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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In France, a recent IFOP survey examining the relationship between Muslims in France and religion has triggered strong reactions and a formal legal response from several major Muslim advocacy organizations, meanwhile in Australia, Senator Pauline Hanson, a far-right lawmaker seeking to introduce a bill banning religious head coverings in public, appeared in Parliament wearing a burqa, in a move drawing condemnation from across the aisle, and in the U.S., President Donald Trump has ordered his aides to start a process to label the branches of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan as “terrorist organizations”. Our recommended read of the day is by Faisal Kutty for Al Jazeera on how Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s political war against ‘Sharia law’ in Texas is just the “latest product of a long-running American panic machine that transforms ordinary Muslim life into a threat narrative.” This and more below:
United States
What is really behind Greg Abbott’s ‘war on Sharia’ | Recommended Read
When on November 19 Texas Governor Greg Abbott called for an official investigation into so-called “Sharia courts”, it was not based on evidence, complaints, or any legal irregularity. It was a political performance. There are no Sharia courts in Texas — only voluntary Muslim mediation panels operating under the same framework used by Jewish beth din courts and Christian arbitration services. This is not law enforcement. It is political theatre designed to stoke fear. A day earlier, on November 18, Abbott issued an executive order designating the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) — the largest Muslim civil rights organisation in the country — as a “foreign terrorist organisation” (FTO). The order cited no crimes, no violence, no plot, no prosecutorial record. It was simply a sweeping claim that an American civil rights group constituted a national security threat. This ineffectual order was more about political messaging than anything else. It was aimed to portray Muslim Americans and their institutions as suspect and their civic engagement as a security risk. Abbott’s actions are the latest product of a long-running American panic machine that transforms ordinary Muslim life into a threat narrative. This panic machine has been in operation for decades and has repeatedly weaponised Sharia for political gain. read the complete article
International
Trump orders blacklisting Muslim Brotherhood branches as ‘terrorist’ groups
United States President Donald Trump has ordered his aides to start a process to label the branches of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan as “terrorist” organisations, citing their alleged support for the Palestinian group Hamas. Trump issued the decree on Monday as Washington intensified its crackdown on Israel’s foes in the region. The decree accused Muslim Brotherhood leaders in Jordan of providing “material support” to Hamas and the Lebanese branch of the group – known as al-Jamaa al-Islamiya – of siding with Hamas and Hezbollah in their war with Israel. Trump’s order directs the secretary of state and the treasury secretary to consult with the US intelligence chief and produce a report on the designation within 30 days. A formal “foreign terrorist organisation” label would then officially apply to the Muslim Brotherhood branches within 45 days after the report. The process is usually a formality, and the designation may come sooner. The decree also opens the door to blacklisting other Muslim Brotherhood branches. The White House is also pushing to label the groups as “designated global terrorists”. read the complete article
What is the Muslim Brotherhood – explained in 30 seconds
The Muslim Brotherhood is a pan-Islamist organisation that was founded in Egypt in 1928 as an Islamic political movement to counter the spread of secular and nationalist ideas. It swiftly spread through Muslim countries, becoming a major player but often operating in secret. Its founder, Egyptian schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna, believed that reviving Islamic principles in society could enable the Muslim world to resist Western colonialism. The Muslim Brotherhood is now outlawed as a terrorist group in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. More recently, Jordan banned it in April 2025. It is popular in Jordan, and had continued to operate there even though the country’s top court in 2020 ruled to dissolve the group. Authorities have turned a blind eye to its activities in the past. read the complete article
The US ‘war on terror’ has killed millions. Now Trump is bringing it to Venezuela
For the last two months, US forces have amassed outside Venezuela and carried out a series of lethal strikes on civilian boats. The Trump White House has ordered these actions in the name of fighting “narco-terrorists” – a label apparently applicable to anyone suspected of participating in drug trafficking near Latin American coastlines. More than 80 people have already been killed in these pre-emptive strikes, and war hawks are calling for expanded military action to depose the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro. Watching this play out, I am reminded of a passage from the geographer Stuart Elden’s award-winning 2009 book, Terror and Territory. In discussing how to study the “war on terror”, Elden observed that it did not make sense to study terrorism as something unique to non-state actors. “States clearly operate in ways that terrify,” Elden said. “The terrorism of non-state actors is a very small proportion of terrorism taken as a whole, with states having killed far more than those who oppose them.” A large body of research supports this claim. Researchers with Brown University’s Costs of War project, for example, have found that US-led interventions in the “war on terror” from 2001 to 2023 killed over 400,000 civilians in direct war violence. They also show evidence that when considering indirect deaths – for example, people in war zones dying from treatable medical conditions after clean water or medical infrastructure was destroyed – death toll estimates rise to at least 3.5m. Moreover, even beyond direct war zones, a recent study in the Lancet found that sanctions during the same period were also extremely deadly, causing as many as 500,000 excess deaths per year from 2010 to 2021. read the complete article
France
Muslim Associations in France Challenge IFOP Survey on Islam
A recent IFOP survey examining the relationship between Muslims in France and religion has triggered strong reactions and a formal legal response from several Muslim organisations. The poll, released shortly after the annual commemorations of the November 2015 attacks, is now the subject of a complaint filed by four departmental Muslim councils, who argue that it breaches legal obligations of neutrality and fairness in opinion research. The departmental councils from Loiret, Aube, Bouches-du-Rhône, and Seine-et-Marne submitted a complaint against an unknown party to the Paris judicial court. These councils represent the local level of the former French Council of the Muslim Faith, an institution once tasked with acting as an official intermediary between Muslim communities and public authorities. According to the lawyers representing the associations, the survey violates the principle of objectivity set out in the French law governing the publication and distribution of opinion polls. read the complete article
Australia
Australian Senate erupts in anger after far-right lawmaker arrives wearing burqa
An Australian far-right lawmaker wore a burqa to Parliament on Monday, drawing outrage from fellow senators who accused her of racism. Sen. Pauline Hanson appeared in the burqa, a full-face covering worn by some Muslim women, after she was denied permission to introduce a bill that would ban them in public. Lawmakers erupted in anger as Hanson entered the chamber, and Senate proceedings were suspended when she refused to remove the garment. “This is a racist senator displaying blatant racism and Islamophobia,” said Mehreen Faruqi, a Muslim senator from the state of New South Wales. Another senator of the faith, Fatima Payman of Western Australia, said it was “disgraceful.” “She is disrespecting the Muslims out there, Muslim Australians. It’s absolutely unconstitutional,” Payman said. This is the second time Hanson, who represents the state of Queensland, has worn a burqa in Parliament, having done so previously in 2017 when she called for a nationwide ban. Her stunt came amid growing support in Australia for anti-immigration policies and rhetoric, with her One Nation party doubling itself to four seats in May’s election. read the complete article