Search
SearchToday in Islamophobia: In Pakistan, authorities arrested and charged a man with cyber terrorism for his alleged role in spreading misinformation that led to widespread anti-Muslim riots in the United Kingdom earlier this month, meanwhile in the United States, a group called ‘Muslim Women for Harris-Walz’ is disbanding after the Uncommitted National Movement said it was told a Palestinian American speaker could not address the Democratic National Convention, and in Canada, a meeting between Muslim leaders in Quebec and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was cancelled after many of those invited refused to attend on account of the government’s inaction when it comes to what’s happening in Gaza. Our recommended read of the day is by Tessa Stuart, Andrew Perez, and Asawin Suebsaeng for Rolling Stone on how the DNC did not allow the Uncommitted Movement (700,000 pro-Palestine voters who cast “uncommitted” votes at the Democratic primary) speaking time on stage. This and more below:
United States
The DNC Officially Refused to Put a Palestinian Speaker Onstage | Recommended Read
In one of the most moving moments of the Democratic National Convention, on Wednesday night, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old American who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, took the stage at the United Center and spoke of the anguish they’ve experienced over the 320 days since their son was taken hostage. They called for the release of the other hostages, including 8 American citizens, and for a cease-fire deal that “ends the suffering of the innocent civilians in Gaza.” But the DNC’s invitation to the family created an uncomfortable contrast with the party’s refusal to provide space on the main stage for a Palestinian-American or doctors who have worked in Gaza. On Wednesday night, following that speech, the DNC informed the leaders of the Uncommitted Movement that they would not be given the opportunity to put a Palestinian speaker on the main stage of the convention, to discuss the Israeli military has inflicted in Gaza, with the backing of the United States. The Uncommitted Movement — representing the over 700,000 pro-Palestine voters who cast “uncommitted” votes during the Democratic presidential primary — had requested speaking time at the convention and a meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign. The DNC gave the movement space to speak at several untelevised forums. On Monday, a doctor shared harrowing stories from Gaza, where the Israeli military has led an unprecedented siege for 10 months, starting after Hamas’ October 7 attacks. The party refused to meet the Uncommitted Movement’s larger requests. read the complete article
‘The Uncommitted movement did a service to the Democratic Party’
Against the backdrop of this year’s Democratic primaries, and as the death toll in Gaza mounted each day, veteran progressive strategist Waleed Shahid, along with other activists, launched the Uncommitted campaign, urging primary voters to withhold their support for President Joe Biden. The idea was to send a message: not only that the Biden administration was out of step with a large part of his party’s base, but also that Biden’s approach to Gaza risked alienating Muslim and Arab voters in key swing states like Michigan. To continue unconditionally backing Israel’s war, the Uncommitted campaign argued, would be to risk a second Trump victory. I talked to Shahid, who is the director of the Bloc and the former spokesperson for Justice Democrats, in mid-June. This was before the attempted assassination of Donald Trump; before Biden dropped out of the race and Kamala Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee; and before two members of the “Squad,” Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush, lost primary races to opponents heavily backed by hawkish pro-Israel groups. Our conversation dealt not just with the Uncommitted campaign but also with the possibilities for shifting the Democratic Party on Israel-Palestine and the fate of progressive electoral politics more broadly in the shadow of the ongoing war. read the complete article
'Muslim Women for Harris' Disbands, Say They Can No Longer Support Her
A group called 'Muslim Women for Harris-Walz' is disbanding after the Uncommitted National Movement said it was told a Palestinian American speaker could not address the Democratic National Convention. Representatives of "uncommitted" delegates to the convention, who have withheld their support for Vice President Kamala Harris's presidential bid over the Biden administration's support for Israel's war in Gaza, have been pushing for a speaker to address the convention from the main stage. They staged a sit-in outside the convention in Chicago after their request was denied. "We cannot in good conscience, continue Muslim Women for Harris-Walz, in light of this new information from the Uncommitted movement, that VP Harris' team declined their request to have a Palestinian American speaker take the stage at the DNC," Muslim Women for Harris-Walz said in a statement posted on Instagram. read the complete article
India
Complaint filed against IndiaTV by CJP for stoking fear and spreading anti-Muslim propaganda under the guise of Bangladesh crisis
On August 14, 2024, Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) filed a complaint with the Independent News Service Private Ltd (IndiaTV) for their news segment titled “Coffee Par Kurukshetra: बांग्लादेशी हिंदुओं को कौन बचाएगा?”. The said segment, which had aired on India TV on August 7, 2024, was based on the significant turn of events that took place in Bangladesh recently. As one is aware, on August 5, the neighbouring country of Bangladesh saw a turn in their government with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigning and leaving the country on Monday in the afternoon and Army chief Waker uz Zaman stating that an interim government will take over the power in the country. Before the filing of the complaint, on August 9, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took the oath of office as head of Bangladesh’s interim government, and raised call to protect the Hindu minority present in Bangladesh as well as restoring peace in the country. The complainant had raised the present complaint with the broadcaster as while it is understandable that the unpredictable situation prevailing in Bangladesh as well as the history of violence against minorities in the country would lead to people being apprehensive regarding the safety of Hindus and Christians, a false sense of panic was being created by certain people in India through propaganda that was contributing to the chaos. It is essential to highlight that even though the theme of the ‘Coffee Par Kurukshetra’ show on IndiaTV was to discuss the situation of Hindus in Bangladesh, the discussion kept diverting to the Muslims of India wanting to eradicate the Hindus in India so that they can convert India into an Islamic nation. In short, the discussion which could have been regarding ensuring protection of minorities in the neighbouring countries as well as in India was manipulated into spreading fear and causing alarm against the Muslim takeover of India. read the complete article
International
Pakistan Authorities Charge Man With Cyber Terrorism Over Misinformation That Sparked Riots in UK
Authorities in Pakistan on Wednesday arrested and charged a man with cyber terrorism for his alleged role in spreading misinformation that led to widespread rioting in the United Kingdom earlier this month. The suspect was identified as freelance web developer Farhan Asif, 32, said Imran Kishwar, deputy inspector general of investigations in Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province. The man is accused of spreading misinformation from YouTube and Facebook about the British teenage suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three girls and injured 10 other people July 29 at a dance class in Northwest England. The false information claimed that the suspect was a recently arrived asylum-seeker and had a name that suggested he was Muslim. Channel3 Now, an account on the X social media platform that purports to be a news channel, was one of the first outlets to report the false name, Ali Al-Shakati. A Facebook account for the channel said it is managed by people in Pakistan and the U.S. The site’s editor-in-chief posted an apology July 31 for “the misleading information published in a recent article on our website, Channel3 NOW. We deeply regret any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused.” But the false reports were widely disseminated and are blamed for fueling more than a week of rioting that broke out across the United Kingdom and has led to more than 1,000 arrests. read the complete article
Canada
Meeting between Trudeau and Muslim leaders in Quebec called off after many refuse to attend
A meeting between Muslim leaders in Quebec and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau planned for this afternoon north of Montreal — weeks ahead of a critical byelection in the city — was cancelled after many of those invited refused to attend, CBC News has learned. "Many members of our community continue to feel angry and frustrated with a government that in their view simply hasn't operated with integrity in relation to what is happening in Gaza, or in addressing the steep rise of Islamophobia in Canada," the National Council of Canadian Muslims told CBC News in a media statement. "While our community is not a monolith, this sentiment is widespread." It's not clear how many people were invited to the event but the NCCM said "many members" who were invited, including "leaders and imams, declined to meet." read the complete article