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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the UK, the teen who stabbed three little girls in the town of Southport last summer (Alex Rudakubana) has pled guilty to the murders, which set off days of anti-immigrant riots despite Rudakubana being born in the country, meanwhile in the US, newly elected President Donald Trump has designated Mexican drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations” to escalate a U.S. crackdown on drug trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border and initiate his campaign promise of mass deportations, and in Indonesia, the government is exploring ways to repatriate a Guantánamo Bay detainee accused of involvement in a series of deadly terror attacks, including masterminding the 2002 Bali bombings. Our recommended read of the day is by Derya Iner for ABC Australia on how antisemitism and Islamophobia are a “shared challenge,” not a competition. This and more below:
Australia
Islamophobia and antisemitism — why they are a shared challenge, not a competition | The Recommended Read
While there is broad agreement between us that both antisemitism and Islamophobia are on the rise, Andre Oboler’s recent article highlights a trend that I find rather troubling — namely, the tendency to debate which form of prejudice represents the bigger problem. This competitive or adversarial approach risks exacerbating the issue and diverting attention from where it belongs: addressing the shared underlying causes of these forms of hate. In the interests of addressing the rising hate in Australia — rather than attempting to resolve the political tensions overseas and its worldwide implications — I propose moving beyond this divisive narrative and shifting the focus away from an “us versus them” or “Muslims versus Jews” binary. Instead, we should target the opportunistic perpetrators who exploit these divisions to propagate hate. As intellectuals and professionals working in the field of hate crimes, Andre Oboler and I must avoid falling into the “us versus them” mindset and focus on delivering practical, unified solutions. In what follows, I want to respond to Andre Oboler by reframing some of his points in a manner inspired by Kees Dorst’s Designing for the Common Good — a valuable book which argues that traditional approaches to problem-solving fail when addressing “wicked problems” because they are complex, dynamic and interconnected. When clear-cut solutions are impossible, Dorst suggests a number of interventions to handle these challenges. It begins with “problem framing”, which I attempt as a way of tackling the intertwined rise of antisemitism and Islamophobia in Australia. read the complete article
United States
Under Trump 2.0, the US imperial axis swaps genocide for fascism
Donald Trump – who pushed through normalisation with the Israeli regime in his first term and is deeply tied to arch-Zionists – is a break with the hypocrisy of his predecessors. His party is an explicitly anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and anti-Muslim organisation, shunning any notion of tolerance or diversity. His business interests – rather than being kept quiet – are openly tied to pro-Israel businesspeople (including his son-in-law’s family) or Israel’s partners in the Gulf. While Biden cynically warned about “oligarchs” wielding power during his last presidential address – after four years of taking their orders and doing their bidding when it came to the Zionist project – Trump embraces plutocracy. read the complete article
Trump Goes After Mexico by Designating Drug Cartels Terrorist Organizations
The new Trump administration is "designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations" as part of a crackdown on drug trafficking across the U.S.-Mexican border, President Donald Trump said during his inauguration speech on Monday. Trump also promised "to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gang criminal networks" through the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allows the government to round up foreigners who are citizens of a country that Congress has declared war on or that is engaged in an "invasion or predatory incursion." The terrorism designations are not exactly a declaration of war. A Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation bans Americans—or anyone who wants to immigrate to the United States—from providing any kind of "material support" to a designated terrorist group and allows victims of terrorism to sue alleged FTO supporters for compensation. Meanwhile, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) designation allows the U.S. Treasury to seize a group's assets. read the complete article
International
Hell on earth': China deportation looms for Uyghurs held in Thailand
A Uyghur refugee, she has spent the past decade hoping her husband would join her and their three sons in Turkey, where they now live. The family was detained in Thailand in 2014 after fleeing increasing repression in their hometown in China's Xinjiang province. She and the children were allowed to leave Thailand a year later. But her husband remained in detention, along with 47 other Uyghur men. Niluper – not her real name – now fears she and her children may never see him again. Ten days ago, she learned that Thai officials had tried to persuade the detainees to sign forms consenting to be sent back to China. When they realised what was in the forms, they refused to sign them. The Thai government has denied having any immediate plans to send them back. But human rights groups believe they could be deported at any time. "I don't know how to explain this to my sons," Niluper told the BBC on a video call from Turkey. Her sons, she says, keep asking about their father. The youngest has never met him. "I don't know how to digest this. I'm living in constant pain, constant fear that at any moment I may get the news from Thailand that my husband has been deported." read the complete article
Indonesia mulls repatriation of alleged Bali bombings mastermind from Guantánamo Bay
Indonesia is exploring ways to repatriate a Guantánamo Bay detainee accused of involvement in a series of deadly terror attacks, including masterminding the 2002 Bali bombings, according to reports. Riduan Isamuddin, known as Hambali, was the former leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian terrorist group, and was considered al-Qaida’s top representative in the region. He is accused of being the ringleader in the Bali nightclub attack that killed more than 200 people, as well as financing the Jakarta Marriott Hotel bombing in 2003. Hambali, described by former President George W Bush as “one of the world’s most lethal terrorists”, was arrested in 2003 after a raid on an apartment building in Thailand, and has been held in Guantánamo Bay since 2006. Senior minister for law and human rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra told Reuters the statute of limitations on Indonesia’s cases against Hambali had expired. “No matter what, Hambali is an Indonesian citizen. No matter how wrong he is … we must care for him,” Yusril said. “[The] Indonesian government is aware about the sensitivity of this matter and will act carefully,” he added. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Teen who stabbed children at Taylor Swift-themed dance class pleads guilty
It was a horrific knife attack that left three little girls dead and others wounded at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England on the first day of summer vacation last year. The rampage in Southport, a seaside town, sparked days of rioting, with crowds attacking police, mosques and hotels sheltering asylum seekers, after the spread of false claims on social media that the attacker was a Muslim migrant who had recently come to Britain illegally in a wave of people crossing the English Channel on small boats. As it turned out, Axel Rudakubana, now 18, was born in Wales and attended British schools. His family arrived decades ago from Rwanda. Police did find an al-Qaeda document on his computer. On Monday, in a packed Liverpool courtroom, as his trial was set to start, Rudakubana pleaded guilty to murder in the stabbings of three people and to attempting to stab to death 10 others. read the complete article
Canada
Two Calgary Muslim sisters navigate the challenge of wearing the hijab
Sisters Noor and Ayah Barahim have worn the hijab for 11 years — a decision they describe as deeply personal and empowering but without its challenges. While the Calgary sisters say they’ve faced many challenges, they insist they meet them with pride. “The majority of the time, it’s our choice to wear it,” Ayah says. “I feel a lot of people just look at you like, ‘Oh, you’d look so nice without it.'” To which Ayah adds, “Like that’s the point.” A Hijab is a head covering worn by Muslim women. In the Islamic faith, it represents modesty as a religious obligation and humility. The sisters say navigating social interactions as visible Muslim women has been a learning curve. Noor, the older of the two, says she directly confronts misconceptions or discriminatory behaviour. read the complete article