The new challenge of human rights law: addressing islamophobia

Abstract

The following research analyses whether the European Human Rights institutions (namely Council of Europe, European Union and the European Court of Human Rights) are effective enough by addressing the phenomenon of Islamophobia. This thesis will explore the behaviour of these institutions in relation to the following tasks: firstly, in relation to conceptualising and defining Islamophobia from a Human Rights perspective; secondly, regarding the identification of the phenomenon as such, paying special attention to human rights violations committed because of Islamophobia; and thirdly, in relation to the impact, from a Human Rights perspective, of the most relevant case law of the European Court of Human Rights in relation to European Muslims. This thesis hopes to identify Islamophobia as a discriminatory phenomenon from a Human Rights law perspective. This is in order to facilitate the monitoring role of European Human Rights institutions in combating discrimination against Muslims because of Islamophobia. In addition, this thesis hopes that this identification helps to facilitate the task of these institutions in promoting public awareness of a phenomenon which can potentially be a form of violation of human rights.