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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the United States, the Justice Department has dropped its investigation of a planned Muslim-centered community, which originally began following anti-Muslim hysteria generated by right-wing politicians in Texas, meanwhile Zohran Mamdani, who is set to be the Democratic nominee for NYC mayor, is facing online harassment from Hindu nationalists following his criticism of PM Narendra Modi, and in Canada, new research finds that London police use force more often against Black, Middle Eastern and Indigenous men than against white men. Our recommended read of the day is by Joseph Gedeon for The Guardian on the “torrent of Islamophobic attacks that have erupted across social media and conservative political circles following Zohran Mamdani’s success in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor.”
United States
Mamdani faces barrage of Islamophobic attacks after New York primary success | Recommended Read
“Hamas terrorist sympathizer”, “jihadist terrorist”, calls for deportation and predictions of another 9/11 – these are among the torrent of Islamophobic attacks that have erupted across social media and conservative political circles following Zohran Mamdani’s success in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor. The 33-year-old state assembly member, a democratic socialist who would become the first Muslim mayor of America’s largest city, has been subjected to a barrage of death threats and xenophobic rhetoric from prominent Republican figures and online activists since his primary win became apparent. The coordinated nature of the attacks, spanning grassroots activists and senior political figures, reflects how anti-Muslim sentiment intersects with broader political divisions. Those targeting him have seized on Mamdani’s immigrant background and Muslim faith alongside his hyper-progressive positions to frame his potential mayoralty as a civilizational threat. Far-right activist and White House whisperer Laura Loomer posted on X that “there will be another 9/11 in NYC” under Mamdani’s leadership, while the New York City councilwoman Vickie Paladino described him as a “known jihadist terrorist” and “communist” in a radio interview, calling for his deportation despite his American citizenship. Senior Trump administration figures have joined the pile-on, including White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and architect of mass deportations claiming: “NYC is the clearest warning yet of what happens to a society when it fails to control migration.” The New York representative Elise Stefanik, Trump’s one-time pick for UN ambassador, sent fundraising emails branding Mamdani a “Hamas terrorist sympathizer” before the race was even called. read the complete article
Who is Zohran Mamdani? State lawmaker seeks to become New York City’s first Muslim and Indian American mayor
When he announced his run for mayor back in October, Zohran Mamdani was a state lawmaker unknown to most New York City residents. On Tuesday evening, the 33-year-old marked his stunning political ascension when he declared victory in the Democratic primary from a Queens rooftop bar after former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded. While the race’s ultimate outcome has yet to be confirmed by a ranked choice count scheduled for July 1, here’s a look at the one-time rapper seeking to become the city’s first Muslim and Indian American mayor, and its youngest mayor in generations. Mamdani’s mother, Mira Nair, is an award-winning filmmaker whose credits include “Monsoon Wedding,” “The Namesake” and “Mississippi Masala.” His father, Mahmood Mamdani, is an anthropology professor at Columbia University. Mamdani married Rama Duwaji, a Syrian American artist, earlier this year. The couple, who met on the dating app Hinge, live in the Astoria section of Queens. read the complete article
Debra Messing Says Zohran Mamdani 'Sides With Terrorists'
Actor Debra Messing wrote an Islamophobic comment on her Instagram in reference to New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, claiming that he “celebrated” 9/11. “I have nothing against Socialism, don’t know where you got that,” Messing, who is known for her role in the sitcom “Will & Grace,” wrote in an Instagram comment replying to a user who called her out for sharing a reel denouncing socialism. “I voted against M because he celebrated 9/11. Let that sink in. I love my country. My reasoning is not Islamophobia. I’ve chosen to live in the most beautifully diverse city in the world. The same people who did 9/11 did Oct. 7. I just don’t want a mayor who sides with terrorists. Oh and he wants to defund the police. And he has no experience. I’ll stop here.” If elected in November, Mamdani, a democratic socialist and state assemblyman who was born and raised in Uganda before moving to New York City at age 7, would become New York City’s first Muslim mayor. Since his primary win Tuesday, he has faced an influx of Islamophobic threats on social media — some from far-right figures, like Laura Loomer, who wrote on social media that because of his win, New York will face another 9/11. read the complete article
As Mamdani Rises, Anti-Muslim Attacks Roll In From the Right
Even before Zohran Mamdani claimed victory in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary, he had become a target of racist attacks from the far right. Those attacks have only intensified in the wake of his commanding performance on Tuesday, with Republican elected officials and right-wing media figures accusing him of promoting Islamic law, supporting terrorism and posing a threat to the safety of New Yorkers, especially Jews. There has been nothing subtle about it: Stephen Miller, the architect of the Trump administration’s immigration policy, called Mr. Mamdani’s apparent win “the clearest warning yet of what happens to a society when it fails to control migration.” Representative Andy Ogles, Republican of Tennessee, accused Mr. Mamdani of supporting terrorists and asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to strip him of his citizenship and deport him. Representative Nancy Mace, Republican of South Carolina, shared a photo of Mr. Mamdani preparing for an Eid service while dressed in a kurta, writing, “we sadly have forgotten” the Sept. 11 attacks, which occurred when Mr. Mamdani was 9 years old and living in Manhattan. And Charlie Kirk, the head of Turning Point USA, a leading group for conservative youth, sought to connect him to those attacks even more directly. “24 years ago a group of Muslims killed 2,753 people on 9/11,” he wrote. “Now a Muslim Socialist is on pace to run New York City.” The attacks on Mr. Mamdani, who would be the first Muslim mayor of New York City if elected, deal in well-worn Islamophobic and anti-immigrant tropes. The dark vision of Mr. Mamdani’s New York that his opponents describe is also deeply out of step with the coalition that powered his rise, which is young and multiethnic. He prevailed in neighborhoods with more higher-income and middle-income residents, more college graduates and more white, Asian and Hispanic residents. read the complete article
Justice Department closes investigation into Muslim-centered community near Dallas
The U.S. Department of Justice has closed a federal civil rights investigation into a Muslim-centered planned community around one of the state’s largest mosques near Dallas without filing any charges or lawsuits. The Justice Department had opened the investigation after U.S. Sen. John Cornyn called for it, arguing that the development could discriminate against Christian and Jews. The developers of the proposed EPIC City community tied to the East Plano Islamic Center, have complained they are being bullied by multiple federal and state investigations because they are Muslim. A June 13 Justice Department letter to Community Capital Partners, the group developing the project, noted the department is closing the investigation. The federal investigation had escalated pressure on the proposed EPIC City, which has faced steady criticism and multiple investigations. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and other GOP state officials have claimed the group is trying to create a community that excludes non-Muslims and would impose Islamic law on residents. The developers have said they are not seeking to impose religion on anyone, and that the community would follow state and federal law. read the complete article
Top 10 Most Islamophobic & Unhinged Responses to Mamdani's Win
33-year-old State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani clinched the New York Democratic mayoral primary race in a stunning and resounding defeat of Andrew Cuomo's desperate bid to resuscitate his sinking political career. And while this is a major win for progressives, Mamdani’s victory has truly scared conservatives. Zeteo contributor Francesca Fiorentini breaks down her top 10 favorite crashouts since his big win, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, Charlie Kirk, and of course, Donald Trump. read the complete article
Mamdani draws attention in India for harsh criticism of Modi
Since Zohran Mamdani’s surprise success Tuesday in the Democratic primary for New York mayor, a video of remarks in which he called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “war criminal” and the orchestrator of a “mass slaughter of Muslims” has drawn widespread attention in India. Mamdani, 33, who was born in Uganda and is of Indian descent, is favored to become the first South Asian mayor of New York City, home to some 200,000 Indian Americans, one of the largest such communities in the United States. At a candidates forum last month, in response to a question about whether mayoral hopefuls would be willing to appear alongside Modi should he visit New York, Mamdani and the other candidates present said they would not. But only Mamdani elaborated: Modi, he said, should be viewed as a “war criminal” — “in the same manner” as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom Mamdani has criticized over the war in Gaza. Mamdani blames the Indian prime minister for the deaths of more than 1,000 Muslims in riots in the Indian state of Gujarat when Modi was its chief minister. Allegations that Modi fomented the violence and did not intercede to stop it have overshadowed his career, at one point resulting in the denial of a visa to visit the United States before he was prime minister. Mamdani, a Muslim, said his family traces its roots back to Gujarat on his father’s side. Other social media posts accused Mamdani — born to a Muslim father and a Hindu mother — of Hinduphobia, a common charge leveled at politicians who speak out against Modi’s far-right Hindu nationalist rhetoric. “Mamdani is a terror sympathizer. A Hindu-hating bigot,” Sreemoy Talukdar, an editor at Firstpost, an Indian media outlet with ties to the Hindu right, wrote on Wednesday on X. Mamdani has long been critical of Modi and his brand of Hindu nationalism. “India’s right-wing government is presiding over a campaign of brutal violence against Muslim Indians,” Mamdani wrote on social media in 2020 to criticize his congresswoman for accepting donations from pro-Modi figures. “Our leaders should be loudly condemning these atrocities.” read the complete article
Italy
Online Hate Speech and Intersectionality: Evidence From the Anti-Muslim Narratives in Italy
The intersection of multiple social inequalities and narratives of discrimination has become a popular topic in various academic fields, including racism analysis, feminist analysis, migration studies, and postcolonial studies. Relying on this theoretical framework, this article aims to show the narratives that characterize the online anti-Muslim discourses in Italy. By analyzing 31 interviews conducted with the volunteers of Amnesty International’s Hate Speech Task Force, the research highlights how Muslim religious identity intersects with other categories that have been historically marginalized, particularly in relation to gender and religion or legal and economic status. Basically, being Muslim seems to be an aggravating circumstance in hatred communication. This specific case study demonstrates how hate speech online against Islam in Italy is situated at the intersection of preexisting conditions of disadvantage and sedimented stereotypes that create a narrative of Islam perceived as an external threat that affects different levels of reality and activates a mechanism of preservation by the “threatened group” to create its common identity in opposition to the “otherness” of the Muslim culture. read the complete article
India
Why Indian right is having a meltdown over Mamdani's win
Zohran Kwame Mamdani’s victory in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary has ignited a firestorm of criticism from Hindu nationalist circles and segments of the Indian diaspora, both in the US and India. The wave of criticism and, in some cases, outright hostility appears tied to his religious and ethnic identity, political positions, and outspoken views on India and Palestine. The 33-year-old Indian-American, Muslim, and democratic socialist’s outspoken criticism of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his pro-Palestinian activism, and his progressive politics have fueled the backlash, amplified across the Indian press and social media platforms like X. In recent weeks, Mamdani called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “war criminal”, comparing him to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in reference to the 2002 Gujarat riots. The remark drew sharp condemnation from Indo-American leaders, who accused Mamdani of promoting divisive rhetoric that has no place in local US politics. He also led a protest in Times Square that went viral for featuring slogans that riled up right-wing Hindus. The event was reportedly co-organised with Sikh rights supporters, further fueling anger in India over Mamdani’s alignment with fringe political movements. read the complete article
Erasing a people: How India’s bulldozer politics targets its Muslim poor
Four days after the April 22 terrorist attack in India-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 people, police vehicles and earth-moving machinery rolled into a Muslim-majority slum colony in the Chandola Lake area of Ahmedabad, over 1,500 km away. Officials were ferreting out illegal immigrants with suspected terror links, they said. On April 29, the municipality in this city, in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat, launched its largest-ever slum demolition drive, razing the Muslim-dominated Bangali Vaas slum, one of the slum clusters around the water body. Posting an aerial video of the operation, the Gujarat police’s official X handle called it a ‘cleanliness campaign’. This time, officials simply said the historic Chandola Lake had shrunk because of decades of encroachment. In June, in phase two of the demolition, authorities razed 8,500 structures in a single day. Tens of thousands were suddenly homeless as 50 excavator machines, 3,000 policemen and others left the now-flattened slum sprawl. The same week, a statewide crackdown had led to the detention of nearly 6,500 people, mostly Muslims, citing security concerns. Police said about 450 of them were found to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh; the others continued to face interrogations. The Chandola Lake story is not an isolated incident. It’s the latest in a rapidly spreading rash of demolition drives, ostensibly meant to clear ‘illegal’ or ‘unauthorised’ settlements, but with the Muslim poor appearing to be disproportionately targeted. read the complete article
Canada
London police use force against Black, Arab, Indigenous men disproportionately, data shows
London police use force more often against Black, Middle Eastern and Indigenous men than against white men, a researcher's deep dive into the data shows. "Before 2020, we did not have any numbers because police services were not collecting that race-based data," said Kojo Damptey, a doctoral student at McMaster University in Hamilton who got a grant from the University of Toronto to analyze use-of-force data from the province's major cities. "It's important to analyze that data and speak to some of the concerns that Black, Indigenous and racialized communities have been talking about for years." Police services in Ontario submit their race-use-of-force data annually to the province and the solicitor general makes that data public, Damptey said. Ontario passed the Anti-Racism Act in 2017, forcing public institutions to be collecting race-based data, allowing researchers such as Damptey access to the figures starting in 2020. "London is pretty consistent with all the other cities," he said. "Indigenous folks, Black men and Middle Eastern men experience use-of-force at higher rates, particularly when it comes to men between the ages of 18 to 24." read the complete article