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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In Australia, the Australian Human Rights Commission is investigating a complaint against the New South Wales multiculturalism minister and his department over allegations of racial discrimination against organisations representing south Asian Muslims and caste-oppressed Hindu communities, meanwhile in the United States, a traveling exhibit called “Inspired Generosity” aiming to challenge growing anti-Muslim and anti-Somali sentiment in the U.S. opens at the University of Minnesota this week, and lastly in India, the ruling-BJP “banks on a mix of xenophobic anti-Muslim policies and financial aid schemes aimed at women to retain power” in the state of Assam, argues Arshad Ahmed. Our recommended read of the day is by Noah Lanard for Mother Jones on the growth and influence of political Islamophobia within the U.S. Republican Party and the inaction of party leaders to do much of anything to stop it. This and more below:
United States
Republican Islamophobia Has Reached Shocking New Levels | Recommended Read
If you have the good fortune of not spending time on Elon Musk’s X, it is hard to grasp just how blatant the anti-Muslim hate coming from GOP lawmakers—and tolerated by their leaders—has become. Take Rep. Andy Ogles, the Tennessee Republican who declared last month that “Muslims don’t belong in American society.” Since that post, Ogles has shared anti-Muslim content on X more than 100 times. Ogles is not alone, either. Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) wrote on X in February that, “If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.” He added this month: “We need more Islamophobia, not less.” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), meanwhile, recently shared photos of the 9/11 terror attacks alongside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani with the caption, “The enemy is inside the gates.” In response, Republicans leaders have done little. House Speaker Mike Johnson said last month that he talked to his members about “our tone and our message,” while noting that he would use different language. At the same time, he’s tried to explain away the anti-Muslim rhetoric by saying that there is a “lot of popular sentiment that the demand to impose Sharia law in America is a serious problem.” The legislators attacking Muslims in the most aggressive terms today have also been loyal supporters of Israel in a party that is increasingly divided over support for the nation, particularly since the start of the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran. Their Islamophobia directs animus at a more familiar Republican scapegoat at a time when people on the far-right are flirting with, or openly embracing, antisemitism. It also affords lawmakers like Ogles a chance to generate outrage without major risk to reelection. In the modern GOP, attacking Israel still carries serious political risk; going after Muslims does not. read the complete article
Perry: On Pete Hegseth, and the right’s dangerous obsession with the Crusades
Two decades later, here we go again. This time, the bad actors are deliberately comparing themselves to medieval crusaders, asking God to support their violent misdeeds and promoting virulent Islamophobia that puts us all in danger. So much of this current story revolves around not just Iran, but also Minnesota. The misuse of history starts near the top — not with President Donald Trump, whose relationship to faith is incoherent at best — but from Minnesota’s own Pete Hegseth. The defense secretary is a follower of pastor Doug Wilson, an evangelical Christian who believes slavery was fine and that women shouldn’t vote. Hegseth recently invited Wilson to give a sermon at the Pentagon, where he prayed for what he described as a new Christian awakening in the U.S. Hegseth, like many Republicans, frequently states that we live in a Christian nation, which for him apparently includes divine authorization for violence against non-Christians. In a recent prayer service, he called for divine aid in supporting the war against Iran, asking God to “make their [the enemy’s] land a desolation,” to “break the teeth of the ungodly,” and to give the American task force “unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence … against those who deserve no mercy.” This kind of language should be shocking, unless you believe, like Hegseth, that this is a Christian nation where the rest of us (I’m Jewish) are necessarily at best second-class residents. Although religious rhetoric linked to American military action isn’t new — I’m thinking again of 2006, but it’s as old as this country — what Hegseth is doing isn’t just praying for success or the safety of our troops, but instead suggesting that the violence itself is sanctified, holy in nature, unchecked by human norms. read the complete article
Traveling exhibit challenges stereotypes about Muslim giving
As politicians in Washington singled out Somali and Muslim immigrant communities in Minnesota last year, a familiar stereotype resurfaced: Muslims as outsiders and “takers.” And amid a high-profile investigation into a pandemic-related fraud scheme in the state, advocates say suspicion of Muslims rose and their contributions to Minnesota’s economy, culture and communities were disregarded. A traveling exhibit called “Inspired Generosity” aims to challenge that. It opened in Minneapolis last week at the Robert J. Jones Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center Gallery at the University of Minnesota and highlights how Muslims in the U.S. have served their neighbors for decades. First debuted in Atlanta in September 2024, it arrives with new resonance after months of federal immigration enforcement that has shaken the city’s Somali and Muslim neighborhoods. “People think of Muslims, unfortunately, as proselytizers, takers, that we are not contributing to our country,” said Dilnaz Waraich, president of the WF Fund, a philanthropic group that organized the exhibit. “We need to tell different stories of generosity.” read the complete article
Tuberville’s anti-Muslim rhetoric catches on among Alabama Republicans in campaign year
Pinned at the top of his social media page, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., displays his controversial, widely-shared post depicting side-by-side pictures of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani next to a photo of the 9/11 attacks, with the caption that reads “the enemy is inside the gates.” On the Senate floor, Tuberville has stood behind a lectern multiple times and warned against the dangers of “radical Islam” and vowed to fight against Sharia law. Now, the senator turned frontrunner for governor’s anti-Muslim rhetoric on social media and in the Capitol is being mimicked down the GOP primary ballot in Alabama. Jay Mitchell, a Republican candidate for attorney general, released a new campaign ad. In it, he said if you support “radical Islam,” “you can Allahu Akbar your butt all the way back to the Middle East.” The attacks are also present in the race to become Alabama’s next lieutenant governor. Recently, Republican candidate Wes Allen called out fellow GOP candidate John Wahl for visiting an interfaith gathering at the Anniston Islamic Center during Ramadan. The rise in harsh rhetoric toward Islam and Muslims by Republican leaders is not new nor is it unique to Alabama politicians, but the frequency has turned up a notch during the campaign season and in the wake of the Iran war. read the complete article
Fight Over Funding Islamic Schools in Texas Exposes G.O.P. Tensions
A floor-to-ceiling image of President Trump watched over the prayer hall at Iman Academy, an Islamic private school in Houston, in the same space where students also recite the Pledge of Allegiance. School leaders hoped such examples of patriotism, along with students’ academic success, would prove the Iman Academy was fit to participate in a new Texas program that will provide public funds for private schools later this year. But they also worried that their school, and others featuring Islamic religious instruction, would not be included. That’s because the rollout of Texas’ private school voucher program, among the largest in the nation, landed this year in the middle of a sharp escalation in anti-Muslim rhetoric on the right. The voucher program has set off bitter political and legal fights in Texas, inflaming rivalries among top Republicans and drawing Islamic schools to federal court over what they contend is religious discrimination. Republican politicians in a number of states have recently voiced anti-Muslim sentiment reminiscent of the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The rhetoric has been particularly direct in the 2026 midterm campaigns in Texas, where the Muslim population has grown in recent decades. read the complete article
United Kingdom
The Guardian view on Britain’s religious right: using and abusing faith in the pursuit of power
In an interview conducted a few days after the beginning of Lent, Reform UK’s Muslim home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, outlined a new policy to prevent churches being converted to mosques. This was an “incendiary” issue relating to Christian heritage, Mr Yusuf claimed, which was causing anxiety across the United Kingdom. Subsequent analysis by the Times – which conducted the interview – concluded that instances of churches becoming mosques were in fact extremely rare, adding up to less than 0.09% of the 47,000 churches active in the 1960s. Mr Yusuf’s solution to this alleged crisis – which involved granting automatic listed status to churches, and changing planning laws to restrict change of use – was also widely questioned. For many churches struggling to fund repairs through the contributions of thinned-out congregations, the onerous bureaucratic obstacles posed by listed status would only be another expensive headache. Mr Yusuf will not care much about any of that. The point of the policy is to sow cultural division for political gain, and position Reform as the party of a besieged Christian majority. The object of the far-right-inspired Unite the Kingdom march last September, which featured wooden crosses and chants of “Christ is King”, was the same. The Conservative MP Nick Timothy has recently also done his bit to foment discord, describing public Muslim prayers during Ramadan as an act of “domination”. This insidious agenda flagrantly channels fears expressed in the great replacement conspiracy theory, which claims that migration is being used to change the cultural “DNA” of Europe. It hijacks the Christian traditions of a now largely secular country to legitimise a callous disregard for the rights of refugees, particularly Muslim ones, and inculcate hostility towards Britain’s multicultural reality. read the complete article
Racist graffiti sprayed at mosque for second time
Racist graffiti has been sprayed on the walls of a Birmingham mosque and community centre for the second time in two days. The Jami Community and Education Centre was targeted on Kettle Road in Kingstanding on Friday, following a similar incident in the early hours of Wednesday, West Midlands Police said. Officers stepped up patrols in the area this week after the the word "terrorists" was sprayed on the building, with one volunteer telling the BBC windows were also smashed two weeks ago. The force said due to the nature of the graffiti, it was continuing to treat it as racially/religiously aggravated criminal damage, and appealed for more information. read the complete article
India
‘Cocktail of Hindutva and welfarism’: How Modi’s BJP is wooing Assam voters
Amoiya Medhi says attending an election rally organised by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in her hometown in India’s northeastern state of Assam is a matter of both religious compulsion and personal gratitude. Nitin Nabin, the BJP’s national president and chief guest at the event, trumpeted the welfare schemes launched by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s government – schemes that Nabin claimed benefitted the Assamese people, especially women. Medhi, 38, nodded in agreement as she listened attentively to the speeches. “This government has done so much for everyone, including women,” she told Al Jazeera. “I am going to only vote for the BJP.” Since becoming the chief minister in 2021, Sarma has been accused of pursuing a hardline Hindu supremacist agenda (popularly known as “Hindutva”) coupled with a xenophobic campaign targeting Muslims. They constitute 34 percent of Assam’s 31 million population, according to the last census conducted in 2011. That’s the highest among Indian states, with only the federally-governed territories of Indian-administered Kashmir and Lakshadweep higher. read the complete article
Australia
Australian Human Rights Commission investigates racial discrimination complaint against NSW government
The Australian Human Rights Commission is investigating a complaint against the New South Wales multiculturalism minister and his department over allegations of racial discrimination against organisations representing south Asian Muslims and caste-oppressed Hindu communities. According to an email seen by Guardian Australia, the Human Rights Commission last month accepted the complaint, against Steve Kamper and his department, for investigation. The Human Rights Commission can accept a complaint when it is “reasonably arguable” that the alleged conduct is unlawful discrimination. The complaint, lodged in December by the Alliance Against Islamophobia and Periyar Ambedkar Thoughts Circle of Australia (Patca), alleges Kamper and Multicultural NSW racially discriminated against the groups on a number of grounds. This includes an alleged failure to investigate the groups’ allegations about the Hindu Council of Australia. It was also alleged that both minimised concerns raised by Muslim and caste-oppressed communities. read the complete article
International
CAIR Condemns Neo-Nazi, Racist Vandalism Targeting Mosques in Sweden and UK
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned reported neo-Nazi and racist vandalism attacks targeting mosques in Sweden and the United Kingdom. Vandals reportedly defaced a mosque in Uppsala, Sweden, with Nazi symbols and racist graffiti. In a separate incident, a mosque in the United Kingdom was also targeted with hateful graffiti. read the complete article