Twice a Victim: How Have Attacks Affected Muslims in Europe?

As attacks continue to be linked to Islam, European Muslims share their stories of loss, discrimination and identity.

On March 11, 2004, during the morning rush hour, several bombs ripped through four commuter trains in the Spanish capital, Madrid. The simultaneous, coordinated blasts killed more than 190 people and injured almost 2,000.

The Madrid bombings were the first in a string of violent attacks on European soil in recent years - from London, Paris, Brussels and Nice to Manchester, Barcelona and Berlin.

These attacks were claimed to be carried out in the name of Islam, which has created an association between the Islamic faith and armed violence. As a result, many Muslims in Europe are facing heightened Islamophobia, hatred and ostracism.

Brussels attacks: Hijacking terror for political points

A look at the coverage of the Brussels attacks and the politics behind it; plus, the red lines in Morocco's media.


On Tuesday, Brussels became the second capital city in Western Europe in less than four months to experience a deadly bomb attack.

Like the Paris attacks, the story attracted wall-to-wall coverage. But also like Paris, the reporting raised the question: Why does the media focus so heavily on this story when equally deadly attacks occur in Ankara, Bamako and Baghdad?

In the second wave of media coverage came the political spin - the news anchors, pundits and politicians who have used the attacks in Brussels to advance their own agendas.

Discussion quickly turned to the perceived threat of the refugees - despite the two suicide bombers being Belgian nationals - and in the US it even revived the debate around torture.