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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the UK, an estimated 10,000 people gathered in Walthamstow, London on Wednesday night as part of an anti-fascist demonstration, while the leader of the Liberal Democrats Party has said that the UK government must “treat Islamophobia with the urgency it deserves” and begin by adopting a formal working definition of Islamophobia and appointing an independent government adviser on combating Islamophobia in Britain, and in India, articles and videos containing misleading information and fake news warning of “Islamist attacks” on Hindus living in Bangladesh have spiked after the flight of Sheikh Hasina from the country last week. Our recommended read of the day is by Faisal Hanif for Middle East Eye who argues that British media is guilty of peddling Islamophobia, as “conspiracy theories, tropes and racism disguised as commentary or robust interviewing get an easy pass.” This and more below:
United Kingdom
Far-right riots: UK media gives racial hatred the veneer of patriotism | Recommended Read
After the recent far-right riots in Southport, which followed the stabbing of three girls at a dance class, GB News ran a poll asking if the “left elite” was to blame for the public disorder. Excuses for racists come thick and fast. The same chant about Allah - now used by far-right thugs as they burn hotels, loot shops and assault police and non-white people - was defended as "irreverent British humour" on GB News just two months ago. And GB News is not alone in hatemongering. It has a stablemate, Talk TV, has presenters and guests who refuse to believe the evidence before their eyes, continuing to ask: Who is to blame for the riots? Note that this privilege of exploring the larger context behind events is not afforded to minorities. When a Muslim family was rescued by police in Hartlepool as far-right thugs went on a rampage, a former Metropolitan police officer was touring between the two channels, talking about the “Islamification” of Britain. The anger on the streets of Britain can, at times, also be found in the TV studios, where guests are shut down and sometimes physically accosted because they refuse to agree with the presenter’s narrative. This is not journalism as we know it; it is a collection of talking heads who nod along and enthusiastically confirm the views of anyone willing to say Muslims are bad people. Those who disagree with this framing are called an “absolute disgrace”. Furthermore, those who pump out the bile do it not through gritted teeth but with a dose of humour chucked in. Two months ago, the same mosques that are now being attacked across British towns and cities were mocked as having a culture of “sitting on rugs”, with one of the presenters saying that if he went into a mosque in Afghanistan, he would be “beheaded with a sword”. read the complete article
Walthamstow, London: Thousands turn out for anti-racism rally to deter far-right plot
An estimated 10,000 people gathered in the London area of Walthamstow on Wednesday night as anti-fascist, anti-racist demonstrations swept the UK to counter far-right riots and threats. The community response came after a far-right Telegram group with 13,000 members shared a list of 39 immigration-related charities, advice centres, and solicitors as targets for arson attacks on Wednesday night. The “Terrorgram” group, which started after the Southport attack, also included calls to attack ethnic minorities, anti-fascists, and government ministers, including the founding executive of UK charity Hope not Hate Nick Lowles. But anti-migrant riots failed to materialise across the country - with disturbances reported mainly in Aldershot and Brighton - as thousands of counter-protestors gathered to protect their communities across the United Kingdom. In Walthamstow, one in four London locations listed in the group, protestors and protectors alike showed their solidarity in light of the past week's violence incited by far-right agitators. read the complete article
We Can’t Ignore the Racism and Islamophobia Fueling Riots in the UK
The riots are being fueled by racist and Islamophobic misinformation shared online, which should focus policymakers’ minds on how easily social media platforms can be harnessed to promote hate. The misguided and ignorant interventions of X, formerly known as Twitter, owner Elon Musk should also raise serious questions about how these platforms are managed, with parliamentarians suggesting Musk be called in to answer questions. It is understandable many people in the UK are angry and frustrated that their living standards continue to decline and that they feel neglected or forgotten as local facilities close, benefits are cut, and funding to services is slashed. This disillusionment is being exploited by often racist extremists, who pretend there are simple “answers” to complex problems. Migrants, Muslims, and ethnic minorities have become scapegoats for all manner of policy failures, from the decline of the NHS to the availability of housing or jobs. In almost every instance, these claims are demonstrably false. Politicians like Suella Braverman and Nigel Farage, and their dangerous anti-migrant and Islamophobic rhetoric, undoubtedly share some responsibility for laying the groundwork for the violence currently unfolding on Britain’s streets, and indeed Farage is accused of stoking the conspiracy theories that fueled this outbreak of violence. Even in the midst of this situation, Conservative leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick made Islamophobic comments that risk fanning the flames. By adopting the rhetoric of the far right, politicians have sanitized and mainstreamed Islamophobia and xenophobia, emboldening extremists. read the complete article
UK gov’t must adopt formal definition of Islamophobia, leader of Lib Dems says
The UK government must “treat Islamophobia with the urgency it deserves” and start by “adopting a formal working definition of Islamophobia” and appointing “an Independent Government adviser on Islamophobia”, the leader of the Liberal Democrats has said. In an article he penned in the Muslim News, Sir Ed Davey said: “For too long, the previous government failed to treat Islamophobia with the urgency it deserved. Now, the Prime Minister has an opportunity to take the swift, decisive action that the British Muslim community deserves.” He said a first step would be “adopting a formal working definition of Islamophobia” and appointing an Independent Government adviser on Islamophobia, “a post that has been left vacant for two years at the hands of the Conservatives.” The Liberal Democrats, he explained, adopted the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on British Muslim’s definition of Islamophobia in 2019. “We need action on this as a priority, to make clear that Islamophobia will not be tolerated.” read the complete article
'No one deserves this': UK Muslims reel after far-right violence
The northern town of Burnley was engulfed in the riots which began an hour away in Oldham, as the far-right stoked racial tensions and minority communities accused the police of failing to protect them. More than two decades later, Miah recalled that dark period as he tried to calm Muslim youths in Burnley after several Muslim gravestones in the local cemetery were defaced and far-right riots targeted mosques in nearby cities. "2001 was a difficult time for Burnley. We have moved onwards since then, picked ourselves up. The next generation has a lot of hope," Miah, now a secretary for a local mosque, told AFP. On Monday, Miah received a message from a friend who found a family member's grave covered in paint. "When I rushed to the cemetery there were already a couple of families, who were really concerned, really emotional," Miah said, with around seven gravestones vandalised with grey paint. The act is being treated as a hate crime by local police. "Whoever's done this is trying to provoke the Muslim community to get emotionally hyped up and give a reaction. But we have been trying to keep everyone calm," Miah said. "It's a very low thing to do. No one deserves this... things like this shouldn't happen in this day and age." read the complete article
Why is Elon Musk clashing with the UK government over far-right riots?
Elon Musk has clashed with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer on X, accusing the British leader of discriminatory “two-tiered” policing as authorities scramble to clamp down on violent far-right riots against Muslims and immigrants that have rocked the country for a week. The posts came after 10 Downing Street on Monday criticised earlier comments by the billionaire and technology entrepreneur on his X platform, saying that Musk “does not speak for Britain”. Musk, who also owns rocket company SpaceX and electric vehicle maker Tesla, has since doubled down, picking on the prime minister while appearing to voice support for the protesting far-right groups. Hundreds of rioters have been arrested in the wake of violence that first started in the northern English town of Southport and has spread across England and Northern Ireland. Scores of police officers have been wounded in the violence. read the complete article
'We’re in self-imposed lockdown': British Muslims staying indoors amid spike in Islamophobic hate crime
Charities and organisations representing British Muslims have told us that individuals, places of worship and Muslim-owned businesses have been directly targeted since riots broke out across England in the wake of the Southport stabbings. Majid Iqbal, Chief Executive of the Islamophobia Response Unit, a group monitoring anti-Muslim hate, said: "There's a number of people who've confirmed that either they're not going out much or at all, they're not continuing in their daily life as they would do." He also told LBC that “some of the mosques have considered and have cancelled the Friday prayer just for fear of safety”. Mr Iqbal said he’d seen a twenty-fold increase in the number of Islamophobic incidents sent to him via community WhatsApp groups over the past week. read the complete article
A week of riots across the UK filled me with fear, but Wednesday’s show of solidarity has given me hope
Instead, the tragedy was violently hijacked by far-right thugs on the basis of flagrant lies, emerging from a climate of Islamophobia and racist, divisive rhetoric that has always been a threat to us all. Over the past week, my mobile phone has been pinging with messages conveying anxiety and fear from family, friends and colleagues. Clips have been circulating of Muslim businesses torched, ethnic minority members of the public being attacked and chants of “Pakis out” at passersby on the streets. An American Pakistani friend asked whether her family should cancel their flight to London. A friend’s law firm, which represents asylum seekers, was on a list of supposed “targets”. My brother, a GP, decided not to do a home visit in a deprived white area for fear of attack by far-right sympathisers. While others are defiant and refusing disruption to their daily routines, I am bitter and resentful about how many people’s lives now have to be approached with caution, and how safety is now a consideration for everyday, often trivial decisions. All of this because of extremist fearmongering. I have been watching the news incessantly. I can’t switch off because it is all so painfully, exhaustingly personal. The fascists have done one constructive thing: an abundance of goodwill and solidarity has come to the fore as different communities have united to defy their racism and thuggery. read the complete article
International
EX-GUANTÁNAMO DETAINEE FORCIBLY REPATRIATED TO RUSSIA DESPITE FEARS OF TORTURE
RAVIL MINGAZOV’S 22-year ordeal in detention from the U.S. notorious detention facility at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan to the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to solitary confinement in the United Arab Emirates ended this week with his repatriation to Russia, his son, Yusuf, told The Intercept. A gaunt Mingazov was flown directly into Russia on Wednesday morning from the UAE and dropped at his elderly mother’s doorstep, to her shock and disbelief, according to Yusuf. For years, Mingazov’s advocates, including his family, have warned about the potential for further human rights abuses should he be repatriated to Russia, which he fled in 2000 over persecution of his Muslim faith. Now, his lawyer and son are expressing guarded optimism that he is at least out of solitary confinement in the UAE. “I hope that Ravil will now be able to live his life in peace, with time to recover among family and friends,” said Gary Thompson, Mingazov’s lawyer. Yusuf is relieved to be able to speak freely with his father again. “I’m very happy finally that he’s free but at the same time I’m not happy that they’ve done it the way they have,” he told The Intercept. “We still don’t know if he’s safe there or not.” read the complete article
United States
‘We have the right to demand better’: Arab Americans wrestle with the 2024 presidential election
Since the American-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza began, Arab Americans have grown more disillusioned with U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, and the lack of change in policy toward sending more weapons to Israel. Despite Op-Eds and social media buzz about how the new Democratic pick for president Kamala Harris will be different, many Arab Americans have already been disappointed. In a press conference after meeting with accused war criminal Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Harris doubled down on her “unwavering commitment to the existence of the state of Israel” and said she would “always ensure that Israel is able to defend itself.” As for Gaza, she briefly touched on “the death of far too many innocent civilians.” A few weeks before Biden officially dropped out of the race, former president Donald Trump used the Palestinian identity as a slur of sorts. “He’s a very bad Palestinian,” Trump said of Biden, who he accused of not wanting to help Israel “finish the job.” And just last night, when pro-Palestinian protesters attempted to disrupt Harris’ rally in Michigan — the state with the highest Muslim population in the United States — instead of listening to them, or pausing to give them space to air out their grievances, she immediately snapped back, “If you want Donald Trump to win, say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking” with roaring applause from the crowd. This came days after Democrats boasted a supposed “tone shift” that she would have when it comes to Gaza. read the complete article
India
‘Islamophobic, alarmist’: How some India outlets covered Bangladesh crisis
Within hours of Sheikh Hasina’s removal from power after a student-led mass uprising, reports began to appear in some Indian media outlets that members of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh were being targeted by “Islamist forces”. Articles and videos containing misleading content emerged across Indian media and social media platforms. A video on The Times Group-owned Mirror Now’s YouTube channel, titled Attack on Hindus in Bangladesh? Mass Murders, Killings by Mob, shows footage of violence and arson attacks on four houses, two of them have been identified to be owned by Muslims. The title of the video is clearly misleading as there was no mass murders reported in the incident. Local reports say one of the houses belonged to Bangladesh’s freedom icon Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The video also makes unsubstantiated claims, like “24 burnt alive by mob” and “Minorities at the centre of attacks”. Many news reports of attacks on Hindus contain outlandish claims such as “more than one crore [10 million] refugees are likely to enter West Bengal soon”, which was made in a Times of India report that quoted Suvendu Adhikari, a senior leader of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The ANI news agency, seen close to Modi’s government, quoted a student leader in India as saying the mass uprising was “orchestrated by the enemies of Bangladesh”. An even more bizarre Times of India article stated that Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh’s biggest Islamist party, “brought down Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh”. Political analyst Zahed Ur Rahman said Indian media have reported through an “Islamophobic” lens. read the complete article