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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the UK, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) strongly criticized Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch for comments made during Prime Minister’s Questions, accusing her of cynically conflating a definition of Islamophobia with investigations into serious crimes, meanwhile in the US, the Department of Education noted concerns, and opened a new tab about discrimination against people of Arab and Jewish ancestry at Johns Hopkins University and reached a settlement, and the United States military has sent 11 long-term detainees from the Guantanamo Bay facility to Oman. Our recommended read of the day is by Professor Tahir Abbas for The London School of Economics on how the current narrative around child sexual exploitation in the United Kingdom is “clouded by sensationalism, racial stereotyping, and political agendas.” This and more below:
United Kingdom
The grooming gang debate: Navigating race, politics, and justice in the UK | Recommended Read
The issue of “grooming gangs” in the UK is one of the most polarising and politicised topics of recent years. Since the early 2010s, when high-profile cases in Rochdale, Rotherham, and Oxford came to light, the discourse surrounding child sexual exploitation (CSE) has been fraught with controversy, misinformation, and racial tension. While the sexual exploitation of vulnerable children is undeniably abhorrent, the narrative surrounding it has often been clouded by sensationalism, racial stereotyping, and political agendas. This blog aims to provide a balanced and evidence-based perspective on this complex issue, examining the construction of the problem, the role of ethnicity, the impact of media and political biases, and the systemic failures that have allowed CSE to persist. read the complete article
Badenoch ‘wrong’ to claim Islamophobia definition bars talking about ‘groomers’
A cross-party group of parliamentarians has hit back at Kemi Badenoch after she claimed it had said “talking about sex groomers was an example of Islamophobia”. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on British Muslims said Mrs Badenoch had “wrongly claimed” its report on defining Islamophobia gave such an example. In a statement, it said: “If the leader of the Opposition thoroughly read the report, she would understand the report speaks about the collective smear and trope being used against all British Muslims, a point which she accepted in her own words, and does not speak about legitimate concerns about criminal activity committed by specific individuals. “There is nothing racist or Islamophobic about addressing any crime or protecting victims, regardless of the ethnicity or faith of the perpetrator.” Mrs Badenoch made the claim during Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions as she clashed with Sir Keir Starmer over calls for a national inquiry into grooming gangs. The APPG, which is co-chaired by Labour’s Sarah Owen and Conservative Robbie Moore, said: “The whipping (up) of far-right conspiracies on this issue has already taken lives, including in this country.” The Muslim Council of Britain’s secretary-general, Zara Mohammed, went further, urging Mrs Badenoch to “retract her misleading claims”. read the complete article
UK Muslim group slams conservative leader’s remarks on Islamophobia
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) Wednesday strongly criticized Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch for comments made during Prime Minister’s Questions, accusing her of cynically conflating a definition of Islamophobia with investigations into serious crimes. The MCB described her remarks as divisive and factually inaccurate, calling on her to retract the claims. Badenoch had suggested that the APPG (All-Party Parliamentary Group) on British Muslims’ definition of Islamophobia somehow hinders the investigation of serious crimes. The MCB dismissed this assertion as "completely false," emphasizing that the definition “explicitly” distinguishes between legitimate criminal investigations and racist tropes targeting the Muslim community. The APPG’s definition of Islamophobia describes it as: "Rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness." The MCB highlighted that the definition specifically addresses the harmful stereotype of collectively associating Muslims with crimes such as grooming, which has been debunked by multiple investigations and studies. The MCB pointed to government and independent research to refute Badenoch’s claims. read the complete article
Starmer must stand against Musk and Islamophobia, Labour Muslims urge
Sir Keir Starmer has been urged by figures in his own party to tackle “head on” those pushing “Islamophobic talking points” in the debate on grooming gangs despite Labour fears of losing votes to Reform. Writing exclusively for The i Paper, the leaders of the Labour Muslim Network, have urged the Prime Minister to show the “courage” to call out attacks such as Robert Jenrick’s call for a crackdown on immigration from countries with “alien cultures” and “medieval attitudes”. They also sounded the alarm that the “poisoned discourse” would only get worse after Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to remove content controls from his social media platforms to make it more like the X platform owned by Donald Trump ally Elon Musk, who has revived the debate on grooming gangs in the UK in recent days. The PM may take particular note of the intervention from Labour Muslims after his party’s performance in July’s general election suffered over its stance on Gaza. read the complete article
United States
US settles with Johns Hopkins over alleged discrimination against Arabs, Jews
The U.S. Education Department on Wednesday noted concerns, opens new tab about discrimination against people of Arab and Jewish ancestry at Johns Hopkins University and reached a settlement, opens new tab with the institution to resolve the complaints. The university has agreed to review its anti-harassment policies and to provide training to staff and students on addressing discrimination and harassment based on ancestry and ethnicity, according to the settlement posted online by the Education Department. The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights said Johns Hopkins University received 99 complaints of harassment based on shared ancestry from October 2023 through May 2024. The Education Department identified examples including complaints about university professors allegedly directing slurs toward Arab and Palestinian people, and said university records were "replete with reports" of tropes being used against Jewish people on campus. read the complete article
Guantanamo Bay prisoner transfers renew hopes for facility closure after over two decades
Following this week's transfer of 11 Yemeni inmates from the US military detention centre near Cuba's Guantanamo Bay, Joe Biden's administration is seeing renewed pressure to close the facility, which has held hundreds of men over the last two decades, most of them without charges. The latest transfer, the biggest since Biden came to office four years ago, has brought the total Guantanamo prion's inmate population to 15, the lowest number since it was opened in 2002. This potentially gives the US administration the opportunity to transfer the remainder of inmates, some of whom are in fragile health following two decades of harsh conditions as they approach advanced ages. "Guantanamo is a due process-free zone on America's judicial and moral reputation. Over the years, hundreds of men have been held at this military detention facility without charges or trial," Robert McCaw, director of government affairs with the Council for American-Islamic Relations, told The New Arab. "For anyone deserving of criminal charges, they should have been filed a long time ago," he said. "Guantanamo needs to be closed, whether it's under [incoming president Donald] Trump or Biden, but it should have never been opened in the first place. The US government needs to make a final decision on whether they should charge those individuals," he said. read the complete article
Australia
Acts of hate are on the rise in Australia – but naming them is proving fraught
Rates of antisemitism and Islamophobia in Australia have risen sharply since 7 October 2023, according to almost every source that has tracked incidents or surveyed attitudes. But the extent of the rise has been questioned. The firebombing of a synagogue, concerns about protests (and the possible curtailing of those freedoms), and police investigations into antisemitism have sparked political battles and inquiries, and claims and counterclaims about the definition and prevalence of antisemitism and Islamophobia. The nation’s race discrimination commissioner, Giridharan Sivaraman, says Australia is in a “febrile time”. “Antisemitism and Islamophobia are both real, are both increasing, and are both significant concerns,” he says. The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils has written to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, calling for urgent action to tackle Islamophobia, and the Australian National Imams Council has said it is appalled by biased reporting and pleaded for balance. read the complete article
Spain
The rise of Spain’s far-right YouTubers — and the people taking them on
Police in the Spanish neighbourhood of Raval have warned elderly residents not to go out after 7pm in case they get attacked by migrants. Barcelona’s 9,761 Moroccan men were arrested 10,276 times between them in 2023. These are just two of the alarming claims made by David Santos to his 160,000 YouTube subscribers. They are also both completely false. Santos is one of about 40 high-powered “Fachatubers” — a portmanteau of “facha” (fascist) and YouTuber — identified by the sociologist and broadcaster Iago Moreno, who studies the rise of far-right social media influencers. These Fachatubers spread anti-immigrant, racist and Islamophobic content to their significant numbers of followers (all have in excess of 100,000), often painting Muslim immigrants as dangerous criminals. “I believe these YouTubers are responsible for a large part of the success of the far right in Spain,” said Guillermo Fernández Vázquez, a political scientist with the Complutense University of Madrid who studies the extreme right in Europe. He pointed to the rise of Vox, the explicitly anti-Muslim party that became the third largest in Spain’s parliament five years ago and made significant gains in the 2023 local elections. “If Vox wants to introduce anti-immigration or anti-Muslim ideas on to the political agenda,” he said, “then these types of YouTubers help them spotlight these issues.” read the complete article
Israel
Far-Right Extremism in Israel
Far-right extremism in Israel encompasses a broad spectrum of ideologies and movements, although many share overlapping goals and common features. This brief provides an overview of key ideologies, groups and figures in contemporary Israeli far-right extremism. This is often, though not exclusively, framed within religious Zionism, although religious belief and identity are of course not inherently far-right or extremist.[1] The article places the rise of the Israeli far-right in a global context,[2] [3] and provides insights into the post-7 October 2023 surge in far-right extremist activity. Following Hamas’s attack on Israel, the deadliest terrorist attack by number of fatalities per capita since 1970 when data collection began, far-right figures have called for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, and far-right policies have gained traction among parts of Israeli society. read the complete article
Canada
Outgoing Ottawa MPP apologizes for 'inappropriate' post blasted as Islamophobic
An outgoing Progressive Conservative MPP in Ottawa is apologizing for a social media post that criticized one of the people vying for her seat — a message Muslim groups say was Islamophobic and that the MPP herself has now acknowledged was "inappropriate." Lisa MacLeod, the longtime MPP for Nepean, posted on X about candidate Husien Abu-Rayash on Tuesday. In one message, MacLeod shared a link to a page promoting Abu-Rayash along with the comment, "If you support Sharia Law … [your] Next PC Candidate for Nepean could be..." In his own post to X on Wednesday, Abu-Rayash said it was "deeply disappointing" that MacLeod "has chosen to interfere in Nepean's nomination process by spreading defamatory, hateful, and Islamophobic rhetoric against me." Abu-Rayash included a libel notice to MacLeod, stating that he has not and does not advocate for Shariah law in Canada. Lawyer Mark Bourrie confirmed to CBC he is representing Abu-Rayash and sent the libel notice. read the complete article
France
French Interior Minister: Hijab is Symbol of Women’s Subjugation
France Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has vowed to ban the wearing of the hijab by chaperones, women who accompany children on school trips. The French minister made his remarks during an interview with the newspaper Le Parisien, noting that chaperones “should not wear the veil.” “The 2004 law on religious symbols must be applied to these activities: school outings are school outside the walls,” he said, noting that his wish is to introduce a legislation that could take the form of a “bill.” “The veil is not just a simple piece of cloth: It is a banner for Islamism, and a symbol of subjugation of women to men,” he said, noting that secularism should be extended to other public spaces. France has been subject to sharp criticism over its approach to Islam-realted matters, which many have deemed Islamophobic and extreme against muslim communities. read the complete article
International
Rights experts call for immediate release of Abu Zubaydah from Guantánamo
On Monday the United States military sent 11 long-term detainees from the facility to Oman after reaching agreement with the Government there on relocation and resettlement. Only 15 detainees now remain, according to news reports. The prison opened in 2002 and at its peak it held more than 600 prisoners overseen by over 2,000 military and civilian personnel. Captured in March 2002 in Faisalabad, Pakistan, following the 11 September 2001 attacks, Abu Zubaydah was transferred to CIA custody and held at multiple secret locations, where he was reportedly tortured, the experts reminded in a press release issued on Wednesday. Despite being imprisoned for nearly two decades, he remains in Guantánamo Bay without any formal charges having been made. “We are exceptionally requesting a Presidential pardon for Mr. Abu Zubaydah, owing to his treatment while in detention and the lack of due process since he was first detained,” the experts stated. “His immediate release and relocation to a third safe country are long overdue.” The Human Rights Council-appointed experts highlighted Abu Zubaydah's serious health conditions, which include injuries sustained during torture that have allegedly been exacerbated by the denial of medical attention. They also noted significant impediments to lawyer-client communication. Various international and regional human rights mechanisms have examined Abu Zubaydah's case, establishing that he has suffered multiple human rights violations within the context of the US rendition and secret detention programme, the experts noted. read the complete article
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Jails Firebrand Monk For Insulting Islam
A Sri Lankan court jailed a politically influential, firebrand Buddhist monk on Thursday, putting him behind bars for a second time for insulting Islam and stoking religious hatred in the island nation. Galagodaatte Gnanasara was sentenced on Thursday to nine months for his anti-Muslim remarks, which date to 2016. He was previously jailed last year on a similar charge of disparaging Sri Lanka's minority Muslims, who account for just over about 10 percent of the 22 million population. He was on bail while appealing that four-year sentence. read the complete article