Muslim women wearing the headscarf in Austria face more anti-Muslim hate and discrimination than men, according to a local activist fighting Islamophobia.

"The majority of the victims are women who wear the hijab ... Because of the hijab, because of the visibility of the hijab, a lot of women face more anti-Muslim racism," Munira Mohamud, an activist at the Austrian nongovernmental organization, Dokustelle, told Anadolu Agency (AA).

According to the organization, which documents anti-Muslim hate crimes and racism, over 1,000 Islamophobic incidents were reported last year in the country, with women being the majority of victims as compared to men.

The details of the organization’s findings of 2022 are to be released in May, while the 2021 statistics showed that women, with 69.2%, were also subjected to Islamophobia more than men.

Mohamud wears a headscarf and said she also encountered Islamophobia in Vienna last year.

"A man came up to me and told me to take off the hijab," she said.

"'What is this on your head? Take it off,' the man said, before using a derogatory word in German," she added.

Mohamud said on public transport she has not faced any direct attacks but often feels some stares from commuters. "So, people are constantly looking at you like something is wrong with you or like you are doing something wrong."

According to Austria's Federal Statistical Office, there are currently 645,600 Muslims in Austria.

Influencing one another

According to Mohamud, anti-Muslim sentiments are increasing everywhere, while countries in Europe are influencing each other. "It's not only an Austrian problem but it's a European problem as a whole."

She underlined that politicians in Austria have spoken of considering France’s approach toward Muslims, seeing it as an "inspiration" on how to deal with the minority community in the country.

In Austria, the biggest player of Islamophobia is the government, and instead of tackling local issues such as corruption, it tries to divert attention by talking about issues related to Muslims or even blaming them, she said, adding that this type of narrative not only exists in Austria but Europe as well.

Condemning Islamophobia

The official said she thinks that one of the reasons behind the increase in Islamophobia is the fact that there is no condemnation from the government and that it is just the civil rights society that is condemning it.

Moreover, she said there are often no consequences for those who engage in hate crimes and this leads to a surge in such crimes. To deal with this, she said the government should recognize Islamophobia and introduce laws that protect the community.

"I feel like that is the first and important step on combating Islamophobia and anti-Muslim racism in Austria because a lot of people don't recognize Islamophobia, and the government also doesn't recognize Islamophobia. ... We can push the government to make new laws that protect the Muslim community in Austria."

According to Mohamud, last year was a continuation of 2021 in terms of Islamophobic attacks. She recalled incidents of hate graffiti sprayed on a mosque, while another was vandalized and attacked.

She said the presence of the "Islam Map," a digital map introduced by a state-funded organization showing locations of all Muslim institutions and mosques in Austria, has led to an increase in attacks on Muslims.

Although the map was met with a lot of criticism from Mohamud's organization and other bodies, the government failed to take it down.

Mohamud also recalled some other incidents where a boy was not allowed to pray in his school, and teachers or staff intimidated children about wearing hijab or practicing the religion.