In a recent Facebook post, Tristan Azbej, State Secretary for Programmes Assisting Persecuted Christians at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, drew attention to the growing anti-Christian sentiment in Western Europe. He recalled a radical Islamist protest on 13 October in Hamburg, Germany, which called for a caliphate and the implementation of Sharia law. The radical Islamist crowd shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ as they called for an Islamist takeover of the country. Muslim Interaktiv, the group that organized the demonstration, is considered by the German security and intelligence services to be affiliated with Hizb ur-Tahrir, an organization that was banned in 2003 for advocating for the murder of Jews. Hizb ur-Tahri is an international pan-Islamist and Islamic fundamentalist political group that aims to reinstate the Islamic caliphate and implement sharia globally.

The Hamburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution has classified Muslim Interaktiv as extremist. The group was founded by Joe Adade Boateng, who was, until recently, a teacher but has been banned from working in his profession due to his strong ties to radical Islamism. The organization has also organized several anti-Israeli rallies in Germany. Astonishingly, Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said their calls for a caliphate were ‘politically absurd’ but not punishable by law.

Commenting on the protests, the Hungarian state secretary wrote in his post that the protest ‘shows that religious extremism is on the rise in Europe, raising serious concerns about the safety of Christian communities’.

Tristan Azbej also raised attention to the recent horrific act of an asylum seeker from Bangladesh who is in custody after raping and impregnating a 10-year-old girl in a migrant reception centre in Italy. Local authorities are investigating the migrant housing facility, which was previously a focal point of protests in 2015 when residents opposed its use to shelter migrants, but local officials disregarded their objections. Despite the recent brutal attack, local leaders insist that relations between residents and migrants remain peaceful; however, local mayor Mirella Zanini said ‘there has never been integration with the migrants hosted in the centre, unlike with other foreigners present in the country for work reasons’.

OIDAC report: Violence Against Christians in Europe on the Rise

On 22 August 2024, the International Day of Remembrance for Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, the executive director of  the Observatory against Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC), Anja Hoffmann, warned of a wave of violence against Christians in Europe, saying: ‘In the West, we tend to think that violence against religious believers is mainly a problem in African and Asian countries, however, despite the fact that there are many Christians in danger in those territories, we must also pay close attention to what is happening in Europe.’

According to the OIDAC’s  2022/2023 report, there was a 44 per cent increase in crimes against Christians in those two years. These crimes almost always took place in churches or cemeteries. In 2022, OIDAC documented 749 anti-Christian hate crimes. The report points out that there is a reasonable probability that the actual numbers are higher, due to limited reporting as a result of the ’chilling effect’ of the crimes on victims, and the lack of media coverage. In 2022 anti-Christian hate crimes were detected in 30 European countries, with 38 physical assaults and three murders of Christians.

According to the data of OIDAC, Christian converts of Muslim origin are particularly vulnerable to violence, but crimes against them don’t receive media coverage and, therefore, usually go unnoticed by Europeans.

‘Christian converts of Muslim origin are particularly vulnerable to violence’

The report also highlights that crimes are not limited to physical violence, as freedom of speech and religious freedom for Christians have been increasingly challenged by new laws in public and private spheres. The report raises attention to ‘buffer zones’ around abortion clinics, which have led to cases of Christians being criminalized for praying silently in these areas. Broad and vaguely worded laws are also being introduced that could criminalize parents, pastors and teachers who, based on their religious beliefs, voice dissenting opinions on LGBTQ issues or discourage children from pursuing hormone therapies.

OIDAC reports that most anti-Christian aggressors are members of extreme left-wing groups, radical feminists, or the LGBTQ community, along with satanic sects and climate activists. Many attacks involve vandalism, making it difficult for law enforcement to identify those responsible. OIDAC also warns of a growing normalization of church attacks, with some groups openly claiming responsibility on social media.

OIDAC also notes that since the beginning of 2024, 25 cases of physical violence, threats and assassination attempts against Christians have been documented in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Poland and Serbia.

Europe Could See a Demographic Shift by 2040–2050

Acclaimed British author and publicist Douglas Murray has commented on human rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s observation that over the past three decades, many European neighbourhoods have started to resemble the Islamic country of Somalia, where she grew up and which she fled from. Hirsi Ali added in her commentary that ‘if this demographic development continues and we don’t do anything with assimilation, there is going to be a demographic flip by 2040—2050’. Murray said that what Ayaan has commented on is ‘completely true and, indeed, evident.’ He added that it was evident ‘because if a population grows that is effectively, in large part, unassimilated or has views the rest of the country finds abhorrent or distasteful—if that particular demographic grows, and grows and grows, of course, they’re going to have more and more impact.’ ‘If we continue in this situation where the political class both accelerates immigration massively, totally fails at integration…and then tells the general public, as they do, that it’s all a conspiracy theory that the immigration is happening…it will happen if it goes on like that for sure,’ Murray concluded.