Today in Islamophobia

In the United States, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) documented a 183% increase in incidents targeting Islamic places of worship compared to the same three-month period last year, meanwhile Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders is visiting Israel this week as the guest of a West Bank settler leader, meeting senior leaders in Netanyahu’s government and touring several settlements, and lastly in Belgium, a shopkeeper who stepped in to defend a woman allegedly targeted with racist and Islamophobic abuse on a Brussels tram has died after succumbing to his injuries from the assault. Our recommended read of the day is by Edward Ahmed Mitchell for Common Dreams on how a recent speech made by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been subject to extreme right-wing hostility that falsely equates his criticism of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with that of the broader Jewish community. This and more below:

International

Hague Shmague: When Genocidal Rhetoric Doesn’t Count | Recommended Read

When New York City’s Muslim mayor accuses the Israeli Prime Minister of war crimes, his critics claim he has blood on his hands for the stabbing of a Jewish man in Manhattan two days later; but when Israeli cabinet members declare that Palestinians “who hand out candy” should be “destroyed” or that Gaza’s population should be driven out, those same critics dismiss it entirely. The most recent example of this asymmetry comes courtesy of William Daroff and Betsy Berns Korn, leaders of the largest umbrella organization of the American Jewish community, in a July 27 op-ed for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA). Respectively the CEO and Chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Daroff and Korn argue that, despite repeating the very same claims made by numerous human rights groups, genocide scholars, and writers, Mamdani’s words created an atmosphere in which, less than 48 hours later, a man shouting “Allahu Akbar” stabbed a visibly* Jewish man on the Upper West Side (minutes after stabbing an Asian man). Violence, they write, “rarely begins with violence. It begins with words.” That is a serious claim, and it deserves to be taken seriously. But what does it say that when the tables are turned the authors proceed to ignore the issue entirely? Confronted with the International Court of Justice’s determination that senior Israeli officials have indeed used language that incites genocide, Daroff and Korn explicitly dismiss that same language as “inflammatory remarks by individual Israeli officials… [that are] not proof of the [genocidal] policy or intent of the State of Israel.” Lost in their effort to ward off charges of genocide is any recognition that Israel’s violence might have begun with these words, to paraphrase Daroff and Korn. Applied selectively, the “words matter” principle becomes a rhetorical weapon: it holds one elected official responsible for the unrelated act of a stranger, while giving a sitting security cabinet unlimited license for language that international jurists have taken seriously enough to let a genocide case proceed. read the complete article

United States

Mamdani Derangement Syndrome: Murdoch Media Lets Its Islamophobic Flag Fly

Since even before he became New York mayor last year, the right-wing infotainment complex – and, particularly, the media outlets owned by Rupert Murdoch – has obsessively attacked Zohran Mamdani, painting the democratic socialist as a dangerous “antisemite” who will destroy the city with his “communist” policies while calling for him to be denaturalized and deported. And while there’s always been a consistent undercurrent of Islamophobia flowing through this unending and deranged demonization of Mamdani, the last week has brought forth a more overt stream of anti-Muslim hate that has blared on the front pages of Murdoch’s papers and the screens of cable news. read the complete article

Anti-Muslim attacks on US mosques rise 51%: CAIR

The number of attacks and acts of vandalism targeting mosques and Islamic centres in the United States has risen by 51%, according to a report released by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The report said incidents recorded during May, June and July 2026 were 183% higher than those reported during the same three-month period in 2025. CAIR's figures include vandalism, arson, intimidation, violence targeting mosques and efforts to block mosque construction. In a statement, CAIR Research and Advocacy Director Corey Saylor said Islamophobia and anti-Muslim rhetoric have become increasingly accepted in parts of US society in recent years. He noted that while places of worship belonging to other religious communities are also targeted, such incidents occur less frequently. Saylor urged community leaders to take a more active role in addressing Islamophobia and preventing the spread of hatred. read the complete article

United Kingdom

Islamophobia’s deadly consequences

A mosque is now attacked in Britain every five days, according to new figures released by the British Muslim Trust, the government’s partner for monitoring anti-Muslim hatred. In recent weeks, a man has been charged with the attempted murder of people leaving a mosque in Edinburgh, and a teenage boy with planning terrorist attacks on mosques in south London. Hate crimes against Muslims make up the highest proportion of all religious hate crimes in the country, followed by those against Jews, who experience by far the highest rate in proportion to their population size. The great defender of free speech, John Stuart Mill, warned that opinions should no longer be tolerated when there is a likelihood they could be an “instigation to some mischievous act”. As hate crimes against Muslims in Britain rise year after year, the evidence is growing that Islamophobic stereotyping and conspiracy theories, insidiously normalised in political discourse and the media, can have deadly consequences. Freedom of expression is one of the United Kingdom’s most hard-won values, but it comes with a responsibility to challenge unevidenced and harmful narratives. read the complete article

Britain Has an Islamophobia Problem

To anyone paying attention to the political climate in Britain, it soon becomes obvious that there is a major problem with Islamophobia. For years now, we’ve seen the rise of various anti-Muslim figures and movements which have targeted Muslims in a variety of ways, all of which aim to further the marginalisation of an already marginalised group. Almost every single day, there is some new story of Muslims being subject to some horrific hate crime or someone attempting to attack a Mosque, sometimes even going through with their plans, as we have recently seen. One of the more disturbing and outright horrifying things we’ve seen in Britain recently came out of Edinburgh, where a white man stabbed five people, including Muslims, in an attack which was obviously motivated by Islamophobia. What people outside of Britain may not be aware of is just how bad the climate surrounding Islamophobia in Britain is at this time. We just recently saw Restore Britain MP Rupert Lowe publish his rape gang pseudo inquiry, in which the claim is made that around 250,000 white British girls have been raped by predominantly Pakistani Muslim men. read the complete article

Muslim woman abused for wearing niqab at prize ceremony vows to continue work

A Muslim woman who was abused online after accepting an award wearing a niqab has said she will not stop serving her community. Khadija Patel, 39, was pictured in the religious garment after she won the British Citizen Award for inspiring children to get into sport in Bolton. The image soon went viral and prompted a wave of Islamophobic hate, with commentators attacking her face covering and claiming she couldn’t empower women. Khadija has now spoken out, telling Metro her face covering ‘does not stop me from serving my community’. She added: ‘My work should be judged by my actions and not by what I am wearing. ‘We are a diverse community. We may not make the same choices in terms of clothing, but we should listen to people and celebrate what their work is.’ read the complete article

France

Meet the Muslim mayor who wants to be France’s next president

Karim Bouamrane announced his bid to become France’s next president the way he does most things: on his own terms and ahead of schedule. Born in 1973 to Moroccan immigrant parents, he joined the Communist Party aged 22 and the Socialists at 41 — the same year he ran for mayor of Saint-Ouen and lost. He ran again in 2020 and won, then was re-elected comfortably in March. Six years governing one of France’s most diverse municipalities, he says, has convinced him that the country’s political class is asking the wrong questions. “The first person who gets questioned is the mayor,” he tells Hyphen. “You see the people every day. You build a contract of trust.” While national politicians focus on immigration, Islam and national identity, Bouamrane says the people he meets are more concerned about housing, schools, public services and security. Bouamrane argues that France’s political class has mistaken social problems for identity ones. Racism and Islamophobia are real, he says, but they worsen deeper problems of housing, public services and inequality rather than explaining them. “The problem is social, exacerbated by the ethnic and the religious,” he says. read the complete article

India

The Guardian view on India’s gen Z revolt: the cockroaches are coming together

Mr Modi has built an authoritarian order which rested upon Hindu majoritarianism and demonising Muslims. Education in the country has been subordinated to ideology and political patronage. But corruption in public exams cannot be divided so easily along religious lines. A Hindu graduate in northern India and a Muslim graduate in its southern cone experience the same anger over leaked papers and worthless qualifications. The grievance, crucially, creates an economic identity that cuts across the BJP’s preferred religious cleavage. Until Mr Pradhan’s resignation, ministerial accountability to public protest had all but disappeared; loyalty to Mr Modi’s ideological project had mattered more. The CJP has also broken the spell of fear that has dominated the public square. Their victory may have produced not merely a protest movement, but a new generation of political leaders. read the complete article

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