On March 21 – International Day Against Racism – the European Network Against Racism (ENAR) published its report on racism in Europe for 2011/12.
The chapter dealing with Malta was written by the People for Change Foundation and the Integra Foundation. In keeping with the remit from ENAR, the ‘shadow report’ focuses on the specific situation of Muslims here, including ‘Islamophobia and discrimination on the basis of religion and belief’. However, it also embraces the wider issues of racism and racial discrimination in the various spheres of Maltese life.
The report paints a patchy picture of Islamophobia (a dislike of Muslims) and racism (antagonism towards other races) in this country.
Reflecting the situation all over Europe, where the report highlights that Islamophobia is widespread with “increasing prejudice towards Muslims being greater than that experienced by other ethnic or minority groups”, the report finds that perceptions in Malta have been shaped by the island’s Roman Catholic tradition and history.
Although this may be a rather simplistic reading of Malta’s long history and culture – including over 200 years of Arab rule, when the Maltese were predominantly Muslims – it may be hardly surprising that, in Europe today, where the war on terror and terrorist atrocities have been linked with fundamentalist Islamic groups, there exists a natural distrust of Muslims, which is also reflected in Maltese attitudes.
To understand the historical and cultural background, however, does not mean that one should condone in any way the kind of discrimination highlighted in the report.
To lump together all the estimated 6,000 Muslims in Malta pejoratively as ‘Arabs’, ‘North Africans’ or ‘illegal immigrants’, while ignoring the diverse cultures and nationalities embraced by the Islamic population here, demonstrates not only ignorance and disrespect but also elements of racism, xenophobia and religious intolerance, so unwelcome in a civilised society.
One of the Maltese authors of the report rightly said: “We need to ensure that there is political will to challenge discrimination and promote equality. There is a greater need... to overcome the challenges of racial and religious discrimination in Malta.”
While it is understandable that the experience of the huge influx of migrants into Malta from sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa in the past 11 years – a recent phenomenon compared with most major countries in Europe, which have had time to adapt to mass migration over the last few decades – has given rise to concern about Malta’s ability to cope socially and economically, there is no room for the examples of racial discrimination in employment, education, housing, healthcare and others which this report exposes.
The Government, the Church, politicians, opinion formers in the media and in the corporate community have a responsibility to ensure discrimination on grounds of race or religion is eliminated. This requires a big effort at public education and institutional changes to Malta’s employment, housing, health and justice systems to ensure that racism, latent Islamophobia and xenophobia are eliminated.
Changes in attitudes to racial or religious prejudice, as we have seen in the rest of Europe, take time. Malta has a lot of catching up to do.