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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the UK, according to reporting by Byline Times, MP Nigel Farage has been photographed posing with a group of far-right activists, including individuals associated with anti-migrant protests and racist social media posts, meanwhile in Canada, the Supreme Court has announced that it will hear a challenge to Québec’s secularism law, (Bill 21), which restricts public sector employees from wearing religious symbols/clothing on the job, and lastly, Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón is under fire after old tweets uncovered a range of troubling opinions on subjects including Islam and the late George Floyd. Our recommended read of the day is by Clive Stafford Smith for Al Jazeera on how U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for using the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay for holding “illegal immigrants” marks a new chapter in Guantanamo’s long history as a site of American international law violations. This and more below:
United States
Guantanamo to hold ‘illegal aliens’: The Constitution v The President, 2.0 | Recommended Read
These days there is a sense that Washington, DC, along with most of the Western world, has transported back to the 1930s, when fascism was openly on the march. And the latest executive order from President Donald Trump vowing to send 30,000 “illegal immigrants” to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is certainly adding to this vibe. When I say Guantanamo Bay, of course, I mean the US overseas prison that achieved notoriety in the wake of 9/11 as the number one torture camp for those swept up in the “War on Terror”. I have a certain familiarity with the place – I often refer to it as my Caribbean resort of choice – as I represented dozens of people detained there, brought the first case against the George W Bush administration (Rasul v Bush) related to it back in 2002. I have visited the facility placed within a US naval base a total of 42 times. Trump’s latest plans to use Guantanamo as a holding centre for undocumented immigrants is very fitting of the base’s decades-long history as a site of American international law violations. read the complete article
Opinion: Trump’s new immigration policies put Arab, Muslim and pro-Palestinian students at risk
In 2017, President Donald Trump enacted a drastic and unprecedented travel ban targeting Muslim-majority countries, halting immigration from countries such as Iran and Somalia and blocking Syrian refugees from resettlement in the United States. Despite initial court injunctions temporarily blocking the order, a revised version of the ban gained Supreme Court approval in a 5-4 decision, and the travel ban went into effect. For the following years of the Trump administration, families were separated and unable to reunite under what Trump called a “complete and total shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” When President Joe Biden assumed office, he rescinded the ban, allowing families to reunite and remain together. However, with Trump’s return to power, fears of discriminatory and violent immigration policies have reignited. In his first week in office, he signed an executive order titled “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and other National Security and Public Safety Threats.” The ban aims to strengthen national security and protect Americans from immigrants who “exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.” This push for immigration control has caused many to fear its ramifications on Muslim communities, domestic and abroad. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee warns that the U.S. government has vested itself with “wider latitude to use ideological exclusion” in rejecting visa applications and deporting foreigners in the United States. The broad language grants wide discretion to officials to deport anyone who holds, or is perceived to hold, a belief deemed threatening. read the complete article
Enabling US’s WoT Abuses Paved the Way for Trump’s Guantanamo for Migrants Order
Donald Trump’s executive order to expand the use of Guantánamo Bay for detaining up to 30,000 migrants, in a legal no-mans land, continues the sordid and illegal legacy of the detention centre. Guantanamo Bay is a symbol of US human rights violations post-War on Terror, including torture, indefinite detention and the lack of due process and should be closed, forever a reminder of that dark legacy. The intentional dehumanisation and scapegoating of vulnerable groups to deflect from America’s own failures, a central pillar of the War on Terror rationale, now targets undocumented migrants, many of whom are fleeing countries destabilised by U.S. foreign policy. This echoes the rhetoric of 2002, when George W. Bush, as a part of the ‘ War on Terror’ labeled those kidnapped and detained at Guantánamo as the “worst of the worst.” Such systemic dehumanisation paves the way for abuse and injustice, all under the pretense of national security. Trump’s decision is a clear moral failure, driven by years of rhetoric vilifying undocumented migrants and his longstanding vow to keep Guantánamo open. At a time when detainee exchanges and releases have signaled the gradual decline of the Guantánamo Bay prison camp, Trump is attempting to revive its legacy. Guantánamo remains one of the world’s most secretive and costly prisons. For years, evidence of torture has emerged, with survivors continuing to expose the brutal reality of what happens behind its walls. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Nigel Farage Pictured With Far-Right Activists Who Posted ‘Pride Swastikas’ and Racist Rants
Nigel Farage MP has been photographed posing with a group of far-right activists, including individuals associated with anti-migrant protests and racist social media posts. The image, leaked to Byline Times, shows the Reform UK leader and GB News presenter posing for pictures alongside extreme anti-migrant activists. It was posted on Facebook on 18th December by Gareth Stone (below front left), an anti-migrant activist based in Hampshire who has taken part in recent protests supporting far-right activist Tommy Robinson in London. On January 5 this year Stone’s account posted an image of a girl wearing a necklace made of bacon, with the text: “Grooming gangs fear it” and “can be seen by passing taxis” in a post seemingly targeted at Muslims. Stone’s account also posted in May 2017: “I f*cking hate P**is* but love Indians”. And in 2018 it referred to “scum of the earth left-wingers” adding: “I hope rape by a Muslim serves them well.” In 2010 a post by his account said: “[There] should be a public stoneing [sic] of Iranian[s] in manor park I would attend with my bag of rocks.” Another post in 2017 said of former Conservative MP Louise Mensch: “I hope [the Muslim prophet] Mohammed rapes her”. read the complete article
UK banking services withdrawn from four in 10 Muslim charities
More than four in 10 British Muslim charities have had their banking services withdrawn, a new report from the Muslim Charities Forum (MCF) has revealed. The report, released earlier this week, found that Muslim charities "are experiencing disproportionate financial exclusion, often linked to counter-terrorism and risk frameworks". It added that 68 percent of Muslim charities surveyed reported difficulties opening bank accounts, while 42 percent have experienced a "complete withdrawal of banking services". Four in 10 also reported challenges with transferring funds that delayed their ability to make payments. One charity operating a hospital was unable to pay doctors and nurses for two months. Muslims donate more than any other faith group in Britain, the report found. But Muslim charities disproportionately fall victim to so-called "de-risking" and "de-banking", having funds frozen or banking services closed. read the complete article
Canada
Québec’s religious symbols law: Appealing to the Supreme Court for real rights under the Charter
The Supreme Court of Canada has announced that it will hear a challenge to Québec’s secularism law, known as Bill 21. The law, passed in 2019 “to affirm the laicity of the State,” restricts certain public sector employees in Québec from wearing religious symbols “while exercising their functions.” Those challenging Bill 21 have used a variety of legal tools to oppose a law they argue imposes discriminatory treatment, mainly on Muslim women. Muslim women who wear hijabs, and other visibly religious minorities, have been living with the ongoing effects of the law for more than five years. This includes the inability to be employed as a public-school teacher, government lawyer or judge, despite their expertise and training. For those who were already working in the public service while wearing a religious symbol, the law prohibits them from receiving any promotions or transfers. When a discriminatory law is enacted, it has implications beyond the legislated text. In Québec, it has promoted the rejection of those who live visibly religious lives through violence on the streets and an insistence that they do not belong to Canadian society. The exclusionary power of this law has created a culture of discrimination such that Muslim women are prohibited from wearing the clothing of their choice in employment sectors even beyond the parameters of Bill 21. read the complete article
Israel
The growing influence of Israel’s ultranationalist settler movement
Days after taking office, as he issued executive order after executive order to change the political face of America, Donald Trump also turned his attention to the war in Gaza. His proposal that Gaza should be cleared out and Palestinians should be relocated to other countries such as Egypt and Jordan has been met with outraged disbelief in many quarters. The Arab League has accused him of advocating ethnic cleansing. But Trump’s statement has met with approval from far-right leaders in Israel. Influential politicians have been advocating for this “solution” for years. These include finance minister and leader of the Religious Zionist party, Bezalel Smotrich and his ideological ally Itamar Ben Gvir, leader of the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Strength) party and former national security minister. Smotrich responded to Trump’s utterance with the declaration that he aimed to turn the idea into an actionable policy. Ben Gvir, who resigned his ministerial position recently in response to the Israeli acceptance of the latest ceasefire deal, claimed that the evacuation of Gazans was the most “humanitarian answer” to the crisis and the only way to ensure peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians. The pair – and their followers in Israel – share an anti-Arab ideology and a messianic belief in the Jewish people’s right to what they call “Greater Israel”. This would be a Jewish state which would also include the West Bank, which they referred to as “Judea and Samaria”, as well as Gaza and part of Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. They have repeatedly called for Israel to use the war as an opportunity to reoccupy Gaza. read the complete article
Australia
Why some Muslims in Melbourne's CBD don't feel safe praying in public
Ms Deveci recalled a time when she was targeted by an onlooker while praying behind a tree at the Royal Botanic Gardens. "I have been … physically spat on while praying," she said. On another occasion, Ms Deveci said she was called a "terrorist" while performing her prayers in public. "This is why it's not comfortable as a Muslim female to be praying in public places in the city." She would love to see more multifaith rooms made available in public places in Melbourne's CBD, including segregated spaces for women. "It would make me feel more safe and mostly it would make feel like I belong and that I'm respected … it would mean a lot," she said. Ms Deveci's dilemma is shared by many Muslims in Melbourne's CBD, according to the Islamic Council Victoria's Adel Salman. "I think Muslims have become very creative in terms of finding space [to pray]," he said. Mr Salman said the lack of prayer rooms in the CBD had made it difficult for practising Muslims who work or visit the CBD, to observe their religious obligations. read the complete article
International
Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón faces backlash over offensive tweets
Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón is under fire after old tweets uncovered a range of troubling opinions on subjects including Islam and George Floyd. Gascón, originally in Spanish, called Floyd “a martyr hero” weeks after his death and wrote: “I truly believe that very few people ever cared about George Floyd, a drug addict and a hustler, but his death has served to highlight once again that there are those who still consider Black people to be monkeys without rights and those who consider the police to be murderers. All wrong." In November 2020, she also wrote about “more and more Muslims in Spain” before adding: “Every time I go to pick up my daughter from school there are more women with their hair covered and their skirts down to their heels. Maybe next year instead of English we’ll have to teach Arabic.” In another post, she wrote: “Until we ban religions that go against European values and violate human rights, such as Islam, under the protection of freedom of worship, we will not end part of the huge problem we face. Faith manipulates those who cling to faith.” In a tweet from 2016, she also wrote: “Islam is becoming a hotbed for infection for humanity that urgently need to be cured.” read the complete article