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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the US, during a campaign stop in Flint Michigan, Arab American voters expressed concerns over the Biden-Harris administration’s policies in support of Israel’s campaign in Gaza and Lebanon, meanwhile in India, about 1,200 people were booked as clashes erupted during a demand to register a case against Hindu nationalist priest Yati Narsinghanand for offensive remarks about Islam’s prophet, and in the UK, a record number of anti-Muslim attacks and incidents of abuse (4,971 incidents) have been reported since October 7th, 2023. Our recommended read of the day is by Umar A Farooq for Middle East Eye on how since Israel’s war on Gaza, there has been an uptick in the domestic surveillance of Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, and solidarity activists in the U.S. This and more below:
United States
How the US revived ‘war on terror’ era surveillance to suppress pro-Palestine movement | Recommended Read
Osama Abu Irshaid was returning home to the US from an international trip in June when he was stopped by customs officials at Dulles International Airport in Virginia. The interrogation by US officials at the airport puzzled Abu Irshaid. While he's not a stranger to these kinds of stops - he had been on a government watchlist until 2017 - Abu Irshaid told Middle East Eye that he had been given TSA pre-check status for years, allowing him to bypass the long lines at airport security. But since Israel's war on Gaza began last October, Abu Irshaid, who is the executive director of American Muslims for Palestine, has witnessed a campaign of surveillance and repression launched by both the US government, private companies, and university campuses. He was placed on the watchlist again, but now he says his family is also on it. "This time, I'm back on it (the watchlist) because of my vocal position against the genocide that is taking place in Gaza," Abu Irshaid told MEE. After a year of Israel waging war on Gaza with no end in sight, another battle is taking place inside the United States, one that is trying to silence Muslims, Arabs, activists and others speaking out in support of Palestinians and against the war. The government surveillance reminds many of the weeks and months immediately following the 9/11 attacks and the ensuing US "war on terror", when Muslim communities saw law enforcement conduct massive sweeps of their neighbourhoods and the FBI came knocking on their doors. read the complete article
Arab American leaders urge Harris to ‘show distance’ from Biden’s Israel policy during private Michigan meeting
In a side room backstage at a Friday campaign rally in Flint, Michigan, Arab American advocates asked Vice President Kamala Harris to break from President Joe Biden’s Israel policy and push harder for an end to the war in Gaza. The conversation, scheduled to last 10 minutes, ended up going 20, according to Wa’el Alzayat, the CEO of Emgage Action, a group aimed at boosting the Muslim American vote. Harris did not make any promises, he said, but told them “that she also wants the war to end and that she will do all she can to work in this regard.” “She pledged to work with our community, include our community, and (said) that she completely understands what we’re saying. She is hopeful that if she wins, she’ll be able to deliver on all of this once she’s president,” Alzayat told CNN. Alzayat said he and other Arab American leaders in the room had been contacted and invited within the previous 48 hours. Their message to Harris was simple, he said. She needed “to show distance between how she would govern on this matter with the current administration policies, which we don’t agree with.” Michigan, which Biden narrowly won in 2020, will be a crucial battleground again this November and is home to a large Arab American population. Emgage Action endorsed Harris last month while acknowledging “strong disappointment” with the Biden administration’s stance on Gaza. read the complete article
American Arabs, Muslims feel 'betrayed' by Biden administration as Gaza genocide anniversary nears
American Arabs and Muslims, who fiercely denounced the US’ unwavering support for Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip, feel "betrayed" by the Biden-Harris administration as the first anniversary of the ongoing tragedy approaches. As many dynamics have shifted in the Middle East during the last year, the administration appears to be losing significant credibility with American Arabs and Muslims. Demands from non-governmental organizations urging the Biden administration to take action for a cease-fire and halt arms shipments to Israel have resonated in Washington, but have not resulted in any concrete policy changes. "We’re very frustrated and angry with this president who has put Israeli interests over humanitarian interests and over American interests, and also, he betrayed the trust that we have given him as a president," Nihad Awad, head of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), told Anadolu. He said Biden has become the worst American president, adding that a genocide has been committed under his watch. Biden opposed all kinds of ceasefires, and participated in parroting the Israeli talking points, said Awad. "Our feelings as American Muslims, is just like the feelings of all people's conscience around the world seeing the devastation, the carnage, the genocide committed by the extremist Israeli government's army in Gaza and now into Lebanon and threatening to engulf the region into a major war," said Awad. read the complete article
Islamophobia cases spike one year after Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel
Almost one year after the attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, the ripple effects of the massacre that left more than 1,400 people dead continue to be felt. "Every life is a sacred life," said Los Angeles Council on American-Islamic Relations Executive Director Hussam Ayloush. "Whether it's Israeli, Palestinian, Jewish, Muslim or Christian." Cases of islamophobia have spiked drastically since the war between Israel and Hamas began. "We used to receive about 30 reported cases in Southern California from people who were subjected to bullying, discrimination, hate talk, hate threats," Ayloush said. "Now, the number is closer to 100, 120 a month." read the complete article
United Kingdom
Starmer slams 'vile hatred' against UK Jews and Muslims as he calls for end of 'cycle of violence' in Middle East
Writing in the Sunday Times ahead of the first anniversary of Hamas' attack in Israel, Sir Keir called on all parties involved in the conflict to "act with restraint and return to political, not military solutions". Writing in the newspaper, he said: "The flames from this deadly conflict now threaten to consume the region. "And the sparks light touchpapers in our own communities here at home." He added: "There are always some who would use conflict abroad to stoke conflict here. Since October 7, we have watched vile hatred against Jews and Muslims rise in our communities." Earlier this week, Sir Keir expressed his concern that the "region is on the brink" following Iran's missile attack on Israel. Sir Keir said that a "direct Iran-Israel conflict would have devastating consequences for the people of the Middle East and across the world. "All sides must do everything in their power to step back from the brink and avert it," he said. read the complete article
Record amount of anti-Muslim abuse reported in UK since 7 October attacks
A record number of anti-Muslim attacks and incidents of abuse have been reported in the UK since the 7 October attacks last year, a national monitoring group has said. In exclusive figures shared with the Guardian, Tell Mama UK said it recorded 4,971 incidents of anti-Muslim hate between 7 October 2023 and 30 September 2024, the highest total in the past 14 years. Tell Mama, a monitoring group that tracks complaints of anti-Muslim hate crimes, said 63% of the hate cases reported to it in the UK were abusive in nature while 27% involved threatening behaviour. The majority of the incidents took place in London, the north-west of England, Yorkshire and the Midlands. read the complete article
Sayeeda Warsi on Gaza, Islamophobia and ‘disturbing’ Conservative Party
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Britain's first Muslim cabinet minister, has long been an outspoken critic of her own party over its attitudes towards Islam. Last week, after an investigation was launched against her over a post on social media, she resigned the whip saying it is a reflection of ‘how far right’ the Conservative Party has moved since her time in office. read the complete article
Kemi Badenoch pamphlet co-written by Tory who was suspended for Islamophobic tweet
A pamphlet distributed by Kemi Badenoch at Tory conference was co-written by a Tory who was suspended by the party over Islamophobic tweets. In 2015 John Moss, a councillor in Waltham Forest, tweeted that “every 11 year old girl” should be frightened of Islam. He was suspended in June 2019, when the comments were found by a news website - but the suspension was lifted a month later after he completed “diversity and anti-bias training”. Ms Badenoch has slammed workplace diversity initiatives as “ineffective and counterproductive”. And she made headlines during this week’s Tory conference after she suggested not all cultures were “equally valid”. The pamphlet itself, entitled “Conservatism in Crisis” singles out diversity and inclusion programmes for criticism several times. read the complete article
India
Hundreds booked in India after protests against anti-Islam comments by Hindu priest
About 1,200 people were booked in India as clashes erupted during a demand to register a case against Hindu priest Yati Narsinghanand for offensive remarks about Islam’s prophet, the Press Trust of India reported Saturday. Police in the Amravati district in the western state of Maharashtra said 21 policemen were injured as protestors threw stones at security personnel late Friday, as they demanded the case be registered. Police in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh registered a case against Narsinghanand earlier Friday because of his remarks about Prophet Muhammad. A viral video showed Narsinghanand’s speech, described as “blasphemous” by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, India's largest socio-religious Muslim organization. read the complete article
International
On Some Of The Holiest Days In The Jewish Calendar, I’m Praying For Our Collective Liberation
The Jewish new year has begun, and we are living in a nightmare. A year since the attack in southern Israel by Hamas, and the beginning of the genocide in Gaza, and mass death and violence continues to beam through our iPhones and televisions, now with a war on Lebanon. We have no time to mourn; we are too numb to comprehend the catastrophe that has unfolded. At the root of this, as with most other injustices in the world in the modern day, is a politics based in supremacy, ethno-nationalism and racism. This did not start on 7 October 2023. It did not start in September 2024. It is the consequence of historic crimes, from settler colonialism, to European antisemitism and the Holocaust, to imperialism, to colonial violence, to the Nakba. Growing up in Jewish communities in Australia and the UK, Israel was central to our identity. Israel functioned either as Jewish Disneyland, or the answer to an existential Jewish fear of annihilation – a fear experienced by my grandparents during the Second World War. For this reason, I proudly identified as Zionist, attended Zionist summer camp, and read the prayer for the Israeli Defence Forces in my synagogue. Palestinians, on the other hand, were either absent, or an existential bogeyman, moulded in the image of a post-9/11 world in which anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia ran rampant. When I saw a Palestinian flag, I felt afraid. read the complete article