Sharp rise in anti-Muslim incidents recorded in the Netherlands

Dutch police registered three times the number of incidents involving discrimination against Muslims last year than they did in 2014, according to a new report for the Anne Frank foundation.

In total, they recorded 446 incidents involving verbal or physical attacks on Muslims, compared with 142 in the previous year.

‘The increase… is probably due to the rise in tension following terrorist attacks in western Europe and the arrival of Islamic asylum seekers,’ the foundation said.

In particular, the presence of more extreme right-wing groups at anti-refugee demonstrations is worth noting, the foundation said. It estimates the number of members of various far right groups rose from around 100 to 245 in 2015.

The total number of reports of racism, anti-semitism and extreme right-wing violence rose slightly to 4,165 last year.

There were fewer reports of anti-semitic incidents, dropping from 76 to 57. This many be due to the reduction in violence in the Israel-Palestine conflict, the foundation said.