Arsalan Iftikhar, Author at Bridge Initiative

03 Nov 2023 | Terms/Tropes

Report: Islamophobia Lower Among US Latinos

To understand how Latino people across America view Islam and Muslims, the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) published an October 2023 report, which found that Latinos generally have lower levels of Islamophobia than other racial and ethnic groups in America today. read the complete article

Editorial

08 Sep 2023 | Law Enforcement

Canada is Experiencing a Rise in Anti-Muslim Attacks

There are nearly 2 million Muslims across Canada- constituting nearly 5% of the country’s total population- who call the Great White North their homes today. At the same time, we are also witnessing a recent... read the complete article

Article

28 Jul 2023 | Law Enforcement

UN Finally Visits Guantanamo Bay Prison After 20 Years

The extrajudicial prison at Guantanamo Bay has been a global stain on America and our legal concept of “due process” for over 20 years because almost 800 Muslim men and boys disappeared there (many of them without ever being charged with a crime). read the complete article

Article

06 Jul 2023 | Policy/Law

Report on #BankingWhileMuslim Analyzes Financial Islamophobia

A March 2023 study from the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) analyzed survey data on banking challenges from financial institutions which millions of American Muslims face today. The study highlighted the impact these restrictions have on the ability for millions of American Muslims to run civic/charitable organizations, open personal bank accounts, or even buy movie tickets via PayPal and Venmo. read the complete article

Editorial

02 Feb 2023

U.S. Should Appoint Islamophobia Envoy Like Canada

In January 2023, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he would appoint Amira Elghawaby to become Canada’s first special representative for combating Islamophobia to tackle racism, discrimination and religious intolerance faced by millions of... read the complete article

Editorial

12 Dec 2022 | Terms/Tropes

Western Double Standards & 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup

The recent controversies surrounding the 2022 FIFA World Cup revolve around an ongoing orientalist lens where Western pundits still continue to view the greater Muslim world laced in condescension and double standards not given to other non-Muslim countries, (like China or Russia) who get to host global sporting events without much controversy at all. read the complete article

Article

07 Nov 2022 | Individuals

India’s 2022 Anti-Muslim Yearbook: Bollywood Bigotry & Hijab Bans

India’s movie industry known as “Bollywood” has cemented itself as the world’s leading film market when it comes to selling seats (2 billion tickets sold annually). Even though India’s most famous Bollywood superstar is a... read the complete article

Editorial

04 Nov 2022 | Politics

Please Don’t Let Islamophobia Co-Opt Hijab Protests

In my nearly two decades as an international human rights lawyer, I have rarely seen stranger political bedfellows than watching anti-Muslim forces cheering pro-democracy Iranians in the wake of the horrific murder of 22-year-old Mahsa... read the complete article

Article

04 Oct 2022 | Individuals

Report: Muslims Represent Only 1% of Hollywood TV Roles

Even though the world’s 1.9 billion Muslims currently represent nearly one-fourth (24%) of the world’s nearly 8 billion person population today, a recent September 2022 report from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative... read the complete article

Article

06 Sep 2022 | Individuals

Fifth Anniversary of Rohingya Muslim Genocide in Myanmar

Approximately five years ago- on August 25, 2017- the military of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) began a campaign of ethnic cleansing against over 1,000,000 Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state. The military defended its actions,... read the complete article