Today in Islamophobia

Today in Islamophobia: In the United Kingdom, the government faced questions over public calls made during last weekend’s far-right rally in London for the eradication of Islam from British public life, meanwhile in the United States, a terrorism scholar notes that far-right extremists are inspired by each other, particularly since the 2019 Christchurch attack, and have tried to emulate the examples of previous attackers and encourage future attacks. Our recommended read of the day is by Ibrahim Al-Marashi for The Conversation on how the deadly attack on the San Diego Islamic Center underscores European history’s centrality to the global far right’s discourse and ideology. This and more below:

International

San Diego mosque attack: racist interpretations of European history are inspiring extremists | Recommended Read

The attack underscores European history’s centrality to the global far right’s discourse and ideology. It was the latest deadly manifestation of the weaponisation of European history to justify violence in America in the present. But this is not just a US problem. Europe’s history was also explicitly referenced in the manifesto of the 2019 Christchurch shooter in New Zealand. The Christchurch attack was itself inspired by Anders Breivek’s 2011 attack in Norway, which was primarily motivated by a violent white nationalist worldview. These attackers all drew inspiration from Adolf Hitler and the SS to justify both antisemitic and Islamophobic violence. But within the white nationalist imaginary, European history begins much earlier. It extends to visions of a pure white race in the Greek and Roman eras, and to idolisation of historical figures such as Charles Martel, the Frankish leader who defeated a Muslim army in Tours in 732. It also leans heavily on the imagery of the European Crusades to retake the Holy Land, which began in the 12th century. The Knights Templar – the Crusade-era order of Christian warrior monks – has captured far-right popular imagination in Europe and the US, especially among the alt-right. Political actors across the spectrum invoke the past to grant legitimacy in the present and suggest inevitability in the future. But for far-right leaders, European history is especially easy to weaponise. It provides a ready-made set of memes, metaphors, images and tropes that legitimise hate speech – and hate crimes – in the name of protecting Christian Europeans from the perceived threat of Jewish and Muslim invaders. read the complete article

United States

'We are resilient': As San Diego's Muslim community reels from mosque shooting, it refuses to be intimidated

The attack has sent shockwaves through the community - waves of grief and panic - but also a jolt towards unity after tragedy, a call to come together to condemn hateful rhetoric against Muslims and also to embrace and celebrate the lives lost at the thriving centre. Thousands of people from across California and the US travelled to a public funeral prayer here on Thursday, to stand in solidarity with the Muslim community and pray with the families of the victims. A security guard, the husband of a teacher at the school and a beloved shopkeeper who called 911 were fatally shot before one of the suspects turned a gun on his companion and then killed himself, as police closed in on their car in the residential Clairemont neighborhood. "Even if you anticipate at some point the worst might happen, you prepare for it, but you never expect it to happen," says Tazheen Nizam of the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim civil liberties advocacy organisation in the US. "Nobody expected something of this gravity to take place," she tells the BBC. "We had one security guard. The gate was open." read the complete article

The shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego is part of a far‑right curriculum of violence

Two teenaged gunmen recently opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego, killing a security guard and two staff members before being found with fatal self-inflicted wounds in a nearby vehicle. Like so many recent extremist mass shootings, they livestreamed the attack and, uniquely, even livestreamed their suicides. As a radicalization and terrorism scholar, I have been researching extremist movements and mass violence for nearly two decades and have catalogued and read through close to three dozen manifestos. What’s unique about the wave of attackers since the 2019 Christchurch attack is how much they’re inspired by each other, how they try to emulate the examples of previous attackers and encourage future attacks. The manifesto written by the San Diego attackers is no different and is the clearest recent example of how “saint culture” — a phenomenon that positions previous attackers not as cautionary examples, or even merely ideological predecessors, but as sacred models whose work must be continued — has galvanized the militant far-right. read the complete article

Experts: Mosque shooters followed familiar path of far-right radicalization

The two teenagers suspected of killing three Muslim members of the San Diego Islamic Center Monday idolized prior perpetrators of such white supremacist attacks, according to a 75-page manifesto they allegedly wrote that's circulating online. The pair said they believed in right-wing conspiracy theories about immigrants and Jewish people and sought to replicate the 2019 Christchurch, New Zealand shooting where 51 Muslims were killed at two mosques. The manifesto and videos apparently filmed by one of the alleged shooters haven't been independently verified by KPBS but experts said there's little doubt as to their authenticity. "They sought to replicate one of the deadliest racist mass shootings in history, and they sought to do it in the U.S. as tribute to that shooting," he said. "I think the ideology is inseparable from the violence. The two suspects were well versed in white supremacist ideology, said Heidi Beirich, the cofounder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. "It does appear as though this was more than just some online role-playing," Beirich said in an interview. "Because the manifesto dives very deep into white supremacist killers (and) white supremacist books." read the complete article

United Kingdom

Tommy Robinson's march was Islamophobic - why isn't it being called out?

White women staging a niqab striptease is not actually illegal, nor is performing the cello with bacon on your shoulder illegal. But let’s be clear: it is definitely not a call for unity. Like this was not a rally to ‘Unite the Kingdom’. Tommy Robinson’s march was a rally to hate on Muslims. Why is it so hard for politicians - and journalists - to name this particular shade of hate? If we refuse to prosecute Islamophobia, we should at least call it what it is. read the complete article

Minister says activist’s call to ‘remove Islam’ from parliament was unacceptable

The government faced questions on Wednesday over public calls made during last weekend’s far-right rally in London for the eradication of Islam from British public life. Liberal Democrat peer Shaffaq Mohammed asked Home Office minister David Hanson what his position was on comments made at the “Unite the Kingdom” rally on Saturday, which saw 10 people arrested over suspected hate crimes. During Wednesday’s oral questions in the House of Lords, Mohammed said: “One of the speakers pointed at [the Houses of Parliament] and said: ‘We need to remove Islam from this building.’ Does this mean people like me do not have a place in this society any more?” He was referring to a speech made by the activist Kellie-Jay Keen, also known as Posie Parker. In response to Mohammed’s question, Hanson, a Labour peer and national security minister, reiterated his commitment to support people’s right to “enjoy and cherish their religion”. “This is a fight for the soul of this country,” he said. “It is not acceptable to have that type of hatred, and I will stand up with him to support the rights of people to enjoy their religion freely.” read the complete article

Is Islamophobia being re-packaged as feminism?

A group of female activists at a far-right rally in the UK have sparked a backlash. They wore niqabs and long dresses while encouraging the crowd to condemn their clothing. So who are they? Al Jazeera’s Ava Warriner explains. read the complete article

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