CAGE International has released a report exposing the alarming levels of Islamophobia and discrimination embedded within the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“The Games of Shame: Can the 2024 Paris Olympics Whitewash Genocide and Widespread Exclusion?” highlights France’s systematic Islamophobia and support for Israeli genocide, among many other ills.
It calls on the international community to boycott the games in solidarity with oppressed French Muslims and Palestinians.
Key findings of the report include:
- France’s restrictive legislation and societal stigmatisation create an inhospitable environment for visibly Muslim athletes, particularly women who wear the hijab, directly contradicting the Olympic Committee’s mission to empower women and promote inclusivity.
- France’s complicity in international conflicts, notably highlighting the normalisation of Israel’s presence at the Olympics despite the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. This complicity raises critical ethical questions about the host country’s legitimacy and the true values represented by the Games.
- Vulnerable populations, including migrants, homeless individuals, and students, have been displaced and marginalised in the lead-up to the Games, reflecting a broader agenda of gentrification and exclusion that starkly contrasts with the Olympic values of human dignity and social cohesion.
- Heightened security measures and pervasive surveillance around the Olympic venues contribute to a climate of fear and repression, undermining the freedoms that the Olympics are supposedly meant to celebrate.
CAGE International is urging the international community to boycott the games in solidarity with Palestinians and those who have been targeted by the French government’s deeply Islamophobic and discriminatory policies.
Muhammad Rabbani, Managing Director of CAGE International, said: “The Paris 2024 Olympics are being promoted as a beacon of unity and inclusion, yet the reality on the ground tells a very different story. Our report highlights how France’s Islamophobic Systematic Obstruction Policy as well as the government’s continued support for the genocide in Gaza directly contradicts its supposed ideals of equality, inclusion and respect.
“With the far-right National Rally on the brink of power, we call upon states to boycott Paris as was the case in the 6 Olympics held in Melbourne (1956), Tokyo (1964), Montreal (1976), Moscow (1980), Los Angeles (1984) and Seoul (1988) so as to not legitimise and normalise Islamophobia and discrimination against Muslims.”
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!
