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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In Germany, according to newly released figures, there’ve been more than 1,550 recorded anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2024, meanwhile in the United Kingdom, two NHS professionals were investigated and barred from their workplace for expressing interest in organizing a peaceful protest in support of Palestine during their lunch break, and in the U.S., Republican City Councilperson Chandler Langevin from Palm Bay, Florida is refusing to apologize to outraged members of his community for claiming that those who follow Islam “do not belong” in the United States. Our recommended read of the day is by Silvia Foster-Frau for The Washington Post on how the Trump Administration is releasing very little information about the migrants being sent to Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, with international human rights advocates demanding greater transparency. This and more below:
United States
Why lawyers worry migrants sent to Guantánamo are in a ‘legal black hole’ | Recommended Read
Their names have not been released. Their exact crimes are unknown. The more than three dozen immigrants being held at Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba have entered what lawyers are calling a “legal black hole.” Nearly a week ago, the Trump administration flew the first migrants from Fort Bliss, Texas, to Guantánamo Bay. The officials said the detainees were “dangerous criminals,” “the worst of the worst” and alleged members of a violent Venezuelan gang, and are holding them in a prison on the U.S. naval base created for suspected terrorists after Sept. 11, 2001. But administration officials have released almost no other information. The American Civil Liberties Union, along with more than a dozen immigrant advocacy groups, sent a letter Friday to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio requesting immediate access to the migrants, as well as information on their immigration status, which agency has custody of them, their anticipated length of stay in Guantánamo, and what authority the government has to transfer them there from the United States. Most of those migrants are expected to live in tents pitched on a different part of the base. But the early arrivals are more than three dozen “high-threat criminal illegal aliens” who are in ICE custody and are being housed in a vacant military facility, a Defense Department spokesperson said Saturday. For the migrants who recently arrived at Guantánamo, four lawyers who are familiar with the military prison say the Trump administration is breaking the law by denying them access to legal counsel — something the suspected terrorists detained in Guantánamo have obtained. Even if the migrants are confirmed as members of the Venezuelan-based Tren de Aragua gang, as the Trump administration contends, the lawyers say the migrants do not qualify to be held in the high-security area of the base that some prisoners have described as a “tomb above ground.” read the complete article
Trump’s taskforce order is latest in efforts to boost Christian nationalism
Donald Trump is reigniting his alliance with the Christian right, unveiling a flurry of actions that include an aggressive executive order establishing a dedicated taskforce to combat what he claims is “anti-Christian bias” across federal agencies. Addressing supporters at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, Trump announced a far-reaching directive that empowers Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, to lead an effort to “fully prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism” in government institutions. The president’s push for a religious conservative alliance also bridged domestic and international spheres this week, with his new taskforce announcement paralleling the visit of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to Washington. At Blair House on Monday, Netanyahu met with key evangelical leaders, including the Christians United for Israel founder and pastor John Hagee and former governor Mike Huckabee – Trump’s ambassador-designate to Israel – drawing together Christian Zionists who form a critical geopolitical support network. Some critics were quick to condemn the initiative as a thinly veiled attempt to privilege evangelical Christianity over other religious minorities. “If Trump really cared about religious freedom and ending religious persecution, he’d be addressing antisemitism in his inner circle, anti-Muslim bigotry, hate crimes against people of color and other religious minorities,” the president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Rachel Laser, said in a statement. “This taskforce is not a response to Christian persecution; it’s an attempt to make America into an ultra-conservative Christian Nationalist nation.” read the complete article
Florida politician doubles down on claims that Muslims don’t belong in America
A city councilperson in Palm Bay, Florida, is refusing to apologize to outraged members of his community for claiming those who follow Islam “do not belong” in the United States. Chandler Langevin, a Republican, offended some people in the community last month after writing on X that Islam “exists for the sole purpose of conquering Christendom and ending the Jewish people” and, therefore “they” do not belong in America. Langevin was responding to a post from a Florida state senator who is supporting a bill that would protect public officials’ privacy by removing their addresses from public records. The state senator claimed two “Muslim terrorists” made “death threats” on his home. Online, people criticized Langevin, but he doubled down with, “I said what I said.” “Do not drag the beautiful city of Palm Bay into your racist foolishness,” the woman said at the city council meeting. “That an entire population of individuals should be banned from this country? That’s the most asinine thing I’ve ever heard, especially out of a local commissioner.” But Langevin still refused to apologize, claiming there was “nothing wrong” with his statement. “I said that the ideology of Islam, particularly the political component does not belong in the United States, there’s nothing wrong with saying that. So no, I’m not going to apologize,” Langevin said. read the complete article
US judge blocks possible transfer of Venezuelan detainees to Guantanamo
A federal judge in New Mexico on Sunday granted a preemptive restraining order to block the U.S. government from sending three Venezuelan men detained in the state from being sent to a military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Judge Kenneth Gonzales of the Federal District Court for New Mexico said during a video conference hearing that he was granting the order, said Baher Azmy, a lawyer for the men. Azmy is with the Center for Constitutional Rights, which earlier Sunday said in a written statement that the men had filed the motion requesting that their possible transfer to Guantanamo be blocked, though there had not yet been any such order to send them to the base The men have a pending case before a federal court in New Mexico challenging what they say is their unlawfully prolonged detention after they fled Venezuela seeking protection in the United States. read the complete article
Germany
Germany sees rise in Islamophobic crimes
Germany recorded more than 1,550 anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2024, according to official figures released Friday. At least 54 mosques were attacked between January and December last year, with 53 people suffering injuries from Islamophobic violence. The Interior Ministry released these figures in response to a parliamentary inquiry from opposition Left Party lawmaker Petra Pau. German police documented 1,554 anti-Muslim hate crimes and attacks last year, an increase from 1,536 in the previous year. The incidents included social media harassment, threatening letters, disruption of religious practices, physical assaults, and property damage. read the complete article
United Kingdom
NHS staff barred from workplace for considering Palestine demonstration
Two NHS professionals were investigated and barred from their workplace for expressing interest in organising a peaceful protest in support of Palestine during their lunch break. The therapist and nurse were accused of posing a threat to the “personal safety” of the staff at Kensington and Chelsea child and adolescent mental health service, and of “bringing the trust into disrepute” for considering the demonstration. The pair, who the Guardian is calling Layla and Maya, were told they were to be investigated and could not enter the building they worked at before being redeployed to new NHS workplaces in London. A three-month investigation into the pair’s conduct found they had no case to answer and that the trust had breached its own disciplinary policy in its treatment of them. Layla and Maya are now taking the trust to an employment tribunal, alleging discrimination over their anti-Zionist beliefs. The Guardian understands that the trust is yet to receive notification from an employment tribunal. The case will serve as a test of the extent to which NHS staff can express their views or take actions regarding foreign policy matters. The issue has affected NHS trusts across England, prompting reviews after complaints about staff wearing badges and other clothing items in support of Palestinians. read the complete article
Canada
Canadians worried about relations between Muslim and Jewish communities, survey says
As conflicts continue to erupt around the globe, a new survey suggests that Canadians are anxious about relationships between groups here at home — particularly between Muslim and Jewish Canadians. The survey of 1,578 Canadians, conducted by Leger Marketing for the Association for Canadian Studies between Jan. 17 and 19, 2025, asked respondents for their perceptions of relations between Muslim, Jewish, Indigenous, white and other Canadians. Across Canada, 43 per cent of respondents said the relationship between Muslim and Jewish Canadians was “bad.” The poll says 38 per cent of those surveyed said relations between Muslim and non-Muslim Canadians were bad, 35 per cent said relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians were bad, 19 per cent said relations between white and non-white Canadians were bad and 18 per cent said relations between Jewish and non-Jewish Canadians were bad. Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s special representative on combating Islamophobia, said in a media statement that “at a time of growing polarization, including a rise in hate crimes, disinformation and misinformation, the need for Canadians to come together to combat harmful narratives and better get to know one another remains urgent.” She said Canadians have seen the deadly consequences of hatred. read the complete article
International
'We are the future': European far right makes show of force
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and France's Marine Le Pen headlined a rally in Madrid on Saturday by Europe's biggest far-right bloc, buoyed by Donald Trump's return to power and calling for "a 180-degree pivot". Patriots for Europe has realigned extreme-right forces in the European Union. It became the European Parliament's third-largest force after Orban helped launch it last year to pull the bloc towards the far right. "Yesterday we were the heretics. Today we are the mainstream... We are the future," proclaimed Orban, sharing the stage with other leading extreme-right nationalists including Dutch anti-Islam firebrand Geert Wilders, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and former Czech premier Andrej Babis. Both Orban and Le Pen hailed Trump's "tornado" as showing the way forward for the EU, which the parties had condemned in a joint statement as riven with "climate fanaticism", "illegal immigration" and "excessive regulation". "We're facing a truly global tipping point. Hurricane Trump is sweeping across the United States," Le Pen said. "For its part, the European Union seems to be in a state of shock." Spanish party Vox, who hosted the rally, said around 2,000 people attended the event, following a dinner on Friday for Patriots leaders and Kevin Roberts, head of ultra-conservative US think tank The Heritage Foundation. The summit in the Spanish capital has adopted the slogan "Make Europe Great Again", a nod to Trump's rallying cry "Make America Great Again". read the complete article