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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In France, the El Hidaya Mosque in Roussillon was the target of a violent act of vandalism where masked assailants broke into the worship center, overturned furniture, and left hate-filled flyers throughout the space, meanwhile in the United States, Muslim Democratic House members are denouncing “racist smears” against Zohran Mamdani from lawmakers in both parties since his New York City mayoral primary win, and in the Czech Republic, Muslim residents of Prague have been struggling to find a new home for worship after the Central Mosque was shut down last year after over 500 complaints from neighbors persuaded the property owner to force it’s closure. Our recommended read of the day is by Nesrine Malik for The Guardian on how the anti-Muslim hate following Democratic Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s historic win exposes the degree to which systemic Islamophobia has permeated the American political system. This and more below:
United States
Zohran Mamdani won by being himself – and his victory has revealed the Islamophobic ugliness of others | Recommended Read
Zohran Mamdani’s stunning win in New York’s mayoral primary has been a tale of two cities, and two Americas. In one, a young man with hopeful, progressive politics went up against the decaying gods of the establishment, with their giant funding and networks and endorsements from Democratic scions, and won. In another, in an appalling paroxysm of racism and Islamophobia, a Muslim antisemite has taken over the most important city in the US, with an aim to impose some socialist/Islamist regime. Like effluent, pungent and smearing, anti-Muslim hate spread unchecked and unchallenged after Mamdani’s win. It takes a lot from the US to shock these days, but Mamdani has managed to stir, or expose, an obscene degree of mainstreamed prejudice. Politicians, public figures, members of Donald Trump’s administration and the cesspit of social media clout-chasers all combined to produce what can only be described as a collective self-induced hallucination; an image of a burqa swathed over the Statue of Liberty; the White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, stating that Mamdani’s win is what happens when a country fails to control immigration. Republican congressman Andy Ogles has decided to call Mamdani “little muhammad” and is petitioning to have him denaturalised and deported. He has been called a “Hamas terrorist sympathiser”, and a “jihadist terrorist”. Some of the responses have been so hysterical that I often couldn’t tell what was real and what was parody. Because the idea that Mamdani, whose style is, above anything else, wide-grinned earnestness, was some sinister Islamist sleeper agent is so clearly a joke. But it’s not a joke, and if it is then it’s on me for still, after all these years, underestimating what Muslims in the public sphere do to people’s brains. And how utterly comfortable many are with anti-Muslim hate. Because, fundamentally, anti-Muslim hate, like all racism when it becomes normalised, thrives when there is a systemic blessing of it through not even registering its offensiveness. read the complete article
Attacks on Muslims flood mainstream after Mamdani win
Zohran Mamdani's victory in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary triggered a wave of Islamophobic attacks — including from sitting members of Congress — that once might have disqualified the perpetrators from public office. Why it matters: Openly racist rhetoric has become normalized at the highest levels of American politics. Islamophobic and antisemitic incidents both reached an all-time high in 2024, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Anti-Defamation League, respectively. The mainstreaming of Islamophobic rhetoric in political discourse comes a decade after President Trump called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" as part of his 2016 campaign. Driving the news: Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) urged the Justice Department to denaturalize and deport Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and became a U.S. citizen in 2018. Under federal law, denaturalization is an extreme measure typically reserved for cases involving fraud during the naturalization process. The other side: Mamdani, who would be the first Muslim mayor of New York, has spoken openly about the violent threats and hateful messages he's received throughout the campaign. He told MSNBC that he sees his victory as "an opportunity for me to introduce the fact that being Muslim is like being a member of any other faith." read the complete article
For many South Asian and Muslim New Yorkers, Mamdani’s political upset gives them hope
The success of Zohran Mamdani in New York City’s Democratic primary for mayor is euphoric for Hari Kondabolu, a stand-up comedian who’s been friends with the candidate for 15 years. Mamdani stunned the political establishment when he declared victory in the primary on Tuesday, a ranked choice election in which his strongest competition, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, conceded defeat. For Kondabolu, this moment is not just exciting, but emotional. “I think so many of us have had those experiences in New York of being brown and in a city that has always been really diverse and feels like ours. But after 9/11, like you start to question it like, is this our city too,” Kondabolu said. “And 25 years later ... it’s surreal, like this is the same city but it’s not because we’ve elected this person.” Mamdani’s campaign has piqued the interest of many Indian, Pakistani and other South Asian Americans, as well as Muslims — even those who may not agree with Mamdani on every issue. Despite that opposition, some still see his rise as a sign of hope in a city where racism and xenophobia erupted following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. read the complete article
Republicans, X accused of spreading racism, Islamophobia in posts about NYC's Mamdani
Zohran Mamdani's Democratic primary upset this week in New York City has sparked anti-Muslim posts that have included death threats and comments comparing his candidacy to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. There were at least 127 violent hate-related reports mentioning the mayoral candidate or his campaign in the day after polls closed, said CAIR Action, an arm of the Council on American-Islamic Relations advocacy group, which logs such incidents. Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress including Andy Ogles, Nancy Mace and Marjorie Taylor Greene have been accused of spreading anti-Muslim rhetoric both by advocates and Democrats. "We call on public officials of every party — including those whose allies are amplifying these smears — to unequivocally condemn Islamophobia," said Basim Elkarra, executive director of CAIR Action. read the complete article
Muslim Democrats ask leaders to denounce Islamophobic attacks on Zohran Mamdani
All four Muslim Democratic House members are denouncing “racist smears” against Zohran Mamdani from lawmakers in both parties since his New York City mayoral primary win, according to a statement provided first to POLITICO. “The vile, anti-Muslim and racist smears from our colleagues on both sides of the aisle attacking Zohran Mamdani cannot be met with silence. These hateful, Islamophobic, and racist tropes have become so entrenched and normalized in our politics,” said Reps. Andre Carson of Indiana, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Lateefah Simon of California in a statement. The lawmakers said that “at a time when we are facing increased violence against elected officials, we cannot allow the attacks on Zohran Mamdani to continue” and asked for elected leaders to speak out on them. read the complete article
Kirsten Gillibrand Doesn’t Seem Bothered by Palestinian Deaths
On Thursday, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand had what was for an elected official an unusually animated response to a caller’s question on New York City public radio’s The Brian Lehrer Show about the Muslim American Mamdani’s win and the supposed “threats facing the Jewish community” that have come as a result. Asked several times by the show’s host to correct the record and point out that Mamdani has never advocated for violence nor supported terrorist organizations, Gillibrand declined. New Yorkers were “alarmed” by his recent win, she said, pointing to alleged “past positions,” of Mamdani’s, “particularly references to global jihad” — references that are wholly nonexistent. “This is a very serious issue, because people that glorify the slaughter of Jews create fear in our communities,” she said, suggesting Mamdani was one of these people. When Lehrer pointed out that Mamdani had never used the phrase “globalize the intifada” but had simply said he wouldn’t condemn it because the word “intifada” is a broad one that encompasses nonviolent resistance, Gillibrand got heated. “It doesn’t matter what word you have in your brain,” she said. “It is not how the word is received.” Pointing to the fear that some members of New York’s Jewish community have expressed since Israel began its now two-year-long war in Gaza, Gillibrand stressed that someone trying to lead a diverse city like New York “should denounce it. And that’s it. Period.” Gillibrand later walked back some of the statements, but only partially. A spokesperson told Rolling Stone she “misspoke” about Mamdani endorsing “global jihad” but did not walk back the rest of her comments. What is curious about Gillibrand’s point here is how little it matches up with her own rhetoric on the subject. New York City is indeed a diverse place, home for not just a Jewish population of nearly one million, the largest of any city outside Israel, but more than 700,000 Muslims who make up roughly 9 percent of its population, as well as 160,000 Arabs and the country’s largest Palestinian population. Yet Gillibrand’s public statements about the war in Gaza — which has so far killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, a third of them children, numbers that are considered a severe undercount of a real total that is likely in the hundreds of thousands — have rarely if ever taken into account the way this segment of New Yorkers has “felt and received” the war, its impact on their families, or her fellow elected officials’ racist and often violent rhetoric aimed against them. read the complete article
Muslim civil rights org condemns Tuberville for “anti-Islam” comments
During a recent interview on right-wing pundit Benny Johnson’s “The Benny Show,” U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, was asked what his message would be to any Democratic voters who might move from a blue state to Alabama if he were elected governor. “Well don’t be expecting a free lunch… bring your lunch with you, because you’re not gonna be welcome if you bring that Communist, Islamic atmosphere with you. We’re not going to deal with it,” Tuberville replied. In response, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR—the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization—slammed Tuberville’s comments as being “anti-Islam” and called on the governor hopeful to visit a mosque in Alabama. “Senator Tuberville was elected to represent all Alabamans, including Alabaman Muslims. We invite Senator Tuberville to visit an Alabama mosque and engage with his Alabama Muslim constituents,” CAIR-AL Staff Attorney Britton O’Shields said in an official statement. “Although Senator Tuberville expressed fear about a so-called ‘Islamic atmosphere’ coming to Alabama, the truth is that American Muslims have been thriving in Alabama for decades, creating an atmosphere of fellowship, charity, and devotion to God.” read the complete article
India
The Surge of Online Hate in India: Social Media Fuels Prejudice Against Sikhs and Muslims
To sow fear, anger, and violence, online hate propaganda often targets explicitly minority and marginalized communities, including Sikhs and Muslims in India. Social media has made it easier than ever to spread hateful messages, which may have devastating effects on those who are the targets of such rhetoric. This research assesses online hate speech directed at Sikhs and Muslims in India and its effects on the individual’s identity, security, and sociability. It analyzes hate propaganda content on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and WhatsApp to highlight the overarching motifs and narratives that render these people as dangerous. Also, personally conducted interviews gauge the participation of the minority groups in creating and disseminating such material during turbulent times. This research aims to contribute toward understanding the phenomenon of digital hate speech and its repercussions toward marginalized communities. The study also investigates how Sikhs and Muslims in India cope with the difficulties and threats posed by online hate messaging. read the complete article
France
Attackers Target Another Mosque in France as Anti-Muslim Violence Rises
On Saturday, the El Hidaya Mosque in Roussillon, southeastern France, was the target of a violent act of vandalism. Around 5 a.m., masked individuals smashed the entrance windows, overturned furniture, and plastered the mosque’s walls with hate-filled leaflets. Several similar flyers were found scattered on the ground. The religious association overseeing the mosque has filed a formal complaint. Authorities have launched an investigation to identify those responsible. This attack follows a troubling pattern of recent anti-Muslim incidents across the country. A few weeks earlier, a man was arrested after desecrating the Errahma Mosque in Villeurbanne, where a burned Quran was found at the building’s entrance. read the complete article
United Kingdom
As a visibly Muslim woman, I'm so tired of bearing the brunt of the UK's toxic culture wars
Once again, politicians are debating what Muslim women should and should not wear, without ever thinking to consult us. Pontificating about what Muslim women wear is nothing new in this country. It feels like every year or so, there’s a new round of cries to “ban the burka!” or save us from the cloths on our heads or faces. At times like these, I am harshly reminded that what politicians argue over in the halls of power has real repercussions for the lives of visibly Muslim women like me. As they discuss the intricacies of which types of veils are acceptable and which should be rendered illegal, they push Muslim women further and further from the fringes of society. We are already disenfranchised and maligned, statistically some of society’s lowest earners and most overlooked for job opportunities, but as politicians rationalise our humanity, we become a symbol of anti-Britishness itself. And that renders us actively unsafe as we go about our everyday lives. We saw that instances of islamophobia rose by 374% in the aftermath of Boris Johnson infamously referring to covered Muslim women as “letterboxes” in 2018. Friends of mine who wear the niqab actually had “letterbox” hauled at them as a slur in the street, and it inspired a new wave of casual islamophobia towards anyone who looked identifiably Muslim. As, once again, our religious dress becomes a political football to pander to the extreme views of certain voters, I am fearful of what this will mean for visibly Muslim women in our everyday lives and in the workplace. read the complete article
International
Why manufacturing consent for war with Iran failed this time
Like Palestine, Iran is described in carefully chosen language. Iran is never framed as a nation, only as a regime. Iran is not a government, but a threat —not a people, but a problem. The word “Islamic” is affixed to it like a slur in every report. This is instrumental in quietly signalling that Muslim resistance to Western domination must be extinguished. Iran does not possess nuclear weapons; Israel and the United States do. And yet only Iran is cast as an existential threat to world order. Because the problem is not what Iran holds, but what it refuses to surrender. It has survived coups, sanctions, assassinations, and sabotage. It has outlived every attempt to starve, coerce, or isolate it into submission. It is a state that, despite the violence hurled at it, has not yet been broken. And so the myth of the threat of weapons of mass destruction becomes indispensable. It is the same myth that was used to justify the illegal invasion of Iraq. For three decades, American headlines have whispered that Iran is just “weeks away” from the bomb, three decades of deadlines that never arrive, of predictions that never materialise. But fear, even when unfounded, is useful. If you can keep people afraid, you can keep them quiet. Say “nuclear threat” often enough, and no one will think to ask about the children killed in the name of “keeping the world safe”. This is the modus operandi of Western media: a media architecture not built to illuminate truth, but to manufacture permission for violence, to dress state aggression in technical language and animated graphics, to anaesthetise the public with euphemisms. But this is not 2003. After decades of war, and livestreamed genocide, most Americans no longer buy into the old slogans and distortions. When Israel attacked Iran, a poll showed that only 16 percent of US respondents supported the US joining the war. After Trump ordered the air strikes, another poll confirmed this resistance to manufactured consent: only 36 percent of respondents supported the move, and only 32 percent supported continuing the bombardment. The failure to manufacture consent for war with Iran reveals a profound shift in the American consciousness. read the complete article
Czech Republic
Muslims struggle to find mosque location in central Prague
In 2024, the central mosque in the Czech capital, Prague, was shut down. Since then, the Muslim community has not been able to establish a new one. read the complete article