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SearchToday in Islamophobia: An Indian activist group launches a helpline for hate crimes, while an op-ed alleges that Trump may be retooling racism as a 2020 election strategy. As the Uighur crisis continues, Muslim nations continue to stand by China’s crackdown. Our recommended read of the day is a report by Aysha Khan on the increasing rhetoric denying Muslims religious freedom. This, and more, below:
United States
A Push to Deny Muslims Religious Freedom Gains Steam | Recommended Read
Once a fringe argument restricted to extreme anti-Muslim corners of the internet, the idea that Islam is not actually a religion, and therefore does not qualify for religious liberty protections, has rapidly gained salience in mainstream public discourse in the U.S. among activists, media commentators, and lawmakers alike. read the complete article
'His only tool is racism': why Trump's bigoted tirade could be a vote winner
The US president seems to regard divisive and nativist rhetoric as his best chance of clinging on to the White House next year. And, analysts say, he may be right. John Zogby, an opinion pollster and author, said: “You’d have to conclude anyone who gets to a position of leadership has a level of rationality: Kim Jong-un in North Korea and Saddam Hussein in Iraq knew enough not to start a nuclear war. Trump is a guy obsessed with winning and a guy who has demons. I have to assume there would be some sort of personal restraint if he thought this would harm him.” read the complete article
Trump’s racism cements his party’s place among the West’s far right
The venom behind the tweets was unmistakable: Here was Trump openly questioning four minority women’s place in America. It was in keeping with the president’s lengthy history of white nationalism, from his “birtherist” campaign against America’s first black president, to his slurs at a Mexican American judge, to his preference for migrants from Norway over “shithole countries,” to his blanket attacks on Muslims, to his defense of white supremacist protesters, to his administration’s daily demonization of immigrants and minority communities. read the complete article
Rep. Duncan Hunter Campaign Mailer Called Islamophobic
On the envelope are two Congresswomen, part of the self-proclaimed “squad” under attack by President Trump, and Hunter's democratic opponent Ammar Campa-Najjar. The envelope reads, “These three radical Democrats want you to forget their Anti-Semitism or Terrorist Ties.” read the complete article
Sen. Cory Gardner honors Islamophobe at religious freedom event
Gardner praised former Colorado state Senate President John Andrews (R) for teaching the public about limited government. He said nothing as the honoree launched a full-throated and defamatory attack on Islam and American Muslims. The incident took place at the annual Western Conservative Summit in Denver. Despite its theme, “Defending Religious Freedom and America’s First Amendment,” the group presented a tribute video to Andrews, who now leads a tax-exempt, anti-Muslim organization. read the complete article
Video | Muslim U.S. Marine on ‘go back to where you came from’ rhetoric
President Trump's tweet is receiving condemnation from Democrats and a few Republicans in the days since it was posted – with many taking issue with the president using “go back to where you came from” rhetoric toward women of color in Congress, including Mansoor Shams, a Marine Corps veteran who immigrated from Pakistan at 6 years old. read the complete article
On Prime Day, Muslim workers and activists are organizing against Amazon
Joining employee protests in four countries and other U.S. states, Amazon warehouse workers in Minnesota, working with Muslim and East African worker advocacy groups, have walked out in hopes of gaining improvements in benefits, pay and quality of life while at work, including accommodations for their religious practices. read the complete article
U.S. imposes travel restrictions on Myanmar military leaders over ‘atrocities’
The Trump administration has banned senior military officials in Myanmar from traveling to the United States for what it calls “gross violations of human rights” and “atrocities” against the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority. read the complete article
Why ‘go back’ to your country isn’t a new sentiment in America
Trump’s effort to single out the four freshmen lawmakers based on race is “ugly,” but not without precedent, said Alan Kraut, a professor of history at American University. It is “one of the great paradoxes of American society” that “on the one hand we pride ourselves as being a nation of nations.And we glorify that and celebrate that in a variety of ways,” Kraut said. “And at the same time, this is the society that has passed the Chinese Exclusion law” and other “highly restrictive immigration legislation.” read the complete article
Troubling Islamophobia: Redefining the Conversation on Anti-Muslim Violence Body Politics
In reading the work by Erik Love, Yassir Morsi, and myself, it becomes clear that what we call Islamophobia (a term denoting a fear of a religious community) is more aptly understood as a process of division. Anti-Muslim violence is rooted in a strict partition of global Muslim communities according to the dictates of white supremacy, capital, and empire building. read the complete article
This is what today's America looks like. The squad is us
In a moving press conference in Washington, DC, the four progressive congresswomen now known the world over as “the squad” – Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashid Tlaib – proclaimed their profound support for each other after enduring blatantly racist abuse by Donald Trump. And they did more. They redoubled their commitments to improving the lives of all the people in this country. read the complete article
President Trump accuses Rep. Omar of supporting al-Qaeda
Trump lashed out at the foursome in a Twitter statement Sunday, telling them to “go back” to their countries. Asked about those racist comments the next day, Trump alleged that Omar has voiced support for al-Qaeda. “When I think of al-Qaeda, I can hold my chest out,” Trump quoted Omar as saying. read the complete article
N.J. Rep. Tom Malinowski Discusses His Resolution To Condemn Trump Over Racist Tweets
"When I heard the president's remarks, my first reaction was, I may not share the same politics as some of the congresswomen that he has been attacking, but we are all Americans. And unlike three of them, I was actually born in a foreign country. I was born in Poland. I'm an immigrant. I took the oath to defend and support the Constitution of the United States for the first time when I was 10 years old sworn in to be a citizen of this country." read the complete article
China
Op-Ed | China’s Campaign Against the Uighurs Demands a Response
The evidence is mounting that China is expanding its campaign against the Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking, Muslim minority. Testimonials of survivors describe torture and near-starvation at the province’s so-called “re-education centers.” Investigative reports detail the state’s separation of Uighur children from their families and forced attendance at high-walled kindergartens. Academic research has unearthed state documents showing this campaign is deliberate and escalating. read the complete article
Australia requests Beijing let family of Uyghur man leave China following Four Corners program
Sadam Abudusalamu, a Uyghur Australian man, spoke out against the widespread persecution of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in China's far-western Xinjiang region on the ABC's Four Corners program this week. His wife Nadila Wumaier, who has been prevented from leaving Xinjiang, was detained and questioned by Chinese authorities in the city of Urumqi yesterday about her husband's remarks, but has since been released. read the complete article
India
Indian activists launch helpline for hate crimes victims
United Against Hate (UAH), a group of activists and civil society members from across India, said the initiative was required as India's federal and state governments failed to prevent such incidents. "We are launching a toll-free helpline 1800-3133-60000 in view of rising cases of mob attacks and hate crimes in the country," said activist Nadeem Khan at the event in the capital New Delhi, adding that the helpline would work round the clock. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Western civilisation’s immense debt to Islam
Readers take issue with Boris Johnson’s view that Islam kept the Muslim world centuries behind the west: "Boris Johnson is painfully ignorant of the immense cultural, economic, and scientific contributions of Muslims (Islam kept Muslim world centuries behind the west, Johnson claimed, 16 July). Western civilisation owes an immense debt to Islam, whether in the form of algebra, the saving of ancient Greek heritage or the free-market economics of Ibn Khaldun. read the complete article
Muslim nations are defending China as it cracks down on Muslims, shattering any myths of Islamic solidarity
37 other countries jumped to Beijing's defense, with their own letter praising China's human rights record, and dismissing the reported detention of up to two million Muslims in western China's Xinjiang region. Nearly half of the signatories were Muslim-majority nations, including Pakistan, Qatar, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, according to the Chinese government. read the complete article