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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the United States, a Republican state lawmaker who had faced criticism for calling Muslims “f***ing savages” and making a series of other Islamophobic comments pushed forward his legislation urging Congress to designate the country’s largest Muslim advocacy group a terrorist organization, meanwhile in the United Kingdom, the head of a British policing watchdog tasked with investigating the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the Israeli football club’s match failed to include any voices from Birmingham’s Muslim community in his preliminary report, and lastly, police in India-administered Kashmir have asked at least three journalists working in the region to sign a pledge vowing not to “disturb peace” in the region. Our recommended read of the day is by Azadeh Shahshahani and Stephanie Guilloud for In These Times on how the Trump administration’s expanding designation of anti-fascist beliefs and activism as “domestic terrorism” is a dangerous tactic to intimidate and suppress dissent. This and more below:
United States
The Antidote to Fear is Courage | Recommended Read
A leaked Justice Department memo in early December outlined Attorney General Pam Bondi’s directive to the FBI to “compile a list of groups or entities engaged in acts that may constitute domestic terrorism.” In addition to establishing a “cash reward system” for information, the memo, first published by journalist Ken Klippenstein, lays out targets that include those who express “opposition to law and immigration enforcement,” “adherence to radical gender ideology,” “anti-Christianity,” “anti-capitalism,” and “anti-Americanism.” These documents imply that the “terrorists” are the brave teachers, neighbors, librarians, and community members blowing whistles, protecting students, keeping books on shelves, advocating for trans rights, and organizing for economic and social equity. Bondi’s directive builds on President Donald Trump’s National Security Presidential Memorandum known as NSPM-7 which names anti-fascism as domestic terrorism. Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff and the architect of the current anti-immigrant crackdown, names this expanded investigation of anti-fascist activity alongside the military occupations of U.S. cities as an “all government, unlimited support operation.” Stephen Miller consistently aligns with white nationalist groups and policy, particularly targeting immigrants with family separations, the Muslim ban on particular countries, and mass detentions. His daily calls with officials and extreme policies of deportation have turned the state department “into an anti-immigration machine.” read the complete article
Republican who called Muslims ‘f***ing savages’ wants an advocacy group declared a terrorist outfit
A Republican state lawmaker who had faced criticism for calling Muslims “f***ing savages” and making a series of other Islamophobic comments pushed forward his legislation urging Congress to designate the country’s largest Muslim advocacy group a terrorist organization. The measure from Rep. John Gillette, R-Kingman, will have no practical effect. But if it passes, it would be a statement of the legislature’s beliefs. House Concurrent Memorial 2002 urges the president and Congress to designate the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, as a terrorist organization and pass a bill in Congress that seeks to do the same. Wednesday afternoon’s hearing on the bill before the House Committee on Federalism, Military Affairs and Elections was packed, with many members of the public sitting outside of the hearing room having to listen to the proceedings from the hall and an overflow room. Many members of the Muslim community were also in attendance to voice their opposition to the proposal. Last year, Gillette faced sharp criticism from his Democratic colleagues for a series of posts on X aimed at the Muslim faith. Many were laced with profanity, and the Kingman Republican has insisted that Muslim immigrants are “savages” because they are pushing “Sharia law” onto Americans. read the complete article
Montgomery County police investigating after Islamophobic graffiti found at Bethesda high school
Authorities are continuing to investigate after Islamophobic graffiti was found at a high school in Bethesda. The graffiti reportedly included the phrases "F*** Muslims" and "Nuke Palestine," along with a Star of David painted on a school wall. The Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Montgomery County Muslim Council condemned the Islamophobic and hate-based graffiti discovered at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda. What they're saying: CAIR called the messages "deeply troubling and dehumanizing," and warned that these kinds of acts create an unsafe and hostile environment for Muslim students and the school community. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Reform councillor apologises for racist comments
A Reform UK councillor has apologised for racist comments he made at a council meeting last year. A complaint was lodged against Lydney councillor Mark Howard over his speech during a Gloucestershire County Council meeting in September 2025. His comments came during a discussion involving the use of hotels to accommodate asylum seekers, and were met with strong protests from across the chamber. "While speaking forcibly about an emotive issue, I made reference to a message received from a former colleague and also made a subsequent comment about Muslim women walking three paces behind their husbands," Howard said in his written apology. "Although this was not meant to cause offence, it clearly did which, on reflection, was overly robust and drew on unhelpful stereotypes so had the potential to convey unintended hostility, for which I apologise for any offence caused," Howard said. read the complete article
UK: Report into Maccabi Tel Aviv police ban failed to include local Muslim voices
The head of a British policing watchdog tasked with investigating the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the Israeli football club’s match against Aston Villa failed to include any voices from Birmingham’s Muslim community in his preliminary report. The report by Andy Cooke, the chief inspector of constabulary, led to the UK Home Secretary Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood saying that she had “no confidence” in Craig Guildford, the chief constable of West Midlands Police (WMP), prompting Guildford’s immediate retirement. In a letter last week to Mahmood, who had commissioned the review, Cooke said he had conducted “twenty interviews with significant people” as part of his initial investigation into police intelligence-gathering used to justify the ban. Those interviewed by Cooke include the charge d’affaires from the Israeli embassy in London, a representative of the Jewish Representative Council for Birmingham and West Midlands, and Lord Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism. However, Cooke did not include any voices from Muslim community groups or mosque leaders. Muslims make up approximately 30 percent of Birmingham’s population and almost 10 percent of the wider West Midlands region, according to census data. read the complete article
International
Indian police go after journalists in Kashmir for reporting mosque profiling
Police in India-administered Kashmir have asked at least three journalists working in the region to sign a pledge vowing not to "disturb peace" in the region, two of them told Reuters. A third journalist, an assistant editor with The Indian Express newspaper, was summoned to a police station in Srinagar, the capital of the disputed territory, but did not sign the pledge, the newspaper reported on Wednesday. According to the Indian Express the summons were issued after they had reported that police in the region were seeking information from mosques about their funding, management and budgets. TRT World also reported on the issue, with the Srinagar-based correspondents writing anonymously for fear of being persecuted. India has imposed several restrictions in the Muslim-majority region after revoking its constitutional autonomy in 2019, laying out rules for how the region is covered and reported. read the complete article
Remigration: The Rise of a Fringe Idea into the Political Mainstream
The concept of remigration originates from French author Renaud Camus, who also infamously coined the Great Replacement theory — a population replacement conspiracy which alleges that leftist politicians and the “globalist” elite are deliberately undermining birth rates in Western countries through increased non-white immigration levels in order to tip the demographic balance. Remigration, in parallel, refers to the mass deportation of non-white immigrants, regardless of their citizenship status. The phrase has become the latest call to action, viewed as a solution to the alleged denigrating effects of the Great Replacement. For the far-right, the Great Replacement is considered the diagnosis for society, while remigration is the prognosis. The term was quickly adopted by European far-right activists, specifically the pan-European Identitarian Movement, inspired by Camus’ writings during the 2010s. A once obscure concept, remigration has quickly gained traction in European — and, more recently, American — far-right circles, although its target groups and phases of adoption vary across these contexts. Nonetheless, the concept of remigration has become increasingly salient, particularly as a catch-all term signifying support for mass deportation, repatriation, and forced emigration. Remigration began appearing online in the 2010s but did not gain popularity until 2023–2024, subsequently reaching widespread visibility in 2025. read the complete article