Today in Islamophobia

Today in Islamophobia: In Australia, Queensland police have charged a 33-year-old man for disturbing a place of worship and creating a public nuisance for allegedly threatened worshippers at a Brisbane mosque, meanwhile in the United Kingdom, a Reform UK councillor has resigned days after being elected, after he allegedly celebrated on social media the rape of a Sikh woman in the Midlands, declared white people the “master race” and called Muslim people “rats”, and lastly, The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has released a new analysis detailing a multi-front effort to push Oklahoma Muslims outside the circle of the state’s protected civic and religious life. Our recommended read of the day is by Peter Oborne and Imran Mulla for Middle East Eye on how the UK’s Green Party has repeatedly been accused by their rivals and sections of British media of engaging in ‘Muslim sectarianism’ in an effort to smear the party, an effort which many analysts say has “failed” in light of yesterday’s election results. This and more below

United Kingdom

How the smear campaign targeting the Green Party and Muslim voters failed | Recommended Read

For the last six weeks, the UK's Green Party has been the victim of a sustained smear campaign. Leader Zack Polanski has been accused of being an antisemite, a liar, a fabricator and a hypocrite. His supporters have been painted as crazed Islamists obsessed by foreign policy at the expense of day-to-day issues. The smears have come from Labour, the Conservatives and Reform. But it has also been led by sections of the British media, which went to the lengths of hunting down Polanski's distant relatives in order to discredit the Green Party champion as an antisemite. Four national newspapers published cartoons of Britain's only Jewish leader, which have been widely criticised as antisemitic. As the final votes were counted yesterday, it became obvious that the attempt to destroy Polanski and the Greens had failed. A series of lies and misconceptions were exposed by the local elections. Firstly, that only Muslims care about Gaza and that the Greens have ignored domestic and local issues. Chowdhury, the Newham mayoral candidate, described accusations that the Greens have engaged in "sectarian" politics in campaigning on Gaza as "completely racist". read the complete article

‘I read the script and I cried’: how the play Planet Omar is helping children make sense of Islamophobia

A new play based on Zanib Mian’s bestselling books about an eight-year-old British-Pakistani Muslim boy in London hopes to “remind young audiences that we are all more similar than we are different”. Justin Kendal-Sadiq, 24, stars in the titular role in the stage adaptation of Planet Omar by actor and playwright Asif Khan. Kendal-Sadiq, who appeared in the Bafta-winning CBBC series, Secret Life of Boys, describes the play as “an incredibly heartwarming story that brings you into the real everyday life of a Muslim family”. The children’s book series follows Omar as he navigates family, friendships, faith and life changes, while gently exploring themes such as Islamophobia through a child’s imagination. read the complete article

Newly elected Reform councillor resigns after social media claims

A Reform UK councillor has resigned days after being elected, after he allegedly celebrated on social media the rape of a Sikh woman in the Midlands, declared white people the “master race” and called Muslim people “rats”. Stuart Prior was elected as a councillor for Essex county council last Thursday, winning 2,404 votes, the highest total of any candidate in the ward. Prior was one of 53 Reform councillors elected to the authority, giving the party overall control of the council. He also won a seat on Rochford district council. A Reform spokesperson confirmed Prior had resigned his positions for personal reasons and that his party membership had been revoked read the complete article

Nazi symbol daubed on Muslim centre's wall

A Nazi symbol painted on to a town's Muslim centre was a symbol of hate scrawled on to a place of peace and community, a councillor said. The black swastika was seen on the wall of the Shrewsbury Muslim Centre on Preston Street. It was thought the incident may have happened on Thursday or Friday. "I truly hope the police act swiftly and bring those responsible to justice," said Monkmoor councillor Adam Fejfer, who also described it as a gut punch and called for those responsible to clean it off themselves. West Mercia Police and Shrewsbury Muslim Centre have both been contacted for a comment. Those who painted it should apologise and be educated about British values, Fejfer continued. read the complete article

United States

City cancels Muslim event after Gov. Abbott threatens to pull state funding

A Dallas-area city canceled a private Muslim holiday event after Governor Greg Abbott threatened to revoke $530,000 in state grants, drawing backlash from lawmakers. read the complete article

CAIR Releases Analysis of Anti-Muslim Oklahoma Politics

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today released a new analysis detailing a multi-front effort to push Oklahoma Muslims outside the circle of the state’s protected civic and religious life — through legislation, through zoning, and through the investigative power of the state. CAIR’s analysis, titled “As a Dog Returns to its Vomit: Anti-Muslim Extremism in Oklahoma in 2026,” states in part: “In recent months, powerful public officials across our nation tried to tell Americans that our freedoms come with their conditions. We must look, speak, think, and worship in their approved ways or we do not belong. read the complete article

Australia

Man charged after allegedly threatening Muslim worshippers at Brisbane mosque

Australia’s peak Islamic body has condemned growing “anti-Muslim sentiment”, after a man allegedly threatened worshippers at a Brisbane mosque on Sunday, falsely claiming to have a gun. The man is alleged to have attended the Masjid Taqwa in Bald Hills, Brisbane at about 10.46am on Sunday and threatened worshippers who were praying in the mosque. According to the Australian National Imams Council, the man entered the mosque and made threats, claiming to have an AK-47 in his vehicle outside. On Monday, Queensland police charged a 33-year-old man for disturbing a place of worship and creating a public nuisance. “No one was physically injured, and the man fled the scene prior to police arrival,” a Queensland police spokesperson said. read the complete article

Muslim Votes Matter says anonymous bid to create political party under same name an attempt to ‘mislead’ voters

Muslim Votes Matter (MVM) has complained to the Victorian Electoral Commission over an anonymous bid to register a political party under the same name before the state election, accusing it of deliberately misleading voters. MVM was established before the 2025 federal election as a grassroots advocacy and lobbying movement, responding to concerns about the lack of political representation for Muslim and minority groups in Australia. While MVM is not itself a registered political party, it endorsed candidates and distributed how-to-vote cards at the federal election and intends to do the same at Victoria’s November poll. But last week, rightwing provocateur Avi Yemini posted a YouTube video claiming an unnamed associate had planned to register a political party using the name Muslim Votes Matter. It follows Yemini’s plan to register a “Free Palestine party” and use it to funnel votes to conservative parties, which was inspired by anti-lockdown activist Monica Smit’s announcement in February that she would seek to register a “Save the Environment party” to attempt to influence the state election result. read the complete article

India

The BJP’s Bengal victory exposes the erosion of Indian democracy

Recent state elections in India have produced one of the most consequential political verdicts in the country’s contemporary history, especially in West Bengal (WB), a border state of more than 100 million people that has long resisted the advance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). For the first time in history, the BJP has captured power in Bengal, winning 207 of the 293 seats declared so far and reducing the TMC to 80. The scale of the BJP’s victory has transformed India’s political map. But the verdict has also triggered profound questions over the integrity of the electoral process itself. The election took place after an extraordinarily sweeping and deeply controversial “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) of electoral rolls conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI), ostensibly to remove duplicate, deceased or “ineligible” voters. Across West Bengal, more than nine million names — nearly 12 percent of the electorate — were initially flagged, removed or subjected to scrutiny during the exercise. The exercise disproportionately targeted Muslims, migrant workers and poorer voters in districts where the BJP has historically struggled electorally. In many constituencies won by the BJP, the number of deleted or disputed voters exceeded the margin of victory. read the complete article

India’s Hindu Nationalist Policies Have Made ‘Violence Routine’ Against Christians

Muslims and Christians, as well as Dalits, in India are the target of ongoing violent attacks and harassment amounting to religious freedom and human rights violations, according to a U.S. watchdog group. “Every day violence and calls for violence have become routine,” said Stephen J. Rapp, Former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice. “Throughout this grim history, it is seldom that the perpetrators have been held to account and justice done.” The experts, who testified during a U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom hearing this week in Washington, D.C., said religious persecution in India, a majority Hindu nation, can be both government-sanctioned and caused by mobs of vigilantes. Hindu nationalism, which experts — including those from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum — said depicts India’s Muslim population as a “rapidly expanding threat that must be culled,” undergirds the increased volatility of the nation. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration and the current party in power, the Bharatiya Janata Party, have encouraged Hindu nationalist policies and practices, experts said. read the complete article

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