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SearchToday in Islamophobia: Chinese government white papers claim Uighurs were forcibly converted to Islam. In the U.K, separation centers within jails attempt to limit the spread of extremism by disproportionately isolating Muslims. Our recommended read of the day is by Shamil Shams on a German ambassador’s recent visit to a Nazi inspired Hindu-right group in India. This, and more, below:
India
Germany's India envoy visits 'Nazi-inspired' Hindu group | Recommended Read
Little did Lindner know that his visit to one of India's most controversial Hindu extremist groups would trigger a huge backlash on social media, with liberal analysts, journalists and political commentators slamming his RSS outreach. "The RSS has never made any secret of its love for Adolf Hitler. Both its first Sarsanghchalak [head], MS Golwalkar, and one of the organization's heroes, VD Savarkar, were admirers of Hitler, mainly for his 'cultural nationalism' and his persecution of the Jews," said Sidharth Bhatia, the Mumbai-based founding editor of The Wire news portal. read the complete article
In India's Assam State, Residents Of River Islands Face Uncertainty Over Citizenship
Many of those living on the chars of lower Assam are Muslims of Bengali origin. Their lives keep shifting like the islands they live on. Assam borders Bangladesh and has long been home to migrants from there. For decades, the Indian government has been conducting a special census in Assam, called the National Register of Citizens, to try to figure out who is a valid Indian citizen — and who might be an undocumented migrant. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Specialist jails to prevent extremism are 'undersubscribed'
Jails-within-jails designed to prevent extremists from radicalising vulnerable prisoners are undersubscribed, staff at the specialist units have told officials. The separation centres were launched in 2017 to keep the most influential extremist prisoners from radicalising the broader prison population but critics have accused them of making ideologies more entrenched and discriminating against Muslims. read the complete article
China
Xinjiang's Uyghurs were enslaved and forced to convert to Islam, Chinese white paper claims
A white paper released on Sunday by China's State Council Information Office — the Government's propaganda arm — presents the ruling Communist Party's interpretation of history, claiming "Islam is neither an indigenous nor the sole belief system of the Uyghur people". The report also said that Islam spread into Xinjiang by "the Arab Empire" and that the Turkic Uyghur people "endured slavery" at the hands of "the Turks". read the complete article
United States
Op-ed | For American Muslims, Hamza Yusuf's endorsement of Trump is one step too far
Whether declaring, "Islam hates us" or "Go back to your country," Trump has never yielded from the position that Islam and America are inimical, and his views that Muslim citizens are not "really American" is unequivocal. Tump's line dividing America and Islam is explicit and profound, and deepening with every day he remains in the White House. Last week, prominent Muslim American scholar Sheikh Hamza Yusuf decided to cross that line. Yusuf accepted a position with the Department of State's Commission on Unalienable Human Rights, a 10-person board headed by Secretary Mike Pompeo. read the complete article
Myanmar
Op-ed | ASEAN can no longer turn a blind-eye to Myanmar's atrocities
Systematic state discrimination against the Rohingya, making them stateless and without rights, and recurring state-sanctioned violence spurred various influxes of refugees into Bangladesh in the 1970s and 1990s. Together with more than 300,000 Rohingya who had already taken shelter during these previous waves of violence, Bangladesh now hosts over one million Rohingya refugees - most of whom residing in Cox's Bazar, now the world's largest refugee camp. read the complete article
International
Muslim Causes Versus National Interest: Muslim Nations Make Risky Bets
The deportations together with Saudi endorsement of the clampdown in Xinjiang that has put an estimated one million Uyghurs in re-education camps, where they are indoctrinated to prioritize communist party ideology and President Xi Jinping thought above their Islamic faith, suggests that the kingdom is not willing to compromise its economic interests even if they call into question its moral claim to leadership of the Islamic world. read the complete article