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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the United States, there were clashes between anti-Islam demonstrators and counter-protesters after right-wing activist, Jake Lang attempted to burn a copy of the Qur’an, meanwhile in India, over 120 Muslim businesses have been shut down by Narendra Modi’s BJP on the grounds of the “love jihad” conspiracy theory since the party came to power in 2014, and in the United Kingdom, Muslims in Liverpool argue the government should tackle the root causes of Islamophobia, rather than just beefing up security around mosques. Our recommended read of the day is by Joseph Gedeon for The Guardian on Texas governor Greg Abbott’s recent move to declare the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)to be “foreign terrorist organizations”- the latest in Abbot’s targeting of Muslim Americans. This and more below:
United States
Texas governor Abbott designates Cair and Muslim Brotherhood terrorist groups | Recommended Read
Texas governor Greg Abbott declared the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) and the Muslim Brotherhood to be “foreign terrorist organizations” on Tuesday, prohibiting them from acquiring property in the state and authorizing legal action to shut down affiliated entities. The move marks a massive escalation in Abbott’s confrontation with Muslim organizations and communities in Texas, though states have no authority to designate foreign terrorist organizations on behalf of the US. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, only the US secretary of state can officially designate foreign terrorist organizations, following consultation with the attorney general and treasury secretary. The process requires congressional notification and publication in the Federal Register. The impact of the action by Abbott, who this month announced that he is intending to run again for the governor’s seat next November, is limited to Texas state law enforcement and authorizes the state attorney general to sue organizations deemed affiliated with Cair or the Muslim Brotherhood, though Abbott’s office has not specified how it will determine affiliation or what enforcement actions it plans to take. read the complete article
Anti-Islam protesters, Muslims clash in Dearborn, Michigan, after man attempts to burn Quran
Anti-Islam activists and pro-Muslim counter-protesters clashed on Tuesday in Dearborn, Michigan, prompting a heavy police presence. Dearborn, home to one of the largest Muslim populations in the country, has recently become a target for activists who accuse it of operating under "Sharia law," according to MLive. The clash began when Jake Lang, who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, arrived on Michigan Avenue and attempted to burn a Quran, the outlet reported. Lang held up a lighter attempting to light the religious text on fire, but counter-protesters knocked it from his hands. Later, Lang slapped the Quran with a slab of bacon before a counter-protester grabbed the book and took off with it. Michigan gubernatorial candidate Anthony Hudson, a Republican, walked with supporters along the sidewalk as part of a demonstration that appeared unconnected to Lang's, according to MLive. Hudson had initially planned a protest in Dearborn, calling it an "American Crusade" against "Muslim infiltration" and "Sharia Law," according to a news release from the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. But after visiting three mosques in the area, Hudson said there are many false and misleading narratives about Dearborn being spread and that all he found from Muslims in Dearborn was hospitality, according to the release. He also said he was opposed to outsiders traveling to Dearborn with plans to burn the Quran. read the complete article
US Muslim civil rights group CAIR says Texas governor 'stoking anti-Muslim hysteria'
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has accused Texas Governor Greg Abbott of promoting "anti-Muslim hysteria" and advancing policies that serve the interests of Israel rather than Texans. "Greg Abbott is an Israel First politician who has spent months stoking anti-Muslim hysteria to smear American Muslims critical of the Israeli government. Although we are flattered by his obsession with our civil rights group, his defamatory proclamation has no basis in fact or law," CAIR, the largest Muslim civil liberties organisation in the US, said in a statement. It came after Abbott designated the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as "foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organisations." CAIR said it has "successfully" sued Abbott three times for unconstitutional efforts to suppress pro-Palestinian speech and activism in the state. The organisation signalled it is prepared to challenge the governor again if he attempts to convert his latest criticisms into state policy. read the complete article
Zohran Mamdani, Islamophobia, and America’s Politics of the ‘Foreigner’
On November 4, 2025, Zohran Mamdani won the New York City (NYC) mayoral election, becoming the city’s first Muslim and Asian American mayor. This is a milestone making headlines, but not just out of celebration. After a campaign marked by opposition from both Republicans and Democrats, Mamdani addressed the apparent, rampant scourge of Islamophobia. In a message responding to the racist and Islamophobic attacks, Mamdani reflects on the treatment of those who share his faith: “To be Muslim in New York is to expect indignity.” Though this sort of bigotry is nothing new, its overwhelming presence in the larger discourse about Mamdani’s campaign requires acknowledgement. It’s a case study of the continued racialization of US politics. Beyond the typical fearmongering around democratic socialist politics, political and media figures wielded racist ideas against Mamdani. These discussions could be inspired by something as simple as Mamdani eating rice with his hands, a common practice among many cultures. This mayoral election is emblematic of a hypocrisy that has infected American politics since their inception. Over time, ideas develop about who and what is presidential, senatorial, mayoral, and the like. But, for all of our rhetorical emphasis on meritocracy, our political system was founded favoring the perceived ‘insider’ over the perceived ‘outsider’ in terms of race, nationality, gender, ideology, and more. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Government urged to fight Islamophobia rather than rely on security
The Government should prioritise tackling Islamophobia rather than just increasing security around mosques, Muslims in Liverpool have said. Mersey News Live spoke to worshippers at the Al-Ramha Mosque in Toxteth after the Prime Minister announced a £10m increase in funding for the safety of Muslims in the UK earlier this month. The move, which is in response to a 19% increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes in the year ending March 2025, is intended to provide CCTV, security fencing, alarm systems and security personnel teams. The proposed increase is an addition to an existing fund of £29.4 million. Muslims who worship at the Al-Ramha Mosque said that they felt the priority should be action to reduce Islamophobia rather than addressing the symptoms of it with more security. read the complete article
India
Blaming ‘Love Jihad,’ Muslim Workers Are Ousted From Indian Market
For more than a decade, Hindu businessman Balwant Rathore and his Muslim partner Mohammad Harun have run their shop together. They invested jointly, worked shoulder-to-shoulder, and built not just a business but also a bond that Rathore describes as brotherhood. Then, without warning, they were told to vacate their shop. The reason? The order that Muslims should no longer be part of the market’s fabric, allegedly justified on the grounds of “love jihad.” The trouble began when the son of a local government official reportedly ordered shopkeepers to remove Muslim employees from the market. Within days, the impact was visible. Over 120 Muslim salesmen were shown the door, and scores of shops shut down. In some cases, owners were told they could continue only if they sacked their Muslim partners or employees. It was just the latest anti-Muslim incident that has occurred in recent years, following the rise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which came into power in 2014. Groups waving saffron flags, representing the party, were paraded through the lanes as the order was enforced, and the market’s atmosphere became charged. “Now there are no Muslim employees in the market,” admitted Hema Bhai Panjwani, a member of the Sitlamata Market Business Association. read the complete article
International
Islamophobia: The discursive apparatus of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Palestine
This paper analyzes the ideological function of Islamophobia in contemporary structures of genocidal violence, focusing on Israel’s attack on Gaza that began in October 2023. Drawing on scholarship framing Islamophobia as a structural feature of Western imperial formations, the article argues that Islamophobic discourse serves as the discursive apparatus through which Israel’s genocide is rendered legible. Analyzing political speeches and official statements by Israeli and U.S. political leaders, as well as major media narratives, the paper demonstrates how three central Islamophobic tropes—depicting Muslims as licentious, inherently barbaric, and pathologically anti-Semitic—are mobilized to rationalize Palestinian dispossession and mass killing. Overall, the paper argues that Islamophobia operates as part of a broader ideological strategy that not only enables genocide but also forecloses political legibility of Palestinian violence as an anti-colonial struggle by reframing it as a pathological expression of fanatical religious anti-Jewish hatred. In this way, scrutiny of Israeli actions is cast as morally suspect, narrowing the scope of legitimate critique, while also enabling the territorial objectives of Israel’s settler-colonial project. read the complete article