Search
SearchToday in Islamophobia: Reports emerge of U.S Deputy National Security Adviser being longtime board member of anti-Muslim hate group. In the U.K, Boris Johnson says he is open to repeating controversial burka ban remarks even as a British far right party uses fake news about the death of three teens to fuel anti-Muslim hatred. In China, the detention of Uighur Muslims continue as world leaders remain silent while in Hungary, Viktor Orban’s government continues to create a ‘repressive and increasingly authoritarian’ state. Our recommended read of the day is by Maryam Jamshidi. Maryam’s piece connects the dots between Beijing’s internment of Muslims and the U.S Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) program. This, and more, below:
United States
New Deputy National Security Adviser Was Longtime Board Member of Anti-Muslim Hate Group
According to CSP's tax records, SPLC reports, Charles M. Kupperman has ties to prolific anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist Frank Gaffney, the founder of CSP, having served on the group’s board from at least 2001 to 2010. Kupperman formerly served as an executive for defense contractors Boeing and Lockheed Martin, both of which have funded CSP in the past. A report from Salon revealed that CSP received $25,000 from Boeing and $15,000 from Lockheed Martin in 2013. In 2017, Kupperman co-signed a letter urging Trump to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. Other signatories included anti-Muslim figures Clare Lopez, also of CSP, Phil Haney and Nina Rosenwald, who’s been dubbed the “sugar mama of anti-Muslim hate.” read the complete article
Opinion | Why are Republicans suddenly outraged over Steve King’s racism?
Eugene Robinson questions the politics of outrage, asking why Republicans are shocked by Steve King's racism. "King's rhetoric and his associations make clear that his real aim is keeping out the “wrong” kind of people — Latinos, Muslims, anyone who doesn’t fit into his warped, ahistorical, racist vision of the nation’s heritage. King has supported political figures abroad who have anti-Semitic leanings and neo-Nazi ties". read the complete article
United Kingdom
Boris Johnson says he would repeat controversial 'anti-Muslim' burka remarks
In a column in the Telegraph newspaper, Johnson described women wearing burkas as “letterboxes” and “bank robbers”. But speaking to Nick Ferrari on LBC radio, Johnson said he did not believe the remarks amounted to anti-Muslim rhetoric. Johnson was both praised and criticized for the column, which explained his stance against face-covering veils in public. He said it was "ridiculous" that people chose to wear them. "I don't agree with women being cajoled to wear clothing that obscures their faces. People say that politicians should be careful of what they say and watch their words, and all this sort of mumbo jumbo. I don't agree. I don't agree. I really don't." read the complete article
How Britain’s far right is using fake news about the death of three teens to fuel anti-Muslim hatred
Ex-EDL leader Tommy Robinson and James Goddard are among those spreading false claims the smash was a terror attack that has been covered up by politically correct cops. Harry Rice, 17, and Josh McGuinness and George Wilkinson, both 16, died instantly when a speeding drunk lost control of his high-powered Audi sports car in Hayes, West London, last January. In March Jaynesh Chudasama was jailed for 13 years after admitting causing death by dangerous driving. But a campaign called "#ourboysjustice" insists the boys were "murdered" by an Islamic terrorist who deliberately steered into them. The only 'evidence' for the outrageous and completely unfounded claim seems to be the fact the driver was Asian - although he is from a Hindu background. read the complete article
Opinion | Amazon’s Informer Deftly Mines the War on Terror
Sophie GIlbert looks at 'Informer', the new show on Amazon and its engagement of the complex relationship between security and exploitation of Muslim civilians. "Over its six episodes, Informer returns again and again to the idea of safety, as it documents the exploitative and fascinating (for our purposes) relationship between Gabe (Paddy Considine), a cop on the counterterrorism squad, and Raza (Nabhaan Rizwan), a young Londoner who’s coerced into informant work for Gabe." read the complete article
Hungary
Viktor Orban's Rise and the Powerof Nationalist Politics
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has created a repressive and increasingly authoritarian state, operating under a pretense of democracy. Orbán had earlier served as prime minister from 1998 to 2002, steering the country toward membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union, but then moving far to the right after his defeat at the polls. Although Orbán asserted that he was building a new model of governance, which he dubbed "illiberal democracy," In reality, the mixture of voting and authoritarianism was an Orwellian hypocrisy in which the winner of an election, like Orbán, could claim a mandate to undermine democratic institutions. After his 2010 election, Orbán set out to centralize power. He took over the media through a combination of political and financial pressure, regulation, censorship, and disinformation, weakened the rule of law and accused organizations that receive funding from abroad of "serving foreign interests". read the complete article
China
'If you enter a camp, you never come out': inside China's war on Islam
Researchers and residents say southern Xinjiang, where the Luopu County No 1 Vocational Skills Training Centre is located, has borne the brunt of the government’s crackdown on Muslims because of its density of Uighurs and distance from major cities. “We have a saying in Hotan: If you go into a concentration camp in Luopu, you never come out,” said Adil Awut*, from Hotan City, who is now living overseas. Local authorities are expanding detention camps, increasing surveillance and policing, and co-opting residents through intimidation, forceand financial incentives. In the past year, at least 10 buildings have been added to the No 1 Vocational Skills Training Centre, according to satellite imagery. Construction work on the camp, identified through company records found by the University of British Columbia student Shawn Zhang, was still being carried out when the Guardian visited in mid-December. read the complete article
Opinion | The War on Terror’s Reeducation Camps | Recommended Read
Maryam Jamshidi connects the dots between China's detention of Uighur Muslims, CVE, and the U.S war on terror. The detention centers are driven, at their heart, by the political needs of the China’s ruling class. But they are framed within a set of counter-terrorism policies, known as Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), liberal Western governments and intergovernmental institutions have advocated since 9/11. Though its precise contours vary by country and organization, CVE aims to prevent individuals from engaging in “terrorist” violence by addressing its purported ideological drivers. Like China’s detention centers, CVE is based on the notion that “extreme” beliefs, specifically Islamically inspired ones, are likely to lead to violence and threaten national security. Its goal is to counteract and ultimately eradicate those belief systems. CVE is, in essence, reeducation without the camps. read the complete article