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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the US, after Elon Musk made an apparent Nazi salute at an inauguration rally for President Donald Trump, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) rushed to defend the SpaceX founder, meanwhile in the UK, a far-right organization should be banned and some members investigated by police, the BBC has been told, after the news outlet secretly filmed people in this group saying migrants “should be shot”, and in Australia, human rights and faith-based groups are saying that Muslim, Jewish, Arab and Palestinian people might be unable to practice their religion freely because of escalating hate crimes and racism across the country. Our recommended read of the day is by Helen Regan and Simone McCarthy for CNN on how UN experts are urging Thailand not to deport dozens of Uyghur Muslims back to China for fear of these refugees facing a “real risk of torture” should they be forced to return. This and more below:
International
UN experts urge Thailand not to deport dozens of Uyghurs to China where they face ‘real risk of torture’ | Recommended Read
International pressure is mounting on Thailand – including from the new US administration – over the fate of dozens of Uyghur men held in detention for more than a decade, following reports the Thai government planned to deport the group to China. United Nations experts on Tuesday urged Thailand to “immediately halt the possible transfer,” warning the men were at “real risk of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment if they are returned.” Concerns for the 48 men, who have been detained in Bangkok since 2014, are growing after a Uyghur activist shared a voice note from one of the detainees, who said the men had been on hunger strike since January 10 in a desperate protest against deportation. Arslan Hidayat, an activist working with Justice for All’s Save Uyghur campaign, told CNN he understands the men remained on hunger strike as of Tuesday. “We are desperately seeking help from those living in the free world,” the detainee said in a voice note that Hidayat published to Instagram. “You all know what will happen to us if we are sent back to China. This is our plea for help from your 48 brothers in Thailand.” read the complete article
Kashmir’s Quiet Resilience And Spirituality Amid Conflict
As the holy month of Ramadan approaches on Feb. 28, Muslims worldwide prepare for fasting, prayer, and seeking forgiveness. In India’s Muslim-majority region of Kashmir, the atmosphere is heavy with prayers for peace — a yearning deeply ingrained in a land scarred by decades of conflict and violence. Nestled in the lap of the Himalayas, Kashmir’s stunning valleys and streams have long inspired comparisons to heaven, often depicting the region as a symbol of divine beauty and tranquility. However, this beauty belies a tragic reality: A legacy of unresolved disputes, political instability, and human suffering. Over the past three decades, the region has witnessed repeated cycles of violence that have disrupted lives, fractured communities, and left deep psychological scars on its people. Tens of thousands have been killed, and countless others injured in violence that has torn families apart. The trauma has been exacerbated by lockdowns in the region due to periods of unrest and the coronavirus pandemic, leaving young people isolated and struggling with their mental health due to the absence of robust social support systems. read the complete article
United Kingdom
MPs can be robust in discussing community cohesion and extremism, minister says
The Government has defended the right to be “robust” while discussing extremism and community divisions, but warned MPs must not inflame tensions. The House of Commons heard fears around the impact of language used when discussing these topics, amid worries it could damage cohesion between different groups. Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee, Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall and Camberwell Green) said she was concerned about a further rise in hate crime. The Labour MP said: “At a time when we are seeing such an increase in religious hate crime, including Islamophobia and antisemitism, we all have a duty in this house to be careful around the language we use. “And I hope the Government will also have a look at the language coming out from the Government, because it’s really vital for community cohesion that we are careful and we don’t unintendedly inflame this.” read the complete article
Far-right group exposed in undercover BBC investigation
A far-right organisation should be banned and some members investigated by police, the BBC has been told, after we secretly filmed people in the group saying migrants should be shot. Former Counter-Extremism Commissioner Dame Sara Khan believes the UK government should urgently change the law to make groups like Patriotic Alternative illegal. Barrister Ramya Nagesh watched some of the footage and said: "There's more than enough evidence for the police to investigate and refer to the Crown Prosecution Service." An undercover BBC reporter spent a year investigating the far-right group and its members were recorded using racial slurs. read the complete article
United States
ADL faces backlash for defending Elon Musk’s raised-arm gesture
After Elon Musk made an apparent Nazi salute at an inauguration rally for United States President Donald Trump, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) rushed to defend the SpaceX founder. The self-described anti-Semitism watchdog and “leading anti-hate organization in the world” dismissed Musk’s raised arm as “an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm” in a social media post on Monday. Months earlier, however, Jonathan Greenblatt, the head of the staunchly pro-Israel ADL, compared the Palestinian keffiyeh to the Nazi swastika. Activists say the contrast between the ADL’s hurried defence of Musk and its efforts to demonise Palestinians and their supporters shows that the group is more focused on silencing voices critical of Israel than it is on fighting anti-Semitism. “The ADL is being crystal clear about where it stands,” said Beth Miller, political director at Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). “They have made it as clear as possible that they are not a reputable source of information when it comes to anti-Semitism. They are not actually prioritising the protection of Jewish communities at all.” read the complete article
Was Muslim cleric dropped from Trump inauguration after Zionist warning?
The 47th American president’s inauguration ceremony saw a group of four Christian clergymen and a Jewish rabbi delivering a benediction to Donald Trump. Notably absent from the ceremony was Imam Husham Al-Husainy, a Shia Muslim cleric from Dearborn, Michigan, who was set to make history as the first Muslim leader to speak at an American presidential inauguration. The absence was unexpected, especially considering the fact that Al-Husainy was one of the few Muslim leaders to endorse Trump in the final stretch of the election, when the Muslim electorate was often alienated by the former president’s rhetoric. This was despite a spokesperson for the inauguration committee having previously confirmed his participation, which was widely viewed as a symbolic gesture, reflecting Donald Trump’s surprising gains among Muslim American voters during the 2024 election. The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), one of the oldest pro-Israel advocacy organisations in the US, was particularly vocal in opposing his inclusion. Last week, the ZOA released a statement condemning his planned participation, calling him an “antisemite and Hezbollah apologist” and warning that keeping Al-Husainy in the programme would “send a terrible message” and stain Trump’s administration. read the complete article
India
True democracy defeats majoritarianism
The trope of “democracy on trial” is one that drives the political discourse of both the majority and minority communities in India. Highlighting a range of issues such as Hindu-Muslim polarisation, the neutralising of dissent and opposition, the sensationalisation of news, and the centralisation of power, all of which have put democracy on trial, the eminent political scientist Professor Zoya Hasan explores how India has gradually metamorphosed into a Hindu-majoritarian nation. She states right at the outset: “The very idea of a democracy based on equal rights irrespective of caste, class or faith was changed under the pressure of majoritarian politics.” Hasan writes that the 2014 victory of the BJP, the first right-wing party to win a parliamentary majority since 1984, marked a significant political shift since Independence. She explains how the actions of the Congress party contributed in no small measure to the rise of the right wing in India. Hasan identifies three significant shifts that reshaped Indian politics: the consolidation of majoritarian politics; the decline in the autonomy of key institutions like the Election Commission of India, the Enforcement Directorate, the CBI, and the Supreme Court of India; and finally, the stifling of all dissenting voices, including those of activists, scholars, and independent media houses. read the complete article
France
Jean-Marie Le Pen is dead, but his Nazi legacy is thriving in France & beyond Voices
Being implicated in acts of torture and the murder of an Arab Muslim nationalist were not mentioned when Jean-Marie Le Pen was honoured in a military church following his death on January 7, at the age of 96. Those packing Notre-Dame du Val-de-Grâce in Paris – a Roman Catholic place of worship that serves the French Army – were instead expected to remember him as a respectable veteran. Except that forgetting about the evil carried out by Le Pen, the far-right politician, is something that his closest supporters are already finding hard to do. They are in fact regretting that he was expelled from his own dynastic party when his Nazi sympathies allegedly grew “too extreme”. This says everything about the position of the National Rally (RN), which he founded as the National Front (FN), and its place in contemporary France. It is now the biggest single party in the Paris National Assembly, and one of the principal reasons for this is the way Le Pen brought grotesque ideologies into mainstream politics. He was “fired” from the FN in 2015 after refusing to back down from his repeated claims that the Holocaust was “a detail of history”. Le Pen also said that the Third Reich Occupation of France – when thousands of Jews and other French citizens were entrained to the gas chambers – “was not particularly inhuman”. His daughter, Marine Le Pen, had taken over the leadership of the FN, and insisted she was deeply upset by such words – ones that earned him convictions for a range of crimes, including anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and generally spreading racist hatred. read the complete article
Australia
Religious, cultural fears amid rising hate crimes
Muslim, Jewish, Arab and Palestinian people in Australia might be unable to practice their religion freely, because of escalating hate crimes and racism across the country, faith and human rights groups say. They denounced a recent series of hate crimes in a joint statement, and warned acts of Islamophobia and antisemitism, and anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab racism stoked fear in those communities. The groups, including Human Rights Watch, Jewish Council of Australia, Australian National Imams Council and Amnesty International, said the incidents also prevented those communities practising their culture and enjoying their human rights. The recent attacks, including the vandalising of a childcare centre and two synagogues in Sydney, come after intensifying hate crimes against Jewish, Muslim, Arab and Palestinian communities. The organisations called on political leaders to stand up against the recent crimes and acts of discrimination, saying this racism included politicians’ denial of the seriousness of Islamophobia and racist language in the media. read the complete article