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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In Germany, criticism has mounted this week following the re-emergence of video footage from a Saturday protest in Berlin, showing police violently dispersing demonstrators at a pro-Palestine rally over the “use Arabic-language chants”, meanwhile in the United States, dozens of Venezuelan migrants sent by the Trump administration to Guantánamo Bay Prison, Cuba are being guarded by troops rather than civilian immigration officers, according to people familiar with the operation, and despite vandalism and threats made to their community, Muslims in Corpus Christi Texas are working to promote peace and interfaith understanding. Our recommended read of the day is by Myah Ward for Politico about the ACLU’s lawsuit against the Trump administration’s removal of migrants to Guantánamo Bay, with the legal rights organization saying the government’s plan to hold migrants at the facility “violates the constitutional rights” of the individuals. This and more below:
United States
ACLU sues Trump over Gitmo migrant detainees’ access to attorneys
The Trump administration is violating the constitutional rights of migrant detainees at Guantanamo Bay by denying them access to lawyers, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday. The suit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C, seeks a court order requiring the administration to give attorneys in-person access to the detainees as soon as possible and immediate video and telephone access in the interim. It argues that the detainees’ lack of access to attorneys violates their legal right to counsel, and that legal organizations have their own First Amendment right to meet with migrants held at the naval base in Cuba. The ACLU brought the suit on behalf of family members of Gitmo detainees who want them to have access to attorneys, as well as four legal organizations — Las Americas, Raices, American Gateways and Americans for Immigrant Justice — who want to offer representation. They argue they have legal standing to bring the suit since the detainees cannot bring the suit themselves. “Taking immigrants from the United States and detaining them incommunicado at Guantanamo must be condemned by everyone who believes in the rule of law,” said Lee Gelernt, an ACLU lawyer and lead counsel in the case. “This is a shocking step even for this administration.” read the complete article
'We're your neighbors': Corpus Christi's Muslim community strives to promote understanding
Growing up in South Texas, Alishba Kazmi faced a plethora of racism. Kazmi said the Muslim community in the London school district, where she attended middle and high school, was miniscule. "I definitely had certain kids come up to me and ask me if I was a part of a terrorist organization," said Kazmi, now a student at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. "On 9/11, it was always very awkward. People would come up to me and tell me I should say sorry for something that I wasn't even born yet to witness." In the Coastal Bend, there are around 2,500 Muslims, according to Aref Erfan Mazloum, the imam — one who leads Muslim worshippers in prayer — for the Islamic Society of Southern Texas of Corpus Christi, the only mosque in the Coastal Bend. Trump signed another executive order directing government officials to identify countries with “deficient” vetting and screening procedures for travelers, which could lead to the United States barring entry to nationals from those countries. Civil rights groups have said that order lays the groundwork for a revival of Trump's previous travel ban that restricted entry into the U.S. for certain foreign nationals from countries with predominantly Muslim populations. Mazloum and Jifi-Bahlool said the Corpus Christi mosque and Muslim community have been the victims of Islamophobia. There have been bullet holes found on the doors at the mosque, a threat from a militia group planning to protest outside the mosque and a letter from California that said members "needed to convert or die." read the complete article
A new chapter for the US in Guantanamo Bay: Mass migrant deportations
Donald Trump campaigned for president on mass deportation. He's now taking his promise to Guantanamo Bay, where he is sending tens of thousands of migrants. Within days of taking office, Trump ordered 30,000 migrants to the US naval base in Cuba's Guantanamo Bay, which gained worldwide notoriety after it was used as a detention facility for suspected "enemy combatants" in America's post 9/11 war on terror. "It is entirely unknown at this stage what legal authority, if any, the Trump administration has in transporting people to Guantanamo," Hannah Flamm, interim senior director of policy with the International Refugee Assistance Project, told The New Arab. Guantanamo, often called GTMO or GITMO to differentiate the US naval base from the nearby Cuban town of Guantanamo, has become a thorn in the side of civil liberties advocates who see the continued use of the detention centre as going against the constitution and democratic norms. It is perhaps because of this that Trump chose it as a destination for detained migrants, part of his ongoing shock and awe strategy to grab headlines as he boldly tests the limits of executive reach. Guantanamo is not only controversial for its indefinite detention of uncharged terrorist suspects. The very existence of the naval base, established after the US helped Cuba gain independence from Spain, though not accepted by the current communist government, is an affront to one of the world's most anti-American governments. "No matter what, it is not clear if there is any legal authority to transport people to a military prison in Guantanamo. It is unclear on what legal grounds people could be taken to the migrant operations centre," Hannah Flamm said, referring to the two different facilities at the US naval base. read the complete article
Some Migrants Sent by Trump to Guantánamo Are Being Held by Military Guards
Dozens of Venezuelan migrants sent by the Trump administration to the U.S. military base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, are being guarded by troops rather than civilian immigration officers, according to people familiar with the operation. While the Trump administration has portrayed the detainees as legally in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, military guards and medics are doing the work, the people said. The Trump administration has not released the migrants’ names, although at least two have been identified by their relatives through pictures released of the first flight. By not disclosing the migrants’ identities, the government has prevented their relatives from learning where they are being held and complicated lawyers’ efforts to challenge their detention. The New York Times has obtained the names of 53 men who are being held in Camp 6, a prison building where until recently the military held Al Qaeda suspects. The Times has published the list. read the complete article
International
As the West falters, Muslim nations take over mantle of global diplomacy
The 21st century has seen a surge in Islamophobia in Western nations, which have, at the same time, sought to impose Western values and pick sides in ever more violent global disputes. The big irony is that Muslim diplomats have stepped into the statesmanship vacuum and are proving to be the world’s great peacemakers. Following a flurry of negotiations brokered by Türkiye, five Thai hostages were recently released by Hamas in Gaza. This was the latest example of an Islamic country stepping up to provide vital diplomacy and fill the statesmanship vacuum created by the US and its Western partners. Barely two months ago, in December, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a "historic reconciliation" between Ethiopia and Somalia following Ankara-mediated peace talks. The greater prominence of diplomatic leadership from the Muslim world sits in stark contrast to the growth in Islamophobia in the twenty-first century. Islamophobia wasn’t invented in 2001, but the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York’s World Trade Center and Washington DC stimulated its growth in the US and in the Western world. Islamophobia uses harmful and untrue stereotypes to damage Muslims and the reputation of Islam, often propagated through right-wing misinformation. In the week after 9/11, three people were killed in the US, one of whom was actually a Sikh, gunned down because he was mistaken for an immigrant Muslim because of the colour of his skin and beard. The trend continues till today. A report by the Pew Centre indicated that hate crimes against Muslims in America surpassed 2001 levels in 2016. After the war between Hamas and Israel started in October 2023, they surged further. read the complete article
Germany
Berlin police crackdown on pro-Palestine protest over Arabic chants
Criticism has mounted this week following the re-emergence of video footage from a Saturday protest in Berlin, showing police violently dispersing demonstrators at a pro-Palestine rally over the use of Arabic-language chants. The incident has further fuelled concerns that Arab and Muslim voices were being disproportionately targeted targeted in Germany. The footage, shared by German and international news outlets, showed demonstrators gathered at Berlin's Wittenbergplatz protesting against Israel's military assault on Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire now takes hold. Police forces can be seen assaulting protesters only after they chanted pro-Palestine slogans in Arabic, leading activists to believe they were targeted for their use of the language. Berlin police implemented a policy in April last year requiring speeches, music and chants at demonstrations to be conducted in either German or English, according to local media. read the complete article