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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In France, Muslim leaders have said more must be done to counter anti-Muslim hatred in the country after a man was arrested on suspicion of stabbing a young worshipper to death inside a mosque in a southern village, meanwhile in India, a new song titled “Pehle Dharam Pocha” (They Asked About Religion First) is gaining popularity on YouTube in the country, a song whose message intentionally targets Indian Muslims, blaming them for the attack in Pahalgam, and lastly in Australia, as the country heads toward a federal election, Muslim voters find themselves at the centre of an unprecedented push for political influence. Our recommended read of the day is by Chelsia Rose Marcius and Sean Piccoli for The New York Times, who write on how the NYPD is investigating the alleged assault of a woman who was targeted by pro-Israel mobs who chanted “Death to Arabs”. This and more below:
United States
N.Y.P.D. Investigating Pro-Israel Crowd’s Attack on Woman in Brooklyn | Recommended Read
A Crown Heights woman said Monday that she wandered into the aftermath of a protest last week and was surrounded by a furious pro-Israel crowd that abused her verbally and physically, an episode that Mayor Eric Adams has said was under investigation. On Thursday night, pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters on Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli security minister, was to speak. Police officers arrived at the headquarters to quell the crowd. At one point, hundreds of men and boys, most of them Jewish, surrounded a woman, according to the police and videos of the episode. It was unclear what prompted them to close in around her. In a statement to The New York Times, a woman identified herself as the victim but asked that her name not be used for fear of retribution. She said she was not involved in the protest but had been watching with neighbors and pulled a scarf over her face when people began filming. She said she was quickly encircled by an angry crowd, who shouted abuse at her, and moved near a line of police officers for protection. The crowd began to chant “death to Arabs” in Hebrew and followed her and an officer who had begun escorting her, video shows. Many also shouted racist, sexist and anti-Arab profanities as others shoved her. At least one hurled an orange construction cone at her head before the officer was able to put her in a police vehicle, the footage shows. The woman said she was terrified as members of the crowd kicked her in the back, spat at her and threw objects at her head. The woman said apart from the lone officer who steered her through the crowd, the police did not do enough to keep her safe. She said she was scared of leading protesters to her doorstep and that she was now frightened to live in her neighborhood of nearly a decade. In another incident, pro-Israel counterprotesters harassed a second woman, who was separated from fellow pro-Palestinian demonstrators and injured, Mr. Adams said. read the complete article
New York City mayor investigating pro-Israeli mob attack on women
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced on Sunday that he has launched an investigation into two physical attacks by a pro-Israeli mob that took place as Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, visited a city neighbourhood last week. "The NYPD is investigating a series of incidents stemming from clashing protests on Thursday that began when a group of anti-Israel protesters surrounded the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters - a Jewish house of worship - in Brooklyn," Adams wrote on X, referencing the only venue that agreed to host Ben Gvir in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, a New York City borough. "Initial reports indicate that one female protester was isolated from her group, harassed by counter-protesters, and suffered injuries. In another incident, a second woman was surrounded and subjected to vile threatening by counter-protesters," he wrote. Adams did not specify that the attacks were from a pro-Israel crowd, and repeatedly called them "counter-protesters". Videos shared online show a female protester having her Palestinian flag snatched away before she is violently shoved to the side. Later videos show her on the ground as she bleeds from the head. Police did not appear to intervene. Some witnesses posting on social media said she was attacked with a brick. The woman reportedly took to Instagram, where she identified herself as an anti-Zionist Jew with an Israeli passport, as she displayed the injuries to her face. read the complete article
International
Italian police arrest French suspect in ‘anti-Muslim’ mosque murder
Italian police have arrested a man suspected of killing a Muslim worshipper in a mosque in southern France in an “Islamophobic attack”. The suspect turned himself in at a police station near Florence late on Sunday, two days after the attack at the mosque in La Grand Combe, a former mining town in the Gard region. The murder of the Malian man has been condemned as an “anti-Muslim” and “racist” crime. The French Ministry of the Interior confirmed that the suspect, born in 2004 and with no previous criminal record, had crossed into Italy before surrendering. The public prosecutor of the southern city of Ales in Gard, Abdelkrim Grini, told BFM TV that police had been tracking the suspect after he fled France, adding: “It was only a matter of time before we got our hands on him.” “The anti-Muslim motivation is the preferred lead,” he added, but noted that authorities were also exploring other motives, including a “fascination with death”. read the complete article
India Seems to Be Building Its Case for Striking Pakistan
Since the horrific terrorist attack in Kashmir last week, the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, has spoken on the phone with more than a dozen world leaders. Diplomats from 100 missions in India’s capital have filed into the foreign ministry for briefings, officials said. But the effort is largely not about rallying help to de-escalate India’s dangerous face-off with Pakistan, which it accuses of having “linkages” to the attack. Instead, according to four diplomatic officials aware of the discussions, New Delhi appears to be building a case for military action against its neighbor and archenemy. Without naming Pakistan, Mr. Modi in a speech on Thursday promised severe punishment and the razing of terror safe havens. In an indication of how volatile the situation remains, the security forces of the two sides have exchanged intermittent small-arms fire across the border, Indian officials said on Sunday. One official said the exchange of fire had happened two of the past three nights, while a second official said it was three consecutive nights. In Kashmir, Indian forces have also begun a sweeping clampdown, arresting hundreds, as they continue their hunt for the perpetrators. Anti-Muslim sentiment in India is also intensifying, with Kashmiri students studying in other Indian cities in particular facing widespread harassment and many of them feeling compelled to return home. read the complete article
France
French Muslims decry religious hatred as mosque stabbing suspect arrested
French Muslim leaders have said more must be done to counter anti-Muslim hatred in France after a man was arrested on suspicion of stabbing a young worshipper to death inside a mosque in a southern village. Olivier A, 21, a French national born in Lyon, surrendered to police in Italy on Sunday after three days on the run, French prosecutors announced on Monday morning. He is suspected of killing Aboubakar Cissé, 22, a Malian man who had trained in France as a carpenter and worked as a volunteer at the mosque in La Grand-Combe in south-eastern France. Olivier A is alleged to have entered the mosque on Friday morning and stabbed Cissé dozens of times. He is alleged to have filmed his victim in agony with a mobile phone. In the footage a man can be heard congratulating himself, saying “I did it” and shouting insults at Allah. The incident in the village in provincial France has caused shock, prompting the president, Emmanuel Macron, to say there is no place for religious hate in French society and the prime minister, François Bayrou, to denounce an “Islamophobic” crime. Mohammed Moussaoui, the head of the French Muslim council, told France Info radio: “A great majority of Muslims in France feel that anti-Muslim hatred is not taken as seriously as other hate.” He said Muslims were worried and concerned about the current climate and asked why an anti-terrorism inquiry had not been opened into the case. read the complete article
'Double standard' in France: 'Whenever a mosque is attacked, no minister turns up'
A man suspected of fatally stabbing a young Malian in a mosque in southern France and filming the victim's agony has surrendered to police in Italy. Identified as 21-year-old Oliver Hadzovic by Italian police, and Olivier A. by French prosecutors, he was not driven by anti-Islamic motives, his lawyer said. The suspect claimed he "killed the first person he saw" and expressed no hostility toward Islam or mosques. François Picard discusses the case with author and scholar Olivier Esteves. He is a Professor of British Studies and Political Science at the University of Lille. read the complete article
Protests in Paris against Islamophobia after mosque stabbing
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Paris to protest against Islamophobia after a Muslim man was stabbed to death at a mosque in southern France. Video has emerged showing the alleged attacker before the crime. French politicians attended the rally, condemning the growing climate of Islamophobia in the country. read the complete article
Murder at mosque in southern France: 'The political climate only encourages such acts'
Last Friday a Muslim worshipper was stabbed to death at a mosque in the small southern French town of La Grand-Combe. The suspect then fled but has since been arrested in Italy. The brutal killing of the young victim, Aboubakar Cissé, has caused deep grief, anger and political controversy. The government has been accused of being slow to react to the killing while a section of the French Left has attacked the mood of “Islamophobia” in France. In the wake of this stabbing Mediapart spoke to Abdallah Zekri, the rector of the Sud-Nîmes mosque in southern France and vice-president of the Muslim representative body the Conseil français du culte musulman (CFCM). He criticised the way Muslims in France are stigmatised and said he, too, was shocked by the slow response of the authorities after the young man's murder. He spoke to Mediapart's Yann Philippin. read the complete article
Australia
Not one voice, but a chorus: Is Muslim political disagreement a sign of internal division or collective maturity?
As Australia heads toward a federal election, Muslim voters find themselves at the centre of an unprecedented push for political influence. Advocacy groups like Muslim Votes Matter and The Muslim Vote have sprung up to rally Muslim Australians around shared concerns — from domestic violence and gambling reform to foreign policy, especially the war in Gaza. Their message is simple: mobilise, vote strategically and make the community’s voice heard. This political awakening comes amid broader disenchantment, especially after months of devastation in Gaza. Muslim communities across Australia have felt ignored or sidelined by major parties, and anger has galvanised calls for independent political action. But as this new political consciousness grows, so does internal debate. What does Muslim political engagement look like in a secular democracy? And can unity coexist with diversity of opinion? read the complete article
India
‘Traitors’: Hate-filled songs target Indian Muslims after Kashmir attack
Less than 24 hours after news broke of the April 22 attack, in which gunmen killed 25 tourists and a local pony rider in the Indian-administered Kashmir region, a new song surfaced on Indian YouTube. The song, titled “Pehle Dharam Pocha” (They Asked About Religion First) targeted Indian Muslims, insisted they were conspiring against Hindus and asked them to leave India. In less than a week, the song has garnered more than 140,000 views on YouTube. And it is not the only song. The killings in the picturesque resort town of Pahalgam marked the worst attack against tourists in Kashmir in a quarter of a century. But even as New Delhi hits back against Pakistan, which it accuses of links to the attack – a charge Islamabad denies – a wave of incendiary music tracks, crafted and circulated within hours, has set off an anti-Muslim backlash in India. Set to pulsing beats and catchy rhymes, these songs, part of a genre that has come to be known as Hindutva Pop, are calling for violent retribution for the attack. From songs that label Indian Muslims as “traitors” to songs that advocate their boycott, the country’s smartphones are buzzing. Hindutva is the Hindu majoritarian political ideology of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies. Al Jazeera found at least 20 songs that carried and amplified such Islamophobic themes at a time when Indians were anxiously scrolling through their digital feeds for more information on the aftermath of the attack. read the complete article