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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In Australia, a leading advocate for Muslim women has condemned One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, saying the right-wing leader’s burqa stunt is enabling discrimination and harassment of minorities, meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, British Muslims are facing a growing threat as Islamophobic incidents escalated over the summer, leading to 27 verified attacks against mosques, and lastly the UK High Court heard that Sir Keir Starmer and President Donald Trump discussed Palestine Action twice on calls before the protest group was banned under terror laws. Our recommended read of the day is by Tom Perkins for the Guardian on how provocateurs have held anti-Islam rallies, attempted to burn the Qur’an and rile residents of Dearborn, Michigan, for clickbait. This and more below:
United States
Rightwing influencers spin anti-Muslim rage in Michigan for social media reach | Recommended Read
White nationalist and rightwing agitators recently descended on Dearborn, Michigan, to hold an anti-Islam rally at which they attempted to burn a Qur’an and manufacture controversy over the city’s large Arab American population. But the protest has been dismissed by local leaders as a cheap publicity stunt aimed at generating money and clicks for far-right influencers. But there is little doubt the Michigan city has become a repeated target for the publicity-hungry far-right because it holds the US’s highest percentage of Arab American residents. Similar provocateurs have marched with a pig’s head on a pole at an Arab American fair. Meanwhile, Christian evangelists regularly attempt to convert Muslim children at parks or outside schools. The latest group of Trump-allied influencers appears emboldened by the anti-Muslim current running through much of the president’s second administration. Popular conservative influencers like Cam Higby, Jake Lang, and members of Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA partook in the 18 November rally at which some shouted racist abuse, unfurled a banner that read “Americans Against Islamification”, or smacked a Qur’an with a slab of bacon. Throughout the day, influencers racked up hundreds of thousands of views on their social media pages and Lang promoted his bid for a US Senate seat in Florida. The aim is to “monetize” their hate through campaign donations and social media views, said Dawud Walid, director of CAIR-Michigan. read the complete article
Trump’s Mamdani embrace roiled his base. Then he issued the Muslim Brotherhood order.
President Donald Trump’s friendly Oval Office meeting with Zohran Mamdani roiled parts of the MAGA base last week. Then, just 72 hours later, the White House gave supporters something they had long sought: an executive order that moved to designate some Muslim Brotherhood chapters as foreign terrorist organizations. Key MAGA loyalists view the move as an attempted peace offering and an effort to shift heat away from Trump for seemingly cozying up to a democratic socialist who is poised to be New York City’s first Muslim mayor. Mamdani has no connection to the Muslim Brotherhood, a political movement established in Egypt with branches around the world, but political adversaries have said he is a radical Islamist in part because of his tough-on-Israel stance on the campaign trail.Far-right activist and MAGA influencer Laura Loomer cast the order as an attempt to “throw a bone” to the president’s peeved supporters. read the complete article
Minneapolis mosque break-in latest in string of incidents intimidating local Muslim community
A break-in earlier this week at a north Minneapolis mosque has rattled the Islamic community at a time when leaders say it is dealing with rising Islamophobic rhetoric and attacks. The incident occurred Sunday night at the Masjid Uthman Islamic Center, 2900 Lyndale Ave. N. It involved two masked individuals – aided by a third person driving a vehicle – entering the mosque and leaving, apparently without removing or damaging anything, according to the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The break-in was captured on surveillance video, the images of which were publicized Wednesday by CAIR. Minneapolis police said no arrests have been made. “We’re worried,” said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota CAIR chapter. Hussein said there was no evidence of theft or vandalism inside Masjid Uthman, although he noted the perpetrators desecrated its worship area by entering with shoes on. He still called their actions “scary.” Nevertheless, Hussein said the community being “singled-out” in such a manner has resulted in a wave of online Islamophobic comments directed at CAIR and other Muslim institutions in Minnesota. “It’s completely on a new level,” he said. “The volume is too high.” Hussein said Minnesota has seen more than 40 instances of vandalism, arson or other disturbances at mosques in the past three years, higher than any other state. Damages have totaled more than $3 million. read the complete article
Spokane Valley City Council meeting ends in argument about how to handle Yaeger’s ‘Islamophobic’ post
Spokane Valley City Council members rejected a call to issue an apology or stronger condemnation of Councilwoman Jessica Yaeger, who declared herself a “proud Islamophobe” in a Facebook post last week. Yaeger was criticized by 30 of the 32 people who offered public testimony at Tuesday’s council meeting. Yaeger has stood by her declaration and has posted a video defending it. She did not address the controversy at the meeting. Mayor Pam Haley began the council meeting by addressing Yaeger’s post. “I was deeply troubled to learn about the council member’s actions,” Haley said. “I want to make it clear to everyone here tonight and to all the residents that council member Yeager’s social media post does not represent the values or views of myself, the city of Spokane Valley, or, I believe, of this council.” Haley said that hate speech and discrimination have no place in the Valley or in public discourse. read the complete article
It’s time to leave Dearborn alone
In the city rabid attention seekers say is the closest thing America has to Afghanistan, Barb Bechard was dishing up breaded pork chops at a Catholic church. This was Saturday, Nov. 22, on the east side of Dearborn. Farther west, a crew of agitators had rumbled down Michigan Avenue a few days earlier barking about sharia law while their leader slapped a Quran with a package of bacon, which is so absurdly inflammatory I don't even have a joke for it. Next, he harangued the city council about "the Islamification of Europe" and the decline of the white population, both of which strike me as outside the purview of anyone in the room. With 55% of its residents of Arab descent, Dearborn tends to attract outsiders, often white men looking for a confrontation and hoping for TV cameras. "They have no interest in the community," Bechard said of last week's invaders. "They don't know Dearborn." It would be nice, she and Newman agreed, if they left Dearborn alone. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Starmer and Trump discussed Palestine Action twice on calls before group’s terror ban, court hears
Sir Keir Starmer and President Donald Trump discussed Palestine Action twice on calls before the protest group was banned under terror laws, the High Court has heard. Activists from the group painted “Gaza is not for sale” and dug up parts of the green at Mr Trump’s golf course in Scotland in March 2025, with the president writing on social media that the prime minister had assured him that “they caught the terrorists” involved. The group was proscribed as a terror organisation in an unusual move four months later, after activists broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and sprayed two military planes with red paint. read the complete article
‘Something has changed for the worse’: Record levels of mosque attacks as anti-Muslim hatred rises
British Muslims are facing a growing threat as Islamophobic incidents escalated over the summer, leading to 27 verified attacks against mosques. The first report of the British Muslim Trust (BMT), appointed by the government to monitor such incidents, paints a sobering picture of hostility against Muslims across the UK. The Summer of Division: The Nationwide Surge in Anti-Muslim Hate says it “provides an early snapshot of the growing threat faced by Muslim communities”. At least 27 attacks against mosques were recorded in between July and October. They included an arson attack intended to endanger life, a projectile attack, multiple cases of crosses and flags affixed to mosque property, and widespread graffiti and hate signs. The timing of the attacks coincided with the widespread Raise the Colours and Unite the Kingdom campaigns that purported to display patriotism, with significant elements of anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiments. The use of flags was particularly prominent in the incidents, which affected 25 mosques across 23 towns and cities. Of the incidents verified by the BMT, 41 per cent involved crosses, Union Jacks, St George’s flags or the use of Christian slogans and symbols to intimidate. Phrasing used across incidents included “Christ is King”, “Jesus is King”, and “Devils” with upside-down crucifixes daubed on the sides of buildings. read the complete article
India
How “Love Jihad” Paranoia Swept Historic Indian Market Clean Of Muslim Workers
The trouble began when the son of a local lawmaker 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 fired 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
Australia
'Not a prop': elder Muslim advocate condemns Hanson's burqa stunt
A leading advocate for Muslim women has condemned One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, saying the right-wing leader's burqa stunt is enabling discrimination and harassment of minorities. "As an elder Muslim woman, and on behalf of Muslim Women Australia, Senator Hanson's repeated attempts to ridicule our attire do not reflect the Australia we live in, nor the values Australian women uphold," Hajeh Maha Krayem Abdo said, chief executive of Muslim Women Australia. The decision to use the religious garment for a political stunt was neither new nor clever, and casued harm, Ms Krayem Abdo said. "It is a repetition of the same pattern we have seen for decades: a pattern of targeting women whose lives, faith, and identities she does not understand," she said. "To reduce our identities to props or political theatre is not only disrespectful, but feeds the very attitudes that enable discrimination, harassment, and gendered violence." She said Muslim women choose to wear hijabs or burqas for personal, spiritual and cultural reasons, and make informed choices. read the complete article