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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the United States, the Justice Department has opened an investigation into a planned housing development outside of Dallas that would have a mosque at its center, with Texas Republicans arguing that the development of an exclusively Islamic community would be a case of “religious discrimination”, meanwhile in the United Kingdom, charges against a man who burned a Quran outside the Turkish consulate in London have been altered amid a right-wing backlash, and in France, protests took place across the country in a response to the fatal stabbing of Aboubakar Cisse at Hatice Mosque in the town of La Grand-Combe, with many saying Islamophobia in the country is out of control. Our recommended read of the day is by Azad Essa for The Middle East Eye on how India’s military escalation against its neighbor Pakistan should be viewed under the lens of Hindu nationalistic military expansion and the “erasure of international law”. This and more below:
International
India's attack on Pakistan is a declaration of Israel-style expansionism | Recommended Read
In the early hours of Wednesday, the Indian army launched a series of air raids on Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The air strikes hit mosques and madrassas as well as residential complexes, leaving 31 civilians dead, including several children, the Pakistani government said. When India launched the air strikes on Wednesday, it did so without providing any evidence to substantiate its claims. In the hours following the Pahalgam attacks, influential Indian media outlets waxed lyrical about the need for zero "red lines" and a "disproportionate response" and a "final solution" against Islamabad. The calls for revenge were injected with talking points very similar to those used by Israel following the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023 to communicate the existential urgency for India to tame this rabid neighbour. This triggered a wave of hate crimes against Muslims, including beatings, property damage and harassment. Kashmiri Muslims working or studying in India faced vigilante violence in their homes and on campuses. Many were forced to return to Kashmir for safety. In Kashmir, the Indian government used the attacks to further suppress Kashmiris - nearly 2000 people were detained, more than 10 homes belonging to alleged militants were demolished without any warning to their families, and a number of Kashmiris were killed extrajudicially. The incidents of public vigilantism against Muslims dovetailed with heightened state surveillance across social media, as several people in Delhi and then in Indian-controlled Kashmir were summoned to explain their "anti-national" posts. With so much disinformation and exaggerated claims of successful strikes circulating on both sides, the extent of the damage each inflicted on the other will likely remain unclear for some time. Beneath the genocidal bluster in India, the zany memes in Pakistan, and the horrific deaths in both Pakistan-administered and Indian-controlled Kashmir lies a deeper story: India is staking its claim as a rising military superpower on the world stage. Despite the nature of the assault and its ambiguous success, India's decision to unilaterally bomb Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir without attempting to provide even a semblance of proof of Islamabad's culpability was a slap in the face of international conventions and international law. read the complete article
No Definition. No Plan. No Priority: EU’s double standards on anti-Muslim hatred
The EU has official strategies and structures set up to fight anti-Semitism. But for anti-Muslim hatred, it’s the exact opposite. Muslims across Europe continue to face daily attacks, harassment and discrimination, with no EU policies to protect them. TRT World spoke with Marion Lalisse, EU’s coordinator on combating anti-Muslim hatred, about why this gap still exists. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Reform UK councillors face allegations of sharing far-right and Islamophobic content
Up to 12 newly elected Reform UK councillors are facing allegations of sharing social media content ranging from support for the far right to explicitly Islamophobic comments. They include councillors at three different county councils who have shared social media content from Britain First, a far-right party known for staging provocative marches and stunts. A week after Reform’s local elections breakthrough, in which it won 677 of more than 1,600 seats contested, the backgrounds of its winning councillors are under scrutiny after the party largely sought to deflect allegations during the campaign. The councillors accused of retweeting Britain First content include Paul Harrison, who was elected to Leicestershire county council. He retweeted and said “yes” to a question posed on X by Britain First’s chair who asked if followers supported mass deportations and posted an AI-generated picture of Muslim men with Pakistani flags. read the complete article
UK man charged for burning Quran amid 'blasphemy law' accusations
Charges against a man who burned a Quran outside the Turkish consulate in London have been altered amid a right-wing backlash. Hamit Coskun, 50, set fire to the Quran outside the Turkish embassy, claiming this was in solidarity with Iraqi asylum seeker Salwan Momika who was shot dead in January 2025 after burning multiple copies of the Quran in Sweden. He also said he was protesting against Turkey's Islamist-leaning president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The UK Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is charging Coskun of disorderly behaviour "within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress," according to The Daily Telegraph. The charges say that Coskun shouted "f*** Islam", and "Islam is religion of terrorism" and "Quran is burning", adding that "at the time of doing so, and in doing so, he was motivated (wholly or partly) by hostility towards members of a religious group, namely followers of Islam". The charge against Coskun was changed following right-wing backlash, with Conservative Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick posting a photo on X of an email explaining that the CPS sought to charge Coskun over "intent to cause against the religious institution of Islam harassment, alarm or distress". Jenrick, who has a history of pro-Israeli and anti-Muslim statements added that "Blasphemy laws were abolished in Britain for good reason. They must not return through the back door." read the complete article
Zia Yusuf: the British Muslim driving Reform’s transformation into an election winner
Zia Yusuf is credited with professionalising Reform. Under his watch a number of constitutional changes have been made, including granting the party chair the authority to revoke membership, take disciplinary measures against and suspend candidates, as well as growing and building a national level party infrastructure. Yusuf’s appointment as Reform’s chairman did not go uncontested and he has faced racist and Islamophobic abuse, including from Reform supporters. A sample of the kind of rhetoric swirling around opposition to Yusuf could be found on X. As one user reportedly said: “I voted Reform to get Britain back for the British, not for it to be led by a Muslim. I will be resigning my membership tomorrow.” We of course don’t know if they saw through on that threat, and judging by Reform’s current membership numbers, few people voted against Yusuf with their feet. However, as another X user’s view suggests, he occupies a difficult position in a rightwing party: “I personally don’t buy the ‘good Muslim’ line. If he believes in the Qur’an, and is still chairman at the next election, I won’t be voting Reform again.” Laurence Fox, the actor turned political activist, stated on his X account: “There cannot be a valid opposition party in the UK with @ZiaYusufUK anywhere near it. A Britain focused party cannot have a Mohammedan as the chair. Islam is not your friend if you believe in free speech, family and British culture. You cannot buy us.” Meanwhile conspiracy theories have emerged claiming Yusuf is a plant trying to damage the party from the inside. No doubt Yusuf’s position is at times an uncomfortable one. Yet he insists the response to his appointment has been “overwhelmingly positive”. Farage himself has a complicated relationship with Islam. In May 2024, he said a growing number of young Muslims in the UK loathed much of what Britain stands for. Yet he left UKIP, the party he once led, because the new leadership was: “pretty obsessed with the issue of Islam, not just Islamic extremism, but Islam, and UKIP wasn’t founded to be a party fighting a religious crusade”. Given some of the comments on social media by Reform supporters, it’s clear that not everyone is convinced that it’s possible to be a British Muslim patriot. Yusuf himself remains steadfast in the face of personal abuse. He continues to stand behind the party leader who has never publicly called out the racism and Islamophobia he faces. read the complete article
France
Murder inside a French mosque: not an outlier, the inevitable result of Islamophobia
On 25 April, Aboubakar Cisse was executed in cold blood inside a mosque in southern France. In the days after, following political pressure, French MPs held a minute of silence for Aboubakar. However, this assassination continues to be portrayed as an isolated act of hatred and derangement. This is missing the point. To treat Cisse's killing as no more than the act of a disturbed individual is to ignore the political order and long historic shadow of racism that has criminalised and dehumanised racialised communities, and licensed violence in the name of the French Republic and across the West. But it also ignores a more recent shift toward a more permissive environment for open, unashamed racism — in traditional and social media, in politics, and from the state. On both 24 April and April 25, the very same day Cissi was assassinated, I and my employer, the European Network Against Racism (ENAR) were the target of a vitriolic campaign by two French newspapers, Le Figaro and Le Journal du Dimanche accusing me and ENAR of links to the Muslim Brotherhood, of being a security threat, and "obsessed with race." These are not just baseless accusations – they are dangerous. This is also not the first time that ENAR employees and members are targeted and it demonstrates a familiar tactic of securitising racialised voices and defaming civil society organisations that do racial justice work under the guise of protecting 'Republican or European values.' On a personal level, these attacks are not just an attempt at character assassination, but also expose me to real-life risks — including harassment, threats, physical attacks, and political blacklisting — by portraying me as a security threat. read the complete article
Protests against Islamophobia held across France
Protests have been held in various cities across France on Sunday, in response to the growing Islamophobia in the country. The protests were sparked by the fatal stabbing of Aboubakar Cisse at Hatice Mosque in the town of La Grand-Combe, Gard region on April 25. The attacker, identified as Olivier H., a French citizen of Bosnian origin, stabbed Cisse dozens of times and filmed the assault on a phone while shouting insults against Islam. His death triggered widespread outrage among the Muslim community in the country. To voice opposition against the increasing Islamophobia in French media and politics, demonstrations took place in major cities, including the capital Paris, Marseille, and Lyon. read the complete article
United States
Justice Department to Investigate Muslim Development in Texas, Cornyn Says
The Justice Department has opened an investigation into a planned housing development outside of Dallas that would have a mosque at its center, Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, said on Friday. Mr. Cornyn, who will face Texas’s hard-right attorney general, Ken Paxton, next year in what could be a heated Republican primary contest for his own Senate seat, is the latest Texas Republican to challenge the development in the rural town of Josephine, Texas. The project is backed by members of the East Plano Islamic Center, a mosque in Plano, about 20 miles from Josephine, and has drawn intense scrutiny from Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott, who have accused the planners of seeking to create an exclusively Muslim community and to impose Islamic law on residents. In recent months, Mr. Abbott has directed several state agencies to investigate the development, known as EPIC City, suggesting it may have violated fair housing and financial laws, and that the Islamic center had conducted illegal funerals in its mosque. Mr. Paxton has also initiated a criminal investigation. Now Mr. Cornyn has requested a federal investigation. Mr. Cornyn wants the Justice Department to investigate whether the Muslim developers engaged in religious discrimination. “Religious discrimination and Sharia Law have no home in Texas,” Mr. Cornyn wrote on social media on Friday, referring to the legal code of Islam based on the Quran. “Any violations of federal law must be swiftly prosecuted.” A lawyer for the East Plano Islamic Center, or EPIC, denied any wrongdoing by the mosque or those raising money for the development. Construction has not begun, and no permits to begin building have been issued. read the complete article