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SearchToday in Islamophobia: Thailand’s PM urges police monitoring of Muslim students, as a Leeds man with past history of making anti-Muslim comments is caught possessing terror manuals. A new CAIR report records more than 10,000 anti-Muslim bias incidents in the U.S since 2014. Our recommended read of the day is by Darren Byler on technology, and how it proved to be a double edged sword for Uighurs. This, and more, below:
China
How technology opened new opportunities for Uighurs – then became a trap | Recommended Read
The Uighurs, a Muslim minority ethnic group of around 12 million in northwest China, are required by the police to carry their smartphones and IDs listing their ethnicity. As they pass through one of the thousands of newly built digital media and face surveillance checkpoints located at jurisdictional boundaries, entrances to religious spaces and transportation hubs, the image on their ID is matched to their face. If they try to pass without these items, a digital device scanner alerts the police. But even complying with the rules won’t necessarily keep them out of trouble. During random spot-checks the police at times demand that an individual hands over their unlocked phone which the police then examine manually or plug into a scanner. read the complete article
5 rights groups urge UN chief to condemn China over Muslims
Five human rights organizations are urging Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to condemn the Chinese government’s detention of more than a million Muslims in the Xinjiang region and call for the immediate closure of government detention camps. In a letter to the U.N. chief released Tuesday, the organizations said these actions would be an important contribution to addressing “one of the most pressing human rights issues of our time.” It was signed by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists, the International Federation for Human Rights and the World Uyghur Conference. read the complete article
United States
CAIR records more than 10,000 anti-Muslim bias incidents in US since 2014
The Council on American Islamic Relations reported more than 10,000 incidences of anti-Muslim bias had taken place between 2014 and June 2019, or 2,000 a year on average. Incidents ranged from violent crimes, to employment discrimination and profiling by federal agencies. The figure includes 1,164 anti-Muslim hate crimes, which included physical assaults, as well as property damage. During the period covered, 506 incidents at mosques, of which 148 included damage or destruction of mosques through vandalism. This included the recent arson at a Diyanet mosque in Connecticut, which authorities concluded had been deliberately targeted. read the complete article
CU alumna Isra Chaker urges support for immigrants, refugees during campus talk
The event, titled “Facts, Not Fears: Dismantling the Misconceptions of Refugees,” was held in the UMC’s Glen Miller Ballroom on the CU Boulder campus. It was put on by CU’s Cultural Events Board. Born and raised a Syrian-American Muslim in Boulder, Chaker had her first shot at change when she ran for student government at CU. While campaigning she remembers receiving xenophobic backlash for being a Muslim woman running on a platform of inclusivity and diversity. Receiving a feeling of “otherness” amongst her peers, Chaker changed her academic focus from becoming a building architect to a social architect for the rights of immigrants and minorities, turning towards national politics and moving to Washington D.C. Chaker has been critical of U.S. President Donald Trump, specifically referencing his administration’s 2017 ban on Muslims entering the United States from seven foreign countries, which prevented extended family members in Syria from visiting Chakra. read the complete article
Trump retweets lie that Ilhan Omar “partied” on 9/11 anniversary
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump amplified a lie intended to make it seem like Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) “partied” on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, when in fact she did no such thing. Here’s the backstory: On September 13, progressive activist Adam Green posted video of Omar dancing to a Lizzo track during a Congressional Black Caucus event that had taken place earlier that day. Nearly a week later, the president of the United States, with an assist from one of his favorite conspiracy theorists, twisted that video into a grotesque smear against one of America’s first Muslim congresswomen. read the complete article
Muslim Brooklyn Inmate Denied Ramadan Meals Files $10M Lawsuit
Andre Diggs, who was held at the jail waiting for his trial, filed a $10 million lawsuit on Tuesday against two correction officers who he says took him off a list of prisoners meant to get pre-dawn meals during Ramadan, a holy month where Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. The officers, Diggs said, didn't give him his pre-dawn meal three days in a row in May, forcing him to either not eat for three days or stop practicing the religious holiday. "(This is) cruel and unusual punishment because I am fasting and without this meal I was left to starve," Driggs wrote. "Either I starve or I can't practice my religion and fast for the holy month of Ramadan, which is depriving me of my First Amendment right to properly practice my religious freedom." read the complete article
Deputy mayor describes Islam as ‘a cancer,’ then apologizes for Facebook post
A New Jersey deputy mayor has apologized for a post he shared on his Facebook page that called Islam a cancer that “must be treated with radiation.” “I sincerely regret my Facebook post yesterday (Tuesday) using a poor choice of words, seemingly calling the entire Islamic faith violent," Raritan Township Deputy Mayor Louis Reiner said in a statement provided to NJ Advance Media on Wednesday. "My intentions were to highlight the radical fringe jihadists who have highjacked their faith. read the complete article
India
Interfaith group urges congressman to skip Texas rally for India’s prime minister
Organizers of the Sunday (Sept. 22) rally, dubbed “Howdy, Modi!,” said the gathering will “emphasize the shared values and aspirations” of the United States and India. On Monday, the group, Texas India Forum, announced that President Donald Trump would be in attendance, along with 50,000 attendees, at NRG Stadium in Houston. But after U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, a Democrat from Sherman Oaks, California, sent a letter on Thursday to other members of Congress asking them to attend the event, as first reported by The Daily Beast, a group of Sikh, Muslim and Jewish organizations addressed a letter to Sherman urging him to not attend the rally and to discourage other Congress members from going. The rally comes against a background of reports of rising violence and intimidation by Indian soldiers in Kashmir villages and harassment of locals by Muslim militants. On Aug. 5, Modi’s Hindu nationalist government stripped the Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir of most of its semiautonomous status. A curfew was imposed and internet access was cut off. read the complete article