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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the United Kingdom, Gordon Land, a Scottish Tory councillor claimed Islamophobia was “made up” and referred to asylum seekers as “animals”, meanwhile, in Australia, Senator Pauline Hanson’s actions reflect a broader strategy of far-right populists weaponizing cultural anxieties for political gain, and in the United States, actress Debra Messing has ignited fury after sharing more anti-Muslim content targeting Zohran Mamdani on social media. Our recommended read of the day is by Shahed Ezaydi for Stylist, which features interviews with Muslim women about what life in Britain is like for them, with the resounding sentiment being fear, paranoia, and a sense of feeling unwelcome in their own home. This and more below:
United Kingdom
This is what it’s like to be a Muslim woman in the UK right now | Recommended Read
With the threat of the far-right looming over British politics, Stylist spoke to Muslim women about what life in Britain is like for them now, and the resounding sentiment is one of fear, paranoia and feeling unwelcome in your own home. Last summer, we saw what far-right groups were capable of when they mobilised out onto the streets in demonstrations and riots. Up and down the country, people like me stayed at home, glued to TV screens and WhatsApp groups, as we watched loud, angry people attack Muslims, people of colour and migrants in the name of ‘England’. Over the past few years, the increasingly divided and polarised political and social climate has given far-right groups and activists like Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, the ammunition they needed to mobilise en masse against Muslims, racialised communities and migrants. Islamophobia is still prevalent in this country, particularly in a post-9/11 world. And because Muslims have been demonised and othered for decades, we’re usually one of the first communities to come under fire. Many of us are fearful, stressed, deflated, angry and on edge. And so tired. I’ve become hyper-aware of myself in public situations, particularly on public transport or when navigating my way home at night. And that sense of awareness is so much more heightened for visibly Muslim women who have been targeted by the far right, past and present. I spoke to 11 Muslim women about what life in Britain is like for them now, and the resounding sentiment is one of fear, paranoia and feeling unwelcome and unsafe in their own home. “As a visibly Muslim Black woman living in the UK, I’ve never been as afraid for my own safety as I am today. It feels like we’re headed down a truly dark path in this country where hate, racism and Islamophobia are excused by politicians on both the right and the so-called left,” says Khadiga*. read the complete article
Scottish Tory claims Islamophobia 'made up' in 'abhorrent' rants
A SCOTTISH Tory councillor claimed Islamophobia was “made up” and referred to asylum seekers as “animals”, The National can reveal. Gordon Lang, a local government representative in Aberdeenshire for Russell Findlay’s party, has been urged to resign by an MSP after his “abhorrent” tweets came to light. Posting on Twitter/X in response to the news Labour would abandon a definition of Islamophobia, Lang wrote: “I've been saying it for year's [sic]. ‘islamiphobia [sic]’ (made up word) gives protection for one group over others.” In a tweet about plans to bring students to Britain from Gaza, he wrote: "Father = hamas Uncle = hamas Older brother = hamas Younger brother = hamas Mother = feeds father, uncle and 2 brothers". After the Huntingdon train stabbing, he tweeted three times about the black suspect who was later released after he was found not to have been involved, appearing to imply that there was a cover-up of this element of the story by Sky News. read the complete article
Seventh Met Police officer filmed in TV exposé sacked for appalling anti-Muslim slurs
A Metropolitan Police officer has become the seventh sacked over an undercover BBC Panorama documentary that exposed unacceptable behaviour. PC Sean Park, based at Charing Cross Police Station, expressed “appalling” discriminatory and disrespectful views about Muslims. He boasted about pretending not to see an alleged excessive use of force by another officer who is said to have stomped on a detainee’s ankle and failed to challenge what had happened, the force said. Park also failed to challenge discriminatory views of PC Martin Borg, who was previously dismissed for saying he joined the police to take part in “legal f****** scraps”. read the complete article
United States
Debra Messing leaves fans furious as she continues to ignore backlash after Zohran Mamdani ‘jihadist’ meme
Debra Messing has ignited fury in her comment section as she continues to post pictures on social media, ignoring backlash over a controversial meme calling Zohran Mamdani a ‘jihadist’. On Sunday (23 November), the Will & Grace star returned to social media after being criticised online for reposting a fake New York City election ballot paper calling the now-NYC mayor Mamdani “an actual communist jihadist. A literal Karl Marx-quoting, America-hating jihadist.” Followers were quick to take to the comment section, expressing their frustration at Messing for not responding to the backlash she received over the offensive reshare. read the complete article
India
Meet the road-building, Muslim-baiting monk who could rule India
For most his life he has been a monk, renouncing worldly possessions, wearing saffron and rising early to pray, meditate and feed sugary treats to cows at a temple in Gorakhpur where he is the head priest. For the past eight years he has also been one of the most powerful politicians in the world, ruling over an Indian state of 240m people. If it were a country, it would be the world’s sixth-biggest. Some people think Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh (UP), is a possible future prime minister of India. Others balk at the notion. At the very least, he represents an important strain in the country’s politics: a muscular Hindu nationalism that lays a lot of asphalt. Businesses praise his efforts to build roads, pep up the electricity supply and crush crime. Critics accuse him of trampling on human rights and Muslims. Muslims complain that the bulldozers are especially active in their neighbourhoods. In general, they are frightened of Mr Adityanath. He founded a youth movement that many describe as a militia, only disbanding it five years after becoming chief minister. In speeches, he often uses incendiary language about Muslims. He has accused them of waging a “love jihad”, seducing Hindu women so they convert to Islam and bear Muslim babies. Muslim men who date Hindu women have sometimes been arrested or beaten up by thugs. read the complete article
Australia
Pauline Hanson’s politics of fear: Weaponising Islamophobia to divide and defend the elite
Pauline Hanson’s recent burqa stunt in the Australian Senate is not an isolated incident but the latest flare in a long-standing pattern of anti-Muslim rhetoric designed to incite fear, sow division, and serve political and economic elites. Her actions reflect a broader strategy of far-right populists weaponising cultural anxieties for political gain. Hanson’s record fits this global pattern, demanding multi-dimensional countermeasures to systemic right-wing authoritarianism, inequality, and political failure to address ordinary people’s issues. Although Hanson was censured and suspended from the Senate for seven days for the stunt, this suspension is largely performative in a political context where many politicians show limited genuine commitment to combating anti-Muslim hate even though Penny Wong delivered a stunning rebuke to Pauline, condemning her “immature and shameless” stunt for cruelly mocking an entire faith and brazenly defying the Senate’s authority. While signalling formal condemnation, broader politics often tolerate or exploit Islamophobic rhetoric to divert attention from systemic problems. This disjunction allows figures like Hanson to stoke fear and division with few lasting consequences—underscoring the need for substantive action beyond symbolic reprimands. read the complete article
International
Trump's attack on the Muslim Brotherhood is a gift to Israel and far right extremists
Today, the Brotherhood is organisationally fragmented, politically marginalised, and has almost no operational presence inside Egypt. Targeting it now is not only unjustified, but meaningless. If the legal case is weak and flawed, the political motivations behind the designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation are unmistakable. Firstly, the designation represents a triumph for the far-right extremists surrounding Trump - figures such as Sebastian Gorka, Trump’s senior director for counterterrorism, with widely reported ties to ultranationalist and neo-Nazi groups in Europe; and Laura Loomer, a far-right activist known for Islamophobic campaigns across the US. Both have long framed the Brotherhood as part of a global Islamist conspiracy, and lobbied aggressively for its designation. Secondly, Arab authoritarian regimes have lobbied Washington for years to criminalise the Brotherhood, which remains their most formidable social and political rival. Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - architects of the counterrevolution against the Arab Spring - see in Trump’s decision an opportunity to crush what is left of organised political opposition in the region. The timing, just days after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the White House, is hardly coincidental. Thirdly, Israel views political Islam as an existential threat due to its widespread popular appeal in Arab societies, and its rejection of Israeli policies in the occupied territories. A US terrorist designation would serve Israeli interests by weakening one of its most vocal ideological adversaries. Several reports from pro-Israel think-tanks have urged the Trump administration to designate certain branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as FTOs. In addition, American pro-Israel lobbying groups have escalated efforts to link the Brotherhood to US-based Muslim charitable and advocacy organisations, particularly those mobilising against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. read the complete article