Search
SearchToday in Islamophobia: In Australia, a new study out by the Australian Human Rights Commission, concluded that racism is “pervasive” across the country’s 43 universities, meanwhile in the United States, Democrats have called for the resignation of Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., after he published a post suggesting he’d choose dogs over Muslims, and lastly, observant Muslims around the world over will soon be united in a ritual of daily fasting from dawn to sunset as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan starts. Our recommended read of the day is by Arman Amin for The Nation on how Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s campaign against the largest Muslim American civil rights organization, CAIR, is pouring fuel on the fire of Islamophobia in the state, and leading to widespread harassment and surveillance of Texas Muslims. This and more below:
United States
Muslims in Texas Are Harassed and Surveilled. Greg Abbot Is Making It Worse. | Recommended Read
Governor Abbott’s proclamation represents a dramatic escalation of a much larger trend of Islamophobia within Texas politics. Early last year, Abbott and other prominent Texas Republicans waged a public battle against the East Plano Islamic Center over its proposed expansion—dubbed “EPIC City,” which would include residential housing, a faith-based school, and community facilities. A lightning rod for conspiracy theories and anti-Muslim rhetoric across the state, the project was repeatedly mischaracterized and targeted with intense scrutiny by prominent Texas Republicans like Abbott as an attempt to establish a “Sharia city.” State investigations and legal challenges over land use and governance soon followed. For CAIR’s leadership, the performative proclamation holds real implications for Muslims in the state. Edward Ahmed Mitchell, CAIR’s national deputy director, said the group had received no prior formal communication about the designation. “That shows you again, it’s a publicity stunt. They didn’t demand any information from us. They didn’t send us any notice,” Mitchell said. “They just went to the press, because it’s really about whipping up their base, whipping up anti-Muslim hysteria." The move comes at an especially charged moment for the Muslim community, Mitchell noted, pointing to a “sharp and obvious rise” in anti-Muslim rhetoric and policies which he says are connected to the increasing civic and political engagement of American Muslims. “They’re lashing out, trying to smear and silence American Muslims because of our support for Palestinian human rights. And they can’t win the argument, they can’t convince the American people that it’s good to fund a genocide,” said Mitchell. Mitchell emphasized that this backlash is not limited to Texas and Florida, but reflects a national effort to manufacture fear around Muslim political participation. “So instead what they want to do is scare the American people with a Muslim boogeyman.” read the complete article
Republican congressman's anti-Muslim remark prompts calls for his resignation
Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., prompted calls for his resignation from Democrats and a major Islamic civil rights group after suggesting in a social media post that he'd choose dogs over Muslims. "If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one," Fine posted to the social media platform X on Sunday. In a statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations pointed to its previous condemnation's of Fine's past comments on Gaza and Hamas, adding that "leaders of Congress across the political spectrum should demand his resignation, which is long overdue.” Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., called the post "disgusting Islamophobia and dangerous bigotry," adding that "he should be forced to resign" after his committee assignments are stripped from him. Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., called for House Speaker Mike Johnson to "reprimand him immediately," adding that he's "repeatedly dehumanized Muslims without consequence." California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom responded to Fine on X, writing, “Resign now, you racist slob.” read the complete article
Texas Muslims harassed while praying at Plano park amid rising Islamophobia
A peaceful prayer in a Plano park was disrupted Sunday when a man shouting Islamophobic remarks harassed members of the congregation. During prayer, a man was filmed harassing the group, calling Islam a "disgusting fake religion" and yelling that members would "go to hell" unless they repented, among other inflammatory and offensive remarks. An Instagram account seemingly belonging to the instigator also posted a partial video of the harassment. The incident follows a surge of Islamophobic rhetoric intensified in North Texas. read the complete article
United Kingdom
British Museum removes word ‘Palestine’ from some displays
The British Museum has removed the word “Palestine” from some of its displays, saying the term was used inaccurately and is no longer historically neutral. Maps and information panels in the museum’s ancient Middle East galleries had referred to the eastern Mediterranean coast as Palestine, with some people described as being “of Palestinian descent”. Concerns were recently raised by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLIF), a voluntary group of solicitors, about references to “Palestine” in displays covering the ancient Levant and Egypt, which risked “obscuring the history of Israel and the Jewish people”. More than 5,000 people have since signed a Change.org petition calling for the museum to reverse its decision. The petition claims the move is “not supported by historical evidence and contributes to a wider pattern of erasing Palestinian presence from public memory”. read the complete article
Manchester’s Muslim voters pivotal in UK election showdown
These Manchester suburbs have become a microcosm of the wider story of modern British politics: Support for the centrist parties of Labour and the Conservatives is collapsing while emergent left- and right-wing parties are surging in the polls. What happens in the February 26 parliamentary by-election in the highly diverse constituency of Gorton and Denton will reverberate all the way to Westminster – and analysts have said it’s the local Muslim vote holding the cards. The political opposites of the Green Party and the right-wing Reform UK are benefitting from the collapse of the centre. In Gorton and Denton, “it’s a tough, tough fight between Labour and Reform,” Khan told Al Jazeera. “The Greens will cut the Labour vote, I think. For the Greens, this election is a chance to build on their momentum in the polls. “A win in Gorton and Denton would show that Greens can win everywhere in this country,” Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer told Al Jazeera. read the complete article
Meet the racists and far-right activists campaigning for Matt Goodwin in Gorton and Denton
On 26 February, a parliamentary by-election will be held in Gorton and Denton and Reform UK has put up the far-right provocateur Matt Goodwin as its candidate, despite his anti-Muslim views, belief that ethnicity is an important component of national identity, and willingness to speak about Tommy Robinson in positive terms. Analysis by HOPE not hate, shared with local newspaper the Manchester Mill, has found that Goodwin has been campaigning alongside racists and far-right activists in his bid to win the seat. Those canvassing for him have included a former Britain First activist, a former Reform parliamentary candidate who promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media, and the party’s interim campaign manager in Tameside who has used the n-word and minimised the Holocaust. read the complete article
'I took off my hijab to keep my children safe' - Report reveals racism trauma
When two men hurled racist abuse at Jasmine her first thought was for her children as they played in the park, and in that moment she decided it was safer to remove her hijab. This wasn't the first time Jasmine had experienced racism, last year she found herself fleeing a car park when a man ran at her, threatening her with a wrench, after hurling racist comments toward her and her young family. We have changed her name to protect her family, but her experience is one of many reflected in a report looking at the realities of ethnic minority communities in Wales, commissioned by the ACE (adverse childhood experiences) Hub Wales, part of Public Health Wales. The report documents the racial trauma experienced by people going about their lives using public spaces, education and accessing public services. "I took my hijab off, so if they did come back, they might just pass me, even though I'm visibly a person of colour," Jasmine said, as she spoke about the incident when two men rode past as her children played in a seafront park. "My hijab is part of my identity, I'm Muslim, but ultimately I had to do that to keep my children safe." read the complete article
Australia
'Significant hostility': Scale of racism on university campuses revealed
Fellow students competing to shout “terrorism” the loudest at a Palestinian student, being told Indigenous people should be “rounded up and shot” by a placement supervisor, “jokes” about slanty eyes and people screaming “send them to the camps” at groups of Jewish students: these are the experiences of Australian university students over the past two years, according to a landmark study. Racism@Uni – the first national study of its kind – concluded that racism is “pervasive” across the country’s 43 universities. Taking in the views of 47,000 students and 28,000 staff, the study was commissioned by the federal government in 2024 and undertaken by the Australian Human Rights Commission. The situation on campus worsens with external events, the report said, with First Nations students and staff seeing more racism during the failed referendum on the Voice, Asian students experiencing a spike during the COVID-19 pandemic, and antisemitic, Islamophobic, anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab and anti-Middle Eastern sentiment reaching new heights since the Israel-Hamas war began more than two years ago. read the complete article
Canada
Canada’s national amnesia on Islamophobia
A November 2023 Senate of Canada report stated that between 2016 and 2021, Canada led G7 countries in killings motivated by Islamophobia. Yet there remains a persistent refusal to reckon with this reality – a denial that everyday violence against Muslims is anything other than an anomaly in a country that prides itself on its ideal of multiculturalism. Sociologist Jasmine Zine has named it “a national amnesia.” The Carney government’s recent decision to close the Office of the Special Representative on Combating Islamophobia is an extension of this collective amnesia, a signal that Canada still lacks the desire to have an honest conversation about the reality Muslims in Canada face. Eliminating Elghawaby’s office and position without notice or community input, without measuring the impact of and the increased need for its vital work, reinforces the dangerous narrative that hate crimes against Muslims in Canada are anomalies that require no cohesive national strategy. But the violence is not anomalous – it is ongoing. read the complete article
International
A look at Ramadan and how Muslims observe the holy month
Observant Muslims the world over will soon be united in a ritual of daily fasting from dawn to sunset as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan starts. For Muslims, it's a time for increased worship, religious reflection and charity. Socially, it often brings families and friends together in festive gatherings around meals to break their fast. Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, along with the profession of faith, prayer, almsgiving and pilgrimage. Muslims see various meanings and lessons in observing the fast. It's regarded as an act of worship to attain piety and one of submission to God. The devout see benefits, including practicing self-restraint, cultivating gratitude and empathizing with people who are poor and hungry. read the complete article