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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the United Kingdom, counter-terrorism officers said they arrested a 36-year-old man from Eastbourne on Tuesday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson at Peacehaven Mosque in October, meanwhile, three votes across Europe in the countries of France, Slovenia, and Italy have dealt setbacks to the populist far right with wins for progressives, and lastly in the United States, since November, Texas GOP candidates have flooded their campaign messaging and materials with anti-Muslim rhetoric, “to throw red meat at their base,” according to Texas Muslims. Our recommended read of the day is by Jessica Bateman for Hyphen, who writes on how Muslims families in Austria are coping with a spate of anti-Muslim policies impacting K-12 students, including a new law banning headscarves for girls under the age of 14 in public schools. This and more below:
Australia
Muslim families say Islamophobia is shaping Austria’s schools | Recommended Read
Two years ago, when Tasneem Hafar turned 16, she decided to start wearing the hijab. Her family and friends were all supportive of her choice. However, when she wore her headscarf to school in Vienna, Austria, where she lives, not everyone was so accepting. As she walked down the corridor one day, she recalls passing a teacher who hissed: “Go back to Afghanistan!” It was the start of a long ordeal for Tasneem’s family — one that rights groups warn is all too familiar to Muslim schoolchildren in Austria. According to the anti-racism monitoring group Dokustelle, around one third of the offline Islamophobia incidents reported to them in 2024 took place in the education sector. These statistics show children are particularly vulnerable to Austria’s high levels of Islamophobic discrimination. In 2024, the EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights found 71% of Muslims living in Austria had experienced racism in recent months, compared with 47% across the EU. Anti-racism organisations warn that new laws disproportionately affecting Muslims — such as legislation banning headscarfs in schools for girls aged up to 14 set to come into place this September — will make a bad situation even worse. “Every time these political discussions happen, there is an increase in hateful comments and threats against Muslims,” said Dunia Khalil, Dokustelle’s head of legal advice. The organisation warns that racism in schools leads to long-term physical and psychological consequences for children, such as exhaustion, anxiety and internalised Islamophobia “where they are scared to present as Muslim in public”. read the complete article
Islamic community calls out ‘anti-Muslim hate’ after suspicious fire at site of new Victorian mosque
Islamic communities have called out a rise in “anti-Muslim hate” after a church that was being converted into a mosque was allegedly set alight in what Victoria police are treating as a “suspicious” fire. In a statement, Victoria police said the abandoned church in Kilmore, north of Melbourne, was set alight at about 1.50pm on Tuesday, causing “significant damage” to the building. No one was inside at the time and the fire was believed to have been started in the rear of the building. “The fire is being treated as suspicious at this stage,” police said. “The investigation is ongoing but at this stage this fire is not being linked to any other fires and is not believed to be targeted.” The Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV) said the alleged arson occurred amid an “ongoing rise in anti-Muslim hate across Victoria and Australia, including a sharp rise in incidents of vandalism, threats and violence against Muslim individuals and places of worship in recent months”. read the complete article
United States
Growing Islamophobia is being overlooked — while drawing on an antisemitic framework
Imagine if a pair of House members launched a “Talmud Free America” caucus predicated on the notion that Jewish law is incompatible with American values. Imagine that more than 50 members quickly signed up to join this caucus, while House leadership either remained silent or joined the caucus themselves. Imagine that members of the new caucus came out with quotes complaining that “from Pico-Robertson to Lakewood, halacha is sweeping across America — and must be stopped” and insisting that their “constituents in New Jersey are constantly expressing their concern and asking what can be done about the rise of mass Jewish immigration in south Florida.” Imagine if one of the president’s top advisers was a self-described “proud antisemite” who believed “Judaism was a cancer on the world” and that “it should be illegal in the United States for Jews to hold office.” And imagine that the president himself moved repeatedly to limit Jewish immigration or travel to the U.S. on national security grounds. I mention this in a newsletter about antisemitism because one of the most common refrains I hear from Jews about antisemitism is that if these things were happening to any other group, we — meaning, I guess, Americans — would never tolerate it. But Americans certainly seem to be tolerating Islamophobia that is far more explicit in its animosity toward Muslims than comparable expressions of hostility against Jews. read the complete article
Islamophobia as Political Strategy
“Islamophobia is something that American Muslims are familiar with – we’ve all grown up with it,” Ishaq said. But it’s becoming increasingly present in Texas, he noted. Since around November, the beginning of the 2026 March primary election season, Texas GOP candidates have flooded their campaign messaging and materials with anti-Muslim rhetoric, “to throw red meat at their base,” Ishaq suspects. Incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton, Texan Republicans and runoff candidates racing for the U.S. Senate seat in November against Democrat James Talarico, have both made policy against the “Islamification of Texas” a cornerstone of their campaigns. Islamophobic rhetoric from our state’s top elected officials has trickled down to some of their constituents, seemingly emboldened by the comments made by their representatives, Qadri added. “They’re tweeting at me, ‘Your religion did this.’ ‘Muslims shouldn’t be in this country.’ ‘Muslims shouldn’t be in elected office,’” Qadri said. Aneela Charania, a Muslim Austinite and Texan of almost 50 years, is saddened to once again see mounting Islamophobia after a tragedy. “Having grown up in Texas, and having been through what we went through after 9/11, it’s so difficult to see Muslims being framed by something completely different from what we stand for,” Charania said. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Terror police arrest three men over mosque arson
Three more people have been arrested by police investigating an arson attack at a mosque in East Sussex. Counter-terrorism officers said they arrested a 36-year-old man from Eastbourne on Tuesday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson at Peacehaven Mosque in October. A man from Brighton, aged 38, and a man from Saltdean, aged 42, were arrested the same day on suspicion of malicious communications. Sussex Police previously charged Ricky Ryder, 38, of Richington Way in Seaford, and Jack Slowey, 34, of Mayfield Avenue in Peacehaven, with arson with intent to endanger life. read the complete article
UK government raid on lawyer’s office in Guantanamo Bay case ‘deeply troubling’, court hears
The UK government’s raid of a lawyer’s office in the case of a Guantanamo Bay suspect allegedly tortured by the CIA with UK knowledge is “extremely troubling”, the High Court has heard. Security officers seized documents in January from the office of Rachel Toney, a security-cleared lawyer who was representing the interests of alleged al-Qaeda chief Abu Faraj al-Libi, born al-Uzaybi, in secret hearings involving claims of complicity by the UK intelligence services in his torture. Despite Ms Toney refusing permission for them to enter, officers opened her secure safes, went through her documents, and seized them at the direction of MI6, as well as going through files on her laptop and double-deleting them, the Royal Courts of Justice in London heard on Wednesday. read the complete article
Scotland
Call for police action on ‘hanged rat anti-Muslim’ protests in Glasgow
POLICE and politicians have been urged to intervene after a series of “anti-Muslim” demonstrations in Glasgow saw protesters “waving rats hanged from gallows” at local worshippers. A joint letter from three pro-Palestine groups has been sent to local and national politicians, as well as council officials and Police Scotland, raising concerns about “abuse and harassment” at a series of protests which have taken place outside the Al-Mahdi Mosque on Albert Road. It is understood that another such demonstration is planned for Thursday, March 26, and law enforcement has been asked to step in – with allegations of double standards in dealing with hatred against Muslims. “For several weeks, a group of mostly men brandishing Israeli, American, and Iranian royalist flags have been allowed to shout, swear, and exhibit obscene gestures at Muslims as they enter and leave the mosque,” the letter states. “The ugly scenes outside the mosque, a protected place of worship, and the blatant harassment of Muslim families and community members have been met with more deafening silence from politicians and authorities. read the complete article
International
After setbacks across Europe, is the populist far right losing ground?
Three votes across Europe in recent days have dealt setbacks to the populist far right. In France, centrist and left-leaning forces won in Paris and Lyon during local elections that ended Sunday, securing mayoral and city council seats. They also won in France’s second-largest city, Marseille, where the far-right party, the National Rally (RN), had hoped to gain a foothold after making some gains in the first round. In Slovenia’s parliamentary election on Sunday, liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob’s Freedom Movement (GS) edged out the right-wing former Prime Minister Janez Jansa’s Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS). And in Italy, voters dealt a blow to right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in a constitutional referendum, rejecting her flagship judicial reforms in a referendum widely seen as a test of her leadership. Taken together, the results suggest Europe’s far right – buoyed in recent years by concerns over migration, inflation and identity politics – may be struggling to convert momentum into decisive electoral victories, but analysts urge against jumping to long-term conclusions. read the complete article