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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the United States, the NYPD and federal authorities disrupted what officials described as a plot by a member of a pro-Israel terrorist organization to assassinate the leader of one of New York’s most active pro-Palestinian protest groups, meanwhile in Europe, “over half a million people” marched together for Palestine and against the far right in London, and lastly in India, a case has been filed against a faculty member who made Islamophobic slurs against a student at PES University. Our recommended read of the day is by Adeshola Ore for The Guardian, on how a series of shocking incidents and rising anti-Muslim rhetoric – including from One Nation’s Pauline Hanson – has sharpened concerns for the Muslim community in Australia. This and more below:
Australia
‘Pauline doesn’t like us’: rising Islamophobia has left young Muslim Australians feeling fearful and alienated | Recommended Read
Behind the counter of his family’s kebab shop in Brisbane’s south, Burak was lathering garlic sauce on a customer’s falafel wrap when they began talking about Pauline Hanson. Burak, a 17-year-old school student, had never heard of Hanson – one of Australia’s most polarising political figures, who entered federal parliament almost three decades ago in 1996. So, later that night, he typed her name into TikTok and began scrolling. The first video was Hanson’s most recent burqa stunt, which had occurred weeks earlier, in which the One Nation leader wore the religious veil in the Senate. “I felt disrespected because it takes a lot of hate, inside a person, to come up with a stunt like that,” says Burak, who asked that his surname not be published. Young Muslims say they feel alienated by Hanson’s widely criticised anti-Islam remarks and the surge in support for her One Nation party. It comes at a time in which their fears of physical and verbal attacks have intensified, with Islamophobic incidents rising around the country since 7 October 2023, alongside an explosion of antisemitic incidents. While Hanson has long promoted anti-Islamic rhetoric – claiming in 2016 that Australia was in danger of being “swamped” by Muslims – her party’s recent success in the South Australian election, in which it won more than 22% of the primary vote, has sharpened concerns for the Muslim community. read the complete article
United States
COMMENTARY: Republicans fearing a midterm rout revive Islamophobia as political strategy
Boy, it's been a struggle whipping up ugly racist sentiment since President Donald Trump "closed" the border last year. No more stories about immigrant caravans marching ominously north to steal our jobs and rape our women. No more tall tales of Haitian gangs eating the cats, eating the dogs. What we need are some fresh scapegoats. Who can white people blame now for their woes? Hey, I know! How about Muslims? "Muslims don't belong in American society," wrote Tennessee Republican Rep. Andy Ogles, who called for their expulsion from the United States. "We need more Islamophobia, not less," wrote Florida Republican Rep. Randy Fine. "Fear of Islam is rational." A Georgia state senator's campaign video urged voters to "Keep Georgia sharia free." Republican leaders, far from condemning the rhetoric, revel in it. At a moment when it appears that Republicans might be subject to -- in President Obama's memorable description of his own midterm losses -- a shellacking come November, it would seem the party is getting desperate. And so it falls back on a tried-and-true playbook: Creating fear about non-white members of certain religions, backgrounds or ethnicities, or gay people or trans people, to help goose Republican voter turnout. It's the "Southern strategy" updated for our times. read the complete article
BREAKING: CAIR-NY Condemns Attempt to Desecrate Mosque with Feces, Pages Torn from the Quran
The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), a chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned a reported attempt to desecrate a Brooklyn mosque with feces and pages torn from the Quran, Islam’s holy text. According to law enforcement authorities, a suspect targeted the Islamic Mission of America in Brooklyn Heights by throwing pages from the Quran on the front steps of the building and then returned to smear what police said was feces on the door. The suspect wore a black skullcap and a black face mask hanging down below his chin. The March 9 incident is being investigated as a hate crime. read the complete article
Man Tied to Pro-Israel Extremists Accused of Targeting Palestinian Activist
The New York Police Department and federal authorities disrupted what officials described as a plot by a member of a pro-Israel terrorist organization to assassinate the leader of one of New York’s most active pro-Palestinian protest groups, according to officials and court papers. Members of the F.B.I. and the Police Department’s Joint Terrorism Task Force notified the activist, Nerdeen Kiswani, and her lawyer late Thursday that an arrest had been made in connection with an imminent attempt on her life, her lawyer and law enforcement officials said. The man who was arrested, Alexander Heifler, 26, of Hoboken, N.J., was taken into custody after detectives and federal agents searched his apartment and found eight Molotov cocktails. A police official said Friday that Mr. Heifler was a member of the JDL 613 Brotherhood, which was inspired by the Jewish Defense League, a pro-Israel group designated by the F.B.I. as a terrorist organization. Representatives of the J.D.L. and its offshoot did not immediately reply to messages seeking comment. read the complete article
At CPAC, Texas Railroad Commissioner candidate Bo French calls for deportation of 100 million people
Bo French, a Republican candidate for Texas Railroad Commissioner, on Friday said Republicans should more openly embrace Islamophobia and called on the U.S. to deport 100 million people, nearly a third of the country’s population. French, a former Tarrant County GOP chair who has previously come under fire by his own party for his repeated use of slurs on social media, made the comments at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Grapevine during a panel titled, “Don’t Sharia My Texas.” The number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. reached 14 million in 2023, according to the Pew Research Center, meaning that French is calling for deporting millions of American citizens. “Since 1965, we’ve allowed immigration from lots of places in the world whose culture and values do not align with America,” French said. French’s comments — alongside those of the other panelists on stage — were remarkable for how brazenly they embraced the banner of Islamophobia. His call comes as more in the GOP are speaking out against “Sharia law” and “radical Islam.” “I’m going to say something that’s going to make some people uncomfortable: The problem is, we call it Sharia [law], but the problem is actually Islam,” French said. “If they can infiltrate Texas and conquer Texas, then what’s going to happen? They’re going to be able to control the United States.” read the complete article
International
European cities erupt in pro-Palestine rallies amid regional escalation
Several pro-Palestine rallies have been held across Europe, drawing large crowds. "Over half a million people" marched together for Palestine and against the far right in London, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign said on X. Joined by groups including the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Stop the War Coalition, protesters also condemned Israeli strikes on Lebanon and the US-Israeli war on Iran. Demonstrators carried banners reading "Freedom for Palestine," "Stop Bombing Iran," and "Stop Arming Israel," while also speaking out against Islamophobia. Meanwhile, rallies were held across multiple regions in France following a call by around 90 organisations. In Sweden's capital Stockholm, a group of protesters also gathered, calling for a free Palestine and urging an end to the Israeli genocide. In Vienna, the Platform Palestine Solidarity Austria called for a demonstration "to stop Zionist and US aggression" amid US-Israeli attacks on Iran. A few hundred people also gathered in The Hague, Netherlands, to protest the war in Iran. read the complete article
‘What happens in Gaza, will happen everywhere’: Palestinian ambassador to the UK warns Israel will not stop
As Israel prepares to occupy parts of southern Lebanon, weeks after warning it would take the territory, Palestine’s ambassador to the UK has warned what has happened in Gaza is only the beginning for the troubled region. Israel says it needs to create a buffer zone in Lebanon, similar to Gaza, so it can fight Hezbollah and keep its territory safe. Thousands of Lebanese have already been forced into tents, and UN calls for Lebanon’s territorial integrity to be respected appear to have fallen on deaf ears. In an interview with The Independent at the new Palestinian embassy in London, ambassador Husam Zomlot says the writing for this has always been on the wall. “Israel is always in search of an enemy because they don’t want to deal with the biggest elephant in the room, which is the Palestinian people,” he explains, when asked about the current crisis in the Middle East. “We have warned the world for years: if this can happen in Gaza, it will be done elsewhere. And here you go.” read the complete article
Israel bars Muslims from Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque for fourth consecutive week
Israeli authorities continued to bar Muslims from Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest mosque in Islam, for the fourth consecutive week, keeping the site closed since late February under the pretext of security conditions linked to the ongoing war with Iran. Israeli police kept the mosque's gates closed and deployed forces across occupied East Jerusalem's Old City to prevent worshippers from entering the compound. Authorities closed the site after the war began, citing Home Front Command directives banning large gatherings. Since then, prayers at the mosque have been restricted to only guards and members of the Islamic Waqf, which oversees the site. Israeli authorities also closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of Christianity’s most important holy sites. read the complete article
Canada
Quebec opposition against Islamophobia day of action on mosque shooting anniversary — letter sent to PM Trudeau
Quebec’s main opposition parties are coming out against a call to make the anniversary of Quebec City’s deadly mosque shooting a day of action on Islamophobia. Last week, the National Council of Canadian Muslims wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, asking for the Jan. 29 anniversary of the mass shooting one year ago to become a national day of remembrance and action on Islamophobia. The director of the organization said such a designation would help enhance public education about hate, bigotry and Islamophobia and that a day of remembrance is supported by dozens of other Canadian Muslim groups and community partners. But both the Parti Quebecois and the Coalition Avenir Quebec say the term Islamophobia is too controversial. A PQ spokesman says the party believes the tragedy should be remembered every year, but notes the term Islamophobia is already a controversial term, while the Coalition says the day should honour the victims of the shooting. read the complete article
Man who threatened to blow up a Newmarket, Ont., mosque sentenced to 1-year house arrest
A Newmarket man has been handed a one-year conditional sentence for threatening to blow up a mosque and his Muslim neighbour's home last September, police say. Donald Cameron, 54, will be on house arrest for two-thirds of the sentence, and is barred from living in Newmarket and being within 100 metres of any mosque in Canada, York Regional Police said in a news release Thursday. Cameron was arrested on Sept. 4, 2025 after police were notified of a hate-motivated incident against Newmarket's Muslim community three days prior. He pleaded guilty to two counts of uttering threats on March 18, police say. read the complete article
India
University faculty member in Bengaluru booked for Islamophobic remarks, suspended by management
Four days after a faculty member made Islamophobic slurs against a student at PES University, the Girinagar Police on Saturday (March 28) registered a suo motu case against him. Meanwhile, the university management has suspended, pending an inquiry, the faculty member who has been identifed as Muralidhar Deshpande. A video, recorded on a phone on March 24, showed the professor calling a Muslim student “terrorist” in a classroom, and it went viral on social media. According to the complaint, the professor allegedly targeted the student, Affan, calling him a “terrorist” at least 13 times during a class which had around 60 students. He is also accused of making a series of derogatory remarks, including “The Iran war happened because of people like you”, “Trump will take you away”, and “You are idiots, you will go to hell”, creating what the complainant described as a hostile and humiliating classroom environment. read the complete article