Search
SearchToday in Islamophobia: In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated a segment of his annual Independence Day address to praising the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist paramilitary organization, meanwhile in Australia, the Islamic Council of Victoria has reported an increase in Islamophobia, warning that the number of victims is likely far higher than reported, and in the United States, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has written a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying it appears that his department is trying “to weaponize federal terrorism laws against Cair and other American Muslim institutions based on a debunked conspiracy theory.” Our recommended read of the day is by Katie Herchenroeder for Vanity Fair on how Laura Loomer’s anti-Muslim rhetoric and anti-Palestinian bigotry have influenced the Trump administration to pause visas for Palestinian children needing U.S. medical care. This and more below:
United States
Trump Admin Halts Visas For Wounded Gazans After Laura Loomer Complains | Recommended Read
The State Department announced on Saturday morning that it was halting all visitor visas to people coming in from Gaza to “conduct a full and thorough review of the process and procedures” which were being used to issue a “small” number of visas to those seeking medical care, according to a post on X from the federal agency. The move comes less than 17 hours after Laura Loomer, a far-right, anti-Muslim commentator close to President Donald Trump who has said she’s “pro-white nationalism,” complained online about Palestinians seeking medical care after being wounded by Israel’s continued offensive in the region. “How is allowing for Islamic immigrants to come into the US America First policy?” she asked on X. “The jew hating GAZA first idiots pretend to be America First but they are America last. They want the US to be flooded with Muslims pretending to be refugees so they can cancel out our votes,” she continued, adding, “I don’t care if they are kids. The US is full.” Since Friday, Loomer has gone on a posting spree, claiming, without evidence, that an “Islamist” in the State Department “is supporting terrorism or fast tracking visas for Islamists.” After the department announced that they were halting visas to those fleeing violence in Gaza, Loomer was quick to thank Secretary Marco Rubio and take credit for his agency’s decision, writing that she “saved so many American citizens from being killed by pro-HAMAS jihadis.” “This will have a devastating and irreversible impact on our ability to bring injured and critically ill children from Gaza to the US for lifesaving medical treatment,” The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund said. “This is extremely devastating news,” Tareq Hailat, the director of Global Patient Affairs at the PCRF, told Al Jazeera. “The impact of this decision will be devastating. And the US must honestly reverse this decision immediately.” read the complete article
Head of Texas funeral commission shared anti-Islam media, pictures of Muslim state rep in texts
At 11:04 p.m. on May 20, amid the Texas Funeral Service Commission’s probe into a North Texas mosque accused of operating as a funeral home without a license, the head commissioner of Texas’ funeral regulator Kristin Tips sent then-executive director Scott Bingaman a graphic made by the Shirion Collective, a self-described pro-Israel “surveillance network.” It compared the tenets of Judaism and Christianity to the rules of Islam and Muslim countries, without context: that the Quran states non-Muslims are “subhuman,” and that touching the holy book as a non-Muslim, “can mean death,” according to text messages obtained by KERA News and first reported by the Houston Chronicle. With it, Tips shared a link to a May 9 video by YouTuber Tal Oran in which he criticized a clip from an unnamed podcast discussing EPIC City, the East Plano Islamic Center’s planned development in Collin County. Oran said the proposed community — which developers have said will not exclude non-Muslims — would breed “terrorists.” Gov. Greg Abbott had praised TFSC’s decision to investigate EPIC two months prior. It became one of five state investigations into the mosque, spurred by the negative attention the EPIC City plan attracted online earlier this year, primarily in right-wing circles. The newly revealed texts come amid a growing climate of anti-Muslim sentiment in Texas. Most recently, the chairman of the Tarrant County Republican Party, Bo French, targeted Democratic state House Rep. Salman Bhojani, who represents parts of Arlington, Euless and Bedford. In several posts on X, French called Bhojani an “anti-American democrat”, said he was trying to “further jihad,” and called on federal officials to denaturalize and deport the lawmaker, who is originally from Pakistan — which French referred to in his posts as, “the same place Osama Bin Laden hid”. French later asked his followers if the law should be changed to “forbid foreign born people from holding any elected office.” read the complete article
Cair letter to Marco Rubio: We're being targeted for Palestine advocacy
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) has asked US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to clarify comments he made on a radio show earlier this week, where he appeared to threaten the domestic non-profit group with a terror designation for alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. "Your response, whether intentional or not, appeared to raise the possibility that the State Department is trying to find a way to weaponize federal terrorism laws against Cair and other American Muslim institutions based on a debunked conspiracy theory," the letter said, asking that Rubio's office reply directly. During an interview on the Sid & Friends In the Morning podcast on Tuesday, Rubio was asked: "Why wouldn't you guys designate the Muslim Brotherhood and Cair?" "Is that something you think we can count on maybe in the near future? Maybe not Cair just yet, but certainly the Muslim Brotherhood?" In response, Rubio said: "Yeah, all of that is in the works." The letter, first seen by Middle East Eye, was sent to the secretary of state on Thursday evening local time in Washington. Cair insisted that its position on Israel's genocide in Gaza in particular is what has drawn the ire of conservative lawmakers and pro-Israel groups. "To these groups, whose top priority is protecting the Israeli government from criticism, any American Muslims who recognize that Palestinians are human beings worthy of freedom are a threat who must be smeared and silenced," the letter says. "The real reason anti-Muslim hate groups and pro-Israel lobby group obsessively target Cair... is because of our steadfast advocacy for Palestinian rights". read the complete article
Australia
Islamophobia on the rise in Australia and majority of incidents are not reported, report says
The Islamic Council of Victoria has reported an increase in Islamophobia, warning that the number of victims is likely far higher than reported. On Saturday, the council held its first conference on Islamophobia, with politicians, police, religious leaders and academics among those in attendance at the event in Melbourne. In a report released to coincide with the conference, it estimated more than 85% of Islamophobia incidents were not reported. The council received 96 individual case reports from people affected by Islamophobia since 2021, but 26 of these had come in only six months, from January to July this year, the council said. Most of the reports related to verbal abuse or mockery, followed by workplace discrimination. Islamophobia incidents that were not directly reported by a victim – but could include occurrences of anti-Muslim racism such as online “hate comments”, emails sent to Muslim organisations, “hostile phone calls” and other material including “dehumanising media commentary” – had also increased, the council said. It reported 3,254 such incidents between January and July. read the complete article
Minns unveils plan to fight anti-Muslim hate: ‘Naked racism and Islamophobia have no place in our state’
The Minns government will establish a $1m program to combat anti-Muslim hate, including establishing a support hotline for victims and a program to build awareness of Islamophobia. The initiative will fund a support hotline for those experiencing Islamophobia and a case management system for victims of abuse so authorities and the community have better information about what behaviours are being experienced. The funds will also be used to build support services for people who are affected and to provide training programs to police responding to Islamophobic attacks. The grant comes after a huge turnout for a pro-Palestine march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. An estimated 225,000 to 300,000 people turned out. The march was opposed by the premier, Chris Minns, on public safety grounds but was permitted to go ahead after organisers successfully appealed to the supreme court. Minns’ stance caused internal dissent within the NSW Labor party, particularly among MPs whose seats have large Muslim populations, who saw Minns’ response as tone-deaf to the concerns of the community. “Anecdotal evidence presented to me indicates that Islamophobia is far higher than what is reported, we don’t want Australians suffering in silence or enduring racism without help or support,” Minns said as he announced the program. read the complete article
Aftab Malik: Envoy to combat Islamophobia on his role and challenges
During his visit to Canberra in July, AMUST sat with Aftab Malik, the Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia, to discuss his role, the personal challenges he has faced, his much awaited recommendations to the Australian government, which is due to be released this month, and the next steps moving forward. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Novelist Sally Rooney says she will support Palestine Action despite ban
Author Sally Rooney says she will continue to support Palestine Action, despite the group being proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK. The award-winning Irish novelist said she intends to use the earnings of her work and her public platform to "go on supporting Palestine Action and direct action against genocide". Writing in the Irish Times, external, she said "if this makes me a supporter of terror under UK law, so be it". Her remarks come as Home Secretary Yvette Cooper again defended the proscription of Palestine Action, saying it is more than "a regular protest group known for occasional stunts". Palestine Action is a British pro-Palestinian direct action group that was proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the government in July. Their activities have predominantly targeted arms companies since the start of the current war in Gaza. read the complete article
UK Shia Muslim youth camp axed after complaint from pro-Israel organisation
A UK-based Shia Muslim charity has cited anti-Muslim hostility as a key factor in the cancellation of its children’s summer camp, following accusations that it promotes pro-Iran and extremist views. Speaking to The New Arab on Thursday, the Ahlulbayt Islamic Mission (AIM) blamed "Islamophobia" after the British right-wing Reform UK party and the pro-Israel legal advocacy group UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) claimed that Muslim children under its care were being exposed to extreme views. The AIM-run Camp Wilayah, aimed at children aged nine to 14, was due to include activities such as climbing and abseiling, alongside Islamic "lectures and discussions". "For more than 13 years, we have held our camp at Phasels Wood without a single complaint, earning praise for our conduct, safeguarding, and community spirit," an AIM spokesperson told The New Arab. “This is not about Camp Wilayah. This is about a dangerous climate in which Muslims are demonised simply for gathering, learning, and practising their faith. Instead of challenging this rising tide of bigotry, some have chosen to exploit it as a political tool," AIM told TNA. read the complete article
India
Indian PM Modi praises Hindu nationalist organisation in unprecedented Independence Day address
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated a segment of his annual Independence Day address to praising the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist paramilitary organisation, widely considered the ideological parent of Modi’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Local media reported that Friday’s comments marked the prime minister’s first mention of the RSS in his twelve Independence Day addresses to date. Describing the RSS as the “largest NGO in the world”, Modi praised its “100 years of national service” and its role in nation-building. The RSS was founded in 1925 as a volunteer organisation meant to realise the national vision of Hindutva, a Hindu nationalist ideology that believes that India is both the “father land” and “holy land” of Hindus, as opposed to religious minorities for whom the same may not be true. The ideology, whose early founders sought inspiration from both German Nazism and the Zionist movement, forms the ideological basis of the Hindu nationalist politics espoused by the BJP. With six million members across the country, and affiliated chapters in the US, UK and diaspora, the RSS has been associated with acts of Hindu extremism and religious violence. read the complete article
France
French interior minister denounces arson attack on Muslim prayer hall
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau on Friday denounced an attempted arson attack on a Muslim prayer hall in the eastern French commune of Chatillon-sur-Seine. "Last night in Châtillon-sur-Seine, individuals attempted to set fire to a Muslim prayer hall. My thoughts are with the worshippers affected by this deeply cowardly anti-Muslim act," Retailleau wrote on US social media company X. Leaflets were reportedly set alight and wedged into the front door while passers-by quickly extinguished the fire, according to broadcaster France Info. read the complete article
Netherlands
“About the hijab, it is how I am”: borderland living experienced by Norwegian Muslim hijabi women
This article examines how Norwegian Muslim hijabi women experience racialization in public space, using a mixed-method dataset to explore religious embodiment as a site of negotiation, exclusion, and belonging. It theorizes hijabi embodiment as borderland embodiment, arguing for a corporeal conceptualization of the hijab to move beyond reductive binaries embedded in racist and Islamophobic imaginaries. The analysis shows how religion functions as a racial signifier in Norway, where race is often obscured or denied. Synthesizing Gloria Anzaldúa’s theory of the borderlands and Sara Ahmed’s queer phenomenology, I analyze participants’ experiences as simultaneously embodied, spatial, and relational. This approach foregrounds how religio-racial difference is produced, felt, and resisted in everyday encounters, situating the hijab not merely as a religious symbol but as a racialized extension of the body. read the complete article