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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the UK, a major new report has concluded that television channel GB News “risks inciting violence” against Muslims and “may have contributed to the toxic atmosphere surrounding last summer’s riots”, while The National reports that Humza Yousaf has called GB News a “racist media outlet” and is considering options for action against the channel, and in Australia, Islamophobia Register’s executive director Nora Amath told SBS News that NSW senator Dave Sharma’s comments on Monday in response to an arson attack last week at a synagogue “undermined” the lived experiences of thousands of Australian Muslims who she said face discrimination, hatred, and violence. Our recommended read of the day is by Saira Iffat Bhatti for Analyst News on how despite the staggering death toll of Palestinian women and young girls in Israel’s war in Gaza, many prominent Western feminists remain silent, choosing instead to endorse the burqa and niqab bans as opposed to speaking out for the lives of Muslim women. This and more below:
International
Western feminists’ silence on Gaza proves they never cared about saving Muslim women | Recommended Read
This August, as the British government pledged to begin treating hatred of women as a form of extremism, TalkTV broadcaster Julia Hartley-Brewer responded with yet another inflammatory statement: “If we’re going to tackle extreme misogyny, why don’t we ban the burqa?” “I can’t think of anything more misogynistic and hateful of women than making them wear an item of clothing that means they have no face, no individual identity,” she said, dismissing British Muslim women’s assertions that they themselves choose to wear the burqa as evidence of “grooming.” Such reductive portrayals of Muslim women — as passive victims who must be “saved” from their “oppressive” faith – have long plagued Western conceptions of Islam. Is there anything more absurd than claiming to liberate women by dismissing their voices and convictions? But beyond the backward logic lies a deep-seated hypocrisy. At the same time that women in the West obsess over how to ban burqas, face veils, hijabs and even long skirts, they remain silent on the actual suffering of Muslim women and girls — including those facing a genocide funded and endorsed by Western governments. Where is the feminist outrage for the thousands of Palestinian women killed, displaced and left to mourn their families? Why is there a deafening silence from the same voices when it comes to the Palestinian girls whose homes and schools have been bombed; for the pregnant Palestinian women who have lost their babies to starvation; for the Palestinian mothers whose children have been crushed beneath rubble or whose legs have been amputated? read the complete article
United Kingdom
GB News 'risks inciting violence' against Muslims, major study finds
A major new report, based on a study conducted over two years, has concluded that television channel GB News "risks inciting violence" against Muslims, and "may have contributed to the toxic atmosphere surrounding last summer's riots". Published by the Muslim Council of Britain's Centre for Media Monitoring (CFMM), the explosive new report alleges that "GB News hates Islam and Muslims". The television channel, broadcasted from London and launched in 2021, recently overtook Sky News in viewing figures - averaging over 70,000 live viewers. Reform UK leader and MP Nigel Farage, one of Britain's most prominent politicians, is a GB News presenter. The channel has often been embroiled in controversy, with Ofcom - Britain's broadcast regulator - finding 12 times that it breached broadcasting rules. Now GB News faces fresh scrutiny, as CFMM's report - published on Tuesday - found that over two years, the channel mentioned Muslims or Islam more than 17,000 times in its output. This accounts for a staggering 50 percent of total mentions on British news channels. The report alleges that GB News "rarely features Muslim perspectives", "fails to challenge Islamophobic remarks" and portrays Muslims as a "Trojan horse" in the UK. It has an "excessive" focus on Muslims bordering on an "obsession" and "regularly demonises their beliefs", the report found. read the complete article
Humza Yousaf 'considers options' after GB News 'anti-Muslim' report
HUMZA Yousaf has said GB News is a “racist media outlet” – and will consider his options for action against the channel, The National understands. It comes after the former first minister was mentioned in a report from the Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM), which analysed two years of output from GB News. It found that the channel had played down racism, “dressed [it] up as humour”, or allowed “divisive polemics” to go unchallenged, concluding ultimately that GB News is “an anti-Muslim hate channel”. The report noted that conspiracy theories such as a "two-tier society" favouring Muslims and "Great Replacement Theory" were used by GB News to stoke division, not least around the far-right riots in England over the summer – during which it painted Muslims as perpetrators and not victims. In a foreword to the report, Stewart Purvis, the former ITN chief executive and editor-in-chief, said Yousaf would have a “very strong case” against GB News should he complain to the media watchdog. read the complete article
How sport hijabs give girls freedom to play football
Specially-adapted hijabs are helping Muslim pupils have the confidence to play football. City Academy in Bristol has had 50 of the hijabs donated, which have straps and means the girls do not need to worry about their headwear falling off. It is hoped the clothing will make pupils feel comfortable while playing a range of school activities. Student Hafsa said: "I think it would encourage girls to take up sport as it's easily adjustable, comfortable and doesn't come of easy. When you play sport in a normal Hijab there is the fear it would come off." Pupil Mihaal added: "I really like the new sporting Hijabs, they are really nice and the material feels great. I Like the way it is designed, it stays on and is very comfortable to wear." read the complete article
India
Meet India’s Youngest Muslim Member Of Parliament: ‘Need To Empower Women’
In a momentous occasion for Indian politics, Iqra Chaudhary Hasan recently took her oath as a member of the Indian Parliament, marking several historic firsts. Draped in a simple white scarf, she represents many firsts — the young politician has become India’s youngest female member, the youngest Muslim and the youngest female Muslim. This achievement highlights her unique position in terms of gender, age and religion, as well as a sign that a shift in the nation’s political landscape has taken place this year. Hailing from Kairana, a rural constituency in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India, Hasan’s journey combines a deep rural connection with an impressive academic background. She completed her schooling at Queen Mary’s School in New Delhi, graduated from Lady Shri Ram College at Delhi University and later pursued a postgraduate degree in international politics and law from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. In the recent Lok Sabha election, Hasan defeated the incumbent BJP member Pradeep Kumar by a significant margin of 69,116 votes. Despite the high-profile campaigning by BJP heavyweights, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Hasan ran her campaign with limited external support. read the complete article
Australia
'Harmful': Liberal senator's 'fictitious Islamophobia' claim condemned
Muslim groups say a Liberal senator's description of Islamophobia as "fictitious" risks dehumanising victims and emboldening perpetrators. The Islamophobia Register has listed a number of reports of Islamophobic incidents it said occurred this year. NSW senator Dave Sharma made the remarks on Monday, responding to the arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue last week that is being treated by police as a likely antisemitic act of terrorism. "Any time any senior minister mentioned antisemitism in the last 12 months, they also mentioned a fictitious Islamophobia which was not going on," he said. Islamophobia Register's executive director Nora Amath told SBS News that Sharma's comments "undermined" the lived experiences of thousands of Australian Muslims who she said face discrimination, hatred, and violence. The Islamophobia Register said it was receiving an average of three reports each week before 7 October last year, which has increased to nearly 18 a week in the aftermath — about a six-fold increase. read the complete article
Canada
MPs call for crackdown on student protest encampments, ban on display of terror symbols
In two reports on antisemitism and Islamophobia in Canada, Liberal and NDP MPs on the House of Commons justice committee said Ottawa should take steps to keep student protest encampments off university grounds, criminally ban the display of terrorist emblems and recognize anti-Palestinian discrimination as a unique form of hate. In its second report, focused on Islamophobia, the committee said the government should "formally recognize discrimination towards Palestinians as a distinct group" and invest in research to better understand it. That report also urged Ottawa to work with provinces and territories to support "freedom of expression, academic freedom" and the safety and well-being of all students, staff and faculty, and "increase representation of Arab, Muslim, Palestinian and Arab faculty members." read the complete article