Today in Islamophobia

Today in Islamophobia: In Australia, universities across the country will be required to adopt definitions on antisemitism, Islamophobia, and racism towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people next year, meanwhile in the United Kingdom, a mosque replica set alight on a bonfire, just weeks after people fled their homes during race riots, has been described as “a very painful moment for Muslims” by concerned community members and business owners in Northern Ireland, and in India, a Muslim judge in Madhya Pradesh is facing death threats after she sentenced 14 Hindu men to life imprisonment for lynching a Muslim man to death. Our recommended read of the day is by Bridge Initiative Senior Research Fellow Farid Hafez for EU Observer, on how Europe’s extremist voices are meeting with far-right political leaders to mainstream the racist “remigration” concept, which seeks to expel people of color from the continent. This and more below:

United Kingdom

A 300-year-old bonfire tradition in Northern Ireland has turned its flames on Muslims | Recommended Read

In a tradition dating back more than 300 years, towering pyres have been lit every July in Northern Ireland to mark the Battle of the Boyne, which effectively cemented Protestant rule. But this year, in the village of Moygashel, County Tyrone, the flames found a new target. A replica mosque, with a figure holding what appeared to be an ISIS flag and banners on the tower reading “Secure our borders” and “End the threat of radical Islam,” was burned on Thursday night. The group responsible, the Mogyashel Bonfire Association, said it was aware their display might “shock offend or outrage others” and blamed “uncontrolled illegal mass immigration” for their “protest.” In Moygashel, police are treating the display as a “hate motivated crime,” and have charged a 56-year-old man with incitement to hatred. The man denied the charges at a hearing on Friday, and was refused bail. The fire comes as anti-Muslim hate crimes rise across Northern Ireland and the wider UK. Last month, anti-immigrant protesters clashed with police during riots across the capital Belfast, which saw homes and vehicles torched and authorities deploy water cannons. For Naomi Green, MCB assistant secretary general, who lives in Northern Ireland, this week’s incident is not a surprise. “People are welcome to celebrate their culture in whatever way they want,” she said. The problem, she added, was growing “expressions of hate” and “incitement against certain groups.” read the complete article

'It can never be justified' - Muslim community's pain at burning of mosque model

A mosque replica set alight on a bonfire, just weeks after people fled their homes during race riots, has been described as "a very painful moment for Muslims". Business owners, community and religious organisations as well as several people who have made Northern Ireland their home have been sharing their concerns. There are further fears that after three summers of riots, that Islamophobia in Northern Ireland is getting worse. Dr Umar Al-Qadri said the bonfire effigy had caused "a very painful moment" for Muslims across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The chair of the Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council, he said: "For us this isn't a political statement, for us, it's a message of exclusion, and intimidation, that you do not belong here, you do not belong in Northern Ireland. read the complete article

Australia

Australian universities will be required to adopt definitions of antisemitism and Islamophobia

Australian universities will be required to adopt definitions on antisemitism, Islamophobia and racism towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from next year, under a legally enforceable standard designed to stamp out discrimination on campuses. Details of the anti-racism standard will be published on Monday as university bosses, students and academics prepare to appear at the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion. Under the standard, the universities will have to adopt definitions on antisemitism, Islamophobia and racism towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as well as create a “transparent” complaints process and issue guidances to students and staff. The universities are allowed to use their own definitions, including for antisemitism, meaning the institutions will not be forced to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition. read the complete article

As a Muslim cricketer, at times I felt like I didn’t belong. I yearn for an Australia where all that matters is how you play

I grew up in western Sydney, where diversity wasn’t something governments talked about – it was simply life. My mates came from all over the world. Different cultures, different languages, different faiths. We were all just kids who loved sport. If I experienced prejudice growing up, it wasn’t because I was Muslim. Most people didn’t know much about Islam back then. It was because I was the brown kid. As I progressed through representative cricket and into the Australian team, there were times I still felt like an outsider. Not because people necessarily intended it, but because when you’re one of very few people who look like you, pray like you or share your background, you become constantly aware of your difference. Sport loves to celebrate diversity. We proudly feature it in campaigns and photographs. But inclusion is something deeper. It’s creating an environment where nobody has to wonder whether they truly belong. The Christchurch mosque shootings changed that conversation for ever. Watching innocent people murdered while praying was a reminder that hatred doesn’t begin with violence. It begins with words and stereotypes. It’s the slow process of dehumanising people until the unthinkable becomes possible. Too often, anti-Muslim abuse is brushed off as just “online” or “someone’s opinion”. But hate can build up. Every insult, threat and abusive message chips away at someone’s sense of belonging. Reporting this helps show how big the problem is and gives governments, institutions and digital platforms the evidence they need to take action. Most importantly, it lets victims know they’re not alone. read the complete article

United States

KC’s World Cup under Trump is no victory for immigration. It’s a warning

This year, a record 289 of the 1,248 players at the World Cup were born outside the country they represent, nearly 1 in 4. Some have called it proof of the tournament’s diversity. Look closer, and that story falls apart. This World Cup isn’t a celebration of belonging. It’s a warning about how fragile belonging is. FIFA’s stadiums are staging the same test the far right has always set for immigrants: Perform, contribute, be useful and you can stay — on whatever terms the person in power decides that day. Balogun was born in Brooklyn while his Nigerian parents were passing through the city, allowing him birthright citizenship — the exact principle Trump is trying to eliminate, and which the Supreme Court upheld just days before Balogun took the field. Trump didn’t change his position. He found one case, involving one useful player, where defending the principle worked in his favor. That’s the flaw in usefulness as a test for belonging: It’s decided by whoever happens to be in power, not by the person being judged. I’ve watched this pattern for years. As interim CEO of Emgage USA — which has fought Trump’s Muslim and immigrant travel bans — and a board member of the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, I’ve organized immigrant and Muslim communities. read the complete article

Trump social media post involving Minnesota children called ‘anti-Muslim bigotry’

President Trump is under fire for posting a video of Somali kindergarteners in hijabs, a TruthSocial message Minnesota Muslim leaders say amplifies anti-Muslim bigotry and targets children. The post has drawn sharp rebukes from civil rights groups and Gov. Tim Walz, who accuse Trump of endangering vulnerable kids and inflaming anti-Somali sentiment statewide. Minnesota’s Somali and Muslim communities link the rhetoric to mosque vandalism, arson and threats, saying a surge of attacks has left families fearful and demanding stronger protections. read the complete article

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Revived Islamophobic Narratives Pose Renewed Danger as Bosnia Commemorates the Srebrenica Genocide

The Srebrenica–Potočari Memorial Center in Bosnia and Herzegovina will commemorate the 31st anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide on July 11. This year, the remains of 10 victims of the genocide, aged between 20 and 56 at the time of their deaths, will be laid to rest during the annual collective funeral. At the same time, high-ranking officials in Serbia and Republika Srpska, together with politicians, journalists, and segments of the public, continue to deny that the genocide was committed, and even celebrate crimes. They have called it a “fabricated myth,” questioned the reported number of victims, and accused survivors of making “tombstones in Potočari for living people,” referring to the location of the Srebrenica Genocide memorial-cemetery. To some, such rhetoric may appear to be little more than attempts to evade responsibility or examples of populist historical revisionism. For survivors of the Bosnian Genocide such as me, however, they represent a renewed process of dehumanization and targeting. The Srebrenica Genocide is widely recognized as the worst atrocity committed in Europe since World War II. In July 1995, after Bosnian Serb forces under the command of Ratko Mladić overran the United Nations-designated “safe area” of Srebrenica, more than 8,000 Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) men and boys were systematically separated from women and children, and executed over the course of several days. read the complete article

Thousands gather in Srebrenica to mark 31 years since genocide

Thousands have gathered in Bosnia and Herzegovina to mark 31 years since the Srebrenica genocide, as leaders and activists worldwide use the anniversary to call on people to fight dehumanisation. On Saturday, mourners, survivors, foreign dignitaries and religious leaders gathered at the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial Center to commemorate those who were killed in 1995. People took part in the annual peace march before 10 newly identified victims were buried. Bosnian Serb forces overran the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica on July 11, 1995, killing more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys over several days. Srebrenica had been declared a protected “safe area” by the United Nations Security Council two years earlier. Denis Becirovic, Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said honouring those who were killed was crucial to maintaining stability. “If we fail to preserve the truth about our past, we will have neither a present nor a future,” he said. read the complete article

India

Muslim judge in India faces death threats after convicting 'cow vigilantes'

On 12 June, the additional district and sessions judge of a court in Madhya Pradesh state, Tabassum Khan, found the men guilty of offences including murder, attempt to murder, rioting and wrongful restraint. The crime took place in 2022, when 50-year-old Nazir Ahmad was transporting cattle at night and was intercepted by a group of self-styled "gau rakshaks" (cow protectors), armed with sticks and rods. Hindus consider cows sacred and killing them is illegal in many states. The men dragged Ahmad and his two companions out of the vehicle and brutally assaulted them on suspicion of smuggling cows. Ahmad later succumbed to his injuries while his companions survived to tell the court what happened. In her judgement, Khan noted that the crime was a clear case of mob lynching. But the verdict has made her the target of religious hate. In the days following the judgement, numerous videos abusing and threatening Khan, a Muslim, surfaced online. The videos implied that Khan had acted against the men because they were Hindu. read the complete article

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