Search
SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the United Kingdom, an effort to finalize an official definition of anti-Muslim hatred in the country is reaching finalization with an agreed definition potentially being published as soon as this month, meanwhile in Israel, Dahlia Scheindlin writes for Haaretz that as murders in Arab communities soar and protests draw almost no Jewish political or mainstream presence, opposition leaders risk the chance to build Jewish-Arab partnerships, and lastly in India, the government has shut down a medical college in Indian-administered Kashmir in an apparent capitulation to protests by right-wing Hindu groups over the admission of a large number of Muslim students. Our recommended read of the day is by Jacqueline Sweet and Noah Hurowitz for The Intercept on how New York AG Letitia James has said that Betar U.S. would close its New York operations after an investigation found a pattern of biased harassment and violence against Arabs, Muslims, and others. This and more below:
United States
New York Attorney General Slams Pro-Israel Group Betar U.S. for Biased Harassment of Arabs, Muslims | Recommended Read
A Zionist extremist group notorious for doxxing pro-Palestine college students and providing lists of activists to the Trump administration is set to cease operations in New York after an investigation by Letitia James, the state’s attorney general. Betar U.S., the American chapter of an international Zionist group of the same name, will dissolve its not-for-profit status in New York and wind down operations in the state following a settlement with James’s office. “New York will not tolerate organizations that use fear, violence, and intimidation to silence free expression or target people because of who they are,” James said in a statement. “My office’s investigation uncovered an alarming and illegal pattern of bias-motivated harassment and violence designed to terrorize communities and shut down lawful protest.” The investigation into Betar by the Office of the Attorney General found that, in addition to violating state civil rights laws barring bias-motivated violence and harassment, the group had never registered with the state-level Charities Bureau. read the complete article
Judge Rejects Effort to Return Man Accused in 9/11 Plot to Guantánamo Trial
A military judge has rejected a U.S. government request to restart death-penalty proceedings against a man in the Sept. 11 case who has been found mentally unfit to stand trial. The man, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, has believed for years that his guards are constantly, physically harassing him in his cell at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, according to his lawyers, who say he has post-traumatic stress disorder from his time the C.I.A. isolated and interrogated him, 2002 to 2006. The judge disclosed the decision on Tuesday, a day after prosecutors asked another court to set an aspirational trial start date of Jan. 11, 2027, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Guantánamo prison. Taken together, the two filings show that prosecutors hope to wrap up a series of higher-court appeals while they pursue up to 16 weeks of pretrial hearings at Guantánamo this year to sort out which trial evidence is tainted by torture and other crucial issues. read the complete article
International
Tharik Hussain's Muslim Europe: Mapping faith, memory, and belonging across the continent
"I didn't need to worry about Muslim history to know how to practise Islam; I didn't need to concern myself with 'belonging' in this society when all my role models lay elsewhere." This early conviction, recalled by author and journalist Tharik Hussain, provides a revealing starting point for his latest book, Muslim Europe. At a time when Muslims in Europe are routinely framed as a problem to be solved — through securitisation, integration metrics or culture-war polemics — the quotation illustrates both Tharik's intellectual and physical journey into Muslim Europe, encompassing travels that explore presence, memory and belonging. Part historical excavation, part detective work, the book's narrative traverses the continent to uncover Muslim histories that have been buried, marginalised, or deliberately forgotten, and is interspersed with the author's personal reflections on his inner spiritual journey. This blend of history and reflection is characteristic of Tharik's wider body of work. An award-winning author and travel writer, he has published a new book that complements his earlier work on European Muslims in the Balkan regions and again demonstrates his instinct for narrative and place. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Government In Talks With Muslim MPs Over Final Anti‑Muslim Hatred Definition
The government is holding meetings with Muslim MPs in a bid to finalise the wording of an anti-Muslim hatred definition, PoliticsHome understands. In October, PoliticsHome revealed that the definition, which is being led by the communities department, will not refer to Islamophobia. Instead, it will refer to anti-Muslim hostility. In an effort to tackle the rise in hate crimes towards Muslims in the UK, the Labour government asked an independent working group, led by former Conservative cabinet minister Dominic Grieve KC, to produce a new definition for ministers to consider. Throughout the process, the government has sought to stress that any new definition will not infringe on freedom of speech, and that it is not obliged to accept what the working group proposes. The government is in the final stages of agreeing on the exact wording of the definition. It could be published as soon as this month, PoliticsHome understands. read the complete article
Israel
Where Are the Israeli Jews? The Lonely Protest of Arab Citizens Against a Horrific Murder Rate
As murders in Arab communities soar and protests draw almost no Jewish political or mainstream presence, opposition leaders risk squandering moral credibility and the chance to build a real Jewish-Arab partnership for change As of January 11, 14 Arab Palestinian citizens had been murdered in Israel since the new year; two were killed by Israeli security forces; the rest were the victims of crime. Arabs in Israel are beside themselves with grief, anger, and a sense of abandonment. On Sunday, Arab community leaders called for a demonstration outside the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem. It's true that demonstrations have hardly "worked" at all against this government on any issue. Nevertheless, something huge is missing in the public outcry against crime in the Arab community: a serious and mainstream presence of Israeli Jews. read the complete article
India
India shuts Kashmir medical college – after Muslims earned most admissions
India has shut down a medical college in Indian-administered Kashmir in an apparent capitulation to protests by right-wing Hindu groups over the admission of an overwhelming number of Muslim students into the prestigious course. The National Medical Commission (NMC), a federal regulatory authority for medical education and practices, on January 6 revoked the recognition of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Medical Institute (SMVDMI). Of the 50 pupils who joined the five-year bachelor’s in medicine (MBBS) programme in November, 42 were Muslims, most of them residents of Kashmir, while seven were Hindus and one was a Sikh. It was the first MBBS batch that the private college, founded by a Hindu religious charity and partly funded by the government, had launched. read the complete article
Australia
Australian writers’ festival apologises to Palestinian author after boycott
An Australian arts festival has apologised to Randa Abdel-Fattah after it was forced to cancel its entire writers’ week programme when 180 writers withdrew from the event in solidarity with the Palestinian Australian author. The board of Adelaide Festival said on Thursday it was retracting its earlier decision to exclude Abdel-Fattah “from participating as a speaker at Adelaide Writers’ Week this year”. “We have reversed the decision and will reinstate Dr Abdel-Fattah’s invitation to speak at the next Adelaide Writers’ Week in 2027,” the board said in a statement, apologising “unreservedly for the harm” it had caused to her. “Intellectual and artistic freedom is a powerful human right,” the board said, acknowledging that it had fallen “well short” of upholding that right. Abdel-Fattah, an award-winning author of 11 novels, said in her own statement that she accepted the board’s apology and would consider the invitation to participate next year. read the complete article