For several months now, MEPs have been sounding the alarm about the improper allocation of European funds to projects and missions directly aimed at promoting Islam. In an official response published on August 18th, the European Commission said it stands by its choice and intends to continue in this questionable direction.
The criticism came from several prominent European lawmakers. Italian MEP Silvia Sardone (Lega/Patriots for Europe) denounced European funding for “studies of questionable usefulness, all focused on Islam.” French MP Jean-Paul Garraud (Rassemblement National/Patriots for Europe) also voiced concerns about the funding of projects on subjects such as Islam, the Quran, Sharia law and Islamophobia, arguing that they contain obvious ideological biases: studies on Islamophobia, for example, tend to deliberately exaggerate the phenomenon.
In April, the announcement of a grant of around €10 million for a ‘European Qu’ran’ project had already caused a stir. But this is not the only project under fire. In the past, a project coordinated by Istanbul Bilgi University between 2018 and 2019 received €2.3 million to study the rise of populist and Islamophobic discourse in Europe. Currently underway, a €2.5 million project led by the French National Centre for Scientific Research is mapping the evolution of Sharia law and is set to continue until 2029.
In response to the objections, the European Commission issued an official statement on Monday, August 18th, standing by its choices. Bulgarian European Commissioner for Research Ekaterina Zaharieva defended the European Research Council (ERC), the European Union’s scientific funding body, emphasising that the projects in question are “world-class scientific endeavours that push the frontiers of knowledge.” She rejected any bias or activism in the choice of topics, which she said are selected according to rigorous ethical criteria: “The only criterion for funding is the scientific excellence of the proposal,” the commissioner insisted.
One might reasonably ask how the European Union is qualified to judge the “scientific excellence” of a research project on the role of animals in Islamic philosophy. In any case, the Commission’s public response reflects the general tone-deafness of European institutions to the sentiments of the average EU citizen.
