Today in Islamophobia

Today in Islamophobia: In India, political violence has erupted in the eastern part of the country after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party won key elections amid allegations of voter suppression targeting Muslims, meanwhile in occupied Jerusalem, the Israeli government has advanced plans to confiscate Palestinian-owned property near Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City, in a move Palestinians say is aimed at “Judaising” the city. Our recommended read of the day is by Bernard Mokam for The New York Times on the devastating mosque shooting in San Diego, leaving three people dead, along with the two shooters and how rising levels of Islamophobia in the U.S. must be addressed. This and more below:

United States

San Diego Mosque Attack Comes Amid Rising Reports of Islamophobia | Recommended Read

The killings Monday at San Diego’s largest mosque are being investigated as a hate crime, touching off concerns about rising Islamophobia in the United States. “Islamophobia endangers Muslim communities across this country,” Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s first Muslim mayor, said in response to the shooting, which left three people dead, in addition to the two shooters. “We must confront it directly and stand together against the politics of fear and division.” Islamophobia has been an intractable problem in the United States for decades. Hate crimes against Muslims surged following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to F.B.I. data. More recently, the war in Gaza, which set off protests across American college campuses, has contributed to a steady increase in anti-Muslim sentiment and inspired violence against a range of religious institutions, including synagogues and churches. The Council on American-Islamic Relations received 8,683 civil rights complaints in 2025, the most the group has recorded since 1996, according to its most recent report. “Government actions and official rhetoric treated Muslims — and people who speak up for Palestinian human rights — as suspicious and outside the circle of protected religious and civic life,” the council wrote in the 2025 report. In recent months, attackers have targeted individuals and community centers. read the complete article

5 dead in attack at San Diego mosque; anti-Islamic writings are found, sources say

Three people were killed when two suspects opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday morning in an attack that sparked widespread shock and condemnation. Police swarmed the center after receiving calls of an active shooter and found a crime scene that expanded across several blocks in the area. According to police, officers arrived within four minutes of the first report. Authorities said two males, 17 and 19 years old, arrived at the center and opened fire. When officers arrived around 11:45 a.m., they found three adults dead in front of the center, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said. One of those was the center’s security guard, whose actions saved lives, Wahl said. A law enforcement source not authorized to speak about the ongoing investigation told The Times that investigators found anti-Islamic writings inside the vehicle where the gunmen’s bodies were found. The official also said investigators have located a suicide note linked to one of the suspects that refers to racial pride, and hate speech was also found inside the vehicle. One of the suspects was believed to have used a firearm from their parent’s home, the official said. read the complete article

San Diego mosque shooting: What we know about the victims and the attackers

Two teenage gunmen opened fire at a mosque in San Diego on Monday, killing three men before later killing themselves, according to police. Authorities said the attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego is being investigated as a possible hate crime. San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl told reporters that investigators are still working to determine what led to the shooting, adding that more details about the circumstances surrounding the attack are expected to emerge in the coming days. The attack came the week before the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, or Feast of the Sacrifice, and the annual Hajj pilgrimage to the holy site of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. read the complete article

Islamophobes Can't Shut Up Even as Muslims Are Murdered at a California Mosque

Just days after yet another red-faced, fear-mongering Republican congressional hearing on “Sharia law,” a mosque was attacked in the United States. Two teenage suspects allegedly carried out a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, killing three people. While many of the details are still being uncovered, here’s what we know about the attack so far and the apparent motivations: the suspects were found dead, of apparently self-inflicted wounds. One reportedly left a suicide note that contained writings about racial pride, CNN reported, while hate speech was reportedly written on one of three weapons taken from the home of the parents of one suspect. A gas can with an “SS” sticker (a possible reference to Hitler’s Nazi paramilitary force) was also recovered. Unfortunately, we can become desensitized towards such violence. Violence done with firearms, in a nation with more guns than people. Violence towards Arab Americans, especially since 9/11. Violence towards Muslims, given the posture of US foreign policy for decades on end. But this attack hits hard, not only because it is at the nexus of so many social ills, but because the fomenting of anti-Muslim hatred in recent months has been so blatant – and so normalized. For months, Republican members of Congress have unashamedly and publicly spewed venom towards Muslims and Islam, with little press or Democratic Party pushback. Comments that would tank political careers if they were made about any other minority are barely noticed if they are made about Muslims. read the complete article

India

Bengali Muslims in India face persecution and displacement amid citizenship disputes

Earlier this month, political violence erupted in Eastern India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party won key elections amid allegations of voter suppression targeting Muslims. That campaign was marked by allegations of anti-Muslim hate speech, calls for violence, and a controversial citizenship crackdown targeting Muslims in the Indian border states of Assam and West Bengal. Producer Zeba Warsi reports from Assam on families now fighting to prove they belong in the only country they have ever known. read the complete article

International

Israel advances plan to seize Palestinian property near Al-Aqsa Mosque

The Israeli government has advanced plans to confiscate Palestinian-owned property near Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City, in a move Palestinians say is aimed at “Judaising” the city. On Sunday, ministers approved the creation of an inter-ministerial team to examine the implementation of historic expropriation orders in the area around Chain Gate (Bab al-Silsila in Arabic), a main route leading directly to Al-Aqsa Mosque. Israeli officials and Hebrew media described the move as part of efforts to strengthen Israeli sovereignty in the Old City and secure routes linking Jaffa Gate, the Jewish Quarter and the Western Wall. According to Israeli reports, officials also presented the decision as completing state ownership over properties confiscated after Israel’s 1967 occupation of East Jerusalem. Government documents repeatedly refer to the “implementation” of historic confiscation orders in the Old City, saying the new committee will examine the legal and planning obstacles that delayed the process for decades. read the complete article

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