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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the United Kingdom, CCTV camera footage shows a vehicle hitting a Muslim woman in broad daylight in southeast London before the driver speeds away, meanwhile, a new report out by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) found that Palestinian Muslims throughout Israeli occupied territories and Israel had faced escalating anti-Muslim discrimination since October 2023, and lastly, in the United States, Amaarah DeCuir writes for The Conversation on how her research and others shows that global conflicts in the Middle East tend to provoke Islamophobia in the U.S. Our recommended read of the day is by Faisal Hanif for Middle East Eye, on how media coverage of Muslims in the UK “has not just become more hostile. It has become more obsessive. The British media is producing articles about Muslims with greater contempt than ever before.” This and more below:
United Kingdom
Anti-Muslim bias in British media is off the charts. Will anyone step in? | Recommended Read
The Centre for Media Monitoring has just published the findings of the most rigorous analysis of Muslim representation in the British media ever undertaken. The study examined 40,913 articles across 30 major news outlets - an entire year of coverage dissected, coded and measured against five clear indicators of bias. The conclusion is damning: nearly half of all British media coverage of Muslims in 2025 was biased. Half: this does not point to fringe outliers, but rather a systemic problem. Seventy percent of all articles analysed associated Muslims or Islam with negative themes or behaviours. And here is the methodological point that makes this figure even harder to dismiss: the study did not restrict itself to articles where Muslims were the central subject. A singular, passing mention was sufficient to enter the dataset. By that measure, the methodology was generous, even lenient. And yet nearly half still came back biased. The 50 percent figure might be a floor, not a ceiling. Now place that alongside the historical record. Five years ago, the centre published an assessment of more than 48,000 articles published during a 12-month period spanning 2018-19 using the same parameters. The negative framing rate was then around 60 percent; it has now reached 70 percent. This is not a marginal drift, but structural deterioration. Coverage of Muslims has not just become more hostile. It has become more obsessive. The British media is producing articles about Muslims with greater contempt than ever before. Commentator Peter Oborne was not being hyperbolic when he said it is getting worse - much worse. The data confirms it. read the complete article
Moment car slams into Muslim woman in broad daylight
CCTV shows the moment a car hits a Muslim woman in broad daylight in southeast London before the driver speeds away. The woman survived, and an investigation is ongoing, but no suspects have been arrested yet. read the complete article
British Muslims are more loyal to UK, poll reveals
New polling has revealed that British Muslims are more pro-democracy than the public at large and overwhelmingly feel they belong to the UK. The findings cast doubt on widespread claims by politicians from across different parties that many British Muslims are unintegrated and oppose British values. The "nationally representative survey of Muslims" was commissioned by the transatlantic Concordia Forum think tank in October 2025 and conducted by Opinium. It finds that 85 percent of British Muslims support democracy as "the best system of government", compared with 71 percent of the general population. read the complete article
When Muslim women vote, the UK far-right cries fraud
In an age of hyper politics, the female vote and minority inclusion are topics the media and political class will pay lip service to when it suits them, but which, in practice, cause discomfort and political histrionics. When this dissonance converges on the Muslim woman herself, we become subject to a through-the-looking-glass political theatre at its most perverse. This much was clear in the fiercely contested Gorton and Denton by-election. What began as a loaded statement by Sky News reporter Sam Coates directly after The Green’s win was announced has ricocheted through the media and social media. Coates’ mention of a throwaway comment made by one Muslim woman he doorstepped, evokes a cultural phenomenon of the nefarious Muslim man and submissive Muslim woman – two well-worn tropes in the country. Coates’ incendiary commentary was only one dog whistle in a cacophony of Islamophobic foghorns, culminating in the high priest of democratic integrity, Nigel Farage, calling into question democratic processes in ‘predominantly Muslim areas’. He stated that he reported cases of ‘family voting’ to Greater Manchester police. These speculative cases – which by Reform's own analysis were still not enough to make a dent in Hannah Spencer’s 40% majority – are part of a tradition of political grandstanding at the expense of the voting Muslim. read the complete article
United States
When US fights in the Middle East, American Muslim students often face discrimination
The war in the Middle East is rapidly expanding across the Gulf countries, including Iran and Lebanon. Some Muslim community leaders in the U.S. warn that people far from the conflict could experience backlash. They say Muslim and Arab communities in the U.S. may face increased hostility as the war intensifies. The risk of violence is likely furthered by some national political leaders spreading anti-Muslim rhetoric. On March 9, 2026, Rep. Andy Ogles, a Republican from Tennessee, wrote on the social media platform X, “Muslims don’t belong in American society.” Rep. Randy Fine, a Republican from Florida, also recently wrote on X that the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a “difficult” one. Anti-Muslim and anti-Arab discrimination was already on the rise in the U.S. before the Feb. 28 airstrikes on Iran by the U.S. and Israel. This would not be the first time a conflict involving Muslim-majority countries led to increased discrimination against Muslim and Arab communities in the U.S. I study Muslim and Arab student experiences in American public schools. My research shows that global conflicts in the Middle East tend to provoke Islamophobia, meaning hatred and fear of Muslim people, in the U.S. read the complete article
As anti-Muslim rhetoric rises among Republicans, GOP leaders are largely silent
Republican lawmakers intensify anti-Muslim rhetoric, with one saying that ‘Muslims don’t belong in American society,’ drawing Democratic condemnation and GOP silence. GOP leaders offer little response, unlike President George W. Bush’s post-9/11 visit to a mosque to warn against Muslim discrimination. The escalating rhetoric comes amid the Iran war and recent attacks in Michigan and Virginia, sparking Muslim community concerns about renewed hostility. read the complete article
Mamdani Describes ‘Isolation’ and ‘Loneliness’ After Anti-Muslim Attacks
For months, members of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s team had worked on plans to use the holy month of Ramadan to showcase how New York City’s Muslims and its first Muslim mayor practice their faith. One of the centerpieces was to be a gathering at the Museum of the City of New York, where Mr. Mamdani held an iftar dinner on Thursday to break his fast with hundreds of Muslim city workers. But at the onset of the dinner, the mayor used his platform to respond to Islamophobic comments from local and national figures, highlighting another aspect of his faith that has long been a part of life for many of the city’s Muslims. “I have known these experiences as a young man, as a candidate for office, as the mayor of New York City,” Mr. Mamdani said. “And when I hear such hatred and disdain unchecked in its rancor, I feel an isolation and a loneliness that I know that many of you have felt as well.” On Wednesday, Representative Brandon Gill, Republican of Texas, commented on X that a photo of the mayor at an iftar dinner was “stomach churning.” The next day, Senator Tommy Tuberville, Republican of Alabama, responded to side-by-side images of that dinner and the World Trade Center during the Sept. 11 terror attacks by writing, “The enemy is inside the gates.” And Vickie Paladino, a Queens-based city councilwoman, has shared posts on social media associating the mayor with Islamic terrorism. Mr. Mamdani addressed each of those instances in forceful terms and called out each politician by name. He said their comments were dehumanizing and threatened the safety of the city’s Muslim citizens. read the complete article
‘America’s mortal enemy’: Pete Hegseth expressed extreme antipathy toward Iran for years
The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has expressed a violent antipathy towards Iran for years in books, Fox News broadcasts, educational videos and a 2018 speech to an Israeli media conference in Jerusalem, a Guardian review has revealed. In a 2020 book, for example, Hegseth wrote that Iran’s leaders were “actively seeking the military means – especially nuclear weapons – to bring the West to its knees”. And in a 2017 video for PragerU, the hard-right media platform, Hegseth described Iran as “America’s mortal enemy”. Hegseth’s rhetorical attacks on Iran often came in the context of expressions of unconditional and spiritual allegiance with Israel, the country with which the United States is now jointly attacking Iran in an intense bombing campaign that has cost hundreds of lives and brought chaos to the world’s energy economy. In the 2020 book, Hegseth writes: “You can love America without loving Israel – but that tells me your knowledge of the Bible and Western civilization is woefully incomplete”; “If you love America, you should love Israel. We share history, we share faith, and we share freedom”; and folds Israel into domestic US culture wars, writing: “Israel is enemy number one for both Islamists and international leftists – which is reason alone to love it.” read the complete article
International
Outrage as Israel drops charges against soldiers accused of violently sexually abusing Palestinian detainee
The Israeli military said it has dropped all charges against five soldiers who were accused of violently sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee in a military detention facility, triggering outrage among activists and human rights experts. The decision effectively closes the case, despite footage of the assault at the notorious Sde Teiman facility garnering international condemnation. The incident occurred on 5 July 2024, where reports detail that the soldiers stabbed the detainee with a sharp object in his rectum, causing him cracked ribs, an internal tear and a punctured lung that required him to be transferred to hospital. At the time, the footage was shown on Israeli television, and prompted the US State Department to denounce the allegations as "horrific" as well as call for an investigation of the sexual abuse. read the complete article
Awkward moment for Laura Loomer as her deleted anti-Indian tweets are read back to her during her trip to New Delhi
Laura Loomer, a right-wing social media personality and adviser to President Donald Trump, was forced to explain herself during a trip to New Delhi when a journalist read her anti-Indian tweets back to her during an event. During the India Today Conclave in New Delhi on Saturday, Indian journalist Rajdeep Sardesai presented a trove of tweets Loomer made disparaging India and its people. Loomer’s posts had been deleted before her visit, but not before others archived them. Loomer told the conference that she had just spoken to Trump and read out a message she claimed was from the president. The hosts of the event pressed Loomer on controversial statements she has made about Islam in the past. Approximately 15 percent of India's population — roughly 205 million people — are Muslim. Nevertheless, Loomer said she believes that "Islam is a cancer on the world" and that she does not "believe that Islamophobia is real." "I believe that it should be illegal in the United States for Muslims to hold office," she said. read the complete article
Israel attempting to 'erase' Palestinian Muslim identity, report warns
Israel is waging a systematic campaign of violence, destruction and persecution that threatens to erase the religious and cultural identities of Palestinian Muslims, according to a report published on Friday. The report, by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), a UK-based legal advocacy campaign group, found that Palestinian Muslims throughout the occupied territories and Israel had faced escalating anti-Muslim discrimination since October 2023, following the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel and the launch of Israel’s assault on Gaza. It said Muslims had been subjected to increased persecution during the current holy month of Ramadan, citing an attack in February by settlers on a mosque in Nablus, punitive measures restricting access to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, and the detention by Israeli security forces of more than 100 Palestinians during the first week of the month. In Israel, rights of religious freedom were under threat from legislation brought by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir which aimed to ban the call to prayer, as well as amendments to counter-terrorism laws which had led to Palestinians being accused of supporting Hamas for quoting verses from the Quran in social media posts, the report said. read the complete article
Australia
'A lot of the hate happened in Australia’: why the Christchurch mosque attack still awaits a full reckoning
When he was 14, a boy in South Australia downloaded more than a dozen videos of the terrorist attack committed by an Australian man on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 15 March 2019. He was sentenced in 2025 for possessing documents with information for terrorist acts and extremist material, according to the magistrate’s remarks, which included having the shooter’s manifesto on his devices. Two years earlier, a 16-year-old in South Australia was sentenced for several terrorism offences. The judge commented on his activities on the chat platform Discord, which included sharing material from Islamic State and “modern-day Nazi groups”, as well as death scenes, including images of the Christchurch killings that left 51 people dead. As a journalist whose job includes tracking such cases, it is always confronting to see the Christchurch terrorist’s propaganda continue to surface in the Australian legal system, especially in cases involving young people. Courts have heard about animated recreations of the Christchurch mosque shooting; about police finding the attacker’s video on a red USB storage device. But this growing legal record and the continued reach of the Christchurch attack is at odds with how the man who committed the atrocity – an Australian – is confronted in his home country. read the complete article
Anti-Muslim hate has been rising. Advocates want to know how the government will respond
The Australian Human Rights Commission is calling for urgent action to tackle violence, vilification and hate towards Muslims on the International Day to Combat Islamophobia. Race Discrimination Commissioner Giri Sivaraman says he's 'confounded' the government hasn't responded to the National Anti-Racism Framework yet. It was launched in November 2024, but the government is yet to provide a response. read the complete article
The consequences of normalising anti-Muslim rhetoric in Australian politics
The Bondi massacre has sparked intense disagreement and debate in Australian politics — particularly around antisemitism and Islamophobia. And yet this shift is not a sudden reaction to a single event, but rather the culmination of decades of political calculation, media framing and public anxiety. Yet, the Bondi massacre served as a focal point, a moment at which old suspicions and new fears converged. In the days that followed, media coverage and political commentary rarely hesitated to draw connections — whether tenuous or explicit — between violence and the presence of Muslims in Australia, to a point where Pauline Hanson could claim that there are no “good Muslims”. While Hanson was widely condemned for her inflammatory remarks and even faced censure in the Senate, it is worth considering how much more vocal the political response would have been had she directed her comments at Australian Jews. But, of course, Hanson’s comments are not an aberration; they are just the latest wave in a tide that has been steadily rising since the early 2000s. As an academic, I have long witnessed the strategic deployment of anti-Islam rhetoric by Australian politicians, particularly in times of crisis or uncertainty. The emergence of explicitly anti-Islam groups and the mainstreaming of their rhetoric within major parties are not accidental, but are calculated to control the narrative and channel public fears for political gain. The state’s own policies often single out Muslims, framing them as subjects of discipline and surveillance, thereby reinforcing the idea that their loyalty and belonging are perpetually under question. read the complete article