Germany: Muslim Students Targeted by Classmates as Police Launches Investigation

BERLIN (IQNA) – A 15-year-old Muslim student, wearing a necklace with the word "Allah", was assaulted by her classmates in a Berlin school on Friday, according to German police.

The attack was one of the many Islamophobic incidents that have occurred in Germany since the start of the Israel-Hamas war last month.

The police said that the student was attacked by at least five other students in the school bathroom in Wilhelmstadt, a district in the west of Berlin. They tore off her necklace and physically abused her, causing injuries that required hospital treatment. A teacher intervened and provided first aid to the victim.

The police are investigating whether the attack was a "religiously motivated" crime, a police spokeswoman told RBB, a public radio station.

Germany has witnessed a rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes in recent weeks, fueled by the propaganda of far-right politicians and the biased media coverage of the Gaza conflict. Muslim communities have reported verbal and physical attacks, vandalism of mosques and Islamic centers, and online harassment.

Germany has the second-largest Muslim population in Western Europe after France, with nearly 5.3 million Muslims out of a total population of over 84 million.

Source: Agencies