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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the United States, according to a federal workplace discrimination lawsuit. a commercial cleaning company in Florida is accused of refusing service to Muslim clients, meanwhile in Indian-administered Kashmir, an important Islamic seminary has been declared unlawful under anti-terror laws, prompting backlash from prominent religious and political leaders, and lastly in the UK, in an interview with WalesOnline, Francesca O’Brien insists she is “neither far-right nor anti-Islam” despite a trove of past statements indicating otherwise. Our recommended read of the day is by Anna Claire Vollers for Stateline on how “Republican lawmakers and candidates across the country have escalated their anti-Islam rhetoric in recent months, a strategy aimed at energizing voters by claiming without evidence that Muslim culture and religious tenets threaten American political values.” This and more below:
United States
GOP candidates revive anti-Islam attacks as midterms approach | Recommended Read
Republican lawmakers and candidates across the country have escalated their anti-Islam rhetoric in recent months, a strategy aimed at energizing voters by claiming without evidence that Muslim culture and religious tenets threaten American political values. Political observers say Republicans are seizing on anti-Islamic sentiment to gin up enthusiasm among their voters as they head into the 2026 midterm elections. It’s been a successful campaign strategy in the past. Aggressive enforcement tactics have soured many Americans on hard-line immigration policies, once a winning issue for conservatives, and GOP victories on abortion and transgender rights have blunted the electoral power of those issues. Instead, GOP candidates in some of the highest-profile political races in the country are putting Islam and the nebulous threat of Shariah at the center of their campaigns. read the complete article
Pro-Trump commercial cleaning company refused Muslim clients, lawsuit says
The Trump-loving boss at a large commercial cleaning company told employees he was happy to solicit business from Christian churches but that mosques were off-limits because he did not want Muslims as customers, according to a federal workplace discrimination lawsuit reviewed by The Independent. In her complaint, 49-year-old Allison Creveling, a former business development manager at Southern Cleaning Service Inc.’s Jacksonville, Florida office, says she “personally witnessed” a top executive openly demean women and minorities, reserving a particular animus toward those of the Muslim faith. “By way of example, when [Creveling] suggested approaching a local mosque as a potential client, an approach consistent with another business development manager’s practice of soliciting churches, [Regional Vice President of Operations David] McDowell reacted with a strong objection and stated that he would not allow a Muslim client,” the complaint alleges. read the complete article
Ogles visit to Belmont University stirs discord over anti-Muslim comments, DEI
U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles’s Monday visit to Belmont University drew protests from students who allege his appearance violated the school’s policies. Protesters outside the room in which he spoke at an event sponsored by the Belmont College Republicans shouted, “You aren’t welcome here, Andy Ogles!” video showed. Ogles’s appearance came less than a year after he called for a federal investigation into the Nashville school for allegedly rebranding its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), in what he termed “defiance” of an executive order by President Donald Trump banning all diversity programs at colleges. In an email sent to the Belmont Office of Student Engagement, Grace McNamara — a student who volunteers with Nashville Indivisible, a progressive organization started after Trump’s 2016 election — singled out Ogles’s recent comments about U.S. Muslims. On March 9 , Ogles posted on the social media platform X, “Muslims don’t belong in American society,” one of several anti-Muslim statements McNamara cited. “Congressman Ogles consistently speaks and acts in ways that contradict the values of Belmont University,” McNamara wrote. “Because of this, his presence on campus constitutes a potential threat to the safety and well-being of students.” read the complete article
Texas GOP’s Anti-Sharia Crusade: The Dangerous History of State Islamophobia
You can forgive Texas historians if they are overwhelmed by a sense of déjà vu as they witness the hate and vitriol aimed at Muslims by Texas Republicans today. The over-the-top Islamophobia embraced in recent years at all levels of the state GOP echoes the paranoid slanders once aimed at Texas Catholics by the anti-immigrant Know-Nothing Party of the 1850s, the 1920s Ku Klux Klan in Dallas, W.A. Criswell (the longtime pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas), and other bigots who strived to make the state an unwelcoming place for newcomers. U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, whose district extends from San Antonio to Austin and who next month faces off against Sen. Mayes Middleton in the Republican runoff for state attorney general, recently joined Rep. Keith Self of Collin County to form the anti-Muslim Sharia-Free America Caucus in the U.S. House. Sharia is a set of principles Muslims believe derive from the word of God. American mosques sometimes offer non-binding mediation services based on sharia to resolve business disputes or marital conflicts among their members, similar to what’s offered at synagogues and Catholic churches across the country. Such voluntary mediations unfold entirely in-house. Roy and Self, however, claim that American Muslims conspire to force sharia on all Americans. Self said his Sharia-Free America Caucus will defend the country against “the rise of mass Islamic immigration in north Texas” and “save Western Civilization” from the supposed threat of Muslim law. read the complete article
India
'The myth of the Muslim vote in West Bengal. We aren’t a monolith'
The West Bengal election has been contentious, marked by the BJP's ideological pursuit and concerns over mass voter deletions disproportionately affecting minorities. The Muslim vote, nearly 30% of the population, is becoming complex with new political challengers. The author argues that voter suppression and unfair practices mean democracy loses, regardless of the winner. read the complete article
United Kingdom
They say she's far right, anti-Islamic and anti-benefits. She denies it
The headlines about Francesca O'Brien over the years have been bruising. When the former Conservative, who defected to Reform last year, stood for Parliament in 2019, she was heavily criticised for since-deleted social media posts in which she suggested people on the C4 show Benefits Street "need putting down". And last year, she faced anger for chairing a meeting at a Swansea primary school alongside members of the controversial group Voice of Wales, who have been designated a far-right hate organisation by Hope Not Hate. She was accused of stirring up religious tensions at the meeting at which she's alleged to have claimed that a representative from a local mosque made pupils pray on Muslim mats and recite prayers from the Quran. In a clear rebuke, Swansea council condemned the claims saying: "We want to make it clear the statements and assertions being made are inaccurate and untrue." Yet O'Brien is adamant it's wrong to portray her as an extremist or associate her with people on the far-right. In an interview with WalesOnline ahead of May's Senedd Election, she insists she is neither far-right nor anti-Islam. read the complete article
Israel
Israel's Opposition Would Do Well to Remember: There Is No Democracy Without Arabs
The declaration by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid that they would run together on a joint list included a celebratory invitation to Gadi Eisenkot to join them. "Gadi, our door is open to you, too," they stated. It's a pity they made a point of slamming the door in the face of their former partner in the government of change: United Arab List chairman Mansour Abbas. "The Arab parties are not Zionist and therefore we will not rely on them," Bennett said. Disappointingly, Eisenkot toed the same line. He called for a meeting of opposition heads without the Arab parties "in order to guarantee victory through Zionist and good governance votes." The bottom line is that all the Zionist opposition parties, save for the Democrats, headed by Yair Golan, oppose establishing a government that relies on Arab parties. It is a sign of moral poverty for a camp that waves the flags of democracy and liberalism. We shouldn't normalize the idea of a "Zionist" opposition to cover up its ambition to establish a purely Jewish government. read the complete article
International
Kashmir seminary declared unlawful under anti-terror law, sparks outcry
An important Islamic seminary in Kashmir has been declared unlawful under anti-terror laws, prompting backlash from prominent religious and political leaders in the Indian-administered territory. Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Anshul Garg issued the order based on a police dossier that alleged “sustained and covert links” between the seminary and the banned political party Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), local media reported. The seminary, Jamia Siraj-ul-Uloom, is one of the largest in southern Kashmir and is recognised by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education. The dossier stated that members of Jamia Siraj-ul-Uloom’s management and faculty were linked to JeI. It also cited other allegations related to land use and financial transparency. The move was handed down under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), a much-criticised law that allows authorities to designate someone a “terrorist” without evidence. Seminary chairman Mohammad Shafi Lone has reportedly rejected the allegations. “We are a law-abiding institute and have nothing to do with the banned Jamaat-e-Islami,” the Hindustan Times reported him as saying. “This order has created panic among parents and students enrolled here.” read the complete article