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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the UK, the Greater Manchester’s Muslim and South Asian communities have expressed anger and concern after a video surfaced online showing a police officer assaulting two Muslim men at the Manchester Airport, meanwhile in the US, authorities have arrested a 29-year-old man from Somerville, NJ for vandalizing the exterior of the Al Fallah Islamic Center last week with anti-Muslim based graffiti, and in India, despite the BJP’s losses in the recent elections, Indian Muslims continue to face persecution and violence, most notably in BJP-led states according to a University of Delhi professor. Our recommended read of the day is by Toronto Star contributor Muneeza Sheikh on how as a human-rights lawyer and Muslim woman, she is saddened by France’s ban of its own athletes wearing hijabs during the summer games, calling into question the policy and the international legal networks that support it. This and more below:
France
France’s ban on its athletes wearing a hijab exposes hypocrisy of Paris 2024 organizers and the IOC | Recommended Read
Paris is racially and culturally diverse. It is one of the reasons it appeals to my family — we see ourselves in that diverse community. As a human-rights lawyer and Muslim woman, however, I am saddened by the French ban of its own athletes wearing hijabs from the Summer Games. While I do not wear the hijab, I respect and admire what it means to Muslim women who wear it. So yes, this is my issue. France absurdly tags this summer’s Olympics as the first Gender Equal Olympics — while blatantly blocking access to the games for hijab-wearing athletes. Muslim athletes in France have been told to pick either their sport or their faith. This is coerced captivity for all Muslim athletes as the country publicly flouts its discrimination of them on the world stage for everyone to watch. I cannot help but fear what the long-term impact will be for young hijab-wearing Muslims in France. The participation of women in sports has always contained its own roadblocks and now young Muslim women will cower under the weight of France’s bold declaration: your hijab has no space in sports and we do not want you to represent us. Whether or not they are participating in the Olympics, Muslim women athletes looking to reclaim their identity through sport have been socially isolated. read the complete article
'My heart is broken by France's Olympic hijab ban'
In a sweltering Paris, Diaba Konate waves emphatically with a beaming smile as she walks towards our meeting spot near the Louvre. She's wearing a number 23 jersey. Of course she is - basketball is her passion. The 23-year-old point guard has recently returned to her home city after almost six years in the United States, where she enjoyed a successful college career on a full scholarship from Idaho State University, later transferring to UC Irvine and helping them reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1995. Konate came up as a rising star with the French national youth team, winning medals including silver in 3x3 basketball at the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympics - an experience she describes as the "best memory" of her career and something she dreamed of recreating at the Paris Olympic Games. But she has mixed feelings about being back home - because she's banned from competing in France. The reason? She wears a hijab. read the complete article
United Kingdom
'Shocking' police attack in Manchester Airport sparks 'racism, Islamophobia' accusations
Greater Manchester’s Muslim and South Asian community have expressed anger after a video showing a police officer kicking and stamping on the head of man at Manchester Airport surfaced online late on Wednesday. Local residents from the town of Rochdale, 16 kilometres northeast of Manchester where the assaulted man is from, gathered in their hundreds outside the town’s police station to protest the attack. Protesters chanted "shame on you, GMP", in reference to Greater Manchester Police and demanded justice, calling for the the police officers involved in the incident to be sacked. "What is going on, is that the police is institutionally racist. Let’s make that clear, the police is a racist organisation," one protester said outside Rochdale police station. The UK based NGO Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND), told The New Arab that they are urging Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to "give a public speech" and to "highlight that the use of such disproportionate force against an unarmed incapacitated man was unacceptable, regardless of what events may have transpired beforehand". Dal Babu, a former Police Chief with the Met, told BBC Radio 4 Today on Thursday that "racism played a significant part" in the incident. "Here we have a unit of white officers in specialist departments and you have a group of Asian people, and the force used them against has been totally excessive." read the complete article
Opposing Tommy Robinson is a Palestine issue
"There’s a culture war and we need to fight.’ This was Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (Tommy Robinson)’s rallying cry ahead of his march in London on 1 June. An estimated 5-10,000 people joined the march to oppose ‘two-tiered policing’, claiming the police treat Muslims and Palestine protesters better than white British people. This Saturday, 27 July, Robinson and his supporters are set to descend onto the streets of London again. It is crucial that those of us who have been marching to end the genocide in Gaza for the last nine months are on the streets at the counter protest. Tommy Robinson is a fascist. A one-time member of the Nazi British National Party and then founder of the English Defence League, he has been convicted several times for violent offences and sued by a Syrian schoolboy after his libel led to the latter receiving death threats. Apart from fleecing his supporters to fund his lifestyle, Tommy’s shtick is primarily focused on attacking Muslims. Not exclusively of course, as shown by his recent tirades against the Roma community in Harehills and attacks on LGBT people and other minorities. His political life as a figurehead of fascists and the far right has centred around opposing Muslim migration to the UK, so-called Muslim ‘grooming gangs’, Islamism, the ever-present danger of Sharia law and Halal meat etc. His ‘new movement’ is a continuation. The 1 June march was directly mobilised in opposition to the Palestine movement. It was about waving Union Jacks instead of Palestine flags on British streets. It was about opposing Islamists that hate the West. It was about opposing the establishment that is apparently in thrall to some global Muslim conspiracy. read the complete article
India
Why BJP’s election upset failed to halt the persecution of Muslims in India
Muslims continue to be persecuted in India despite the weakening of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the fountainhead of anti-Muslim hate and violence, in the recently held elections. The BJP failed to secure a majority and was only able to form a government with support from a number of regional parties which claim to be secular. It was hoped that having a smaller number of MPs in the Parliament of India would chasten the BJP and its new “secular” allies would act as a brake on the party’s anti-Muslim policies. Just over a month after the formation of the new government, those hopes have already been belied. Authorities in BJP-led states, including the police and civil administration, have started inventing novel methods to harass, humiliate and attack Muslims following the election. Indeed, the BJP’s power and authority is tied to the continued persecution of Muslims. If they cannot kill Muslims in large numbers, they will push them into destitution through attacks on their livelihoods – all to communicate to their Hindu supporters that they are fighting to protect their supremacy in society. read the complete article
United States
N.J. man scrawled anti-Muslim graffiti on mosque property, cops say
A 29-year-old man who police say scrawled anti-Muslim graffiti on the property of a mosque in Bridgewater last week has been arrested, authorities said. Julian A. Dale, of Somerville, was charged with one count of fourth-degree bias intimidation, Bridgwater police said. Dale parked near the Al Fallah Center on Routes 202/206 around 6:30 p.m. Friday, authorities said. An employee noticed the graffiti on a pillar near the entrance a few minutes later, Bridgewater police said. “Al Falah Center was deeply shocked to discover the anti-Muslim graffiti following Friday prayer, a weekly ritual that draws dozens of Muslims in the Bridgewater community,” it said in a statement. “The hateful message should be thoroughly investigated, and justice must be served in accordance with the law. read the complete article
International
Editorial: Heightened anti-Muslim hate in US, globally must be condemned
As of July 10, an estimated 38,000 Palestinians have died and over 2.3 million have been displaced from their homes as a result of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Geopolitical implications notwithstanding, the sheer destruction and loss of life is staggering. As the conflict continues to foster vile displays of hate, Islamophobia persists both in the United States and abroad, despite efforts to reform our biases and shed away our prejudices towards one another. In 2022, the United Nations proclaimed March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia. But this past March 15, independent experts at the UN reported alarming levels of anti-Muslim sentiment on a global scale. The urgent statement was brought forth as experts observed a higher incidence of physical attacks, verbal attacks and death threats motivated by real or perceived affiliations with Islam. Anti-Muslim sentiments have also reached new heights within the United States, where they have long festered. The Council on American-Islamic Relations received more than 8,061 complaints in 2023, the highest it has been in the organization’s 30-year history. Much of CAIR’s 2024 Civil Rights report describes a reality devoid of progress and compassion directed towards Muslim-Americans. It illustrates a reality of discrimination, violence and vitriol. At what point in our nation’s history will we stop hating people solely based on their beliefs and traditions? To be able to identify with a certain religion is a beautiful thing in its own right. read the complete article
Australia
'Not a good look': Islamophobia envoy delay causes angst in Muslim community
The Albanese government's slow progress on appointing an Envoy to Combat Islamophobia is causing frustration in the nation's Muslim community, adding to concerns that the position's creation may be a "reactionary" move to appeared balanced. read the complete article