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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In Australia, many Australian Muslims are experiencing a swell of hope for change as campaigns across the country are encouraging members of the community to go to the polls and have their voices be heard, meanwhile in the United States, Meta’s oversight board concluded that the company announced sweeping content moderation changes “hastily” in January, and with no indication it had considered the human rights impact, and lastly, Israel’s far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who openly supports the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, met with Republican leaders at Mar-A-Lago and stated they were in full support of Israel’s plans to bomb Gaza’s humanitarian aid stations. Our recommended read of the day is by Maysa Mustafa for Middle East Eye, who writes about the spike in anti-Muslim sentiment on social media following the deadly attack in Indian-occupied Kashmir, as thousands fear potential retaliations against the region and wider Muslim populations in India. This and more below:
International
Muslims fear potential 'Israel-like' retaliation after Kashmir attack | Recommend Read
Social media is in a frenzy following the attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, as thousands fear potential retaliations against the region and wider Muslim populations in India. At least 26 tourists were killed and 13 others injured after gunmen opened fire on a group of tourists in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir on Tuesday, according to Indian police. The attack took place in a meadow a few kilometres from central Pahalgam, a tourist destination that lies about 90km from Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. As the attack has been receiving continuous media coverage and attention from international leaders, people online are highlighting the long history of what many call the Indian "occupation" of the area that has led to this moment. Reactions to the attack - with some posts calling for an "Israel-like solution" to Kashmir - have led many social media users to draw parallels between Israel and India, as well as to the reactions that followed the Hamas-led attack on 7 October and Tuesday's attack in Pahalgam. "Israel's tactics have become the blueprint for every fascist occupier in the world. I am terrified of what is about to happen in the next few days," a Kashmiri social media user posted on X. "The calls for an "Israel-like solution" in Kashmir are spiraling. Talk show hosts demand revenge. On Republic TV, Arnab Goswami says, 'There needs to be a final solution.' When genocidal language becomes primetime rhetoric, it’s not just incitement—it’s infrastructure for mass violence," writer Suchitra Vijayan wrote in a post on X. read the complete article
‘I’m a Muslim and he was my inspiration’ – world pays tribute to Pope Francis
After making his last public appearance on Easter Sunday in St Peter’s Square, Pope Francis died the next day at the age of 88. As head of the Catholic church, his appeal went far beyond those within his congregation. Many appreciated his views on the environment, his calls for ending poverty and inequality and for his compassionate approach to the papacy. Here, people from around the world recall their memories of the pontiff and pay tribute ahead of the conclave to choose his successor. ‘I’m a Muslim and he was my inspiration’ He was a unique person who inspired Catholics and non-Catholics. I’m a Muslim and Pope Francis was my inspiration. He is a role model on how religious leaders should be. Unfortunately, nowadays such leaders don’t exist. Enesa, 53, lawyer, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina read the complete article
Israeli Far-Right Minister Makes Disturbing Comment After GOP Meeting
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right security minister who openly supports the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, said on Wednesday that the Republican leaders he met with in the United States were in full support of his plans to bomb Gaza’s humanitarian aid stations. “I had the honor and privilege of meeting with senior Republican Party officials at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate,” Ben-Gvir wrote on X. “They expressed support for my very clear position on how to act in Gaza and that the food and aid depots should be bombed in order to create military and political pressure to bring our hostages home safely.” This is par for the course for a government that has massacred hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the name of self-defense. Ben-Gvir doubled down on his hatred shortly after. “I see the reports about the debate over who should bring ‘humanitarian’ aid into Gaza: Well, it’s a fundamentally stupid debate, because the entire Strip should not receive any ounce of aid as long as our hostages are being held there,” he said. Ben-Gvir has a long history of cruel, racist, anti-Arab sentiments that has led him to be convicted of eight charges related to incitement of racism and support for Israeli terrorism against Arabs. Multiple protests have erupted around his visit to the United States. read the complete article
How the Holocaust is weaponised to repress anti-genocide voices
Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day, Wednesday and Thursday this week, will likely see Israeli and US politicians use the opportunity to suggest that their destruction of Gaza is somehow about protecting Jews from another Holocaust - and that anyone who protests against this destruction is really motivated by antisemitism. It’s not just Netanyahu and Biden who have misused the Holocaust in this way. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was clearly referring to the pro-Palestine movement when he talked about antisemitism on university campuses and “hatred marching on our streets” in a speech at the Holocaust Educational Trust last September. This misuse of the Holocaust and antisemitism to discredit opponents of the Gaza genocide has now paved the way for the UK government to announce a new law banning protests near places of worship, including synagogues. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s justification for this was that several London synagogues had been “disrupted” by pro-Palestine protests on “too many occasions”. What she didn’t mention was that there hasn’t been a single reported incident of any threat to a synagogue linked to any pro-Palestine demonstration. This is consistent with my own experience as someone who has, along with many others, carried signs highlighting my Jewish heritage at numerous pro-Palestine demonstrations. Unfortunately, as in the US and Germany, the UK government’s priority is not to defend the rights of its citizens, but to defend its support for seemingly endless wars in the Middle East. The fact that police recently questioned Holocaust survivor Stephen Kapos over his participation in a pro-Palestine protest on 18 January is just one indicator of this very worrying trend towards more war and repression This misuse of antisemitism and the Holocaust, as well as the mistreatment of Holocaust survivors, is shocking. But perhaps we shouldn't be so shocked. After all we're not shocked when Vladimir Putin uses the memory of Nazi atrocities to justify his war in Ukraine. read the complete article
United States
Amid Feud With Trump, Harvard Pushed Back Release of Antisemitism, Anti-Muslim Bias Task Force Reports From Early April
Harvard intended to publish the long-awaited reports of its task forces on combating antisemitism and Islamophobia in early April but delayed their public release, four people familiar with the matter said. The delay came as the Trump administration escalated its pressure campaign against Harvard, demanding that the University accept a set of sweeping conditions to keep more than $8 billion in federal funding. The reports were first scheduled to be released last fall. After issuing preliminary recommendations in June, neither task force has released an update on the status of their work — a delay that Harvard’s top critics in Washington have noted. A person briefed on the matter said the final report on antisemitism went through several drafting stages before being completed by late March and has not been changed substantially since. In their preliminary findings released in June, the task forces found that both pro-Palestine and pro-Israel students reported facing harassment and discrimination. The Islamophobia task force recommended that the University fund a visiting professorship in Palestinian studies, and both groups urged Harvard to take steps to address discrimination against students. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Meta ‘hastily’ changed moderation policy with little regard to impact, says oversight board
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta announced sweeping content moderation changes “hastily” and with no indication it had considered the human rights impact, the social media company’s oversight board has said. The assessment of the changes came as the board also criticised the Facebook and Instagram owner for leaving up three posts containing anti-Muslim and anti-migrant content during riots in the UK last summer. The oversight board raised concerns about the company’s announcement in January that it was removing factcheckers in the US, reducing “censorship” on its platforms and recommending more political content. In its first official statement on the changes, the board – which issues binding decisions on removing Meta content – said the company had acted too quickly and should gauge the impact of its changes on human rights. The criticism of the changes was published alongside a series of content rulings including admonishment of Meta for leaving up three Facebook posts related to riots that broke out across the UK in the wake of the Southport attack on 29 July last year, in which three young girls were murdered. Axel Radukabana was jailed for a minimum of 52 years for carrying out the attack. The board said the three posts, which contained a range of anti-Muslim sentiment, incited violence and showed support for the riots, “created the risk of likely and imminent harm” and should have been taken down. It added that Meta had been too slow to implement crisis measures as riots broke out across the UK. read the complete article
Australia
‘Sick of being ignored’: galvanised by Gaza, Australian Muslims aim to exert new political power at the election
In elections gone by, Az Fahmi volunteered for Labor’s home affairs minister, Tony Burke, in her electorate of Watson in Sydney’s south-west. Now she wants change. “Enough is enough. We’re sick of being taken for granted. We’re sick of being ignored,” says the campaign volunteer, who works in communications. “For the first time in a very long time, you’re seeing our community really become invested in the electoral process, and starting to believe that there is hope for change.” “I think this is the first election that I’m going to be walking into with a really keen understanding of how the government will be supporting the Muslim community with the challenges that they’re facing,” she says. They are two Australian Muslims who are mobilising as a result of a war fought thousands of kilometres away. Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, triggered by the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023, has galvanised a political shift among some of Australia’s 650,000-odd voting-age Muslims who do not feel represented in Canberra.“There is no question that the Palestine issue is way bigger than politicians realise,” says Nasser Mashni, the president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (Apan), which is leading the Vote with Palestine campaign. But the conflict is far from the only issue affecting the diverse community. Healthcare, housing and cost of living are all flashpoints – when Fahmi travels to other parts of Sydney, Watson’s inequalities sharpen, she says. read the complete article