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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In India, Hindutva supporter and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Raja Singh “has again harped on his infamous anti-Muslim tirade by accusing Muslim community members of starting a ‘thook jihad’,” meanwhile in the UK, three pigs heads have been left outside of two Rainham schools and a youth centre along with red Islamophobic graffiti, and in France, Australian boxer Tina Rahimi has publicly hit out at France’s hijab ban, which prevents French athletes participating in certain sports at the Olympics from wearing religious headscarves. Our recommended read of the day is by Yasmeen Serhan for TIME on whether Vice President Kamala Harris could “win back” the support of Arab Americans disaffected by President Biden’s handling of Israel’s war in Gaza as it relates to the upcoming Presidential Election in November. This and more below:
United States
Biden Lost Arab American Voters. Can Kamala Harris Win Them Back? | Recommended Read
Arab Americans, many (though not all) of whom have historically aligned themselves with the Democratic Party, were relieved for another reason. To them, Biden has been the single-biggest cheerleader of Israel’s punishing and relentless assault on Gaza, which has over nearly 10 months claimed the lives of at least 39,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-led Gaza Health Ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the U.S. and the U.N. While many Arab Americans might have anticipated this from Trump, who’s made no secret of his disdain for Palestinians (he notably used their identity as a slur against Biden during their debate last month), El-Gamal says they expected more from the purported “empath-in-chief.” Biden’s failure to treat rising anti-Semitism and rising anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia with an equal sense of urgency left many feeling particularly deflated. “They’re similar threats, and they should be addressed with similar urgency, and I don’t think that was the impression that was coming out of the Biden administration,” El-Gamal says, noting that it made her and others feel “deprioritized as a human being because of your identity.” With Biden out of the race, the prevailing question now is: Can Harris win them back? So far, there seems to be a guarded optimism. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Ikrah Hussain: the 13-year-old Muslim Taekwondo champion fighting stereotypes
Ikrah Hussain is a two-time British national champion in Taekwondo, a martial art she took up aged seven after being bullied at school. Having made her international debut competing for Britain in March, the teenager has her sights set on an Olympic medal at a future Games – and on breaking down stereotypes about Muslim girls in sports. “There are lots of stereotypes about Muslim females in sport, but I would say I am a great role model,” she said, on a rare break from training. “I want to go against these stereotypes as I am one of few Muslim sports role models from Oldham.” Hussain’s mother, Naseem Ashraf, a former professional footballer and PE teacher, sent her daughter to Taekwondo lessons six years ago to learn self-defence as she was being picked on by a group of girls. read the complete article
Nine arrests at Tommy Robinson demonstration after thousands march in London
At least nine people have been arrested following a Tommy Robinson march which saw clashes between demonstrators, counter-protesters and emergency workers in London. Around 1,000 police officers were mobilised to “keep the peace” in the capital on Saturday as three marches made up of thousands of people took place simultaneously. The events included a Stand Up To Racism march, a “Uniting The Kingdom” demonstration organised by far-right activist and English Defence League founder Mr Robinson, and a Trans Pride protest. In an updated report late on Saturday, the Metropolitan Police said two men had been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm (GBH) after a participant of the Stand Up To Racism protest was assaulted by two suspects and suffered a head injury. Another was “arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and a racially aggravated public order offence after he allegedly snapped a Palestinian flag and made a racially abusive remark”. A fifth was “arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker and a racially aggravated public order offence after a police officer was kicked”. It also said a number of videos depicting racist and anti-Muslim chants were being investigated. read the complete article
Three pigs heads left outside Rainham schools and youth centre with Islamophobic graffiti.
Three pigs heads have been left outside of two Rainham schools and a youth centre with red Islamophobic graffiti. The heads were found outside of Harris Academy, Rainham Village School and The Royals. It is believed they were left just after midnight with writing stating ‘no mosques’ were welcome in the area. read the complete article
India
India’s Dalits and Muslims Can Work Together Against Modi
These elections have shown the extent of popular disaffection with the BJP. On the one hand, discontent is focused on socioeconomic issues. Youth unemployment is at an all-time high, as is inequality, now considered to be worse than in colonial times. Secondly, there are concerns about the future of secularism and the constitution. During Modi’s last term in office, this opposition was already massively expressed on the streets in the mobilizations against the agricultural reforms, preceded by other major demonstrations against the introduction of an anti-Muslim bias in access to citizenship through the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The neoliberal economic model promoted under Modi also gives rise to a persistent level of poverty and increases the precarity of life for the most vulnerable social groups. This is particularly true of the Dalits, who comprise one-sixth of India’s population. Their opportunities for social mobility thanks to quotas have been negatively impacted by the decline in accessible forms of public employment. The point also holds for Muslim craftsmen, shopkeepers, and small entrepreneurs, who suffer increased insecurity and ghettoization. read the complete article
Indian peace activist: 'Anti-Muslim violence in India is central to BJP's ideological core'
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost its majority in recent national elections. Yet its Hindu nationalist agenda continues to result in religious extremism and targeting of minorities. According to the Indian Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), there’s been a surge in religious violence since the start of Modi’s new term. The non-governmental organization has recorded eight lynchings in June alone. By comparison, there were 21 lynchings in the whole of 2023. The fresh spate of attacks have especially put Indian Muslims on edge in states like Uttar Pradesh. read the complete article
Hindutva Leader Raja Singh Now Talks of ‘Thook Jihad’
Staunch Hindutva supporter and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Goshamahal constituency in Hyderabad has again harped on his infamous anti-Muslim tirade by accusing the community members this time of starting a ‘thook jihad.’ ‘Thook jihad’ is a conspiracy theory developed by the Hindu right-wing against Muslims as it accuses Muslims of selling their edible merchandise after spitting on them. By his diatribe, the BJP leader has yet again fuelled sentiments against Muslims. “In Uttar Pradesh, Kanwar Yatra is carried out with pomp. So Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, mandated all shops to carry the name of their owners as these people spit on water, food, all other items and carry out ‘thook jihad’,” alleged Raja Singh. He further accused Muslims of running their shops under Hindu names to deceive people. “But now they have to clearly state who their owners are so that our Hindu brothers are aware of their machinations,” said Raja Singh. The order Raja Singh referred to however has been put on hold by the Supreme Court. read the complete article
The Indian Prime Minister Who Mainstreamed the Hindu Right
Before Narendra Modi, there was Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Indian prime minister who spent his formative years promoting anti-Muslim hysteria. A new biography explains how Vajpayee smuggled far-right Hinduism into the political mainstream. How did it come to be that one of India’s leading statesmen is remembered as a political moderate and gifted poet, glossing over the fact he was a soldier for the Hindu right? Abhishek Choudhary provides some clues in Vajpayee: The Ascent of the Hindu Right 1924–1977. The first of a two-volume biography, Vajpayee is an ambitious attempt to show how the history of independent India, lauded as the world’s largest democracy, is intimately connected with the ascent of the Hindu right. And Vajpayee himself, in Choudhary’s account, was a crucial agent promoting the growth of Hindu supremacism and “Hinduizing India.” read the complete article
International
Engagement between Muslims, others vital to avoid Islamophobia, says Anwar
It is important for Muslims to discuss other religions, cultures, and civilisations to live and survive in a multiracial country like Malaysia, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. The Prime Minister said the lack of engagement on such discussions is also a reason for the spread of Islamophobia. “The West, after the post colonial period, still retains the old precepts of the others. “Therefore their misunderstanding, misinformation and rejection of others is now termed as Islamophobia," he said in his speech at the 7th World Conference On Islamic Thought and Civilisation (WCIT) at Casuarina Hotel here Monday (July 29). read the complete article
‘No one should be excluded’: Australia’s Tina Rahimi hits out at Olympic hijab ban
Australian boxer Tina Rahimi has hit out at France’s hijab ban, which prevents French athletes participating in certain sports at the Olympics from wearing religious head scarfs. “Women have the right to choose how they want to dress,” Rahimi, who took part in the Paris 2024 opening ceremony on Friday, wrote in a post on Instagram. “With or without hijab. I choose to wear the hijab as a part of my religion and I am proud to do so.” Rahimi is the first female Muslim boxer to represent Australia at the Olympics. The 28-year-old, from Bankstown in south-west Sydney, wears long sleeves and a hijab under a protective headgear in competition. “You shouldn’t have to choose between your beliefs/religion or your sport,” added Rahimi. “This is what the French athletes are forced to do.” France’s hijab ban only applies to French athletes competing at the Games – it does not apply to visiting competitors. The ban applies to sports including football, basketball, volleyball and boxing, and covers all levels of competition, including amateur events. read the complete article
France
Paris Olympics 2024 controversy puts focus on ‘sexist’ women’s sports kits
The official Nike kits for American women competing in the Paris 2024 Olympics have been slammed as “a costume born of patriarchal forces” by one track athlete and “treating women as second-class citizens” by a commentator on Nike’s Instagram page because of the skimpy nature of the swimming costumes and leotards. Meanwhile, France has been criticised for its decision to bar its sportswomen from wearing the hijab. Although the International Olympics Committee (IOC) has allowed international athletes to wear the hijab, French sportswomen will still be barred from exercising the right to wear the outfits of their choice during the Summer Olympics, which started on Friday and continue until August 11. Whether it’s a question of sexist outfits or a ban on the headscarf worn by some Muslim women, directives can impinge on women’s freedoms and needs, activists say. Women should be allowed to wear outfits they feel comfortable in, they say. read the complete article
Israel
Palestinians recount deadly abuse in Israeli prisons: ‘It is Guantánamo’
One Palestinian inmate died with a ruptured spleen and broken ribs after being beaten by Israeli prison guards. Another met an excruciating end because a chronic condition went untreated. A third screamed for help for hours before dying. The details of the prisoners’ deaths were recounted by eyewitnesses and corroborated by doctors from Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI), who sat in on autopsies, the findings of which were shared with families and obtained by The Washington Post. The three men are among at least 13 Palestinians from the West Bank and Israel to die in Israeli jails since Oct. 7, according to PHRI. An unknown number of prisoners from the Gaza Strip have also died. Rights groups say conditions in Israel’s jam-packed prisons have deteriorated dangerously since the Hamas attacks on Israel. Former Palestinian prisoners described routine beatings, often carried out on entire cells or sections, usually with batons and sometimes with dogs. They said they were denied sufficient food and medical care and were subjected to psychological as well as physical abuse. While international attention and condemnation has focused on the plight of Gazan detainees — specifically at the notorious Sde Teiman military site — rights advocates say there is a deeper, systemic crisis in Israel’s penal system. “Violence is pervasive,” said Jessica Montell, executive director of the Israeli rights group HaMoked, which has worked for years with Palestinian inmates. “It’s very overcrowded. Every prisoner that we’ve met with has lost 30 pounds.” read the complete article
Canada
This Liberal threatened to take a stand over Gaza. Now she's leading talks on anti-Palestinian racism
Two Liberal MPs are holding a roundtable Friday evening in Toronto about anti-Palestinian racism, to study whether this type of discrimination should be part of the federal government's recently updated anti-racism strategy, CBC News has learned. The move comes after one of those MPs, Scarborough Centre's Salma Zahid, quietly threatened to quit her parliamentary committee duties three weeks ago in protest. A highly publicized resignation could have embarrassed Liberals still reeling from the Toronto-St. Paul's byelection loss. In a draft statement, Zahid's office had prepared to release in July but never did — a copy of which was shared with CBC News — the Toronto-area MP criticized the government for not treating "Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism with the seriousness that it deserves," and not mentioning anti-Palestinian racism in the updated anti-racism strategy. The government's anti-racism strategy said Palestinians are among the "racialized and religious minority communities in Canada" affected by systemic racism and also mentioned how there had been "unprecedented levels of hate towards Jewish, Muslim, Arab and Palestinian communities right here in Canada" since the events of Oct. 7, 2023, that precipitated the latest Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. However, the strategy does not explicitly name anti-Palestinian racism. read the complete article