EU:European Muslims face discrimination in housing, education and employment and are the target of physical and verbal attacks prompted by Islamophobia.
However, Muslims could do more to counter existing stereotypes and integrate more into European society, says a new report published by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia.
According to Muslims in the European Union - Discrimination and Islamophobia, Muslims are over-represented in low-paying sectors jobs, and disproportionately represented in areas with poorer housing. The report also says they attain lower education qualifications than average.
For example, it notes the Irish census in 2002 revealed that 11 per cent of Muslims were unemployed compared to the national average of 4 per cent.
It concludes many Muslims, especially the young, struggle with barriers to social advancement, giving rise to "feelings of hopelessness and exclusion".
"Islamophobia", borne of an increasing tendency to associate Muslims in general with terrorist acts by a relative minority, had intertwined with pre-existing xenophobia to fan discrimination in wider society.
The report chronicles hundreds of reported cases of violence or threats against Muslims including attacks on mosques, and verbal abuse of women wearing veils or headscarfs.
It notes the extent and nature of Islamophobia against Europe's Muslims remains under-documented and under-reported. Just one EU state, Britain, publishes police data on attacks specifically targeting Muslims.
The report concludes that integration is a two-way process and many European Muslims acknowledge they need to do more to engage with wider society. It also recommends Europe's political leaders make a stronger effort to promote meaningful intercultural dialogue and tackle racism, discrimination and marginalisation more effectively.
The report says there are about 13 million Muslims in the EU, some 3.5 per cent of the total population.