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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the Netherlands, a social media post by anti-Muslim politician Geert Wilders featuring an older woman wearing a hijab next to a young blonde Scandinavian woman has prompted a record 14,000 complaints to the country’s anti-discrimination hotline, meanwhile in the United States, a new lawsuit has been filed in New York against Mayor Eric Adams by former Hate Crimes Chief Hassan Naveed which claims that Naveed was subject to a “hostile work environment,” in violation of the city’s and state’s human rights law, and in the United Kingdom, Glasgow Central Mosque said it was “deeply upset” to discover “Scots First” had been daubed on a wall outside it’s building in what police are calling a hate crime. Our recommended read of the day is by Moustafa Bayoumi for The Guardian on the rise of New York City Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani and how Muslim New Yorkers have become a “political force” amid post-9/11 Islamophobic sentiment. This and more below:
United States
From scapegoats to city hall: how New York Muslims built power and shaped Zohran Mamdani | Recommended Read
Life was never the same for New Yorkers after the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001, with every resident coping with the trauma and devastation of that day. But for Muslim New Yorkers there was an added burden: the suspicion and sometimes physical harm now lurking around every corner. Vigilante violence against Arabs and Muslims exploded across the city and around the country. In what feels very much like a precursor to today’s ruthless ICE raids, mass arrests swept up Muslims on flimsy immigration pretexts, with many of them being held under extremely abusive conditions. The contemporary national security state was born atop the vestiges of Muslim civil rights. Twenty-four years later, the situation in New York appears completely different. The country’s largest city is now poised to elect its first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist who won the Democratic slot on the ranked-choice primary earlier this summer. What accounts for this profound change? Mamdani’s success is also part of a larger story of how young Muslim New Yorkers have been organizing themselves after the dangerous situations they were in after 9/11. Spurred by the necessity to counter a rising tide of Islamophobia, young Muslim New Yorkers have spent years developing political power in the city, building local political institutions, and leaning into a different kind of politics, one that embraces identity yet also moves beyond its sometimes shallow appeal. That movement has been growing quietly and steadily for years. Mamdani is now its best and most accomplished expression. read the complete article
A Muslim reflects on 'Nostra Aetate' and its enduring call to mutual understanding
In Nostra Aetate, the Catholic Church's groundbreaking document on its relationship with other religions, I saw a vision that affirmed my experience, one that invites Muslims and Christians to move beyond fear and toward mutual respect, shared values and a more just future. Nostra Aetate offers hope, but does not and should not erase the painful parts of our shared history. It was the spirit of this document that gave me the opportunity as a Muslim to study at Georgetown University and to serve as a Muslim chaplain-in-residence on the same campus, where I walked alongside students of all faiths — and none. The message of Nostra Aetate is still relevant today, not only for clergy and theologians but also for the wider public, helping the next generation understand the complexity of our histories and the promise of a shared future. We live in a world of polarization, but this document reminds us that Christian-Muslim collaboration is not naive, but necessary; and we can find, in one another's scriptures and hearts, the foundations for respectful relationships, justice and peace. read the complete article
Mamdani spoke of his aunt’s fear after 9/11. Backlash revealed how Islamophobia persists.
A speech by New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani — and the conservative reaction to it — highlight how Muslim women are specifically targeted during times of heightened Islamophobia or anti-Arab sentiment. “I want to speak to the memory of my aunt who stopped taking the subway after September 11 because she did not feel safe in her hijab,” Mamdani, the city’s Democratic mayoral nominee and likely next mayor, said Friday in a speech on Islamophobia. “I want to speak to the Muslim who works for our city whether they teach in our schools or walk the beat for the NYPD.” Mamdani used the speech to decry what he called anti-Muslim attacks by his political opponents, including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who laughed alongside a conservative talk radio host who said Mamdani would “be cheering” if an incident like 9/11 occurred. Current Mayor Eric Adams, who has endorsed Cuomo, said the same day that New York can’t “become Europe” — implying that electing a Muslim candidate would result in “Islamic extremism.” Conservatives turned to social media to mock the speech. On X, Vice President JD Vance wrote, “According to Zohran the real victim of 9/11 was his auntie who got some (allegedly) bad looks.” A substantial body of research shows that after the 9/11 attacks, Muslims in America experienced an increase in threats of violence and harassment. Muslim women, particularly those who wear hijabs, were distinctly targeted. Research from Brown University found that the share of hate crimes against Muslims went up by over 500 percent between 2000 and 2009, compared with an 18 percent increase in hate crimes overall. There also may be particular risk for pregnant Muslims. A 2006 paper found that women with Arabic names had a higher risk of poor birth outcomes — including preterm birth and low birth weight — six months after 9/11. A separate study found similar consequences for pregnant Muslims in Spain soon after a 2017 terrorist attack in Catalonia. read the complete article
Escalating threats towards Omar Fateh reveal challenges for Muslim politicians in Minnesota
State Sen. Omar Fateh says he has received a constant stream of threats and abuse since announcing his candidacy for mayor of Minneapolis last December. But the one message that sticks in his mind came earlier this month. Following U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s announcement on Oct. 12 that she was endorsing him, Fateh said his campaign received a message that read, “two bullets to the head, done.” It was punctuated by a checkmark emoji. “That is not only a direct threat, but, like, direct plans,” Fateh told Sahan Journal. “Like ‘I’m going to literally come over there and come to you myself.” A few weeks earlier, Fateh’s campaign headquarters in the predominantly East African neighborhood of Cedar-Riverside was defaced with graffiti that read “Somali Muslim — this warning is no joke” in black marker. Political violence is increasing nationwide as the partisan divide widens. In the past few months alone, Minnesota House DFL leader Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were assassinated, and Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette, were wounded. In Utah, rightwing political commentator Charlie Kirk was shot and killed in September. A Pew Research survey released Friday found that 85% of respondents, people across the political spectrum, agreed that politically motivated violence is on the rise. read the complete article
Zohran Mamdani slams JD Vance for pushing ‘cheap jokes about Islamophobia’
With just over a week until Election Day in New York City, mayoral front-runner Zohran Mamdani hit back at JD Vance, accusing the vice president and members of his party of pushing “cheap jokes about Islamophobia.” On Friday, Mamdani delivered an emotional address on Islamophobia outside a mosque in the Bronx. During his remarks, he referred to his late aunt, whom he said had stopped taking the subway after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, because she felt unsafe wearing her hijab. Vance then reposted a video of Mamdani’s address on X, writing, “According to Zohran, the real victim of 9/11 was his auntie who got some (allegedly) bad looks.” During an exclusive one-on-one interview with Ayman Mohyeldin on Saturday’s “The Weekend: Primetime,” the democratic socialist said the vice president was attempting “to pit people’s humanity against each other.” “This is all the Republican Party has to offer,” Mamdani told Mohyeldin. “Cheap jokes about Islamophobia, so as to not have to recognize what people are living through.” read the complete article
The racism and Islamophobia behind many of the attacks on Zohran Mamdani
Trump loyalist Elise Stefanik, the Republican New York congresswoman reportedly chasing the nomination for state governor, condemned Mamdani as “a jihadist candidate for mayor” in an incendiary tweet. Meanwhile, hundreds of New York rabbis, riled by Mamdani’s criticism of Israel and support for Palestinian independence,said he was a threat to “the safety and dignity of Jews” in an open letter signed this week. And in June, Mamdani criticized Cuomo’s political action committee (Pac) for “blatant Islamophobia” after it created a mailer accusing him of antisemitism and containing an image of the Democrat’s face that appeared manipulated to give him a darker, longer and bushier beard. On Wednesday night, during the debate, Cuomo’s team posted to X then swiftly deleted a racist artificial intelligence-generated ad titled “Criminals for Zohran Mamdani” that featured the popular democratic socialist state assemblyman eating rice with his hands before being supported by a Black man shoplifting while wearing a keffiyeh, a man abusing a woman, a sex trafficker and a drug dealer. Observers of New York electoral races say they have never seen a campaign with this level of personal vitriol, but credit Mamdani – a naturalized US citizen who was born in Uganda – with maturity defying his status as a relative political novice. “The way that he has handled the attacks is really impressive,” said Laura Tamman, clinical assistant professor of political science at New York’s Pace University. “Consider if Brad Lander [a progressive Democrat who is New York City comptroller] had become the Democratic nominee, who has many of the same ideological positions that Mamdani has, he would not be facing the same barrage of attacks. “So it’s pretty clear there’s some anti-Muslim and some racial bias that’s affecting the coverage, and in those circumstances, I think him responding with smiles and grace is really impressive.” read the complete article
Former Hate Crimes Chief Accuses Adams of Anti-Muslim Bias
When Mayor Eric Adams named Hassan Naveed to lead New York City’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, he charged Mr. Naveed with “combating the scourge of hate” wherever he found it. Mr. Naveed said he found it in Mr. Adams’s City Hall. During his year-and-a-half as executive director, he “experienced repeated discrimination on the basis of his Muslim religion and his South Asian ethnicity,” according to a lawsuit Mr. Naveed filed late Tuesday against Mr. Adams and New York City. Mr. Naveed claims he was subject to a “hostile work environment,” in violation of the city’s and state’s human rights law. Mr. Adams says Mr. Naveed was fired in April 2024 for good reason. In the suit, Mr. Naveed said the discriminatory behavior by Mr. Adams and his staff members grew “particularly pronounced” after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, when he said he was “singled out and scrutinized by his superiors” because of his Muslim identity. Two of his superiors at the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, one of whom is named as a defendant in the suit, took him aside and asked him his thoughts on “beheaded babies,” according to the lawsuit, which was filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan. After some of Mr. Adams’s aides recirculated what Mr. Naveed considered “anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian sentiments” on social media, Mr. Naveed and other Muslim staff members attended an Oct. 23, 2023, meeting with Mr. Adams to raise their concerns. Mr. Adams said Muslims were experiencing hate because they had failed to adequately condemn Hamas, according to Mr. Naveed, and he compared pro-Palestine marches to “Klu Klux Klan protests,” he said, using an incorrect spelling. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Far-right, Zionism and Islamophobia: The Dangerous Alliance | Taj Ali
Islamophobia has become a multi-billion-dollar industry in today’s Britain. And it’s playing a crucial role in empowering the far-right - whose agenda is rooted in fearmongering, exclusion, and a dangerous us-vs-them narrative. In this eye-opening first episode of The Tea with Myriam Francois, award-winning journalist and historian Taj Ali helps us unpack the shocking connections behind Tommy Robinson - once bankrupt and jailed, now leading massive rallies. Who's funding his rise, and why? We expose the hidden forces behind Tommy Robinson’s ‘Unite The Kingdom’ rally, and the dangerous narratives they’re pushing. We explore how powerful Zionist groups are using Islamophobia as a political weapon, distracting voters, crushing Palestinian solidarity, and pushing a pro-Israel agenda. read the complete article
Police investigate hate crime after Glasgow mosque vandalised
A Glasgow mosque has been vandalised with racist graffiti in a hate crime. Glasgow Central Mosque said it was "deeply upset" to discover "Scots First" had been daubed on a wall outside the building on Adelphi Street. An investigation by Police Scotland has been launched, with the force saying the graffiti was "vile". A spokesperson for the mosque said it would continue working to ensure people in Glasgow felt welcome, regardless of their faith or background. They said: "We were deeply upset to find graffiti on the wall of the mosque. "Glasgow Central Mosque has always been proud of its place within civic society here in Glasgow. We say 'People Make Glasgow', and Muslims are very much part of that. read the complete article
Netherlands
‘Open hostility has become normalised’: Dutch Muslims fear rise of far right as general election looms
The drawing depicted two women; a young blonde with a friendly expression and a scowling older woman wearing a headscarf. On top of the image was a nod to this month’s general election in the Netherlands, along with the phrase “The choice is yours.” The social media post, made by the far-right, anti-Muslim politician Geert Wilders, prompted a record 14,000 complaints to the country’s anti-discrimination hotline. “Many of those who called to report the image compared it to Nazi propaganda from the second world war,” the hotline said in a statement, adding that the 19 anti-discrimination agencies associated with the hotline had flagged the post to police, amid concerns that it could be an incitement to hatred. It was a glimpse of how the discourse across the Netherlands has hardened in recent years, as politicians disproportionately target Muslims, asylum-seekers and other minority communities in a bid to drum up votes. As polls suggest that Wilders’ party could again emerge with the most votes, the election on 29 October has been recast as a broader litmus test for the country and its democratic ideals. “It isn’t just about Muslims. What’s at stake is the very idea of what it means to be Dutch,” said Esma Kendir of the Collective of Young Muslims. “So will the Netherlands continue to stand for equality, for human rights, for freedom of religion, or will it move towards exclusion and fear?” read the complete article
International
Tommy Robinson 'poses as Muslim' to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque
Far-right anti-Islam figure Tommy Robinson attempted to gain entry to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site located in occupied East Jerusalem, by implying that he was a convert to Islam, a new video has shown. Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was accompanied by the Australian-Israeli activist Avi Yemeni, a former Israeli soldier, along with Turkish ex-Muslim anti-Islam YouTuber Ridvan Aydemir. The trip formed part of a wider tour of Israel and Jerusalem, undertaken after Robinson was invited to the country by Israel’s diaspora minister, Amichai Chikli. Footage shows Robinson first outside the mosque compound being briefed about the Al-Aqsa Mosque by the far-right American-Israeli activist Yehudah Glick. Glick, a former Member of the Knesset, campaigns to overturn Palestinian control of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and increase Jewish-Israeli control over the site. Robinson and his entourage then make their way into the Al-Aqsa compound, with the convicted football hooligan attempting to enter the mosque before being gently stopped by a Palestinian guard. Robinson and his allies have used the incident to claim that the convicted criminal was "banned" from Al-Aqsa, despite the rule applying to all non-Muslims. read the complete article
India
'Absurd': India's widespread crackdown on Muslims saying ‘I Love Muhammad'
Since early October, Indian authorities have arrested thousands of Muslims, demolished several buildings, and imposed internet shutdowns in Muslim neighbourhoods across several states over people's refusal to stop saying “I love Muhammad.” The phrase - seen on banners, T-shirts and on social media posts across the country - has become a pretext to control Muslims' expression of their faith in India. Authorities say that the displays threaten public order. Rights activists and analysts argue the events are emblematic of a broader targeted crackdown against India’s Muslim minority. According to initial data from the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), between the first incident in early September and 23 September, at least 21 FIRs - or First Information Reports - were filed at police stations, over 1,324 Muslims were booked, and 38 people were arrested in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and across other states. In its latest report released on 10 October, the APCR noted that by 7 October, around 4,505 Muslims had been officially charged and 265 arrested across India, including 89 in Bareilly alone. read the complete article