Today in Islamophobia

A daily list of headlines about Islamophobia
compiled by the Bridge Initiative

Each day, the Bridge Initiative aims to bring you the news you need to know about Islamophobia. This resource will be updated every weekday at approximately 11:00 AM EST.

Today in Islamophobia Newsletter

Sign up for the Today in Islamophobia Newsletter
28 Jan 2025

Today in Islamophobia: In the UK, Mustafa al-Dabbagh writes for Middle East Eye on how the new government review of the Prevent counter-terrorism program should result in a replacement of the program that’s caused undue harm to Britain’s Muslim community, meanwhile in Canada, despite it being eight years since the Quebec mosque shooting, the regions Muslims still live in fear of a similar incident as rising levels of Islamophobia in the country have forced heightened security for mosque-goers, and in France, a mosque in northwestern France was vandalized with pig head graffiti, a Turkish-Muslim group said, reporting that this is second such attack on the community in just the past week. Our recommended read of the day is by Farid Hafez for Al Jazeera on how Europe’s far-right has “undertaken a strategic realignment [shifting from antisemitism to Islamophobia] which – with the help of the political mainstream – allows them to retain and propagate the same dangerous ideas of white supremacy and hatred.” This and more below:


International

On the Auschwitz anniversary, Europe cannot ignore its far-right problem | Recommended Read

On January 27, 1945, the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, was liberated. An estimated 1.3 million people were deported to Auschwitz between 1940 and 1945 and 1.1 million of them were murdered. As Europeans mark the 80th anniversary of this dark chapter of history, their leaders are releasing statements about the “civilisational rupture” the Holocaust represented and the need to “resist this hatred”. Yet, many of these declarations do not seem to take stock of the political reality in Europe, in which the successors of the fascist and Nazi forces behind the Holocaust are now gaining popularity and even taking power. Of course, far-right parties and figures have repeatedly paid their respects to Holocaust victims and pledged to combat anti-Semitism, but that does not mean they have relinquished their Nazi and fascist past. Rather, they have undertaken a strategic realignment which – with the help of the political mainstream – allows them to retain and propagate the same dangerous ideas of white supremacy and hatred. For decades, Europe’s far right openly embraced anti-Semitism. Figures like Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the National Front in France, and Jörg Haider, founder of the Freedom Party in Austria, disrupted the political consensus of post-war Europe by embracing Holocaust denial rhetoric. However, over the past few decades, and especially with the start of the US-led “war on terror”, the far right gradually shifted its rhetoric towards open Islamophobia. Far-right leaders, like Geert Wilders of the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, portrayed themselves as defenders of Western civilisation against a new “enemy”: the Muslims. They adopted Christianity – and, symbolically, Judaism – as cultural markers to rally the majority who embrace the “values” of the “Judeo-Christian world” against their contemporary “other”. They played on people’s fears related to globalisation and immigration by using Islamophobic imagery, claiming Muslim communities are a threat and immigration from the East – an invasion. read the complete article

How Australia's Modern Slavery Act is failing the Uyghur community

Since 2017, reports of widespread abuse and arbitrary detainment of the Uyghur population in northwestern China have resulted in accusations of genocide, crimes against humanity and mass forced labour camps. Reporting from The Guardian has now revealed that since the U-S imposed laws banning Uyghur forced labour products from being imported, Australia has increased imports from firms with alleged links to the camps. read the complete article


United Kingdom

UK Prevent review: It's time to abolish this failing system

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to review the controversial Prevent programme comes too late for the victims of its failures. After the Southport stabbings last summer, it was revealed that the perpetrator had been referred to Prevent three times, and yet remained free to commit a heinous act - a stark indictment of the strategy’s ineffectiveness. While the new review is a welcome step, it must result in a replacement programme that not only addresses Prevent’s operational failures, but also rectifies the deep mistrust and harm it has inflicted on Britain’s Muslim communities. Whatever comes next cannot be worse than what we have already endured. Prevent has long been a policy built on flawed assumptions. Designed to identify individuals “at risk” of radicalisation, its vague and unscientific criteria have led to the widespread and unjust targeting of Muslims. Children as young as two have been referred for innocuous behaviour, such as saying “Allahu Akbar” or mentioning historical caliphates in class discussions. Teenagers have been flagged for de-radicalisation simply for protesting against Israeli diplomats or wearing “Free Palestine” badges. These cases are emblematic of a strategy that views Muslim communities through the lens of security, rather than as partners in safeguarding. read the complete article

UK’s Prevent strategy had in-built anti-Muslim bias. Now it is under review

A UK government anti-terrorism programme that disproportionately targetted Muslims has come under the scanner once again after Prime Minister Keir Starmer admitted that it failed due to inherent flaws and announced its complete overhaul. The UK premier’s announcement over the controversial Prevent programme came after a British teen was convicted and sentenced to life with a minimum of 52 years in prison for murdering three girls and attempting to kill 10 other people in what a prosecutor said was a “meticulously planned” stabbing rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England last summer. It has been revealed that the convict, Axel Rudakubana, had been referred under the scheme three times as a schoolboy. After Rudakubana’s conviction, Starmer announced a review to investigate why institutions failed to prevent the attack. Starmer also announced that he has appointed David Anderson as the independent commissioner for the programme to assess how effective Prevent is. Anderson’s first task will be to investigate the failures in the Rudakubana case. read the complete article

Mosques, schools and community centres in London targeted in a spate of Islamophobic attacks

Seven London schools, community centres and mosques in East and South London have been vandalised with anti-Muslim graffiti this month. Police are investigating whether the incidents, which took place between January 6 and January 23, are linked. Officers are treating the vandalism, which included Islamophobic messages, as hate crimes. Among the locations hit by vandals were Leyton Jamia Masjid and Stratford mosque, both in East London. A mosque in West Norwood in South London was also among the targets. read the complete article


United States

Pennsylvania teacher accused of calling Muslim student a 'terrorist' is put on leave

A Pennsylvania middle school teacher has been placed on administrative leave, accused of calling a Muslim seventh grader a “terrorist.” The incident is alleged to have taken place Jan. 16 at Central Dauphin Middle School in Harrisburg after the student asked the teacher to change seats, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights group, said in a news release. “I do not negotiate with terrorists,” the teacher told the student, according to CAIR, which described the student as Palestinian Lebanese American. Adam Rahman, the boy's father, said at a news conference Monday evening that his son is doing “OK” but that the incident will “always resonate in his head” and he’ll “wonder if the next teacher will say the same thing.” “He felt like the room was spinning and he was the only one and there was nobody to help him,” Rahman said. “These teachers are supposed to be the mentors, the people who you look up to, and if that fails, there’s nothing.” The Central Dauphin School District said it was aware of the allegations that the teacher “made a derogatory comment” to the student during an after-school program at the middle school. It did not identify the educator. read the complete article


India

India’s BJP-ruled Uttarakhand implements ‘totally biased’ common civil code

The northern Indian state of Uttarakhand has started implementing a common civil code to replace religious laws, a move that will likely trigger unease among India’s Muslim minority. Addressing a news conference on Monday announcing the enactment of the so-called Uniform Civil Code (UCC), Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said it would bring about “equality”. “This code is not against any sect or religion. Through this, a way has been found to get rid of evil practices in the society,” added Dhami, who belongs to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The introduction of UCC to replace India’s patchwork of laws on marriage, divorce and inheritance has been a longstanding goal of the BJP. Although criminal laws are the same for all, different communities – the majority Hindus, the over 200 million Muslims, Christians (about 26 million) and tribal communities – follow their own civil laws, influenced by religious texts and cultural mores. read the complete article


France

Mosque in France desecrated with pig head graffiti

A mosque in northwestern France was vandalized with pig head graffiti, a Turkish-Muslim group on Monday said, reporting the second such attack on the region’s Muslim community in the past week. A pig head graffiti was found on Sunday on the door of a mosque in Cherbourg, operated by the Turkish-Islamic Union of Religious Affairs (DITIB), the group said in a statement. Condemning the "unacceptable action" targeting the mosque, the group expressed its firm commitment to defend the values of respect and humanity. Last week, a plaster grenade typically used in military drills was left in front of a mosque run by DITIB in the northern French city of Saint-Omer. A similar incident took place last year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when several people left a pig’s head outside the same mosque. The mayor of Saint-Omer, François Decoster, too, denounced the "heinous" and "criminal" act targeting the place of worship. read the complete article


Canada

It’s been 8 years since the Quebec mosque shooting. Fear can’t be the new normal

Last month, I had a conversation with Mohamed Labidi, the president of Quebec City’s Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec, about how his community has dealt with the violent Islamophobia they’ve experienced over the years. A few minutes into the chat, we landed on the topic of mosque safety. He stopped mid-sentence to show me a small piece of blue plastic. “See this?” asked Labidi, “We have over 4,000 of these. These are actually keys.” The chips are key cards for congregants who want to enter the CCIQ. The mosque serves thousands of worshippers, hence thousands of chips. It’s the only way to get in, no exceptions. It wasn’t always like this. Mosques generally remain open for worshippers, neighbours, and the curious. But on the night of Jan. 29, 2017, a 27-year-old man changed that for many Quebec Muslims. After consuming large amounts of Islamophobic and anti-refugee content online, the man stepped into the CCIQ with a 9-mm Glock and opened fire. Six people died, 19 were injured. After that, the CCIQ chose to keep their doors locked except for those with a blue chip. Years after that tragic night, an Islamophobic attack in London, Ont. killed four members of a Muslim family. These incidents shook the nation. read the complete article

Today in Islamophobia, 28 Jan 2025 Edition

Search

Enter keywords

Country

Sort Results