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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the United Kingdom, a man who racially abused a Sikh woman as he raped her has pleaded guilty to the assault after being confronted in court by a member of the public, meanwhile in India, in West Bengal, a total of 9.1 million names have been deleted from the voting register by the BJP-led government as a way of stopping “infiltrators”, a pejorative term referring to illegal Muslim Bangladeshi immigrants, and lastly in Austria, a new legal opinion has found that a planned regulation banning girls under 14 from wearing headscarves in schools is unconstitutional. Our recommended read of the day is by Ben Gerstein for Just Security on how Milorad Dodik, who denies the Srebrenica Genocide, is employing Islamophobia by framing Republika Srpska as a front line in a “Judeo-Christian vs Islam” civilizational struggle. This and more below:
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Bosnian Serb Secessionists Wield Islamophobia to Gain International Support for Their Cause | Recommended Read
A Russian-backed Bosnian Serb separatist leader ousted from office in Bosnia last year for defying the country’s international overseer has nevertheless extended his hostile campaign against Bosnia’s Muslim community, increasingly in league with far-right figures across Europe and in the United States. His rapidly escalating rhetoric has so alarmed leaders of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina that they issued a statement last month condemning the proliferation of hate speech and inflammatory narratives about Bosnia’s Muslim community, also known as Bosniaks. The Islamic Community’s statement was sparked by the recent deployment of aggressively anti-Muslim language by Milorad Dodik, the ex-President of Republika Srpska, the majority-Serb entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and other Bosnian Serb leaders in remarks to audiences in Israel and the United States. The Islamic Community’s response compared the heightened rhetoric to the hate speech and ethnically charged propaganda that inflamed tensions in the runup to the wars amid the breakup of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. read the complete article
United States
Senate Democrats fight back on anti-Muslim bills, Republicans stay silent
The Senate passed three religion-related bills Monday, drawing sharp criticism from Democrats who questioned whether the state should weigh in on international and religious matters. During Monday’s floor session, the Senate passed two House Concurrent Memorials urging President Donald Trump and Congress to designate the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, as foreign terrorist organizations. read the complete article
US Muslim groups urge Congress to back resolution against Andy Ogles’ anti-Muslim remarks
American Muslim advocacy groups and a Democratic lawmaker urged Congress on Tuesday to support a resolution condemning an anti-Muslim statement by Republican congressman Andy Ogles. Democratic Rep. Al Green said the response to the remarks reflected a broader rejection of hate. “You have shown today by your presence that you will not tolerate hateful messages emanating from the halls of Congress. You will not tolerate Islamophobia in Congress,” he said at a Capitol Hill news conference. “To allow any religion to be denied is going to subject other religions to similar circumstances at some point,” he said, invoking Martin Luther King Jr’s words that “injustice anywhere is truly a threat to justice everywhere.” “This assault on Islam by a representative in the Congress really is an assault on all of us, either directly or indirectly,” he added. read the complete article
Imam Omar Suleiman reflects on the rise in Islamophobia triggered by the U.S.-Israel war on Iran
A recent analysis of social media posts by the Center for the Study of Organized Hate has found that there was a sharp spike in anti-Muslim content online triggered by the United States and Israel’s war on Iran. The ramifications of this bigotry and misinformation, including Islamophobic rhetoric shared by senior Trump administration officials, are being felt by millions of Muslims across the country. Imam Omar Suleiman, renowned Islamic scholar and president of Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research in Texas, joins Here & Now‘s David Folkenflik to reflect on the recent rise of Islamophobia and the impact it’s having on the Muslim community in the U.S. read the complete article
Political rhetoric about Muslims reflects double standard
A dangerous and corrosive double standard has taken root in our political discourse, and it must be confronted directly without apology or hesitation. When a Muslim individual commits an act of violence, certain politicians are quick, almost eager, to label it “Islamic terrorism,” or "Islamic terrorist" recklessly assigning the actions of one person to an entire faith of nearly two billion people. Yet when equally horrific acts are carried out by others, their religion is conspicuously absent from the narrative. The conversation instead shifts to mental health, personal grievance, or circumstance. This inconsistency is not accidental; it reflects a deeper pattern of selective framing that distorts truth and undermines fairness. This is not mere inconsistency, it is deliberate distortion, and it is dangerous. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Fact Check: Video does not show mayor calling for sharia law in Britain
A shortened video showing a British mayor greeting viewers in Arabic has been falsely presented online as evidence that she called for sharia law to be implemented in Britain and for non-Muslims to be expelled. “Muslim mayor of Rotherham in the UK says that Britain can only be great again by implementing Sharia law, and demands the expulsion of all Non Muslims! Including British Citizens,” said an April 18 post, sharing the video on X that received more than 739,000 views. “Sharia Law has no place in Britain and nor does this disgraceful Rhetoric.” Similar posts, including some sharing screenshots rather than the footage, appeared on Facebook, and Instagram. However, the video does not show Rukhsana Ismail, the ceremonial mayor of Rotherham, calling for sharia law to be implemented, or for the expulsion of non-Muslims. read the complete article
Man admits rape and religiously aggravated assault after court confrontation
A man who racially abused a Sikh woman as he raped her has pleaded guilty to the assault after being confronted in court by a member of the public. John Ashby pleaded guilty to rape, religiously aggravated assault, intentional strangulation, and robbery of the woman at her home in Walsall. The victim, who is in her 20s, was due to give evidence on Tuesday. Ashby, who wrongly believed the woman was Muslim, used Islamophobic slurs during the attack, calling her a “f*cking Muslim b*tch”. read the complete article
India
Millions in India stripped of vote before critical state election, as government seeks to ‘purify’ electoral roll
Millions of people in the Indian state of West Bengal have been stripped of their vote ahead of a critical state election this week, after a controversial electoral revision described by critics as a “bloodless political genocide” and mass disenfranchisement of minorities. In West Bengal, a total of 9.1 million names have been deleted from the register, more than 10% of the electorate. While many were dead or duplicates, about 2.7 million people have challenged their expulsions, but still been removed. The process of revising the electoral roll, known as Special Intensive Revision (SIR), has been taking place in states and territories across India, justified by the Narendra Modi government as a way to stop “infiltrators” – a pejorative term largely referring to illegal Muslim Bangladeshi immigrants – from voting. The divisive exercise by the central Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) government to “purify” the electoral roll – in the words of home minister Amit Shah – has led to a chorus of fury. read the complete article
Austria
Austria headscarf ban for young girls 'unconstitutional' in legal opinion
A legal opinion commissioned by the Islamic Religious Community in Austria has found that a planned regulation banning girls under 14 from wearing headscarves in schools is unconstitutional. The 21-page report, published Tuesday on the group’s website, said the rule – set to take effect in September – violates the principle of religious and ideological neutrality. According to a 21-page report published on Tuesday on the Muslim representative body’s website, the rule set to take effect in schools in September violates the principle of religious and ideological neutrality. read the complete article
International
Anti-Islam influencer Valentina Gomez threatens to defy UK ban by entering country via small boat
A “dangerous” anti-Islam influencer, who has been barred from entering the UK to speak at a Tommy Robinson rally, has threatened to defy the home secretary by travelling to Britain via small boat. Valentina Gomez dared the government to stop her, suggesting that Donald Trump’s White House would intervene if authorities attempted to arrest her. Ms Gomez, a US-based influencer who gained notoriety for stunts including burning a copy of the Quran, was excluded by home secretary Shabana Mahmood following a significant backlash from MPs and campaign groups. read the complete article