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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the United Kingdom, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has said the UK government is promoting “inaccurate and counterproductive” narratives linking pro-Palestine marches to antisemitic violence, meanwhile in the United States, during a guest appearance segment on The Daily Show, Houston’s Mo Amer calls out Islamophobia and pushes back against increasingly anti-Muslim rhetoric coming out of his state, and lastly in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted an AI-generated video to social media of political rivals Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett transforming into Palestinian Knesset members. Our recommended read of the day is by Niamh McIntyre, Misbah Khan, and Mark Sellman for The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, on how a devout Muslim man in Pakistan is running several successful accounts pushing AI-generated videos spreading disinformation and Islamophobia to UK audiences. This and more below:
International
The devout Muslim making a living from Islamophobic AI slop | Recommended Read
The week after the outbreak of the US-Iran war, an AI-generated video of Keir Starmer did the rounds on social media, racking up around 400,000 views on Facebook and Instagram. It shows a convincing likeness of the prime minister standing at a Downing Street lectern in Islamic dress. “We are still a proud Muslim country,” the avatar says. “Our crazy violent Muslim immigrants, including our precious criminals and rape gangs, are the bedrock of our society.” Later in the video, the avatar uses a racist term for Pakistani people. AI-generated videos spreading misinformation and Islamophobia have already become commonplace, especially in the wake of major news events. But this particular video was unusual. It had been posted by a devout Muslim man living in Pakistan. This man, who we are not naming for his own safety, runs successful accounts pushing Islamophobic AI slop to UK audiences. Videos shared by just one of his Facebook pages had been viewed millions of times and he told us in an interview he earned around $1,500 a month from that page alone. He runs other accounts dedicated to sharing Quran verses and Islamic teachings. One features the Kaaba holy site in Mecca as its profile picture. He uses the title “Hafiz” before his name, an honorific reserved for those who have memorised the entire Quran. This case shows an even starker level of detachment between the creator and his posts: a Pakistani Muslim spreading content that portrays his religion as an existential threat to the west. When we contacted him, he spoke candidly about his work, insisting he hadn’t understood the videos due to his poor English. He then deleted many of the posts. read the complete article
United Kingdom
UK’s Starmer eyes banning some pro-Palestine protests
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says some pro-Palestine marches could be banned and people who use the phrase “globalise the Intifada” could be prosecuted. In an interview broadcast by the BBC on Saturday, Starmer advocated for tighter language restrictions at pro-Palestine marches, adding that in some cases, rallies could be prohibited altogether. “I’m a big defender of freedom of expression, peaceful protests,” he told the BBC. “But when there are chants like ‘globalise the Intifada’, that’s completely off limits.” “Clearly, there should be tougher action in relation to that,” he added. read the complete article
UK Muslim groups slam government for ‘scapegoating’ Gaza anti-genocide protests as antisemitism
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has taken aim at the UK government for promoting “inaccurate and counterproductive” narratives linking pro-Palestine marches to antisemitic violence. In a statement on Sunday, the MCB condemned the stabbing of two Jewish men in a northwest London neighbourhood with a large Jewish population, saying it stands “in solidarity with the Jewish community facing an abhorrent rise in antisemitism”. The MCB, the largest umbrella body representing Muslim organisations in Britain, counts more than 500 affiliates, including mosques, schools, local and county councils, professional networks and advocacy groups. The group added that “attempts to frame British Muslims, or all who advocate for Palestinian rights, as collectively responsible for rising antisemitism are inaccurate and counterproductive”. The comments, which did not name individuals, appeared to target the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who earlier this week conflated antisemitic attacks with pro-Palestine protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The MCB also said the suspect accused of attacking two Jewish men on 29 April had earlier targeted a Muslim man, Ishmail Hussein, at his home in Southwark. read the complete article
Golders Green attacks must not be used to usher in a new era of surveillance
The attack on two Jewish men, Shloime Rand and Moshe Shine, in Golders Green this week deserves unequivocal condemnation. It also deserves honest reporting and analysis within the constraints of British media law. What it has received instead, across significant stretches of British media and political nexus, is something closer to a campaign that seeks to exploit a horrific incident, deployed with striking speed. A suspect, Essa Suleiman — who is also accused of attacking another man, Ishmail Hussein, earlier the day of the Golders Green stabbings — has now been charged with attempted murder. But commentators had drawn their own conclusions about the causes of the attacks even before Suleiman had appeared in court. When the architecture of a question already contains its answer, you are not watching journalism. You are watching activism dressed as inquiry. This is what has been taking place across newsrooms in Britain. Sky News asked former MP Louise Ellman if action against antisemitism promised by the home secretary was “enough”. She responded by calling for greater scrutiny of “Islamic incitement” and “what is happening within our mosques”. Both broadcaster Adam Boulton and Reform UK MP Robert Jenrick have separately claimed since the attack that Labour has been reluctant to challenge Islam for fear of losing Muslim votes. Add to this the calls to proscribe pro-Palestine marches — which attract people from all backgrounds, including Jewish people — and we have a political campaign, not a fight against genuine antisemitism. read the complete article
Student societies condemn reports of Oxford Union invite to Tommy Robinson
Several student societies have condemned reports that Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, has been invited to speak at the Oxford Union. Yaxley-Lennon is alleged to have been invited to speak at the Week 5 debate on the motion “This House believes the West is right to be suspicious of Islam”. In a joint statement posted on Instagram by Oxford Students Against Discrimination and Stand Up To Racism UK, they condemned the invitation “in the strongest possible terms”. They also called on Oxford Union President Arwa Elrayess to confirm that the invitation has been rescinded; “issue a public statement apologising for extending the invitation and promising full transparency with speakers’ events”; and “acknowledge the harm” caused to students by the decision. It Happens Here (IHH) raised concerns about the rhetoric used by Yaxley-Lennon, which they described as racialising sexual violence. IHH told Cherwell: “When cases of sexual violence are used to advance anti-Muslim sentiment, the focus is shifted from survivors onto a political agenda…. His presence signals to survivors that their experiences are being instrumentalised, instead of taken seriously.” read the complete article
India
Modi’s Hindu Right Targets Gains in India’s Elections: What to Know
Across India, state legislative elections delivered a decisive political shift. The results extended the reach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party across the country and left only a few pockets outside its influence. Four states — Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal — and a territory, Puducherry, cast ballots in April that were counted on Monday. Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, the B.J.P., swept West Bengal, a state it had never governed, retained Assam with an expanded mandate and held Puducherry with allies. The B.J.P. made incremental gains in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, but the rise of a two-year-old party in Tamil Nadu was even more striking. The implications of the results stretch far beyond state capitals. The outcome strengthens the B.J.P.’s national momentum ahead of the 2029 general election, bolsters its position in Parliament and deals a significant blow to regional political forces, advancing the B.J.P.’s push toward a more centralized, unitary model of governance. read the complete article
International Crimes and Human Rights Violations Against Muslims in BJP-Ruled Indian States Require Urgent Action
A continuing — and worsening — trend of violence and discrimination against Muslims in India has long been documented by human rights organizations and independent monitors, including in a report I co-authored four years ago with fellow human rights lawyers Marzuki Darusman and Sonja Biserko. We concluded then that there was credible evidence that international crimes and other serious human rights violations had been committed against Muslims in India, especially since 2019. We also cautioned that Muslims were at risk of becoming a persecuted minority within India, and urged preventive and corrective measures by the government of India and the international community. With the violence and abuses unabated since then and a dearth of domestic and international action to stop them, my colleagues and I reconvened in 2024 to report on the current situation and to call for specific actions. This time we focused on the northern Indian states of Assam and Uttar Pradesh (UP), where the pattern of escalating and widespread violence against Muslims is particularly evident and acute. Both states are controlled by the ruling Hindu-majoritarian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in particular by chief ministers who are virulent in their anti-Muslim rhetoric and policies. This pattern of human rights violations and abuses requires urgent action, most particularly through independent official investigations and ideally at the domestic level. read the complete article
United States
Houston's Mo Amer calls out Islamophobia during 'Daily Show' guest appearance
As Islamophobia appears to be making an incendiary comeback-particularly as some Texas lawmakers have warned of so-called "Muslim takeovers"-Houston's own Mo Amer used a national stage this week to push back. During a guest segment on Wednesday on The Daily Show, the Alief native framed the moment as less of a new wave and more of a familiar cycle. "I grew up in Houston, Texas, with the first name Mohammed, so I'm kind of an expert in Islamophobia," Amer said. "For some reason, being afraid of Muslims is really trendy right now." "I've been hearing your Islamophobia, and I'm offended," Amer said. "Not from the hate-but because it's so inaccurate." Against a backdrop of dozens of news clips showing prominent figures making outlandish claims and even residents holding up dead pigs to suggest it was "Muslim Kryptonite," Amer used humor to dismantle common stereotypes, combined with a rapid-fire list of facts. "Islamophobes, do your research. Because I have and here it is: Muslims invented algebra, hospitals, universities, the camera, even algorithms, just to name a few," Amer said before taking a deep breath. "And by the way, most Muslims aren't even Arab, and most Arab Americans are actually Christians. And while we're at it: Muslims also believe in Jesus Christ. He's mentioned in the Qur'an, which has an entire chapter named after his mother, Mary, and we also believe in the virgin birth." read the complete article
Anti-Muslim Bigotry Betrays America’s Founding Promise
Christian nationalists love to talk about the United States’ founding, and they tell a particular story: this nation was supposedly established as a Christian nation, by Christians, for Christians. Anyone else here is a guest of the rightful Christian rulers. It gets told with confidence, and now with the power of the federal government behind it. Just this morning, the Department of Justice issued a report on the nonexistent threat of domestic anti-Christian bias in the United States, and in it perpetuated this historical narrative of the founding era. But the myth of a Christian nation isn't true. While we are a majority Christian nation in a demographic sense, the founders were not building a Christian theocracy. They were fleeing one. They had watched what happens when governments fuse religious identity with political power, and they wrote the First amendment specifically to prevent it. The Christian nation myth is not just an attack on our secular democracy, but a gross distortion of the Christian faith that most Christians in the U.S. – myself included – don’t support. read the complete article
Israel
Israeli Police Care About Punishing Arabs, Not Protecting Them
Anyone who wondered where the police are while Arab citizens are being murdered in droves, and while gangs of youth sow terror in the streets, received an answer on Friday. In an act of state-sanctioned thuggishness, masked policemen raided a clubhouse used by young members of the Hadash party in Umm al-Fahm and confiscated Palestinian flags hanging there. The policemen removed the flags without identifying themselves or providing any details. They also did not indicate if they had a search warrant. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's campaign against the Palestinian flag is a political one, having nothing to do with national security. The Palestinian flag is a recognized flag that represents the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority, with which Israel has signed agreements. It has even been flown at the prime minister's residence on several occasions. But what does all this have to do with the Kahanist who has taken control of the police? During his tenure, police enforcement against flying this flag has intensified. The police even prohibited the flag from being carried during the March of Return commemorating the Nakba, leading to the cancellation of the event. The campaign against the Palestinian flag obviously interests Ben-Gvir more than a campaign against crime in Arab communities. read the complete article
Israel PM Netanyahu posts AI video of political rivals transforming into Palestinians
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted an AI-generated video to social media on Wednesday of political rivals Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett transforming into Palestinian Knesset members, in an attack on the coalition formed to unseat him. The video shows former prime ministers Naftali Bennet and Yair Lapid sharing an embrace, after which they appear to peel off masks to reveal their 'true' identities. After taking off the 'masks' the two opposition figures reveal themselves to be Palestinian Knesset members Ahmed Tibi and Mansour Abbas. "Taking off the masks," Netanyahu wrote in a Hebrew-language caption accompanying the post. The post by Netanyahu was slammed as "racist" by social media users, who highlighted the prime minister's previous use of Israel's Palestinian citizens as part of scare tactics during elections. read the complete article