Far-Right Victory in European Parliament Elections: Impact on Muslims?

After the results of the European Parliament elections revealed that fascist, anti-Muslim parties won nearly 40% of the seats, Muslims across the continent have grown increasingly concerned about rising hatred and discrimination.

Islamic associations and organizations in Europe, especially in France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany, anticipate that these right-wing parties will introduce more legislation to restrict the freedoms of Muslims and immigrants in the near future.

The danger of these parties, which won in the elections held from June 6 to 9, 2024, lies in their shared hatred of Arabs and Muslims, despite differing on other issues such as European unity and support for Ukraine against Russia.

They view Muslims and Arabs through a racist lens, seeing European national identity as under threat and in need of protection from the so-called foreign invasion represented by immigrants.

Most Dangerous Winners

As of this report, the European Parliament election results show the European People's Party (EPP) bloc, which includes a range of right-wing, extreme right, and independent parties, leading with 189 seats out of a total of 720, an increase of 13 seats from the previous election.

The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, a center-left coalition, came in second with 135 seats, losing 4 seats from the last election.

In third place was the Renew Europe bloc, which includes French President Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance Party, securing 79 seats but losing 23 seats.

The fourth position was taken by the European Conservatives and Reformists, which includes the fascist Brothers of Italy party led by anti-Muslim Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, with 73 seats, a gain of 4 seats from the last election.

In France, the far-right National Rally party led by Marine Le Pen achieved an extraordinary victory in the 2024 European elections, prompting President Emmanuel Macron to dissolve the National Assembly on June 9.

Le Pen's far-right party, known for advocating the expulsion of Muslims from the country, banning the hijab, and imposing stricter laws against immigrants, won 32% of the vote, equivalent to 30 seats, including 12 new seats.

This means that the party received twice as many votes as Macron's centrist coalition, angering the president, who then moved to dissolve the French parliament and called for early elections.

Marion Maréchal Le Pen (Marine Le Pen's niece) claimed on X that the National Rally achieved a historic 40% and began calling for a large right-wing coalition to dominate the upcoming French parliamentary elections in late June 2024.

Journalists published a map showing how the National Rally party dominated the vote percentages in most French municipalities, highlighted in brown on the map.

In Italy, the far-right Brothers of Italy party, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, secured 28%, gaining 14 additional seats compared to the previous term.

For the first time since World War II, the right-wing coalition consisting of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria topped the results in Germany with 30.3%, obtaining 28 seats.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party came in second with 15.6%, securing 15 seats, 6 more than in the previous term.

The Social Democrats, the party of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, came in third, followed by the Greens.

Contrary to expectations, Geert Wilders' anti-Islam and anti-immigration Party for Freedom in the Netherlands faced a setback in the European Parliament elections.

Out of the 31 seats allocated to the Netherlands in the European Parliament, Wilders' party came in second with only 6 seats, as the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy took the lead with 8 seats.

This anti-Muslim party had topped the results in the Dutch elections on November 22, 2023, winning a quarter of the seats (37) in the 150-seat parliament.

Despite this, the European Parliament election results show that the left—not the right—still holds the practical majority.

The so-called "grand coalition" of the European People's Party (EPP) from the center-right, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats from the center-left, and the liberal Renew Europe group secured 403 seats (about 56% of the total).

These parties have previously collaborated at the EU level to build a firewall against the political dominance of the far-right.

However, the rise of far-right parties and their increasing gains serve as a warning to Muslims, as the majority of the winners are known for their hostility towards them.

These results indicate an increasing dominance of the white liberal colonial right, which is hostile to Arabs and Muslims and advocates for conflict rather than coexistence, despite collectively securing second place in votes after the traditional left and right parties.

The European Council on Foreign Relations predicted in a report published on January 23, 2024, that the 2024 European Parliament elections would see far-right populist parties gaining more votes and seats across the EU.

This populist extremist group is supported by parties such as the AfD in Germany, the National Rally in France, the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, and the Flemish Interest in Belgium.

How Muslims Are Affected

Far-right parties in Europe are notoriously anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim, advocating for laws that prevent Muslims from maintaining their identity (adhering to Islamic practices) and stemming the flow of immigrants into their countries.

Muslims fear that these far-right parties, especially the fascist ones, with their increasing seats in the European Parliament, will seek to change EU policies towards immigrants and Muslims, particularly with the rising number of immigrants from Arab and Muslim countries.

Niels Spierings, a sociology professor at Radboud University in the Netherlands, told Hyphen for Muslim issues in Europe, on June 6, 2024, that the coalition including the European Conservatives and Reformists will see a shift towards the right in immigration and anti-discrimination policies after the elections.

Spierings warned that this could lead to Muslims facing stricter laws on issues such as family reunification.

Since the European Parliament's role is to review and approve new legislation, it often introduces amendments that EU governments must agree on before the regulations or directives come into effect, according to Reuters.

A study by the European Academy of Religion and Society in February 2024 predicted that Muslims across the EU would face a potential increase in Islamophobia after the elections.

It confirmed that the 2024 European Parliament elections and the rise of the far-right would lead to more restrictive laws against Muslims and increased discrimination.

The study also highlighted a concerning threat regarding the normalization of Islamophobia in Brussels (the EU's headquarters), implying that hostility towards Islam could become almost official.

German television network Deutsche Welle (DW) confirmed on June 11, 2024, that the gains of the far-right in the EU elections have raised concerns among immigrants, especially Muslims, about the future.

DW noted that their fears and anxieties stem from increasing discrimination and restrictive policies as Europe shifts to the right.

DW quoted Aiman Mazyek, the secretary-general of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, saying that “the rise of far-right parties in the elections poses a problem not just for the immigrant and Muslim communities but for democracy as a whole.”

Mazyek noted that the AfD is no longer marginal but has become a major political party, at least in the east of the country, where they hide their true ideologies.

Marion Marechal Le Pen, an extremist who won in the recent European Parliament elections and inherited her aunt Marine Le Pen's far-right views, campaigned on anti-Muslim sentiments and tweeted several times on the topic.

She criticized what she described as “leftists, scum, and Islamists" and described immigration to France as turning the country into a fertile ground for Islam.

Marechal claimed that "Islam is fertile ground for Islamists, and Islamists are fertile ground for terrorism.”

She previously stated that she believes Muslims can only become French citizens if they adopt Christian culture and stop wearing the hijab.

Marechal claimed that "France was the eldest daughter of the Church, but it is on the verge of becoming the little niece of Islam" due to the increasing number of Muslims and their activism in the country.

Who Do Muslims Vote For?

Muslims in Germany told Hyphen on June 6, 2024, that they believe small parties address the issues most important to them, which is why they vote for them instead of the large traditional parties.

Hyphen explained that the threat of the far-right did not drive Muslims to support center-left and traditional liberal parties but rather the small parties, as they lost faith in major politicians' ability to solve their problems or support Gaza.

The site quoted sociologist Niels Spierings as saying that this support for smaller parties reflects a broader trend among Muslims in Europe, especially in elections that use proportional representation, such as the European Parliament elections.

Due to the historical failure of major European parties to address Muslim issues and the complete absence of Muslim members in the European Parliament, Muslims have turned to vote for smaller parties.

The reason is that the European Parliament allocates its 720 seats according to the principle of "proportionality," which means that a small share can elect a larger number of members to adequately represent their population.

This ensures that the number of parliamentarians elected from smaller parties gets seats, according to India Express on June 11, 2024.

Hyphen explains that many Muslims in Europe do not vote in parliamentary elections because they are not allowed to.

This underrepresentation of Muslims in elections is a serious and growing problem across Europe.

It emphasized that about 5% of the EU population is Muslim, but many countries with the largest Muslim populations, such as the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, and Spain, do not allow dual citizenship for naturalized foreigners, thus preventing them from voting.

Cornelia Ernst — a European parliamentarian from the leftist "Die Linke" (The Left) party and chair of the European Parliament's Intergroup on Anti-Racism and Diversity — said that the inability of many Muslims to vote results in a staggering lack of diversity in European politics.

She said, "As a result, Islamophobia and anti-immigrant rhetoric are increasingly appearing in mainstream politics."

A report by BBVA OpenMind noted that despite over 20 million Muslims residing in the EU, there is not a single openly Muslim member of parliament.

The EU officially does not collect statistics on the ethnicity or religion of parliamentarians. However, for the first time, a French-Palestinian woman, Rima Hassan, won a precious seat in the European Parliament amidst a significant far-right vote in France.

Experts in the history of the European far-right believe that the danger of these far-right elements lies in linking Islamophobia with the clash of civilizations.

Jean-Yves Camus, a researcher at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations in Paris and a specialist in the far-right at Foundation Jean Jaures, told Agence France-Presse that these parties used to focus on anti-immigration stances, but now they emphasize the clash of civilizations.

Camus mentioned that the far-right parties now seek to increase the sense of a clash of civilizations in Europe and highlight issues like friction between Islam and the West.

He added that examples of this focus on Islamophobia are evident across the continent, with its presence noted in the Netherlands, France, Sweden, Germany, and many others.

As an example, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said during a political event organized by her far-right party (Brothers of Italy) in Rome in December 2023, “There is no place for Islamic culture in Europe.”

She claimed that Islamic culture is incompatible with European values.