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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In Austria, the Islamic Religious Community in Austria (IGGO) criticized Austrian Interior Minister Claudia Plakolm for her controversial statement on a headscarf, in which she called it a “sign of oppression”, meanwhile in Israel, dozens of Israeli youths were captured on camera trashing a Jerusalem movie theater while chanting racist anti-Arab slogans and assaulting theater employees, and in the United Kingdom, the government has appointed a new partner to monitor anti-Muslim hatred, The British Muslim Trust (BMT), only months after its relationship with the Islamophobia reporting service Tell MAMA ended. Our recommended read of the day is by Rabina Khan for Yahoo News, who examines the debate on the burka in the UK, and states that “the burka, like the hijab, has become a symbol onto which people project their fears, fantasies and frustrations.” This and more below:
United Kingdom
Want to ban the burka? Try asking the women like me first | Recommended Read
It was a reminder that in this country, politicians feel entitled to debate our clothing, our faith and our freedom - yet still stumble over the word burka. They discuss what Muslim women wear, but can’t pronounce it correctly. It’s not burger, and it’s not burk-ah. It’s boorkah. The very least politicians can do, before legislating our lives, is get the name right. Authoritarianism should not be confused with liberation. The outcome is the same: women's agency is erased, and the state decides how we appear in public. That isn’t empowerment - it’s control, dressed up as reform. In 2015, a white man approached me and asked: “What colour is your hair under your veil?” I replied: “It’s pink,” but didn’t ask him what colour his hair had been before he went bald. That moment stayed with me because it revealed how people feel entitled to interrogate Muslim women. I later wrote a book about that experience, My Hair Is Pink Under This Veil, chronicling my decision to wear the hijab and the questions, assumptions, and aggressions that came with it. The burka, like the hijab, has become a symbol onto which people project their fears, fantasies and frustrations. But behind every veil is a person - thinking, choosing, living. So when politicians like Sarah Pochin suggest banning the burka, they’re not just mispronouncing a word, they’re speaking for women like me without asking our opinion. Women like me who are voters, writers, public office holders and community builders. Our identities cannot be legislated away and our voices won’t be silenced - not by policy, not by prejudice, not by fear. This is discrimination, and it’s happening in a country where 61% of young women from racial minorities already report facing bias at work. read the complete article
New trust to monitor anti-Muslim hatred in UK after funding to Tell Mama ended
The UK government has appointed a new partner to monitor anti-Muslim hatred, months after its relationship with the Islamophobia reporting service Tell Mama ended. The British Muslim Trust (BMT) – a new organisation – is expected to begin receiving reports and monitoring incidents from early autumn, after being “selected as the recipient of the government’s new combatting hate against Muslims fund”, a statement from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said on Monday. The BMT has been founded by the Aziz Foundation and Randeree Charitable Trust, with activist Akeela Ahmed leading as chief executive. The government said it had set up the combatting hate against Muslims fund to “respond to the evolving nature of religious intolerance and targeted hate incidents faced by Muslim communities, which are at the highest level on record”. It added that the BMT would use the funding to “develop a robust reporting system that captures both online and offline incidents of anti-Muslim hatred, including those that may go unreported to the police … provide direct support to victims, raise awareness of what constitutes a hate crime, and encourage greater reporting from affected communities”. read the complete article
Israel
Anti-Arab violence increases across Israel
Right-wing rioters attacked and verbally harassed Arab-Israeli MK Ayman Odeh during an anti-government protest on Saturday in Ness Ziona. Footage shows a crowd surrounding a vehicle in which Odeh – who chairs the Hadash-Ta’al party – was sitting, shattering the windscreen, while repeatedly cursing Odeh and chanting “death to Arabs”. It comes days after the Knesset failed to approve a motion to expel Odeh from the legislature over comments he made about the Gaza conflict. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and all but one of his ministers remained silent on the incident. Likud MK Tally Gotliv openly endorsed the violence, declaring on X: “Not only do I not condemn the right-wing protesters against Ayman Odeh, the terror supporter, in Ness Ziona, I’m proud of them!" read the complete article
Dozens of youths riot at Jerusalem movie theater, chanting ‘Death to Arabs’; no arrests
Police say they have not arrested anyone in connection to an anti-Arab riot last night in which dozens of Jewish youths were filmed trashing a Jerusalem movie theater while chanting “Death to Arabs” and throwing objects at the employees behind the concession stand counter. Footage shows masses of young men throwing floor signs, disposable cups and what appears to be a motorcycle helmet at Arab employees at Jerusalem’s Cinema City theater. The workers respond, throwing objects back over the counter while giving the middle finger to the crowd. Police tell The Times of Israel that the crowd of rioters had fled the scene by the time officers arrived. read the complete article
Austria
Austrian Muslim body criticizes interior minister's statement on headscarf as 'disturbing'
The Islamic Religious Community in Austria (IGGO) on Monday criticized Austrian Interior Minister Claudia Plakolm for her controversial statement on a headscarf, in which she called it a “sign of oppression.” In a press release, the IGGO said: “We are deeply disturbed by a recent statement by Minister of Culture Claudia Plakolm on the Islamic headscarf.” Earlier on Sunday, Plakolm, a member of the ruling coalition Austrian People's Party (OVP), said in an Instagram video: "The headscarf is a symbol of oppression. Girls are hidden behind headscarves at a critical stage in their personality and physical development, and extremist tendencies, particularly among children, have no place in our schools." Plakolm's statement is apparently connected to a bill proposed by the Austrian government to prohibit headscarves in kindergartens and schools for girls under 14. According to Plakolm, the law will be passed in the fall of 2025. However, the Islamic organization responded that "linking the headscarf, which is an expression of the religious practice of a religious community recognized by law in Austria, with 'extremist tendencies' unsettles not only many young Muslim women but also all those who trust in the protection of religious freedom and equal treatment." read the complete article
United States
Muslim Americans share political attitudes with both the Democratic and Republican parties
Muslims make up slightly more than 1% of the U.S. adult population. But they can have a significant political impact in areas where they are most highly concentrated. For much of the last two decades, Muslims have been far more likely to identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party than the Republican Party. But Pew Research Center’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study shows that the Democratic advantage has shrunk considerably. Around half of Muslim adults (53%) identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, while 42% identity with or lean toward the Republican Party. Many observers have attributed the shift away from the Democratic Party to Muslims’ disappointment with President Joe Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. In a February 2024 poll by the Center, most U.S. Muslims said Biden was favoring the Israelis too much. However, Muslims’ political values are as diverse as their demographic characteristics. Looking at issues where there are significant partisan gaps, we find that Muslim Americans do not align consistently with either political party. On some issues, the balance of opinion among Muslims is similar to that found among Democrats. On other issues, Muslims tend to agree more with Republicans than Democrats. And on still others, they stand out from both political parties. read the complete article
India
Why is the Indian far-right attacking New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani?
Zohran Mamdani's historic win in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor shook up the political establishment. A Democratic Socialist assembly member from Queens, Mamdani ran on a campaign pushing progressive policies such as a citywide rent freeze, taxpayer-funded childcare and "fast and free" public buses. But since his shock win, some within the Indian-American community have put a target on his back, making it abundantly clear they don't want, and will never vote for, a Muslim candidate. Last week, at a packed event in Queens, New York, a far-right Hindu activist pulled out the knives for the progressive candidate. Kajal Shingala, also known as Kajal Hindusthani, a keynote speaker at the event, called Mamdani a "jihadi zombie" and said New York would become another Pakistan if he was elected mayor in November. Listed as one the top 10 purveyors of hate speech in India, Shingala's social media accounts are rife with Islamophobic content, where she labels Muslim men as terrorists, rapists and "love jihadists" - a conspiracy theory that Muslim men are trapping Hindu women into marriage in order to convert them to Islam. Although most of the vitriol against Mamdani originates from India, MEE has found that there are also a growing number of Indian-Americans - influenced by right-wing politics in India - who have sought to smear him. During Mamdani's primary election campaign, a group called Indian Americans for Cuomo - who are based in New Jersey rather than New York - spent thousands on Cuomo's campaign. They paid for a radio slot on an Indian radio station rubbishing Mamdani, as well as for a banner to fly over New York with the line: "Save NYC from Global Intifada. Reject Mamdani." The group's authorised representative is Satyanarayana Dosapati, who has also organised a pro-Trump rally in Pennsylvania as well as being involved in pro-BJP politics in India. read the complete article
Germany
Germany has an Islamophobia problem – and it’s costing Muslim women their lives
When a Muslim woman is murdered in Europe, it rarely makes headline news. For example, I only learned about the killing of 26-year-old Rahma Ayad, an Algerian nurse living and working in Germany, through a social justice Instagram account, not through mainstream media. On the morning of July 4, Ayad was stabbed to death by a German man who lived in her building. When I tried to find out more information, only TRT World and a couple of other pan-Arab news outlets had reported on this monstrous crime. Despite the severity of the crime, mainstream European media largely ignored the case. Many Arabs and Muslims living in Europe will be following closely to see what the German authorities do next. Will they openly recognise the racially and religiously motivated nature of this homicide? Ayad’s family has said the 31-year-old suspect had been harassing her in the lead-up to her murder, including verbal abuse regarding her hijab and Arab origin. This is not the first time that a Muslim woman in Germany has been murdered for wearing the hijab. The truth is, Germany has a serious Islamophobia problem and it is already costing visibly Muslim women like Rahma Ayad their lives. CLAIM, a German alliance monitoring anti-Muslim hate crimes, recently reported a 60 percent increase in incidents, with an average of eight incidents a day throughout 2024. read the complete article