European Muslim Antisemitism: Its Sources, Its Allies

European Muslim antisemitism has become a serious issue in Western Europe, although not often acknowledged as such. Many young Muslims have been identified among the perpetrators of antisemitic violence and the perpetrators of terror attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions in recent years in western European countries were almost exclusively Jihadists. Extremist interpretations of Islam have become a major security issue not only for Jews but for European societies in general. However, only a relatively small minority of Muslims support Jihadists.

Surveys show that antisemitic and antidemocratic attitudes are significantly more widespread among Muslims than among non-Muslims. Antisemitic attitudes are particularly strong among believing and practicing Mus­lims and correlate with authoritarian, “fundamentalist” interpretations of Islam. Demographic and socio-economic variables -- that is, educational level, age, gender, social disadvantage, discrimination, and legal restrictions of Islamic practice -- cannot explain the differences between Muslims and non-Muslims, refuting the widespread assumption that Muslim antisemitism is a reaction to discrimination or suppression. Another assumption, that Muslim antisemitism in Europe was a result of the conflict between Israel and Palestinians, seems equally flawed. The paper will discuss these and other sources in detail, based on surveys and other empirical data. 

Additionally, the paper explores relations between European Muslim antisemitism and European non-Muslims. On the one hand some Muslims adopt antisemitic discourses popular in mainstream European societies, on the other hand non-Muslim Europeans often downplay or justify Muslim antisemitism, partly because of their own negative views of Jews, be it in “antizionist” or other forms.