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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In Canada, lawmakers from the Liberal and New Democrat parties demanded the end of student protests on Canadian university grounds, a ban on emblems to terror groups, and the branding of anti-Palestinian discrimination a special type of hate, and in the United States, Palestinian rights advocates are denouncing the selection of Republican Congressman Brian Mast, a notorious anti-Palestinian, to lead the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Our recommended read of the day is by Miqdaad Versi for The Guardian about the fallout in the UK from a new report out by the Muslim Council of Britain’s Centre for Media Monitoring which highlights a systemic pattern of planned Islamophobia by the broadcast news platform GB News and why Ofcom should take action against the right-wing media giant. This and more below:
United Kingdom
GB News 'obsessive' anti-Muslim coverage risks sparking violence: report | Recommended Read
An analysis of GB News has found that the British broadcaster was "obsessive" in its "overwhelmingly negative" coverage of Islam and Muslims. A new report entitled GB News: A Snapshot of Anti-Muslim Hate, released by the Muslim Council of Britain’s Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM) on Tuesday found that the broadcaster's coverage of Muslims risks inciting violence. The report found that the channel, which calls itself the "People's Channel", mentioned 'Muslims' or 'Islam' more than 17,000 times over two years of broadcasting, accounting for almost 50 percent of total mentions across UK news channels. BBC News and Sky News, meanwhile, accounted for 32 percent and 21 percent, respectively. CfMM's report found that the "obsessive" coverage of Muslims and Islam "regularly demonises their beliefs and fails to understand the diverse nature of Muslim communities in the UK". read the complete article
United States
UMass Scholar Discusses Islamophobia in Higher Education and Beyond
The college held the workshop “Islamophobia and Higher Ed” as the final iteration of its Meeting the Moment series. It was hosted by Musbah Shaheen, an assistant professor of higher education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The conversation explored the complexity of Islamophobia, its systemic nature, and its intersection with other forms of discrimination like xenophobia and racism. Shaheen highlighted the importance of inclusive policies, academic and social engagement, and challenging assumptions without causing harm. Shaheen gave a short lecture before leading a series of activities to teach students about the different stereotypes and prejudices that foster Islamophobia within higher education. For example, participants placed themselves on a spectrum of how strongly they felt capable of recognizing Islamophobia and role-played campus scenarios that have occurred nationwide. Shaheen played a clip from the TV show “Family Guy” to help differentiate Islamophobic, xenophobic, and anti-Arab racist stereotypes. He also addressed the systemic nature of Islamophobia in United States bureaucracies, including the Department of Homeland Security’s creation after 9/11. “Creating this war on terror, this danger to America that was used to justify surveillance of Muslims was also a way of waging war, using a structural element for the exclusion of Muslims in America,” Shaheen said. read the complete article
Brian Mast: Pro-Israel hawk set to lead US House foreign policy panel
Palestinian rights advocates in the United States are denouncing the selection of Republican Congressman Brian Mast to lead the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Mast, a pro-Israel hawk known for his incendiary remarks about Palestinians, was nominated on Monday by fellow Republicans to be the chair of the influential panel in the incoming Congress, sparking outrage. On Tuesday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) highlighted Mast’s history of anti-Palestinian statements, including his vilification of civilians and his call for destroying infrastructure in Gaza. “Brian Mast might be the perfect person to serve as a spokesperson for the war criminals of the Israeli government, but he has no business running congressional hearings on sensitive international issues that impact our nation’s security,” CAIR government affairs director Robert McCaw said in a statement. Since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October last year, Mast has publicly defended Israel’s right to use any means necessary to attack the Palestinian enclave. Last year, for example, Mast said humanitarian aid to Gaza “should be slowed down”, despite a suffocating Israeli siege that has caused deadly starvation in the enclave. Mast has also suggested that all Palestinians in Gaza are legitimate targets for Israeli violence and starvation. “I don’t think we would so lightly throw around the term ‘innocent Nazi civilians’ during World War II. It is not a far stretch to say there are very few innocent Palestinian civilians,” the US congressman said last year. read the complete article
Canada
Canadian lawmakers demand crackdown on Islamophobia, antisemitism
Lawmakers from the Liberal and New Democrat parties demanded the end of student protests on Canadian university grounds, a ban on emblems to terror groups and the branding of anti-Palestinian discrimination a special type of hate, Canadian media reported Tuesday. The demands for change are based on two studies that provided 34 recommendations on antisemitism and Islamophobia from the House of Commons Committee on Justice and Human Rights. After hearing about a Nazi swastika displayed on the grounds of the University of Alberta and dramatic increases in Islamophobia, the committee recommended that the federal government add a new charge of “intimidation” under the Criminal Code, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported. The committee also recommended that Ottawa “provide additional resources to establish and maintain dedicated police hate crime units” in all jurisdictions. In the Islamophobia report, the committee recommended the government “formally recognize discrimination towards Palestinians as a distinct group” and hire more Arab, Muslim and Palestinian university faculty members. The Liberals and New Democrat committee members endorsed the 34 recommendations, but MPs from the opposition Conservative and Bloc Quebecois parties found fault with some of them. read the complete article