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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the United States, a large proposed Muslim housing development in North Texas is facing unprecedented scrutiny from top state officials, meanwhile, new data from the Southern Poverty Law Center reveals that the number of white nationalist, hate and anti-government extremist groups in the US has dropped “because many of their proponents feel their beliefs have become normalized in government and mainstream society,” and in India, the country’s top court has released on bail a professor who was arrested for comments he made online. Our recommended read of the day is by Victor Goury-Laffont for Politico, who writes that “academics and representatives from France’s Muslim community are denouncing a leaked government report on the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in the country and across Europe.” This and more below:
France
Leaked Muslim Brotherhood report criticized as ‘alarmist’ by academics and civil society | Recommended Read
Academics and representatives from France’s Muslim community are denouncing a leaked government report on the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in the country and across Europe. The report, commissioned the French government last year, alleges that the Egypt-based Islamist organization is attempting to influence policymakers as part of the group’s long-held goal of establishing a state governed by Islamic law. French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said an official version of the findings would be released to the public by the end of the week after an early version was leaked to members of the media, including POLITICO. The report puts forward several pieces of purported evidence, though links to the Islamist group are not always clear. However, the document seen by POLITICO and reported on by several outlets appeared not to include particularly sensitive information. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said in an interview with the daily Le Parisien that several items in the report would remain classified for security reasons. Franck Frégosi, a political scientist specializing in Islam in France whose work was cited in the report itself, spoke to several media outlets to decry what he described as the document’s “alarmist” tone. In an interview with France Inter, Frégosi argued that the document attributed common behavior by Muslim members of the community — such as choosing to wear a headscarf — as the result of influence by the Muslim Brotherhood. The French Council of the Muslim Faith — an organization created by then-Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy that was long the state’s primary interlocutor for Muslim affairs until President Emmanuel Macron severed ties with it in 2023 — said it was particularly concerned that the serious allegations leveled against institutions labeled as Muslim Brotherhood allies risked creating a climate of “constant suspicion” around French Muslims. read the complete article
French Muslims feel unsafe from ‘constant suspicion’: Muslim group
The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) on Wednesday warned that Muslim citizens in France feel increasingly exposed to "constant suspicion," following the publication of excerpts from a government-commissioned report on political Islam and the Muslim Brotherhood. “Many Muslim citizens today feel that they are no longer safe from constant suspicion,” the CFCM said in a written statement, expressing alarm over the potential consequences of the report. The French daily Le Figaro on Wednesday published extracts from the report, titled “Political Islamism and the Muslim Brotherhood,” which was prepared by two senior civil servants for presentation to the Defense Council. The CFCM criticized the report for “fueling widespread suspicion” and called for a more nuanced and data-driven approach to evaluating threats linked to extremism. “The fight against extremism based on Islam, which profoundly harms the lives of French Muslims and all our fellow citizens, is one of our top priorities,” the group said. “But this fight must be based on a lucid assessment of the threat, relying on rigorous, contextualized data and a clear identification of those responsible for spreading it.” read the complete article
Critical report on Muslim Brotherhood could 'rekindle a sense of fear' in France, says expert
The government on Wednesday released a redacted version of a report on the infiltration of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in France. For weeks, political and media attention has been fixated on the issue, driven by interior minister Bruno Retailleau, who is aware of the political gain he might reap from it. The document - which was presented to France's Defence and National Security Council - immediately led to a call from President Emmanuel Macron for new measures to counter what the authors call a “threat to national cohesion”. One of the expert witnesses questioned for the report was researcher Frank Fregosi. In an interview with Mediapart's Lucie Delaporte, the academic voices his concern over the impact of the document and the widespread climate of mistrust facing practising Muslims in France. read the complete article
French Muslims feel unsafe amid ‘constant suspicion,’ says leading Muslim group
The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) has warned that Muslim citizens in France feel increasingly exposed to "constant suspicion," following the publication of excerpts from a government-commissioned report on Muslim political communities. “Many Muslim citizens today feel that they are no longer safe from constant suspicion,” the CFCM said in a written statement, expressing alarm over the potential consequences of the report on Wednesday. The French daily Le Figaro on Wednesday published extracts from the report, titled “Political Islamism and the Muslim Brotherhood,” which was prepared by two senior civil servants for presentation to the Defence Council. The CFCM criticised the report for “fueling widespread suspicion” and called for a more nuanced and data-driven approach to evaluating threats linked to extremism. read the complete article
India
Why Indian Muslims must endure endless loyalty tests
A spate of anti-Muslim hate incidents have been reported across India since the deadly attack on tourists in Kashmir last month. In an approximately two-week span after gunmen killed 26 people in the Pahalgam area on 22 April, the New-Delhi-based Association for Protection of Civil Rights recorded 184 anti-Muslim hate incidents across India. Close to half of the cases allegedly involved hate speech, while others were described as intimidation, harassment, assaults, vandalism, threats, verbal abuse, and three killings. The Pahalgam attack was a “triggering factor” in more than 100 of the incidents, the association reported. There’s a more dangerous shift at play here than just reactive violence. It’s the political mainstreaming of suspicion, and a recalibration of what it means to be Muslim in India. Ultranationalist social media accounts have played a major role in fomenting hatred, branding Indian Muslims as “infiltrators” and “traitors”. The discourse around Operation Sindoor quickly became a litmus test of Indian Muslim patriotism, rather than questioning the government’s handling of security in Jammu and Kashmir - despite the fact that the Pahalgam attack was roundly condemned by Muslims in the country. Historically, whenever India and Pakistan engage in military or diplomatic conflict, India’s Muslim population is made to pay the price: socially, politically and psychologically. What’s happening now is no exception. As writer Hussain Haidry told Middle East Eye: “For decades, Indian Muslims have been referred to as Pakistanis by a large number of people in India. Their ghettos are called ‘Mini Pakistan’. They are mocked as supporters of the Pakistani cricket team whenever there is a cricket match between the two. They are abused with the remark, ‘Go back to Pakistan’. read the complete article
Indian professor who was jailed for comments on women military officer is released on bail
A professor who was jailed after making comments perceived as critical of women officers in the Indian army was ordered released on bail by the country's top court on Wednesday, his lawyer said. The Supreme Court also placed restrictions on Ali Khan Mahmudabad's ability to comment on the case and on his social media posts, pending further investigation, lawyer Mohammad Nizamuddin Pasha told Reuters. Mahmudabad, head of the political science department at Ashoka University near Delhi, was arrested on Sunday after his remarks about two women army officers. The two, one Hindu and one Muslim, gave press briefings during the intense fighting earlier this month between India and Pakistan. Mahmudabad has been accused of disrupting communal (religious) harmony and of using words or gestures intended to insult a woman's modesty, website Live Law reported. Muslims and rights groups have accused some members of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and affiliates of promoting anti-Islamic hate speech and vigilantism, and demolishing Muslim-owned properties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi denies religious discrimination exists in India. read the complete article
United States
Texas Muslim community's proposed new development prompts investigations
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: A large proposed Muslim housing development in North Texas is facing unprecedented scrutiny from top state officials. They are calling for investigations, including a Department of Justice probe. Caroline Love from member station KERA in Dallas has more. CAROLINE LOVE, BYLINE: Many members of the East Plano Islamic Center - also known as EPIC - live a short walk away so they can answer the call to prayer. They shop at nearby grocery stores that sell halal meat and drink coffee at a cafe that serves pistachio lattes and saffron milk cakes. Islamic scholar Yasir Qadhi says this growing community needs more space. YASIR QADHI: So the idea came - well, then why not build a purpose-built community LOVE: That community is EPIC City. The proposed housing development would be about 40 miles northeast of Dallas. It would have a new mosque, more than a thousand single and multifamily homes, a faith-based school, commercial developments and more. EPIC City hasn't been built yet, but Texas Governor Greg Abbott and state Attorney General Ken Paxton have already started several investigations into the project. Abbott and Paxton claim the project violates the state's fair housing and consumer protection laws. And Texas Senator John Cornyn says the Department of Justice launched a federal probe early May, after he shared concerns about religious discrimination. At a recent public meeting, local resident Krista Schild said the concern is that people living in this unbuilt community would enforce strict Sharia law, although she didn't offer any proof. read the complete article
Number of US white nationalist groups falls as extremist views go mainstream
The number of white nationalist, hate and anti-government extremist groups in the US has dropped not because of their declining influence, but because many of their proponents feel their beliefs have become normalized in government and mainstream society, according to a new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The SPLC’s annual Year in Hate and Extremism report, published on Thursday, said it documented 1,371 hate and extremist groups across the country in 2024, down from 1,430 groups in 2023. These groups use “political, communication, violent, and online tactics to build strategies and training infrastructure to divide the country, demoralize people, and dismantle democracy”, the non-profit group said. The 5% drop in hate and extremist groups in 2024 can be attributed to the fact that many feel a lesser sense of urgency to organize, because their beliefs have infiltrated politics, education and society in general, according to the report. read the complete article