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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the UK, a new study finds that more than a third of Muslims (36%) and almost half of Jewish employees (47%) surveyed believe that discrimination has increased since last year’s escalation of the Israel-Gaza conflict, meanwhile in the US, the Department of Homeland Security announced on Tuesday $210 million of additional funds to protect faith-based institutions and nonprofit organizations from targeted attacks caused by rise in hate incidents amid war in the Middle East, and in India, critics of the newly enacted Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a law which has been “slammed” by the United Nations and Amnesty International, say that this framework when combined with an earlier law can be used to exclude or even expel Indian Muslims from the country. Our recommended read of the day is by Bridge Initiative Senior Researcher Farid Hafez for The Guardian on the political rise and electoral victory of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and why other parties in the country must ally to protect those most vulnerable to the party’s agenda. This and more below:
Austria
As the far right celebrates election success in Austria, this much is clear. It must be denied power | Recommended Read
For the last few years the radical right Freedom party of Austria (FPÖ) has dominated opinion polls, outpacing historically mainstream parties such as the People’s party (ÖVP) and Social Democratic party (SPÖ). In a historic first, the FPÖ under the leadership of Herbert Kickl won the national elections with 28.8% of the vote, surpassing the previous record held by his mentor Jörg Haider in 1999. This is the first time in postwar Austrian history that a party originally established by ex-Nazis, for ex-Nazis, won the national parliamentary elections. Kickl, the party’s leader and a hardline ideologue with a family history tied to Nazism, pledged to become Austria’s volkskanzler (people’s chancellor), a term that has its roots in Nazi rhetoric. By openly advocating for what he calls “remigration” – the idea of pressuring people of colour to return to their perceived homelands – he presents the new right’s ideology in more palatable language. read the complete article
Austria embraces far-right party with Nazi roots, anti-Muslim stance
The far-right in Europe received another boost on Sunday with Austria’s Freedom Party (FPO) securing a “historic parliamentary election victory”. The success of the EU-sceptic party in Austria follows recent electoral gains by far-right parties in Dutch, French, German and European Union elections. FPO leader Herbert Kickle is both anti-immigration and anti-Islam. His electoral programme called “Fortress Austria” seeks to end political asylum entirely—a promise that breaches EU rules. But what sets the FPO apart from many other far-right European parties is the apparent reluctance of its leadership to completely break away from its Nazi past. For the first time in the Second Republic, which is another name for modern Austria that emerged as an independent country following its annexation by Germany during World War II, the far-right FPO is likely to lead the coalition government at the federal level. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Shipley MP visits mosques as part of Visit My Mosque weekend
Shipley MP Anna Dixon visited two mosques last weekend as part of The Muslim Council of Britain’s Visit My Mosque initiative. Ms Dixon attended Masjid Al-Furqaan and Masjid Ayesha, meeting with Imams and community members to discuss interfaith relationships and how to stand together in the face of Islamophobia, antisemitism, and racism. The open days, which welcomed everyone, were aimed at educating the public about the Muslim faith and what happens at a mosque. Ms Dixon said: "Particularly after the horrendous riots we saw over the summer in other parts of the country, it is good to be able to celebrate the diversity of Shipley constituency. "I want to thank everyone at the Masjid Al-Furqaan and Masjid Ayesha mosques for their generous hospitality and for organising such fantastic events." read the complete article
Religious discrimination spiked following 7 October attack, study finds
More than a third of Muslims (36%) and almost half of Jewish employees (47%) surveyed believe that discrimination has increased since last year's escalation of the Israel-Gaza conflict, a study by diversity and inclusion consultancy Pearn Kandola has found. The report, published today (1 October), found that a quarter of UK Muslim (24%) and two fifths (39%) of Jewish workers in the UK have experienced discrimination since 7 October 2023. Pearn Kandola researchers investigated the changes in workplace discrimination ahead of the anniversary of the terror attack. Shakil Butt, founder of consultancy HR Hero for Hire, told HR magazine that employers should seek to understand the impact of the conflict on their employees, and facilitate balanced conversations. He said: “Both Jewish and Muslim employees share a spiritual connection to their global community. Understanding that events happening elsewhere will impact Jewish and Muslim employees is critical and should not be downplayed. “The wrong thing to do would be to do nothing, and say that employees should not discuss the issues, especially when the usual position is asking employees to bring their whole selves to work, which includes their religious identity and their political leanings. “That said, any conversations need to be balanced with mutual respect, acknowledging that all suffering and harm to innocents is wrong, and all human life and dignity is of equal value.” read the complete article
Western response to Gaza is a moment of reckoning for UK Muslims, say community leaders
As the first anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attacks approaches, the British Muslim community has found itself at a crossroads. Support for Palestinians led to dismay at the politicians’ failure to call for a ceasefire, all of which has led to “a moment of reckoning and conflict between British foreign policy and their identity”, according to community leaders who spoke to the Religion Media Centre. The Islamophobia Response Unit (IRU), which records hate crime, says taunts of “Palestinian” and “Muslim” go hand in hand. Name-calling and threats are so commonplace that the unit has given up recording Islamophobia online. Islamophobia is said to have been fuelled by extensive media coverage, with the intensity of the war captured in daily graphic media reports. More than 40,000 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza since 7 October, the vast majority of whom are women and children, according to the United Nations. The rise in Islamophobic attacks was immediate. The IRU recorded a 300 per cent rise in hate crimes against Muslims in the weeks following 7 October. According to the unit’s chief executive, Majid Iqbal, the figures and case studies only scratch the surface. Muslim protesters have been dubbed “terrorists”, as have children in schools. Muslim women have had their hijabs pulled from their heads, windows have been smashed, and others have been violently attacked. read the complete article
Sadiq Khan fears rise in UK hate crime linked to Middle East violence
Sadiq Khan has warned of a potential increase in hate crime in Britain triggered by the rise in Middle East violence, as a leading British Jewish group warned of the danger of “reprisal” attacks here. The London mayor’s warning comes after a series of Israeli airstrikes against targets in Lebanon, which have killed Hezbollah’s top leaders as well as its followers, and it is feared, scores of civilians. Khan is pumping extra emergency funding into groups in London countering hate. Tensions have been heightened since Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel, followed by the sustained attacks on Gaza with large loss of civilian life. British officials also fear tensions remain high after this summer’s far right-led riots. The Metropolitan police assistant commissioner Matt Twist said: “As the situation in the Middle East becomes less certain once again, we know that fears and tensions will rise here at home too. Together, we are determined to demonstrate that there will be no tolerance for hate crime in London.” Khan said: “We know that an escalation in conflict in the Middle East often leads to an increase in hate crime here in London. We have seen an abhorrent and completely unacceptable rise in hate crime over the last year – particularly antisemitism and Islamophobia – which has profoundly impacted our Jewish and Muslim communities in London. read the complete article
United States
US grants additional $210 million to protect faith groups against hate crimes
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on Tuesday $210 million of additional funds to protect faith-based institutions and nonprofit organizations from targeted attacks caused by rise in hate incidents amid war in the Middle East. Rights advocates have warned about rising threats against American Muslims, Arabs and Jews since the eruption of Israel's war in Gaza and its military campaign in Lebanon following the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. Major U.S. incidents in recent months include the attempted drowning of a 3-year-old Muslim girl in Texas, the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Muslim boy in Illinois, the stabbing of a Muslim man in Texas, the beating of a Muslim man in New York and the shooting of three Muslim students in Vermont. read the complete article
Leading US imams and scholars urge Muslim voters to snub Kamala Harris over Gaza
A group of leading Muslim American scholars and imams have signed a letter calling on Muslim voters to spurn Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming election over US support for Israel's war on Gaza. The letter comes as polling within the Muslim American community shows a major departure from the Democratic Party over the Biden-Harris administration's unfettered support for Israel's war on Gaza, which they along with rights groups and legal experts view is a genocide against Palestinians. "We may not know what the future holds, but we know this: we will not taint our hands by voting for or supporting an administration that has brought so much bloodshed upon our brothers and sisters," said the letter, released on Monday and seen by Middle East Eye. The letter calls on Muslims to instead vote for any of the third-party candidates, including the Green Party's Jill Stein whose support has swelled among the Muslim American community in recent weeks. "We want to be absolutely clear: don’t stay home and skip voting. This year, make a statement by voting third party for the presidential ticket," the letter said. The letter, written and released in collaboration with the Abandon Harris campaign, was signed by more than three dozen religious leaders from all around the country, including Imam Dawud Walid, Dr Shadee Elmasry, Imam Omar Suleiman, Dr Yasir Qadhi, and Imam Tom Facchine. read the complete article
India
Indian Muslims Are Trying to Get Their Papers in Order
In a nondescript office located in the heart of a Muslim neighborhood in south Mumbai, lawyer Nadeem Siddiqui examines the papers sprawled on his desk. A flyer on one of the walls reads, “My document, my identity.” Across him, Muslim men and women stand in line, waiting fretfully for a chance to get their documents corrected. The rush of panicked clients is a response to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a bill passed in 2019 but which has now become a reality. Supporters of the law say it will stop the influx of migrants illegally entering into India and ensure so-called homecoming for persecuted Hindus from India’s neighboring countries; critics call it “anti-Muslim” and “unconstitutional.” Among many Indian Muslims, it has sparked deep fears of their place under an increasingly hostile government. On April 21, in an election rally during India’s general elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi branded Muslims as “infiltrators” who would take India’s wealth. He increasingly resorted to anti-Muslim rhetoric during the election campaign before becoming the Indian Prime Minister for a rare third term. Critics argue that the CAA, which has now been slammed by the United Nations and Amnesty International, becomes problematic when read together with the impending NRC. Together, the laws can be used to exclude, or even expel, Muslims. Members of other religious communities who fall foul of the NRC have the shield of the CAA, allowing them a route to stay if the NRC brands them “illegal.” Muslims have no such respite. read the complete article
Australia
Albanese stood beside antisemitism envoy. Journalists weren’t even invited to Islamophobia envoy launch
Advocates from anti-Islamophobia and Palestinian groups have questioned why the announcement of Labor’s envoy to combat Islamophobia was so subdued compared to the “spectacle of attention” paid to it envoy to combat antisemitism a few months ago. Media were not invited to an event at the Sheraton Grand hotel in Sydney on Monday where Aftab Malik was announced as special envoy to combat Islamophobia. News of his selection was first reported by Capital Brief in the early afternoon, and then confirmed in a Monday evening press release co-signed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Multicultural Affairs Minister Tony Burke. No press conferences were scheduled with either minister the following day. By contrast, when Jillian Segal was appointed special envoy to combat antisemitism in July, the prime minister and the then multiculturalism minister held a press conference with her on the same day. "The grandeur surrounding the government’s antisemitism envoy announcement — which came complete with a prime ministerial press conference — starkly contrasts with the mere issuing of a press release for the Islamophobia envoy,” Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni told Crikey. Mashni, who has criticised the entire concept of the special envoys as “[perpetuating] a harmful narrative of a hierarchy of racism while neglecting the systemic nature of discrimination”, said the two envoys nevertheless should have been afforded the same treatment by the government. “When the Australian government offers one community a spectacle of attention while relegating the other to a press release, it sends a clear message – the struggles of the Palestinian and Muslim community on this continent are deemed less worthy of recognition and respect,” he said. read the complete article