The press conference, attended by representatives of numerous Kurdish institutions, academics, journalists, and politicians, was followed by a panel featuring Prof. Kenan Engin, educator Selda Akbayır, and Peshraw Mohammed.
Civan Akbulut, Chair of the Information Center on Anti-Kurdish Racism (IAKR), highlighted that 217 cases of anti-Kurdish racism were documented in 2024 and said: “This report is not a celebration, but a warning. It is a warning that Kurds in Germany are often left alone. It is a warning that, in situations where no one intervenes, they are subjected to insults, humiliation, or attacks.”
Being Kurdish is enough reason to be attacked
The IAKR, founded in Germany in 2023, presented its first annual report for 2024 at the Federal Parliament. In the opening speech of the press conference, Civan Akbulut reflected on his own life and said: “I have never forgotten the day I stood in the schoolyard during recess surrounded by children shouting ‘Kurd hunt!’ Anti-Kurdish racism is a daily reality for Kurds in Germany. It is not a distant or abstract phenomenon. It means being insulted for speaking the Kurdish language, being beaten for having a Kurdish background, and being killed simply for being Kurdish.”
217 cases, most rooted in Turkish nationalism
According to the report released by the IAKR, a total of 217 cases of anti-Kurdish racism were documented in 2024. Of these, 37.8 percent (82 cases) originated from Turkish nationalism. These incidents frequently included the use of symbols and rhetoric associated with far-right Turkish groups such as the “Grey Wolves.” Other significant categories included 36 cases linked to Islamist rhetoric and 22 cases connected to Arab nationalism.
Digital space sounding the alarm
Seventy-three percent of the cases occurred on digital platforms. Anti-Kurdish content was reported to be spreading widely on social media outlets such as Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and X, amplified by algorithms. IAKR emphasized that much of this content is circulated in censored forms (such as “K*rd,” “K-word,” etc.) and is rarely removed by the platforms.
Kiel and Bremen
The report highlighted notable cases that underline the extent of anti-Kurdish racism: “On 25 January 2024, during a peaceful event marking the anniversary of Kobanê’s liberation from ISIS, 28-year-old Kurdish activist Muhammad Ilhan A. was stabbed by a Syrian national. It was reported that pro-ISIS remarks were shouted prior to the attack. On 21 February 2024, a bullet casing marked with a swastika and SS symbols was found in the mailbox of the Kurdish cultural association Biratî e.V. The incident was clearly interpreted as a far-right threat.”
Attack by Turkish nationalists while returning from Newroz celebrations
The report also documented that a Kurdish family returning from Newroz celebrations in Belgium was attacked by a group of Turkish nationalists. Hundreds gathered in front of their house, throwing stones and attempting to set it on fire. The attackers shouted religious slogans such as “Ya Allah! Bismillah! Allahu Akbar!” and “Takbir, Allahu Akbar!” along with racist insults like “Dirty Kurds.” They performed the fascist “Grey Wolves” salute and burned Kurdish flags and symbols. More than 40 Kurds inside the house tried to protect themselves from the violence. The attackers recorded the incident and shared it on social media.
Provocation at the European Championship
The IAKR also included in its report the incident during the 2024 European Football Championship when Turkish player Merih Demiral gave the Grey Wolves salute. This gesture was regarded by Kurds in Germany and across Europe as an open threat and a fascist symbol. The report stressed that the visibility of such symbols at international events is a sign of the normalization of hostility against Kurds.
Urgent steps needed to combat anti-Kurdish racism
In addition to documenting cases, the published report also presented concrete proposals for combating anti-Kurdish racism:
– Combating anti-Kurdish sentiment should be incorporated into school curricula from childhood, fostering awareness against discrimination in educational settings.
– Anti-Kurdish racism should be defined as a separate category in police records, with perpetrator-focused investigations carried out and victims offered protection.
– Safe spaces within communities where Kurds can live their culture should be preserved, and access to psychological and legal support should be facilitated.
– Deportations of Kurdish refugees to countries such as Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria must be stopped, with recognition that these countries are not safe.
– Media narratives that criminalize, generalize, and marginalize Kurds should be abandoned in favor of inclusive, contextual, and representative language.
– Kurdish civil society organizations and representatives should be actively involved in political decision-making mechanisms and have a voice in migration policies.
– Academic research on anti-Kurdish racism should be expanded, with dedicated funding provided and Kurdish studies departments established at universities.
An unseen identity and racist representations in the media
Peshraw Mohammed drew on both personal experiences and historical as well as ideological backgrounds to paint a picture and said: “The way Kurds are perceived, especially in Turkey and Europe, is deeply tied to Iranian nationalism and often trapped in racist representations. Kurds are labeled as Iranians. An anecdote I experienced in Germany, when a Turk greeted me in Persian, reveals a widespread misconception: the conflation of Kurds with Iranian identity.”
While questioning this false perception, Mohammed gave the following example: “Would you consider Turks and Brazilians to be the same? No. Then why are Kurds equated with Persians?”
The roots of this issue, he explained, go back to the 19th century myth of “Aryan” supremacy shaped in Europe. While Persians were declared by Western intellectuals to be the ancestors of the Aryan race, this ideology gradually spread to Iran as well. With ties forged to Nazi Germany, Iranian nationalism took on a racial form. Even today, some Iranian intellectuals attempt to erase Kurdish identity culturally by depicting the Kurdish language as a dialect of Persian.
Although Kurdish belongs to the Indo-European language family, Mohammed emphasized that linguistic similarities do not signify ethnic or national equality: “The word Azadî (Peace) exists in both Kurdish and Persian, but that does not make us the same. Just as the existence of similar words in English and French does not make these two peoples identical.”
The media, he noted, is where these ideological problems become most visible. When Turkish media cover protests in Iran, they usually show only “central” Iranians in Tehran, young people playing guitars or dancing. Kurds, however, are almost never visible, or when they are, they are criminalized solely as stone-throwers or armed figures.
Mohammed said, “The suffering of Kurds is not told, not aestheticized; it is only shown as a threat. This approach is both orientalist and racist.”
Mohammed concluded his speech with the following words: “The invisibility of Kurds is not a coincidence, but an ideological choice. Identity, language, history, and pain cannot be easily labeled or ignored.”