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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the United Kingdom, a north London doctor who sent “deplorable” Islamophobic messages to a colleague and accused them of anti-Semitism has been suspended by The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), meanwhile in India, the state of Maharashtra is developing an AI tool that uses “accent, tone and word choices” to identify and deport Bangladeshi Muslims and displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar, and lastly, Australian Muslims celebrate Ramadan with families and friends, but face an unpredictable future as the far-right, One Nation Party gains traction in mainstream politics. Our recommended read of the day is by Andrea Ball, Acacia Coronado, and Austin Current for The Texas Tribune on how, following the deadly shooting in Austin, Texas, Muslims in the state fear backlash and potential violence due to increased Islamophobic rhetoric from politicians. This and more below:
United States
Anti-Muslim backlash shadows Austin after downtown shooting | Recommended Read
When Austin Councilmember Zo Qadri heard the man accused of killing two people and wounding 14 at Buford’s Sunday morning might be Muslim, three feelings rushed through him. Disbelief. Shock. Worry. Disbelief and shock? Expected. Worry? That wasn’t just for Austin as a city. It was also for the Muslim community, who, he feared, would be vilified and blamed for a crime they had nothing to do with. The downtown shooting and early speculation about the suspect’s religion landed in the middle of an already charged political climate in Texas, where Republican leaders have escalated attacks on Muslim organizations. For Qadri, whose district includes the scene of the attack, the moment underscored how violence can quickly be folded into broader narratives that put Muslim communities on the defensive. Long before the sun set on Sunday, Texas politicians attacked each other over immigration and gun control laws. Social media users posted tirades against Muslims. Anti-Islamic posts and conspiracy theories filled Qadri’s X timeline. And the Muslim community feels it. read the complete article
Muslim and Jewish communities in Pittsburgh on high alert amid ongoing conflict with Iran
The Muslim and Jewish communities in the Pittsburgh area have been closely watching the developments in Iran. Video coming out of Iran on a third consecutive day of U.S. military airstrikes shows destruction and demolished buildings, raising feelings of apprehension among people in western Pennsylvania who have connections to the Middle East. Christine Mohamed, the executive director of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said conflict can trickle over and lead to misplaced blame. "American Muslims and Iranian Americans, they're not responsible for foreign governments, right?" Mohamed said. "They are part of our community. They are doctors, teachers, parents, they have their children going in schools here. So, we're woven into this beautiful city of Pittsburgh. And our concern is that there may be some backlash or even blame, and obviously, it's not their blame to carry." She said they will be working to identify any issues involving Islamophobia and discrimination. read the complete article
Australia
As One Nation rises, Muslim leader expresses faith in Victorian voters
There are an estimated 1 million Muslim people in Australia. This month, as they celebrate Ramadan with families and friends, they are confronting something troubling and unprecedented in Australian politics – mainstream support for a party whose founder openly questions their rightful place in this country. Pauline Hanson’s “no good Muslims” claim, while publicly denounced by others in her party, is central to One Nation’s vision for a smaller, whiter Australia. Her political creed since her return to federal parliament 10 years ago is steeped in Islamophobia, even if not all voters drawn to One Nation share her views about Muslims and Islam. The potential for anti-Islamic rhetoric to escalate into violence was made clear in Perth last week when a 20-year-old suspected white supremacist, Jayson Joseph Michaels, was arrested and charged with preparing a series of terror attacks at mosques, police headquarters and the WA state parliament. An extremist manifesto was allegedly found at his home, alongside a gun and ammunition. read the complete article
Eid Show banners vandalised in Islamophobic attack during Ramadan
“Islamophobia is real,” the organisers wrote on Instagram on Monday 2 March 2026, tagging both NSW Premier Chris Minns and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. “The Eid Show banners have been deliberately vandalised. Today we are heartbroken.” The event, which has no political affiliation, aims to bring Muslims and non-Muslims together through “joy, culture, rides, food, fireworks, and celebration.” Despite the incident, organisers remained defiant: “As a community, we will not be defined by hate. Our community is stronger than this in its true Australian spirit.“ read the complete article
Australian far-right senator storms out after censure over ‘inflammatory’ anti-Muslim remarks
The Australian senate on Monday voted to censure far-right lawmaker Pauline Hanson for making “inflammatory and divisive” remarks about Muslims, sparking a dramatic outburst in the chamber. Ms Hanson, leader of the anti-immigration One Nation party, came under fire last month after she questioned how anyone could claim that there were “good Muslims”. On Monday, foreign minister Penny Wong moved the ruling Labour Party’s motion to censure Ms Hanson for making remarks that sought to “vilify Muslim Australians” and affirmed parliament’s support for migrants. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Worried about freedom of speech? Then what’s happening at the Open University should terrify you
The west is in the midst of the most serious assault on free speech and academic freedom since the heyday of McCarthyism seven decades ago. For years, we were told the danger came from the left: oversensitive students, censorious activists, no-platforming zealots. Yet the most aggressive and successful campaign to police speech in our public institutions is being waged by cheerleaders of a state currently committing genocide. Consider a recent case. Last December, a pro-Israel lobby group, UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), celebrated another apparent victory. It describes its mission as contributing “generally as lawyers to creating a supportive climate of opinion in the United Kingdom towards Israel”. In practice, this has meant lawfare, directed not only at pro-Palestinian activism, but at the public existence of Palestinian identity itself. The offence this time? The Open University’s use of the term “ancient Palestine” to describe the birthplace of the Virgin Mary, which UKLFI argued was “historically inaccurate”. More than that, they argued it risked erasing “Jewish historical identity”, potentially breaching the Equality Act 2010 by creating “a hostile or offensive learning environment for Jewish and Israeli students”. The OU’s Palestine Solidarity Group responded with a freedom of information request to see how their institution had handled the complaint. The reply from the OU was clear. “Ancient Palestine” was “academically appropriate”. read the complete article
North London GP suspended for sending Islamophobic messages to colleague
A north London doctor who sent “deplorable” Islamophobic messages to a colleague and accused them of anti-Semitism has been suspended. The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) gave Islington GP Cinderella Nonoo-Cohen a four-month suspension on Friday February 20 over remarks she made to a colleague on WhatsApp more than two years ago. The fallout came in the days after the Hamas attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023. Dr Cohen had criticised her colleague, referred to as “Dr A”, for “bringing politics” into the group chat by promoting a petition that objected to the Department of Health and Social Care displaying the Israeli flag. After Dr A denied she was making the forum political, Dr Cohen said it was “typical of you Muslims to gaslight”. The panel ruled this phrase was “objectively” Islamophobic, and rebuked Dr Cohen for making “seriously offensive” remarks that attempt to portray her colleague as an anti-Semite who supported Hamas’s “barbaric acts”. The tribunal also found Dr Cohen had, on a separate occasion, posted something on X, which stated that minorities had “precedence over the whites”. The tribunal ruled that the post itself demonstrated racial hostility but the panel did not find that the post was motivated by racial or religious hostility. read the complete article
International
Modi in Israel: ‘Hexagon’ alliance and the ideological convergence of Hindutva and Zionism
As tensions mounted in the Gulf ahead of what would later become a direct US-Israeli confrontation with Iran, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel signalled shifting regional alignments taking shape around Tehran. Welcomed warmly by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, Modi did not comment on civilian casualties in Gaza, which Palestinian authorities say have exceeded 70,000, instead condemning Hamas’s October 7 attack as “barbaric”. His trip coincided with Israel’s push to consolidate new strategic partnerships against what Israeli officials described as “radical axes” in the region, a framework widely understood to include Iran and its allied networks. The Israeli Prime Minister “needs a global and regional consent” in a time when he faces various accusations from genocide to crimes against humanity after his brutal conduct in Gaza, says Muhammed Athar Javed, a Copenhagen-based international security expert, referring to Modi’s visit to Israel. “In the last decade, Modi has managed to create a special relationship with Israel,” Javed tells TRT World. read the complete article
India
India Is Using AI to Police Identity and Expel Minorities
The Indian state of Maharashtra is developing an AI tool that uses “accent, tone and word choices” to identify and deport Bangladeshi Muslims and displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar. The system is intended for use by law enforcement as a preliminary screening mechanism prior to document-based nationality verification. Framed as objective technology, the tool is in fact grounded in linguistic profiling that risks reinforcing xenophobia, prejudice, and racial discrimination. Its deployment raises serious concerns under international human rights law, including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. This initiative must be situated within a broader expansion of AI-driven border policing. Agencies such as US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the United States have adopted data-driven enforcement systems, and several Indian police departments are increasingly turning to “carceral AI” for policing caste, women and religious minorities. read the complete article