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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the US, GOP Presidential nominee Donald J. Trump, who in the past floated the idea of creating a national registry of Muslims, has been aggressively courting the votes of Detroit area Muslim and Arab American leaders in the lead-up to the Nov. 5 elections, meanwhile in the UK, about 25,000 anti-fascists joined Stand Up to Racism in counter-protesting Tommy Robinson’s ‘Unite the Kingdom’ hate march held over the weekend in Central London, and in India, two states ruled by the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced plans to impose hefty fines and imprisonment for contaminating food with spit, urine and dirt, claims often tied to several anti-Muslim smear campaigns in the region. Our recommended read of the day is by Josh Rogin for The Washington Post on how Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has failed to secure the trust of Muslim and Arab American communities, as her campaign has not addressed the communities’ concerns, especially the US’s unconditional support of Israel in its war in Gaza. This and more below
United States
Why Harris’s pitch to Muslim and Arab American voters is failing | Recommended Read
As Vice President Kamala Harris seeks to win the presidency, her campaign is making a concerted effort to engage Muslim and Arab American communities, especially in Michigan, where they could determine the outcome. But a sizable portion of this crucial voter base has already fled the Democratic Party into the waiting arms of the Green Party or former president Donald Trump. Harris’s failure to secure the trust of these communities might or might not end up costing her the election, but based on the conversations I’ve had with Muslim and Arab community leaders in recent days, it seems the damage is done. The Gaza conflict has placed Harris in an impossible position. The brutal images of devastation and suffering in Gaza have resonated deeply with Muslim and Arab Americans, who feel a personal and emotional connection to the Palestinians’ plight. Harris’s strategy to appeal to these communities is to show empathy by calling for increased humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians and the war’s end, without explicitly putting Israel on notice. Despite Harris’s efforts to signal she would pursue a different policy if elected, the overwhelming sentiment among Muslim and Arab community leaders I’ve talked to is that they simply do not believe her. Why should they? Since Harris took over as the Democratic nominee in August, the party has missed opportunities to improve her standing with Muslim voters: keeping all Palestinian Americans from speaking at the Democratic National Convention, for instance. More significantly, the vice president has declined to specify any aspect of the Biden administration’s Middle East policy that she would change. read the complete article
Trump in Michigan makes play for Arab American and Muslim voters angry over war in Gaza
Former President Donald Trump on Saturday invited several Muslim leaders onstage with him at a campaign rally in Michigan as he courts Arab American and Muslim voters disillusioned or angry over US policy on Israel and Gaza in the critical battleground state. “They could turn the election one way or the other,” Trump said in the Detroit suburb of Novi, located about a half hour from Dearborn, which last year became the first Arab-majority city in the US. Trump said in his speech that he had held a meeting earlier in the day with Muslim leaders. He was joined onstage by what his campaign described as “prominent leaders of Michigan’s Muslim community,” including Imam Belal Alzuhairi, who described Trump as the “peace” candidate. “We, as Muslims, stand with President Trump because he promises peace – he promises peace, not war,” Alzuhairi said. “We are supporting Donald Trump because he promised to end war in the Middle East and Ukraine.” During his first month as president, in 2017, Trump issued an executive order banning entry for 90 days by citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The order indefinitely banned Syrian refugees and blocked all refugees from entering the US for four months. (After a lengthy court battle, the “travel ban” survived in part. Biden revoked the orders in 2021 immediately after being sworn in.) The Trump campaign and its allies, though, have sought to seize on Arab American and Muslim anger over continued US support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and, more recently, Lebanon, by criticizing Harris and Biden from both sides – telling anti-war voters that Trump would secure peace and claiming to pro-Israel voters that the Democrats don’t have their back. read the complete article
Trump, Who Once Proposed a Muslim Registry, Now Courts Their Votes
When he ran for president eight years ago, Donald J. Trump floated the idea of creating a national registry of Muslims and proposed banning immigration from Muslim countries. So it was striking to see him on Saturday at a rally in suburban Detroit celebrating endorsements from a handful of Muslim and Arab American leaders. It was a political turnaround that would have seemed unthinkable during Mr. Trump’s first campaign, when he frequently spouted anti-Muslim rhetoric. As president, Mr. Trump blocked travel from several predominantly Muslim countries, creating travel chaos. And at moments during this campaign, he has drawn on the anti-Muslim sentiments from earlier in his political career. But in a tight election, Mr. Trump and his campaign have been trying to win the support of Arab American and Muslim voters who may be disaffected with Democrats over President Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza and the party’s positions on social issues. Their support is seen as especially important in Michigan, a key battleground state with many Arab American and Muslim voters. Mr. Trump is also courting Jewish voters, and has repeatedly voiced his staunch support for Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, encouraging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “finish the job” there. And as he stokes fears around immigration, Mr. Trump has described some Middle Eastern immigrants as “known terrorists.” Arab Americans have been reliable Democratic voters for two decades. But that affinity has been strained by the Biden administration’s continued support for Israel’s military offensive and particularly in the war’s recent move to Lebanon. read the complete article
Palestinians can’t afford a protest vote: Muslim and Arab American voters must make their choice
With the struggles of Arab and Muslim people in sharp focus this year, we have a historic opportunity to exert political leverage over the U.S. presidential election. Some may understandably be reluctant to throw their support behind Kamala Harris out of sheer frustration and anger over the war on Gaza, and now Lebanon. But it must be clearly stated that electing Donald Trump would usher in a new era of racism and Islamophobia in the U.S. while giving Benjamin Netanyahu a blank check to continue the war. The killings are being investigated by the International Court of Justice as genocide. While living through this pain and dark moment in history, we must be clear-eyed about the choice in front of us. Only Donald Trump or Kamala Harris will become president. Our safety and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Palestine, Lebanon, and across the Middle East is on the line. We must join in protecting the world against the clear and present danger of a second Trump presidency. Despite the immense pain and frustration our communities are experiencing, we have to support Kamala Harris to advance our anti-war goals and prevent even worse policies at home and abroad. This year, Trump has increasingly demonized Arabs and Muslims through inflammatory rhetoric. He is now weaponizing our very identity, using "Palestinian" as a slur to mock and dismiss critics — including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — who dared to question Israel's unlimited right to bulldoze towns and cities and kill civilians. But it hardly needs to be said that Trump's antipathy toward Muslims is not new: his first term was a reign of white nationalism and Islamophobia. The state-sanctioned discrimination of Trump's Muslim ban emboldened anti-Muslim rhetoric across the country, drove a sharp rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes, and stoked fear within our communities. Trump has committed to restoring and expanding the ban if elected to a second term. He proposed banning refugee resettlement. If elected, Trump’s Project 2025 agenda would dramatically roll back religious freedom and impose his dangerous Christian nationalist views on the rule of law. A second Trump administration could end basic civil rights protections for Muslim and Arab people in America. read the complete article
US election 2024: The Arab American reality
Arab Americans are expected to play a critical role in the upcoming US presidential election. And, while they’ve traditionally voted Democrat, that seems to be changing, leading some to talk about a political chasm within the Arab American community in the wake of Israel’s war on Gaza, and American support for that war. Maya Berry is the executive director of the Arab American Institute. Speaking on Centre Stage with host Natasha Ghoneim, Berry talks about the role Arab Americans are expected to play in deciding who will be the next US president, the challenges they face in combating anti-Arab sentiment, and the impact of US foreign policy on Arab Americans in the past year. read the complete article
United Kingdom
A big step forward against the racist Tommy Robinson
About 25,000 anti-fascists joined Stand Up to Racism in counter-protesting Tommy Robinson’s ‘Unite the Kingdom’ hate march in Central London today. The fascists were outnumbered in a victory for the anti-racist movement, though worryingly, they still mobilised many thousands of people. Trade Unions, students, Muslim and Jewish groups, and more marched from Piccadilly Circus to Whitehall, with speeches at both ends of the march. The national demonstration saw groups from all over the country come together against racism. In addition to the large trade-union presence, there was a dedicated Palestine bloc, although there was a heavy saturation of Palestine flags, placards and keffiyehs on the demonstration as a whole. Given that Tommy Robinson and the far right openly support Israel’s genocide and have posed themselves in direct opposition to the Palestine movement, it makes sense that people are making links between the Palestine movement and the anti-racist one. read the complete article
Luxembourg
Over half of Luxembourg Muslims say they are racism victims
Half of Luxembourg’s Muslims said they experienced racism in the last year, and 60% in the past five years, according to a report by the European Agency for Fundamental Rights. The report, released Thursday and based on data collected in 2021 and 2022, points out that all respondents to the survey in the Grand Duchy came from countries south of the Sahara, noting that discrimination based on skin colour is also the key driver of racism in Luxembourg, the report said. Almost four in ten Muslims in France and 53% in Belgium said they had experienced racism in the last five years. Muslims living in Austria and Germany claim to be particularly affected by discrimination, with 71% and 68% respectively saying they had experienced at least one act of discrimination in the last five years. “It is increasingly difficult to be a Muslim in Europe,” the report based on a survey of 9,600 people in 13 EU member states said. read the complete article
India
India states' plans to punish spitting in food spark controversy
This month, two states ruled by India's governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced plans to impose hefty fines and imprisonment for contaminating food with spit, urine and dirt. The northern state of Uttarakhand will fine offenders up to 100,000 rupees ($1,190; £920), while neighbouring Uttar Pradesh is set to introduce stringent laws to address the issue. The government directives followed the circulation of unverified videos on social media showing vendors spitting on food at local stalls and restaurants - and one video depicting a house help mixing urine into food she was preparing. While the videos sparked outrage among users, with many expressing concern about food safety in these states, some of the videos also became the subject of blame campaigns targeting Muslims, which were later debunked by fact-checking websites, external. They pointed out that many on social media had alleged that the woman adding urine to food was Muslim, but police later identified her as a Hindu. Officials say strict laws are necessary and are aimed at deterring people from indulging in unhygienic practices around food, but opposition leaders and legal experts have questioned the efficacy of these laws and allege that they could also be misused to vilify a specific community. read the complete article