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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In Europe, Islamophobia and far-right extremism are escalating across the continent, with Muslim communities bearing the brunt of hate crimes and discrimination, while United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expresses concern over a “disturbing rise in anti-Muslim bigotry”, calling on governments to protect religious freedom and for online platforms to curb hate speech, and on this year’s International Day To Combat Islamophobia over the weekend, Secretary-General of the Muslim World League (MWL) Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa warned about the growing threat that anti-Muslim sentiment poses to global coexistence. Our recommended read of the day is by Bridge Initiative Senior Researcher Farid Hafez for Middle East Eye on how Israel’s ruling Likud party has joined the European Parliament’s largest far-right bloc, Patriots for Europe (PfE), as both share the same hostility against Muslims. This and more below:
International
Furthering the 'far-right international': Likud joins the Patriots for Europe | Recommended Read
In the 1990s, Europe's post-fascist and post-Nazi political parties were clear in rejecting Israel on the grounds of their antisemitism. Seen largely as an extension of the United States' neocolonialism, these parties mobilised against the US as a leader of the liberal world order. Similarly, Israel rejected the leaders of the far right. Consider Jorg Haider, one of Europe's first successful far-right leaders, who was barred from entering Israel. Much has changed since then. In December 2010, a historic trip took place when the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), Belgium's Vlaams Belang, the German Freedom Party, and the Sweden Democrats travelled to Israel and signed the so-called "Jerusalem Declaration". This declaration affirmed Israel's "right to defend itself" against terror, stating: "We stand at the vanguard in the fight for the western, democratic community" against the "totalitarian threat" of "fundamentalist Islam". Islam, they alleged, was the common enemy of both Europe and Israel. According to this new logic, Jews and Europeans would become victims of a rising fascist Islam. Hence, a new alliance should be forged between Israel and Europe's far right to counter these perceived threats. Fifteen years later, the far right has taken further steps to normalise its ties with Israeli forces. With several far-right parties having been in power and securing significant electoral support in their countries, they emerged as the third largest political group in the European parliamentary elections of June 2024, forming the Patriots for Europe (PfE). Led by the French National Rally's Jordan Bardella, this bloc includes major political forces such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz, Italian Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini's Lega, Wilders' Party for Freedom, the Austrian FPO and others. In February 2025, none other than Israel's ruling Likud party, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, joined the PfE as an observer member. Given the far right's focus on anti-immigration policies, primarily targeting Muslims, this alliance comes as little surprise. read the complete article
Book seizures in Indian-administered Kashmir spark fears of religious censorship
On the evening of 13 February, dozens of police carried out raids across several neighbourhoods in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-administered Kashmir. Unlike previous operations that focus on arresting individuals accused of "anti-India activities", these raids targeted bookstores. “Policemen, both in uniform and plain clothes, raided multiple bookstores and seized books written by the well-known Islamic scholar Syed Abul A'la Maududi,” a bookseller who requested anonymity, told Middle East Eye. “A few days earlier, they had already visited the store, searched for Maududi’s books, and taken some with them. None of us in the shop dared to question the authorities about the seizures,” he added. Nearly half a dozen bookstores in and around Lal Chowk, Srinagar’s main commercial area, had been raided that night. “They came suddenly and left quietly. I am unsure of the exact titles that were confiscated, but I can confirm that the seized books were linked to Jamaat-e-Islami [JI] and its founder, Maududi,” the bookseller said. “The raids have spread fear among booksellers,” he added. read the complete article
Islamophobia surges as far-right extremism grows in Europe
Islamophobia and far-right extremism are escalating across Europe, with Muslim communities bearing the brunt of hate crimes and discrimination. Over the past decade, reports of anti-Muslim racism have surged, highlighting a growing trend. In 2020, the UN established the International Day to Combat Islamophobia in response. As attacks on Muslims continue under the guise of “freedom of expression,” urgent action is needed to safeguard social cohesion and the freedoms of all communities. read the complete article
UN chief calls for global action against rising ‘anti-Muslim bigotry’
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed concern over “a disturbing rise in anti-Muslim bigotry”, calling on governments to protect religious freedom and for online platforms to curb hate speech. Guterres made the remarks on Saturday to mark the International Day to Combat Islamophobia marked every year on March 15. Rights groups around the world and the UN have noted a rise in Islamophobia, anti-Arab bias and anti-Semitism since the start of Israel’s 17-month war on Gaza. “We are witnessing a disturbing rise in anti-Muslim bigotry. From racial profiling and discriminatory policies that violate human rights and dignity, to outright violence against individuals and places of worship,” the UN chief said in a video post on X. “This is part of a wider scourge of intolerance, extremist ideologies and attacks against religious groups and vulnerable populations.” He called on governments, without specifying any one nation, to “foster social cohesion and protect religious freedom”. read the complete article
Muslim World League calls for global unity against rising Islamophobia
Islamophobia stands as one of the most disturbing forms of hate speech globally, Secretary-General of the Muslim World League (MWL) Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa said on Friday. Speaking at the UN General Assembly on the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, Al-Issa warned about the growing threat that anti-Muslim sentiment poses to global coexistence. In his keynote address, the MWL chief called out the broader implications of Islamophobia, not only as an affront to Muslims but as a catalyst for social division and extremism. He told the assembly that the prejudice against the currently two billion Muslims worldwide undermines the values of inclusive citizenship, which are enshrined in democratic constitutions and international human rights principles. He also pointed out a concerning increase in incidents of discrimination, including marginalisation and denial of basic rights, affecting millions of Muslims worldwide. read the complete article
United States
Is Growing Islamophobia a Symptom of Democracy in Decline?
Syrian-born Palestinian Mahmoud Khalil, a legal U.S. permanent resident married to a U.S. citizen, was taken from his home by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in front of his wife, who is eight months pregnant. In a statement following the arrest, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that Khalil—who has not been charged with a crime—had “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization,” and that other such activists risked having their visas and green cards cancelled under the authority of a January executive order that many analysts have compared to Trump’s 2017 Muslim travel ban. Since Khalil’s arrest, The Atlantic has reported the administration has another green card holder in its sights. A judge has since halted Khalil’s deportation, and he remains in detention in Louisiana. Following his arrest, the White House shared a photo of Khalil to its social media accounts with the text: “SHALOM, MAHMOUD.” The Trump Administration’s targeting of Khalil and other Palestine solidarity activists is the latest flashpoint in a cascade of global anti-Arab, anti-Muslim sentiment. But analysts say it’s also an attack on freedom of speech and the right to protest. And while xenophobia and Islamophobia have long histories in the United States, their convergence in the context of U.S. support for Israel’s war on Gaza has left many in the United States and abroad fearful for the future. Elia Ayoub, the United Kingdom-based Lebanese writer of Hauntologies and co-founder of the From the Periphery media collective, sees parallels between the anti-Jewish propaganda and policies of Nazi Germany and other Western powers during the rise of global fascism in the 1930s, and the types of racist and Islamophobic rhetoric common today. In each case, he says, religious minorities have been cast as alien, foreign, and fundamentally incompatible with Western civilization. “If democracy is understood as equality under the law, and this is diminished by a ‘lesser than’ rhetoric, that doesn’t just victimize the specific groups it’s targeting, it erodes the fundamental principle that the state is supposedly built on.” Ayoub says, adding that Western support for Israel has shifted how Islamophobia takes shape. “Today, it’s less a matter of fighting the Taliban or ISIS or whatever, but of supporting Israel’s project, the genocide in Gaza, more explicitly and unconditionally.” read the complete article
Rights group files lawsuit to block Trump deportations of pro-Palestinian protesters
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) filed a lawsuit challenging as unconstitutional the Trump administration’s actions to deport international students and scholars who protest or express support for Palestinian rights. The lawsuit, filed on Saturday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, seeks a nationwide temporary restraining order to block enforcement of two executive orders signed by U.S. President Donald Trump in the first month of his second term earlier this year. The ADC lawsuit was filed on behalf of two graduate students and a professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, who say their activism and support of the Palestinian people "has put them at serious risk of political persecution." “This lawsuit is a necessary step to preserve our most fundamental constitutional protections. The First Amendment guarantees the freedom of speech and expression to all persons within the United States, without exception," said Abed Ayoub, national executive director of the ADC. read the complete article
Trump administration mulling new travel restrictions on citizens from dozens of countries
The Trump administration is considering issuing travel restrictions for the citizens of dozens of countries as part of a new ban, according to sources familiar with the matter and an internal memo seen by Reuters. The memo lists a total of 41 countries divided into three separate groups. The first group of 10 countries, which includes Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Cuba and North Korea, among others, would be set for a full visa suspension. In the second group, five countries – Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar and South Sudan – would face partial suspensions that would affect tourist and student visas as well as other immigrant visas, with some exceptions. In the third group, a total of 26 countries including Belarus, Pakistan and Turkmenistan, among others, would be considered for a partial suspension of US visa issuance if their governments “do not make efforts to address deficiencies within 60 days”, the memo said. The list has yet to be approved by the administration, including the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and could be amended, officials told the outlet. read the complete article
India
Indian Muslims Have Learned to Hide Our Identities. We Shouldn’t Have to
As an Indian Muslim, I have learned to say many words in whispers. The thought recently struck me when my husband and I were at a McDonald’s in Thailand that casually offered beef burgers to customers. The word “beef” felt oddly jarring to me. Unlike in India, beef is just another ingredient: unremarkable, uncontroversial, undeserving of a national debate. It had been a long time since I’d even heard the word beef spoken freely. In India, I don’t say it. Not at restaurants, not in conversations, not even in my own house. I’ve learned to avoid it. To swallow it mid-sentence. To pretend it doesn’t exist. Beef is more than food in India, a majority Hindu nation. A rumor of beef possession or cow slaughter, and Muslims or Dalits have found themselves at the center of a mob lynching. Which is why I have erased it from my vocabulary, trained myself to avoid it, and made sure my Muslim friends and family do the same. I know that suspicion is enough to kill because I have reported on hate crimes against minorities for more than half a decade. The script is often the same: the crowd swells, accusations fly, fists land, and the spectacle is sometimes even filmed. The names of the victims fade into background noise. The victims’ families, meanwhile, are left navigating endless court dates. I had first realized the burden of my identity in India in 2020, during the Delhi riots, when at least 50 people were killed, most of them Muslim, by violent mobs. My safety came down to something as simple as hiding my name. At first, it was just a passing thought. But then I started noticing how many others had arrived at the same conclusion. They were tweaking their names on cab apps, changing drop-off locations, and some were telling me of putting a small bindi on their forehead. All attempts to soften the sharp edges of their identity just enough to avoid trouble. Yet even that is no guarantee of safety. For years, some Muslim street vendors have used religion-neutral names like Raja or Sonu, a simple tweak to keep business running smoothly and avoid an economic boycott. But over the past two terms of the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, these vendors were accused of hiding their identity, of pretending to be Hindu. It is no longer just about having a Muslim name but about the audacity of not having one visible enough. read the complete article
Indian Muslims Have Learned to Hide Our Identities. We Shouldn’t Have to
As an Indian Muslim, I have learned to say many words in whispers. The thought recently struck me when my husband and I were at a McDonald’s in Thailand that casually offered beef burgers to customers. The word “beef” felt oddly jarring to me. Unlike in India, beef is just another ingredient: unremarkable, uncontroversial, undeserving of a national debate. It had been a long time since I’d even heard the word beef spoken freely. In India, I don’t say it. Not at restaurants, not in conversations, not even in my own house. I’ve learned to avoid it. To swallow it mid-sentence. To pretend it doesn’t exist. Beef is more than food in India, a majority Hindu nation. A rumor of beef possession or cow slaughter, and Muslims or Dalits have found themselves at the center of a mob lynching. Which is why I have erased it from my vocabulary, trained myself to avoid it, and made sure my Muslim friends and family do the same. I know that suspicion is enough to kill because I have reported on hate crimes against minorities for more than half a decade. The script is often the same: the crowd swells, accusations fly, fists land, and the spectacle is sometimes even filmed. The names of the victims fade into background noise. The victims’ families, meanwhile, are left navigating endless court dates. I had first realized the burden of my identity in India in 2020, during the Delhi riots, when at least 50 people were killed, most of them Muslim, by violent mobs. My safety came down to something as simple as hiding my name. At first, it was just a passing thought. But then I started noticing how many others had arrived at the same conclusion. They were tweaking their names on cab apps, changing drop-off locations, and some were telling me of putting a small bindi on their forehead. All attempts to soften the sharp edges of their identity just enough to avoid trouble. Yet even that is no guarantee of safety. For years, some Muslim street vendors have used religion-neutral names like Raja or Sonu, a simple tweak to keep business running smoothly and avoid an economic boycott. But over the past two terms of the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, these vendors were accused of hiding their identity, of pretending to be Hindu. It is no longer just about having a Muslim name but about the audacity of not having one visible enough. read the complete article
Canada
Canadian officials, Muslim leaders call for action against Islamophobia
Federal officials marked International Day to Combat Islamophobia Saturday by calling on Canadians to push back against bigotry directed at the country’s Muslim communities. But one organization that defends the civil rights of Canada’s Muslim says not enough is being done to counter the rising tide of hate. Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, issued a statement Saturday, saying Muslims in Canada face systemic barriers and are subjected to violence and discrimination. Islamophobia, she added, comes in the form of racism, stereotypes and hostility. “In addition to individual acts of intolerance and racial profiling, Islamophobia can unfairly lead to viewing and treating Muslims as a greater security threat on an institutional and societal level,” she said. Elghawaby touted actions the federal government has taken to tackle islamophobia, saying Ottawa has stepped up support for the Canada Community Security Program and Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy. read the complete article