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SearchToday in Islamophobia: Independent UK tribunal prepares to hear witnesses on China genocide accusations. Parler CEO says he was fired by top Republican donor Rebekah Mercer. Indian Muslim comic, jailed for jokes he never cracked, gets bail. Our recommended read today is on Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor, and her long history of dangerous conspiracy theories and comments. This, and more, below:
United States
Marjorie Taylor Greene's history of dangerous conspiracy theories and comments | Recommended Read
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is facing intense backlash for indicating support for political violence and pushing wild conspiracy theories and extreme anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic comments before she was elected to Congress. The House voted Thursday evening to remove Greene from her committee assignments. On Wednesday, GOP House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and the Republican Conference declined to take action against the freshman Republican for her violent endorsements and incendiary comments. A CNN KFile review of both newly-uncovered and previously reported comments highlight the fringe nature of what Greene shared on and offline. As CNN's KFile previously reported, Greene repeatedly indicated support for executing prominent Democratic politicians -- including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Kerry -- and FBI agents in 2018 and 2019 before being elected to Congress. read the complete article
NBA star Stephen Jackson on converting to Islam: ‘I needed to listen to my heart’
While the NBA has seen its fair share of Muslim superstars — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Hakeem Olajuwon, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, to name a few — Jackson’s conversion is particularly noteworthy as it gives American Muslims another important voice for social change. I asked him a few questions about that faith journey. This interview has been edited. read the complete article
Bipartisan support emerges for domestic-terror bills as experts warn threat may last ‘10 to 20 years’
An apparent bipartisan majority of the House Homeland Security Committee on Thursday endorsed the idea of new laws to address domestic terrorism in the wake of last month’s riot at the U.S. Capitol, as experts warned such internal threats would plague the country for decades to come. Elizabeth Neumann, a former assistant secretary of homeland security for counterterrorism during the Trump administration, warned lawmakers that there is a “high likelihood” that another domestic terrorist attack would occur in the coming months and that the problem would persist “for the next 10 to 20 years.” read the complete article
Biden set to accept more refugees after years of Trump restrictions
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday he plans to raise annual refugee admissions to 125,000 in the coming fiscal year, a more than eight-fold increase after former President Donald Trump slashed levels to historic lows. Biden also called for dozens of changes to U.S. refugee processing and vetting in a detailed executive order that advocates lauded on Thursday. During a speech at the U.S. State Department, the Democratic president said the order would build up the country’s capacity to accept refugees in the face of “unprecedented global need.” Biden has pledged to restore the United States’ historic role as a country that welcomes refugees from around the world after four years of cuts to admissions under Trump. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates there are 1.4 million refugees worldwide in urgent need of resettlement. read the complete article
Parler CEO says he was fired by top Republican donor Rebekah Mercer
John Matze told his employees in a memo that he had been removed by the company’s board of directors and insisted that he “did not participate in this decision", reports Fox News. He said the board was currently controlled by Ms Mercer, the 47-year-old daughter of hedge fund manager Robert Mercer and a prolific donor to the GOP. “Over the past few months, I’ve met constant resistance to my product vision, my strong belief in free speech and my view of how the Parler site should be managed,” Mr Matze said. “For example, I advocated for more product stability and what I believe is a more effective approach to content moderation.” read the complete article
India
Indian Muslim comic, jailed for jokes he never cracked, gets bail
The complainant alleged Faruqui had made objectionable remarks about Hindu deities and the powerful home minister, Amit Shah, during a show at a cafe in Indore, a city in Madhya Pradesh state governed by Modi’s party. Stand-up comedy has become hugely popular in recent years in India, where intentionally hurting religious sentiments is a criminal offence. But Faruqui was arrested preemptively before his performance even began. “Before he could even make the joke, before he could even really start the show, police came and dragged him away,” said Anshuman Shrivastava, Faruqui’s lawyer. read the complete article
Myanmar
Myanmar coup: How Facebook became the 'digital tea shop'
It is widely said that, in Myanmar, Facebook is the internet, so when the military asked for it to be blocked for the sake of "stability" it sent a shockwave through the country. The country started to liberalise in 2011 and by 2014 two telecommunications companies had been given permission to enter the country, Norway's Telenor and Qatar's Oredoo. It was the first time many Burmese had access to any kind of telecommunications and led to a rapid adoption of mobile phones as prices plummeted. "Myanmar came online more or less overnight and almost all at once," says Richard Horsey, an independent political analyst based in the biggest city Yangon. read the complete article
International
UK tribunal to hear witnesses on China genocide accusations
Organizer Nick Vetch said Thursday a eight-member panel that will act as a jury has been finalized, and that researchers for the tribunal were sifting through about 1,500 documents and pieces of evidence submitted from different countries. The tribunal, which doesn’t have government backing, will be chaired by prominent barrister Geoffrey Nice, who previously led the prosecution of ex-Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and worked with the International Criminal Court. read the complete article
Pope, Muslim leader celebrate fraternity anniversary
Thursday marked the first-ever International Day of Human Fraternity, a U.N.-designated celebration of interfaith and multicultural understanding inspired by a landmark document signed on Feb. 4, 2019 in Abu Dhabi by Francis and Sheikh Ahmad al-Tayyeb, the imam of the Al-Azhar center for Sunni learning in Cairo. The document called for greater mutual understanding and solidarity to confront the problems facing the world. With the backing of the United Arab Emirates, the initiative has gone on to create a high-level commission to spread the message and plans are under way to build in Abu Dhabi a center with a synagogue, mosque and church in a tangible display of interfaith coexistence and sharing. read the complete article