Today in Islamophobia

Today in Islamophobia: In the United States, an immigration judge has ruled that Salah Sarsour, president of Wisconsin’s largest mosque, can be deported on national security and foreign-policy grounds, meanwhile in Lithuania, the president has warned that a series of recent anti-Muslim incidents may be part of an orchestrated campaign, and lastly, the Guardian tested and found that some AI chatbots can remove hijabs from images of Muslim women when prompted. Our recommended read of the day is by Adrian Ashford for the Houston Chronicle on conservative Texas lawmakers and pastors brainstorming measures targeting Muslims and Islamic practices at a recent Faith Fest. This and more below:

United States

Texas lawmakers brainstorm anti-Muslim laws at Faith Fest: ‘The more uncomfortable they are, the better’ | Recommended Read

At Texas Faith Fest on Saturday, conservative state lawmakers and pastors brainstormed how to stop Muslims from living and practicing their faith in the state. “The more uncomfortable they are, the better,” Rep. Keresa Richardson, R-McKinney, said during a panel called “Don’t Sharia My Texas.” Speakers at the annual event hosted by advocacy group Texas Values said they wanted to prevent public vouchers from going to Islamic schools. They called for banning schools, prisons and other public institutions from serving halal food and for banning calls to prayer from playing over loudspeakers where non-Muslims could hear. The slew of policy proposals provides more evidence that Texas Republicans’ increasing focus on Islam won’t stop at rhetoric and angry press releases. Rather, lawmakers and lobbyists advocated for reshaping the relationship between government and religion, encouraging the state to promote Christianity and discourage Islam. Several religious liberty scholars said in interviews they worry that allowing the government to use its authority to openly favor one religion over another would not only deprive Muslims of rights bestowed by the First Amendment, but also weaken freedom of speech and religion for everyone. read the complete article

Judge Rules in Favor of Deporting Muslim Leader in Wisconsin

For six months, Salah Sarsour, a legal U.S. resident and the president of Wisconsin’s largest Islamic organization, has been fighting the Trump administration’s efforts to deport him. But on Tuesday night, a federal immigration judge in Chicago ruled in favor of his removal, which means he could be ordered to leave the country unless he secures asylum or another form of legal relief. Mr. Sarsour, 53, who grew up in the West Bank and is a vocal supporter of Palestinian rights, leads the Islamic Society of Milwaukee and has lived in the United States for more than 30 years. He was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in March and held for about 80 days in Indiana before a judge ordered his release. Mr. Sarsour will not immediately be deported; his lawyers plan to appeal the Tuesday court ruling. The government’s case against him goes back decades and crosses international borders. It cites charges that were brought against Mr. Sarsour by Israel during a Palestinian uprising when he was a teenager living in the occupied West Bank. Those charges resulted in his imprisonment. read the complete article

Republican candidate rails against Sharia law. Until it comes to his businesses

Casey Askar, a GOP House candidate and pizza magnate, has campaigned heavily on keeping Sharia law out of the United States. He’s called the religious legal framework a “growing threat” and has promised voters he’d join the Sharia-Free America Caucus if elected in his competitive Florida district. But as a businessman seeking new customers, Askar has been decidedly more welcoming of followers of Sharia. As he sought to expand his restaurant chains in the Middle East last year, Askar partnered with a firm promoting his pizzerias as “100% halal” – noting a dietary restriction spelled out as part of the same Islamic tradition he’s called dangerous as a candidate. He also traveled extensively around the Middle East, posing for photos with business leaders and royalty in Saudi Arabia and other countries that operate under Sharia-based legal systems. “Many public people are willing to have great relationships, but then when it’s also convenient to sow hatred against the Muslim community, then they are also equally happy to do that,” Corey Saylor, a spokesperson for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told CNN. read the complete article

International

AI chatbots remove hijabs from images of Muslim women when prompted

When prompted, AI chat bots will edit images to remove the hijabs from Muslim women, a violation of one of the world’s most common and visible expressions of faith. The Guardian asked ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini and Claude to take the veil off an AI-generated image of a woman wearing a hijab. Both OpenAI’s ChatGPT and xAI’s Grok bots complied with the prompt. Anthropic’s Claude responded that it does not have an image-editing or generating feature but that it would not alter a photo to remove someone’s hijab. Gemini initially said that it could not remove clothing or head coverings from photos of real people because it could not digitally alter someone’s appearance without their consent. But when asked to make the woman look more “western”, the bot created an image of her without her hijab. The Guardian US tested the chatbots after a French far-right politician stripped a real Muslim woman of her hijab and long-sleeved dress in a picture he made clear was modified. Julien Odoul, a member of parliament and of the National Rally party, posted the altered image of the woman on X with her hair visible and arms exposed alongside the caption “LIBERTÉ FRANÇAISE”, meaning French Liberty. He quote-tweeted the original image, posted by someone else, which showed the woman crossing a street wearing a hijab and full-length dress. It was unclear which software or AI model Odoul used or even whether he modified the image himself, but experts say the MP’s actions were part of a growing pattern of tech-enabled anti-Muslim hatred around the world. read the complete article

Watch: England fans sing anti-Muslim chant in Prague

England fans sang anti-Islamic songs while in Prague supporting Thomas Tuchel's side against the Czech Republic. Footage has emerged of supporters in a bar in the Czech capital singing "Allah, Allah, who the f--- is Allah?" to the tune of Smokie's 1972 song Living Next Door To Alice. A Football Association spokesman said: "We will not tolerate this unacceptable and deeply offensive chanting, and will work with the UK police who attend all England home and away matches to identify the perpetrators and take the necessary action " read the complete article

United Kingdom

Labour minister: British Muslims haven't always been heard but Burnham will change that

Not too long ago, British Muslim civil society barely engaged with the government. This was less because of British Muslims than because of the government itself. The Conservative Party, who were ousted in 2024, made no particular attempt - especially after 2020 - to even appear to engage with mainstream Muslim organisations. Fast forward to today and the situation has fundamentally transformed. At the Labour Party conference, the widespread feeling among Muslims - both MPs and party members - was that things are looking up. "A new hope," as one parliamentary advisor called it, referencing Star Wars. The reason: Andy Burnham. Engagement with Muslims did improve under Keir Starmer's Labour government, but the relationship remained fraught: large numbers of Muslim voters abandoned Labour over its support for Israel during the Gaza genocide. Under new Prime Minister Burnham, however, relations are better than they have been for decades. This was in clear evidence at an event at the Hilton hotel at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on Sunday evening. Equi, a Muslim think tank, was celebrating its two-year anniversary. The room was packed with representatives of Muslim civil society organisations, Labour members and several MPs. read the complete article

Lithuania

Lithuanian president says anti-Muslim incidents may be orchestrated

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said recurring incidents against the Muslim community in the country may not be isolated cases but could be part of orchestrated campaigns. "The recurrence of incidents – both alleged and real – over a relatively short period of time leads me to believe that these are not random outbursts of emotion, but campaigns for which orchestrators should be sought," Nausėda told LNK television on Wednesday. In mid-September, a Quran was allegedly burned publicly in Vilnius, with a pre-trial investigation into hooliganism launched over the incident. Meanwhile, during Muslim prayers outside a mosque in Kaunas, bikers staged a protest, which included displaying a pig’s head. An investigation into incitement against a group of people and disruption of religious ceremonies has been launched over the incident. Nausėda said Lithuania should remain a country where different religions and cultures coexist peacefully. He also said the migration issue is relevant, but it must be addressed directly, rather than through actions such as displaying pig's heads. read the complete article

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