The European Commission defends the financing of research on Islam and Islamophobia

The European Commission has swept away criticism from the extreme right on the allocation of European funds to projects devoted to Islam and Islamophobia. More than 17 million euros have been allocated in recent years by the European Research Council (ERC) to studies, among others, on the Koran, Sharia, Muslim Youth in Europe or the rise of Islamophobic populist discourse.

MEP Silvia Sardone (Italy) and Jean-Paul Garraud (France), members of the Patriots for Europe group, denounced projects of “questionable utility”, accusing Brussels of promoting Islam.

The research commissioner, Ekaterina Zaharieva, defended the ERC, recalling that funding is based solely on “scientific excellence” and follow a transparent and competitive procedure. Among the projects cited: a CNRS study on the evolution of Sharia law (2.5 million euros, until 2029) and a search for Oxford on the experience of young Muslims in Europe (2.7 million euros, in progress). This controversy reflects a tense political climate where several European far -right groups seek to instrumentalize the question of Islam, transforming academic work into the subject of ideological confrontation.

Beyond the attack on this research, it is the very legitimacy of studying Islam and Islamophobia that is questioned. By rejecting the idea that there may be structural discrimination against Muslims in Europe, the extreme right tries to delegitimize any scientific production which highlights this phenomenon. Behind this trial of intention, there is a broader desire to impose a story where Islam is systematically presented as a problem, rather than an object of knowledge and critical reflection. Since 2007, the ERC has supported more than 17,000 projects, contributing to thousands of scientific publications and at several Nobel prizes.