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SearchToday in Islamophobia: Hundreds of women in India brave virus threat to protest Citizenship law. In the U.S, Congress addresses the forced labor of Uighurs and other minority groups in China. Our recommended read today is on Senator Sanders, and his controversial endorsement of Junaid Afeef– former head of Illinois state’s Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) program. This, and more, below:
United States
Bernie Sanders endorsed former head of controversial state counterterrorism program | Recommended Read
Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders endorsed Junaid Afeef, a Democratic candidate for Kane County state’s attorney and creator and former head of a Countering Violent Extremism counterterrorism program in Illinois. CVE has raised civil rights concerns globally and is criticized as a ‘softer’ approach to unwarranted surveillance, but has recently gained some popularity as a means to combat domestic terrorism by white supremacists. In Illinois, the program was administered by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority. read the complete article
Opinion | Duncan Hunter is finally off to prison. Good. Now who will take his place?
On Tuesday, a sordid chapter of California political history came to a close, with the sentencing of former U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter to 11 months in federal prison. Hunter, that upstanding pillar of Congress who was reelected in 2018 despite being under indictment for stealing about $250,000 in campaign funds, will report to prison on May 29. Until Hunter’s indictment, his Democratic opponent in 2018, Ammar Campa-Najjar, had been considered a long shot in the conservative district, which includes eastern San Diego County and parts of Riverside County. Suddenly vulnerable, the wounded Hunter waged one of the most disingenuous and disgusting congressional campaigns races of the cycle. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Muslim students less likely to be awarded top class degrees
The research, based on official statistics gathered from more than two million students attending British universities, found that just 65% of students identifying as Muslim gained firsts and upper second class degrees as undergraduates, compared with more than 76% of all other students. read the complete article
Germany
Germany 'must do more' to fight racism: Council of Europe
A European anti-racism commission has detected "high levels of Islamophobia" and said that public discourse in Germany is increasingly xenophobic. "Blatant" racism from certain quarters has impacted mainstream politics. Germany must step up efforts to prevent and counter extremism and neo-Nazism, the Council of Europe's European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) said in a report published on Monday. The report also stated there is strong evidence for extensive racial profiling by German police. read the complete article
India
'My House Was the First to Be Set on Fire': Stories of Suffering From Shiv Vihar
As soon as you enter the Shiv Vihar area of North East Delhi, you get a sense of uneasiness and fear. Shops and schools stand burned and vandalised. The locality is also peppered with few CRPF and police personnel enjoying the last bits of the winter sun. A masjid in the area has been converted to a makeshift camp and people who were earning an honest, modest living until a few weeks ago, stand in queues, trying to make sure their family gets the next meal. Many have lost their life earnings, their belongings, their homes but they still call themselves lucky because they didn’t lose their lives. read the complete article
Hundreds of women in India brave virus threat to protest citizenship law
Hundreds of women took to the streets in the Indian capital New Delhi on Tuesday, in defiance of the government’s orders against mass gatherings, to continue protesting against the new citizenship law. The activists demanded chief ministers from 29 Indian states de-link the census from the National Population Register (NPR) saying: “It would render many woman as stateless, regardless of caste and community, as the majority of them leave their natal homes upon marriage without any documents in tow.” read the complete article
International
Congress Addresses Forced Labor of Uyghurs, Other Groups in China
American companies would be prohibited from importing goods produced in Xinjiang, China, because they likely are made using the forced labor of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and others under a bill introduced last week by several Republican and Democratic members of Congress. The bill, sponsored by Sens. Marco Rubio, (R-Fla.), and Jeff Merkley, (D-Ore.), and Reps. Jim McGovern, (D-Mass.), and Chris Smith, (R-N.J.), and others, does have an exception to the ban on Xinjiang goods. Corporations that want to import such goods can still import them if they provide U.S. Customs and Border Protection with “clear and convincing evidence” that the goods were not produced with forced labor. read the complete article