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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In Australia, Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke announced today that he has cancelled the visa of an Israeli social media influencer who has a history of making Islamophobic statements, meanwhile in the United States, the GOP Texas Primary has seen a steep escalation in anti-Muslim rhetoric with several candidates raising fear about the “spread of of Sharia law” in an attempt to appeal to voters, and lastly in Portugal, former sports TV commentator, who has made anti-Romani and anti-Muslim comments, André Ventura’s Chega party has won 23.5% of the vote in a development echoing other far-right victories in Europe. Our recommended read of the day is by Oliver Bullough for The Guardian on the worldwide trend of “de-banking” and “de-risking” Muslims and how this post-9/11 trend reflects a “deep unfairness in today’s global financial system”. This and more below:
United Kingdom
Access denied: why Muslims worldwide are being ‘debanked’ | Recommended Read
Just like most people who holiday in this part of Wales, the campers are British citizens; they live in the UK and they use British bank accounts. So, what is it exactly about people who come to Wilson’s farm that is different from the campers at other farms? “It doesn’t matter that I’m a British citizen, it’s just that I’m poor – and there’s this,” said the community leader, tracing a circle around the edges of her hijab with her finger, before giving a shrug and a rueful smile. The uncomfortable reality is that, unlike most campers in this part of the world, the community leader and her friends are Black and Muslim. And people who are Black and Muslim are some of the primary victims of a system that was set up after the attacks of 11 September 2001 to stop terrorists from moving their money around. It’s a system that has failed to achieve its primary aim – terrorists are every bit as widespread now as they were two decades ago – while making life much harder for millions of innocent people. After 9/11, officials wanted access to every tool that might help them save lives, and they thought tracing financial movements could be one of them. Within days, the UN security council demanded that all countries establish a system for freezing terrorists’ assets. In October 2001, the US president, George W Bush, signed the USA Patriot Act, which expanded anti-money-laundering rules to cover terrorists. That same month, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to craft a global approach to money laundering, published recommendations for a “basic framework to detect, prevent and suppress the financing of terrorism and terrorist acts”. The FATF had been created at the height of the “war on drugs” to stop criminals hiding their earnings. The organisation spent the 1990s persuading, bullying and cajoling every country in the world into adopting common standards on regulating the financial system. Its primary weapon was to demand that professionals report suspicious transactions to the authorities, thus allowing governments to stop dirty money at source, with large fines and criminal prosecution for non-compliance. On one level, since the FATF was the place that knew about dodgy money, it made sense to deploy its expertise against terrorist financing too. Why should mechanisms designed to catch one be able to pick up on the other? And there was another problem: terrorists’ money only becomes criminal after they’ve committed their atrocities. read the complete article
‘Demographic dividend’ for Muslims in Britain as report reveals that half of community are UK-born
The Muslim Council of Britain has published a vision for 2050 which aims “to unite British Muslims for effective action, empower our communities with the tools to excel, and serve Muslims and our country so we may have a just, cohesive and successful British society”. The vision is based on evidence from Town Hall meetings organised last year and outlined in this report. Regional Townhalls: What issues are facing the British Muslim Community? is based on a series of “town halls” conducted over six months last year in 30 towns and cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol, Cardiff and Glasgow. “Fifty per cent of British Muslims are now UK-born and 46 per cent are under the age of 24. This ‘demographic dividend’ offers immense potential for national prosperity yet is currently constrained by persistent inequalities, institutional Islamophobia, and a fragmented support ecosystem,” it says. read the complete article
UK: Pro-Palestine protesters charged with calling for 'intifada'
Three pro-Palestine protesters have become the first to be charged for allegedly chanting "intifada" at a demonstration in December. The Metropolitan police announced the charges on Monday. In December, the Metropolitan and Greater Manchester police forces announced they would arrest people for chanting "globalise the intifada" or holding placards displaying the phrase. Abdallah Alanzi, 24, Haya Adam, 21 and Azza Zaki, 60, were arrested at a protest against the Ministry of Justice in Westminster on 17 December. They have been charged with using "threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour intending thereby to stir up racial hatred", and will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 23 February. read the complete article
Australia
Australia cancels visa of Israeli influencer accused of ‘spreading hatred’
Australia has cancelled the visa of an Israeli social media influencer who has campaigned against Islam, saying it will not accept visitors to the country who come to spread hatred. Australian Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke said in a statement on Tuesday that “spreading hatred is not a good reason to come” to Australia, hours after influencer Sammy Yahood announced that his visa was cancelled three hours before his flight departed from Israel. Just hours before his visa was cancelled, Yahood had written on X, “Islam ACCORDING TO ISLAM does not tolerate non-believers, apostates, women’s rights, children’s rights, or gay rights.” He also referred to Islam as a “disgusting ideology” and an “aggressor”. Australia tightened its hate crime laws earlier this month in response to a mass shooting at a Jewish celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, which left 15 people dead. In a recent post, Yahood, a native of the UK and a recent citizen of Israel, had also advocated for the deportation of United States Representative Ilhan Omar, a Somali-American, who is Muslim. read the complete article
United States
Republicans go all-in on 'Sharia law' attacks ahead of Texas primary
Anti-Muslim rhetoric has emerged as a potent ingredient in the looming Texas Republican primary while candidates compete to raise fears about the spread of Sharia law in the state and portray themselves as the toughest option to stand against it. The state’s relatively small but fast-growing Muslim population has become a charged issue for Republicans seeking to distinguish themselves in competitive races. This year’s GOP ads – which vary from condemning terror attacks to burning the Quran – represent an escalation of rhetoric the party has long used to rally its voters. “The Muslim community is the boogeyman for this cycle,” said Texas GOP consultant Vinny Minchillo. “One hundred percent this message works — there’s no question about it. This has been polled up one side and down the other, and with Texas Republican primary voters, it works. It is a thing they are legitimately scared of.” Muslim advocacy organizations and Democrats decry the ads as racist and grossly inaccurate characterizations of those communities. “The Texas GOP has declared war on Islam in Texas, claiming that Islamic leaders in the state are implementing Sharia law and using it in court,” said Joel Montfort, a north Texas-based Democratic strategist. “None of it is true, it is just fearmongering and racism to stir up the GOP base and get them to vote.” read the complete article
Portugal
Selling fear: André Ventura, Chega and the making of Portugal’s far-right
For decades, Portugal stood out in western Europe for a notable absence — unlike most of its neighbours, it had no significant party on the radical right capable of challenging the political establishment, long dominated by the alternation between centre-left and centre-right forces. That ended on 18 January this year. In an election that now closely resembles patterns seen across Europe, the political centre showed clear signs of erosion, while the far-right emerged as a formidable challenger. António José Seguro of the Socialist Party (PS) won the first round with 31.11 percent of the vote, but he was followed closely by André Ventura, founder of the far-right Chega party, who secured 23.52 percent. The far-right founder of Chega (meaning “Enough”), André Ventura, represents a new type of political personality as well as a larger political phenomenon that wants to break with the establishment. As a former sports TV commentator, he comes from showbusiness and is not a long-time politician socialised in the establishment. As such, he sells himself as a representative of the common people. But while he portrays himself as an “economic liberal, nationalist and conservative,” his contenders cite his anti-Romani, anti-Muslim, racist and sexist positions in media. read the complete article