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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the United States, a teacher at Northeast High School said she endured years of harassment over her Muslim faith and was disciplined when she spoke out, now she’s suing the School District of Philadelphia, elsewhere in the U.S., faculty of UCLA react in shock and disgust after a screening of the new film The Encampments exposes their school’s gross disregard for the health and safety of students participating in Gaza solidarity protests last year, and U.S. President Donald Trump tours the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, an apparent first for a president who has long demonstrated intolerant views towards Muslims. Our recommended read of the day is by María Constanza Costa for The Non Profit Quarterly on the various efforts by Arab and Muslim advocates across the country to combat the Trump Administration’s efforts to repress or silence Muslim and Arab American voices. This and more below:
United States
Arab and Muslim Advocates Fight Back Against Federal Repression | Recommended Read
“I think there’s a lot of uncertainty right now. The US government is kidnapping and abducting people from our community,” Linda Sarsour, a nationally prominent author and a Palestinian American organizer from Brooklyn, told NPQ. As Sarsour pointed out, multiple videos can be seen on social media of people being detained on the streets. These apprehensions are highly disturbing—and are especially threatening to people from Arab and Muslim American communities. Nonprofits and movement activists who support these communities are responding. Federal repression exploits widespread Islamophobia in the United States, which, of course, predates the current administration. The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) reports that in 2024, nationwide, it received a total of 8,658 complaints of Islamophobia, the highest number recorded since 1996, when the organization issued its first civil rights report, and a 7.3 percent increase in complaints from the year before. Discrimination against Muslim Americans is common. A 2017 Pew Research Center survey found that 48 percent of Muslims surveyed in the United States said they had experienced at least one instance of discrimination in the previous year. The current wave of Islamophobia has been driven by backlash to the Palestinian solidarity movement. An 82-page report by CAIR titled Unconstitutional Crackdowns: 2025 Civil Rights Report, noted plainly that in 2024, “Muslims—along with Palestinians, Arabs, Jews, African Americans, Asian Americans and others—were targeted due to their anti-genocide and anti-apartheid viewpoints.” Employment discrimination against Muslim Americans is also on the rise. read the complete article
Muslim teacher alleges in lawsuit that Philly school district punished her for pro-Palestinian views
A teacher at Northeast High School said she endured years of harassment over her Muslim faith and was disciplined when she spoke out. Now, she's suing the School District of Philadelphia for discrimination and violations of free speech. In a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday, lawyers for Keziah Ridgeway allege she was unfairly placed on administrative leave and removed from her classroom for eight months due to a smear campaign led by pro-Israel teachers and community members. Ridgeway, a Black Muslim woman, said the group sent thousands of emails to the school district, City Council members and Gov. Josh Shapiro calling her an antisemite and demanding she be fired. Their efforts, the litigation claims, led to a school district investigation that resulted in her reassignment and unpaid suspension. Prior to this action, Ridgeway had taught African American history and other social studies courses at Northeast High School without "any reprimand for discipline or performance," according to the suit. She had also won several teaching awards during her tenure. But her support of Palestine allegedly sparked complaints among her colleagues. read the complete article
UCLA Is Now Nearly Unrecognizable as a University
We, UCLA faculty who attended the screening and witnessed this attack firsthand, were appalled but not surprised. The film was The Encampments, a documentary about the Palestine solidarity encampments of spring 2024. It was the anniversary of the day that a mob of around 200 people wielding makeshift clubs, bear spray, and fireworks attacked the UCLA Palestine Solidarity Encampment. UCLA’s violent overreaction felt like both déjà vu and status quo. The day after the 2024 assault, UCLA sent in hundreds of police in riot gear armed with truncheons, projectile weapons, pepper spray, and flashbang grenades to Royce Quad to tear down the encampment. They made hundreds of arrests. Subsequent protests and actions were met with similar shows of force. Campus administration has refused to even consider what inspired these encampments in the first place and has ignored the students’ demands for UCLA to divest its financial holdings from companies that enable Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza. Instead, campus administration has dismissed or excused anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim, and anti-Arab racism; pursued disciplinary charges against students, staff, and faculty; and refused to support or even acknowledge the study of Palestine. We have just learned that a lecturer and theologian who was arrested at the police sweep of the UCLA encampment has been fired for violations of campus time, place, and manner policies and insubordination for refusing to participate in a Human Resources investigation. This colleague was fired despite the dismissal of all charges by the city attorney. UCLA’s administration has made it clear that they prefer turning our campus into a fortress over conceding that there is an ongoing genocide in Gaza, much less divesting itself of its complicity. read the complete article
International
Trump visits mosque in Abu Dhabi, an apparent first for the president
President Donald Trump toured one of the world’s largest mosques Thursday, removing his shoes to take heed of Islamic customs as he arrived here for the third and final stop on his foreign trip this week. It appeared to be Trump’s first trip to a mosque as president, a remarkable gesture for a man whose political career has been marked by intolerance and derision of Muslims. It showcased his willingness, particularly on this trip, to accede to unfamiliar cultural norms to forge potentially lucrative partnerships. “Isn’t this beautiful? It is so beautiful,” he said. “Very proud of my friends. This is an incredible culture.” He marveled at the fact that the religious site had been cordoned off for his visit. Trump has been seeking connections during a trip filled with elaborate displays of pomp that he has appeared to relish, despite a long history of skepticism toward alliances and a willingness to portray Muslims as terrorists and criminals. As with previous visits to the Persian Gulf, Trump has been gracious toward his hosts as he and they have flattered each other with compliments and what appeared to be genuine affection. Trump has a long history of statements that could be read as anti-Muslim — including as recently as Wednesday on Air Force One as he flew from Saudi Arabia to Qatar. Asked about a vow by Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) to place a hold on judicial nominees until he gets more information about Trump’s hope to take a luxury Boeing 747-8 as a gift from Qatar, Trump blasted the lawmaker. “Schumer, you know, he’s become a Palestinian. There’s something wrong with him,” Trump said. He also continues to reference Obama by his full name, including Hussein, the former president’s Arabic middle name, although Obama himself doesn’t use it in day-to-day life. And Trump was a prominent proponent of the disproved “birther” conspiracy theory that Obama was not eligible to be president. read the complete article