incidents involved demeaning behaviour, harassment, or intimidation. Notably, severe crimes also rose sharply. The vast majority of individual victims, 71% whose gender was recorded, were women.
CLAIM's findings align with official government data released by the Interior Ministry, which reported 1,554 anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2024, including 54 attacks on mosques and injuries to at least 53 individuals. The ministry released the figures in response to a parliamentary inquiry by Left Party MP Petra Pau.
CLAIM's co-director Rima Hanano described the report as shocking, emphasising the escalation in both numbers and brutality. The streets, buses, or mosques are no longer safe places for people who are Muslim or perceived as such, she said at a Berlin news conference. Hanano also warned of the increasing social acceptance of anti-Muslim sentiments, not only on the far right but also among centrist political actors.
Among the recorded incidents were a mosque in Bochum targeted in an attempted arson attack, its walls defaced with a swastika, a Muslim family’s home in Saxony shot at by a right-wing neighbour, and a woman pushed onto train tracks in Berlin after being asked if she belonged to Hamas.
Founded in 2017, CLAIM is a network that connects and supports 51 organisations across Germany and Europe working to combat Islamophobia. The group coordinates the annual Anti-Muslim Racism Day on July 1 and works to document hate incidents, engage policymakers, and build public awareness. In cooperation with partners in Austria and at Paris Lodron University in Salzburg, CLAIM is also working to standardise data collection to address significant underreporting of anti-Muslim attacks.
Hanano expressed frustration over the lack of sufficient government response, stating that insufficient action has been taken so far despite civil society efforts and recent government reports acknowledging the problem. A 2024 independent expert report commissioned by the German government had recommended early intervention and long-term structural changes, but activists argue that concrete implementation has lagged.
Germany’s Muslim population, estimated at 5.5 million, about 6.6% of the country’s total population, has grown steadily since the refugee influx of 2015 to 2016. But alongside demographic shifts, far-right rhetoric has gained traction. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which explicitly states in its platform that “Islam does not belong to Germany,” has surged in national polls, becoming the country’s second-most popular party.
Critics argue that mainstream political parties have responded by adopting tougher migration stances and rhetoric that implicitly validates far-right narratives. Hanano warned that such developments signal a broader societal shift. Anti-Muslim racism was never as socially acceptable as it is today, and it is now coming from the centre of society.
Family Minister Lisa Paus acknowledged the dramatic increase in both antisemitic and anti-Muslim incidents, stating that the government is attempting to fund early prevention programs through civil society partnerships.
