Islamophobia on Rise in Brazil
According to Wasl news agency, a racist and religiously motivated attack occurred in the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu last week, in which two Muslim women were physically and verbally attacked inside a shopping mall.
The incident, which occurred on Thursday, February 12, is not an isolated attack, but rather reflects the growing phenomenon of Islamophobia in Brazil and the impact of international conflicts and xenophobic rhetoric on Muslim communities.
The two women, one Syrian and the other Lebanese, both members of the Arab Muslim community in Foz do Iguaçu, were attacked by a 33-year-old man inside the Cataratas GL shopping mall.
The attacker tried to remove the hijab of one of the two women, assaulted them, and made racist and religious insults to them because of their clothing and beliefs.
Several shoppers intervened to defuse the situation and restrain the attacker until police arrived. The attacker was arrested on charges of assault and racism. Police reported that the attacker had a history of discriminatory and religiously motivated acts, including disrupting religious celebrations.
The Cataratas JL shopping mall issued a statement strongly condemning the incident and reaffirming its commitment to protocols for handling such incidents, including detaining the person involved and reporting the incident to local police. The mall also reiterated its firm opposition to any form of physical or verbal violence against women and any act of religious, racial or gender intolerance.
The incident exposes the ugly face of the growing phenomenon of Islamophobia in Brazil. According to a recent report on Islamophobia in the country, approximately 60 percent of Brazilian Muslims have experienced some form of religious intolerance. Muslim women, who wear the hijab, are at risk of being targeted.
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Brazil is a secular country, according to its 1988 constitution, which guarantees religious equality. Law No. 9.459, passed in 1997, criminalizes the practice or incitement of discrimination based on race, color, ethnicity, religion, or nationality, and imposes a penalty of one to three years in prison.
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