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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the United States, a Jewish man in Brooklyn has been charged with 40 counts including attempted murder and hate crimes after harassing and intimidating his Muslim neighbor and most recently violently attacking him with a hammer, meanwhile in the United Kingdom, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has said language used by politicians in Britain has fuelled the recent far-right violence that has plagued the country, and in India, PM Narendra Modi is pushing for a national common civil code of law, a proposal bitterly opposed by Muslim activists as an attack on their faith. Our recommended read of the day is by Sebastian Shehadi for The New Arab on how disinformation on social media and the political scapegoating of Muslims and immigrants of color led to the far-right anti-Muslim riots in the UK. This and more below:
United Kingdom
The UK's far-right riots: How anti-Muslim hate became normalised | Recommended Read
Everyone has seen the footage. Attacks on mosques. The burning of asylum seeker hotels. Gangs of men throwing rocks at homes in Muslim communities. Thugs in Middlesbrough checkpointing to see if drivers are white (or not). A child in Belfast singing racial slurs as she walked down the street holding her mother’s hand. While there is overwhelming evidence that the rioters targeted a specific type of British citizen and immigrant - Muslims and people of colour – the UK media and political class have been unable to condemn the violence for what it is: Islamophobia and racism. One can safely say that, had the rioters focused their violence on other religious groups (Christian, Jewish or Hindu), the establishment would have immediately (and correctly) decried the violence as anti-Christian, anti-Semitic and anti-Hindu, respectively. There would have been an outpouring of condemnation from across the UK political spectrum, as well as from international leaders. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would have rushed to the scene to stand with the victims. Muslims, on the other hand, are not afforded such dignity and support. Starmer was not moved to visit the Southport mosque that was attacked by the far-right (triggered by false and racist misinformation that the Southport stabbings were undertaken by a Muslim asylum seeker). It took the PM over a week to meet with Muslim community leaders, while pleas from the Muslim Council of Britain were ignored. Meanwhile, on national TV, Starmer publicly denounced the riots as “far-right thuggery” but was unable to levy the words “Islamophobia” and “racism”, so part of daily life have they become. In short, it has never been clearer just how normalised anti-Muslim sentiment and hate speech have become across the UK. read the complete article
Politicians' divisive rhetoric fuels anti-Muslim violence in UK: Mayor Khan
The language used by politicians in Britain has fuelled the recent far-right violence that has plagued the country, according to London Mayor Sadiq Khan. "I'm afraid when mainstream politicians use words like, in inverted commas, 'invasion' when it comes to migrants, use words like 'this is an Islamist country', or words like 'London is run by Islamists', which is something said by a senior conservative politician," he said. "That leads to a dehumanisation of Muslims, a dehumanisation of asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants. They don't think we're human, they think we're subhuman," said Khan, who was born to a British Pakistani family. "That's why I think politicians have a responsibility to use language carefully because the consequences are Muslims are being scared." read the complete article
Mayor funds training to keep London's mosques safe
The Mayor of London has announced funding for mosques across the capital to receive security training sessions. Sadiq Khan said the city was “united against all forms of hate”, as he pledged £10,000 to help protect Muslims against Islamophobic attacks. The extra support comes as people shared their safety fears following the recent racist riots and disorder across the country. City Hall said the mayoral funding will be used to provide the sessions on protective security, safety processes and online safety. read the complete article
Anjem Choudary’s Sentencing During Riots is a Timely Reminder of the Media’s Role in Promoting Hatred
As Britain burned and Muslims and mosques were attacked by far-right rioters fuelled by disinformation, Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiments, Britain’s most infamous extremist’s reign came to a quiet end at Woolwich Crown Court. On July 30, as the riots ignited in Southport before spreading across the country in a wave of mayhem that all but monopolised the media, Anjem Choudary was jailed for life for directing the banned terror organisation, Al-Muhajiroun. For well over a decade, the 58-year-old dubbed a “hate cleric” by the press, was a bogeyman whose notoriety and influence the media helped manufacture. The media’s penance for controversy, soundbites and entertainment arguably comes at the safety of British Muslims. Mobashra Tazamal, the Associate Director of The Bridge Initiative, a research project on Islamophobia at Georgetown University, told Bylines Times: “Extreme and hostile voices are often granted wide exposure on media networks (as they garner more views). The media’s platforming of extreme voices has played a role in amplifying Islamophobia.” Tazamal references Choudary saying, “mainstream media presented him as a representative of British Muslims, despite the very clear fact that the vast majority didn’t agree with his views. “In opposition to Choudhary, media networks then spotlighted anti-Muslim voices thereby setting it up as a back-and-forth between two hostile entities, creating a dangerous spectacle that sought to inflame tensions. While Choudary was not representative of British Muslims, the anti-Muslim voices found support amongst the mainstream.” read the complete article
Dad chanted Islamophobic slurs and punched man at protest
A dad who punched an Asian man and chanted Islamophobic slurs during a protest in Nottingham has been jailed. Paul Dixon, 35, had been drinking with friends on 3 August, when thousands gathered in the city centre for a pre-planned protest, a court heard. The railway safety supervisor, of Broadwood Road in Bestwood, Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty at Nottingham Magistrates' Court to the charge of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour. read the complete article
Jailed Leeds yob who mimicked Muslims at protest said it was 'three seconds of madness'
James Gettings was jailed at Leeds Crown Court this morning for eight months after admitting religiously-aggravated harassment, alarm or distress through words or behaviour. He was involved in the protest on The Headrow on the afternoon of August 3 as far-right and anti-fascist groups clashed. Barriers were installed near to Leeds Art Gallery to keep them apart but insults were traded. It was heard that 35-year-old Gettings, of Landseer Walk, Bramley, pretended to pray like a Muslim. He was later identified and arrested but claimed he was praying to the English flag, which was dismissed by the judge. He did later confess that his behaviour was “despicable” and that he was “disgusted with himself”. He said that “three seconds of madness had ruined his life”, prosecutor Carmel Pearson told the court. He also said that family members had disowned him as a result. He has 25 previous convictions for 35 offences, including burglary, assaults, and GBH. read the complete article
After UK riots against Muslims and refugees, British Jews grapple with extremism that targeted them, too
As riots against Muslims and asylum seekers convulsed Britain over the last two weeks, some instigators also urged attacks on Jews and circulated antisemitic conspiracies online. A range of far-right factions, neo-Nazi activists and influencers spurred days of violent protests in more than 20 towns across the United Kingdom. Rioters stormed mosques and hotels used to house asylum seekers, attacked non-white people, set cars on fire, looted businesses and injured dozens of police officers. Some of the online spaces that stoked violence against Muslims also encouraged targeting Jews, according to the Community Security Trust, a group that monitors antisemitism in Britain. A Telegram group called “Southport Wake Up,” which amassed 14,000 members before it was shut down, included calls to tolerate “neither brown nor Jew” — although the online rhetoric has not manifested in any physical attacks on the Jewish community. “In that group, there were lots of people encouraging people to go on the protests, and there were lots of other people very openly saying that as well as targeting mosques, they should target synagogues — ‘It’s not just the Muslims, it’s the Jews,’” CST’s policy director Dave Rich told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Within the online far-right ecosystem, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant campaigners often interact with neo-Nazis who call for attacks on Jews, said Rich. The internet and social media have turbocharged global networks of white supremacists who take inspiration from each other’s attacks on Muslims, Jews and other minorities. read the complete article
United States
Jewish man in New York accused of harassing Muslim neighbor for months and trying to kill him
A Jewish man is charged with attempted murder and hate crimes in connection with a monthslong harassment and violence campaign against a neighbor who is Muslim, authorities said. Izak Kadosh, of Brooklyn, is charged with more than 40 counts, including second-degree attempted murder, second-degree attempted murder as a hate crime, first-degree assault as a hate crime, second-degree burglary and second-degree burglary as a hate crime, according to a criminal complaint from the Brooklyn district attorney’s office. The motivation behind Kadosh’s attacks is his religious and ethnic differences with his neighbor, according to the complaint. Kadosh told his neighbor that he would break into his apartment and kill him because Kadosh is Jewish and his neighbor is Muslim, the complaint says. Kadosh was arrested Saturday, two days after he was accused of breaking into his neighbor’s apartment, destroying items inside, covering walls with blue paint and oil and smearing a Quran with feces, the complaint said. The same day, Kadosh also struck his neighbor in the head with a mallet, causing him to be hospitalized and to get staples in his head and a chest tube because of internal bleeding, the complaint says. read the complete article
Float Planned for N.Y.C. India Day Parade Is Condemned as Anti-Muslim
A float slated to appear in New York City’s India Day Parade this weekend is causing an uproar, with community groups calling it a symbol of anti-Muslim hate, parade organizers defending its inclusion and elected officials scrambling to respond. The planned float will include a large-scale model of the Ram Temple, which was built on the disputed site of a 16th-century mosque in the Indian city of Ayodhya. The mosque was destroyed in 1992 by Hindu nationalists, which set off widespread violence in the country that killed thousands of people, primarily Muslims. The new temple was dedicated this past January by Narendra Modi, India’s hard-line Hindu nationalist prime minister, at a ceremony that was also followed by widespread anti-Muslim violence. Ankur Vaidya, the chairman of the board of trustees for the group organizing the parade, the Federation of Indian Associations, said on Wednesday that a model of a temple — measuring 8 feet by 8 feet by 16 feet — would be driven down Madison Avenue on the float. On Thursday, the group organizing the float, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, said it celebrated the temple in Ayodhya as “a sacred site that has been central to Hindu faith and spirituality for thousands of years.” read the complete article
US government sued over alleged discrimination against Palestinian Americans
A Muslim advocacy group filed a lawsuit on Monday against the FBI and leaders of other US government agencies over what it called the discriminatory and racist placement of two Palestinian Americans on a watch list. The lawsuit is related to the placement of one Palestinian American - Mustafa Zeidan - on the US government "no-fly list" and the seizure of an electronic device of another Palestinian American - Osama Abu Irshaid - while federal agents interrogated him about his organizing against Israel's war in Gaza, the Council on American-Islamic Relations said. Irshaid, who is the executive director of an organization called American Muslims for Palestine, travelled to Qatar from the US in late May and returned in early June, according to the lawsuit, which alleged that he was forced to undergo extra screening and questioning while having his phone seized. The phone has not been returned, it added. "CAIR is challenging the mistreatment of these Palestinian American activists on constitutional grounds," the group said. read the complete article
India
False Claims About ‘Bangladeshi Infiltrators’ Lead to Attack On Indian Muslims
How much impact can a rumour have? It can cause people to lose their homes. On 9 August, a video showing members of the Hindu Raksha Dal destroying some shanties in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad came to light. In the video, the organisation's president Pinky Chaudhary, along with others, could be seen verbally and physically abusing the residents of these tents, with batons and sticks. The organisation accused the people of being Bangladeshi. However, a police investigation found these statements to be baseless. When The Quint's Team WebQoof reached the spot to find out the truth behind the matter, other people living near the spot told us that the people who were assaulted on suspicion of being Bangladeshis, were actually people who hailed from Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur. The Uttar Pradesh police has arrested Pinky Chaudhary. Despite their clarification, some social media users are still sharing posts, claiming that the residents of the tent were from Bangladesh. YouTuber Ajeet Bharti, who has been caught peddling misinformation in the past, also shared this claim. read the complete article
India's Modi renews push for common civil code on Independence Day
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday he wanted to press ahead with a national common civil code of law, a proposal bitterly opposed by Muslim activists as an attack on their faith. India's 1.4 billion people are subject to a common criminal law but rules vary on personal matters such as marriage, divorce and inheritance. The proposed civil code would standardise laws across all religious communities but has been bitterly opposed by Muslim activists and liberals as an attack on the largest religious minority. However, the Hindu nationalist leader said during an annual Independence Day address that the different laws divided the nation. The BJP's Hindu nationalist rhetoric has left India's Muslim population of more than 220 million increasingly anxious about their future. read the complete article
Australia
Zali Steggall doubles down on calling Peter Dutton’s Palestinian visa ban stance ‘racist’
The Coalition’s suggestion of a blanket ban on visas for Palestinians fleeing the war in Gaza is under intense scrutiny, with independent MP Zali Steggall doubling down on claims it would be racist while advocates describe the move as “disgraceful” and “un-Australian”. Peter Dutton, escalated the opposition’s rhetoric against Palestinians fleeing Gaza on Wednesday in criticising the security checking process for visa applications and urging a temporary blanket pause. The opposition leader claimed no one fleeing Gaza should be allowed to come to Australia “at the moment” due to an unspecified “national security risk”. “This is not against people of a particular political persuasion. This is about keeping our country safe,” Dutton said. “And Anthony Albanese has failed the Australian public and he should stand condemned.” But, during the heated debate, Steggall accused the Coalition of whipping up fear and told Dutton to “stop being racist” in the chamber before withdrawing the comment. read the complete article