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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister is “appalled” after a mosque in the seaside town of Peacehaven was set on fire in a suspected arson attack, with local officials treating the attack as a hate crime, meanwhile in Sweden, an appeals court partially acquitted a far-right activist convicted in 2022 of hate crimes against Muslims over statements he made whilst burning the Koran, and suspended his four-month prison sentence, and lastly in Canada, a new report from academics regarding anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism in the country finds a “pattern of unethical use of institutional power to intimidate and alienate those expressing support for Palestine or their identities.” Our recommended read of the day is by Ismail Salahuddin for Middle East Monitor, who writes that “Islamophobia has become the new global currency of power”, with the genocide in Gaza a prime example of how Muslim lives have become an “expendable capital in the economy of global powers.” This and more below:
International
Islamophobia is the new global currency of power | Recommended Read
There is no more honest way to describe the world we live in than this: Islamophobia has become the new global currency of power. It is traded in the speeches of politicians, exchanged in the deals of diplomats, printed in the pages of media, and laundered through the language of security and counterterrorism. It buys impunity for genocide, secures legitimacy for authoritarian leaders, and bankrolls new markets of surveillance and control. The Gaza genocide has torn away whatever illusions were left: the blood of Muslims is not just cheap; it is expendable capital in the economy of global powers. Look at Gaza. For nearly two years now, the world has witnessed the systematic destruction of a besieged people — homes pulverised, families buried under rubble, hospitals bombed, and children starved into silence. When the Israeli prime minister calls Palestinians “human animals” and Western leaders repeat the mantra of Israel’s “right to defend itself,” what is being transacted is not security but the politics of dehumanisation. Islamophobia is the medium that allows entire populations to be killed with international applause. The International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel’s actions plausibly amount to genocide, yet instead of sanctions or embargoes, Israel has received more weapons, more diplomatic cover, more money. The “currency” metaphor becomes literal here: billions of dollars in Western aid flow to sustain an occupation and war whose very justification rests on the idea that Muslim life is less worthy of grief, less deserving of protection. The Gaza genocide is not an isolated catastrophe; it is the center of a global pattern. From the internment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang’s camps to the expulsion of the Rohingya from Myanmar, from the headscarves torn off French Muslim girls in the name of secularism to the US “Muslim ban” dressed in the language of national security, the same logic is at work. Islamophobia is the shared language of power between democracies and dictatorships, between so-called secular republics and openly ethno-nationalist states. It allows brutality to pass as order, apartheid to pass as security, and genocide to pass as policy. read the complete article
Unless we tackle western racism, the Gaza nightmare will be repeated elsewhere
US President Donald Trump’s 20-point "peace plan" for the future of Gaza can be distilled into one message for Hamas: take our terms - no amendments, no discussion - or face more death and destruction. This gun-to-the head approach towards Palestinians is not new, and it perfectly illustrates a peculiar western mindset towards non-white people - one that persistently belittles and ignores their rights and aspirations. This attitude has been at the heart of the West’s dealings with the Palestinian people from the 1917 Balfour Declaration up to the present US plan. More than a century on, nothing has changed for western elites. On the contrary, their disdain and condescension towards Palestinians have increased. Nothing else can explain the West’s collusion and inaction during two years of Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza. Imagine if the victims had been Ukrainians, or other Europeans, in place of Arabs. It is not only western elites who hold these views. Many average people in western countries, despite all that has happened, still regard Israel as an acceptable state. Yet it is not the twists and turns that immediately lie ahead which should concern us most. Rather, it is western imperialism, and its concomitant denigration of “natives”, that brought us here - and so long as this mentality endures, the persecution of Palestinians, and all non-white peoples, will never end. Even if the genocide in Gaza comes to an end, trouble spots will erupt elsewhere and be handled in the same destructive, supremacist manner. Only when the racism that underlies much of the West’s behaviour is addressed and ended, can the world look to a future based on justice, as opposed to tyranny and brute force. read the complete article
United Kingdom
It starts with Palestine protests. But where will the crackdown on Britain’s democratic freedoms end?
In Britain, protest is no longer a right. Instead, it is a privilege that is granted – or withheld – at the whim of those in power. This is the implication of new rules that the Labour government is proposing, which would dictate the time and place that protests are permitted to occur, and carry the risk of prison time for those who defy orders. Successive governments had already chipped away at this right: the last Conservative administration granted the police sweeping new powers, which the United Nations’ human rights chief condemned as “serious and undue restrictions” on democratic freedoms. Taken together, these incremental assaults on freedom have effectively abolished the hard-won right to freedom of protest. The latest assault is justified by last week’s heinous antisemitic attack on a synagogue in Manchester. There should be universal agreement that the security of British Jews must be protected. Using this atrocity as a justification to throttle dissent is not only unrelated to that duty, but perverts it. In today’s upside-down world, here’s what is actually going on. Israel – a foreign state – is committing genocide. Its war crimes have led the international criminal court to issue arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister. Public opinion in the west has turned sharply against Israel’s violence. In Britain, a large majority of people believe Israel has likely committed war crimes. Most people would back a total ban on arms sales to the state, and support the arrest of Netanyahu. Having long since lost the argument, Israel’s cheerleaders are now seizing on a vile antisemitic crime to try to silence a mass movement against a moral catastrophe. The British government are included in this. Ministers have failed to impose large-scale sanctions on Israel, and have allowed arms exports to continue. As the US author Ta-Nehisi Coates recently said of the Democrats, “if you can’t draw the line at genocide, you probably can’t draw the line at democracy”. The same applies to the Labour government. On the same day as the synagogue attack, the Israeli army killed at least 57 Palestinians in Gaza – another hideous tally in two years of daily atrocities that have left tens of thousands dead. British politicians and media outlets have barely concealed the lack of value they attach to Palestinian life. It is among the most brazen expressions of racism of our time. One wonders how history will judge this moment: politicians are accusing people who are protesting against genocide of inciting hatred, while they are supporting those who are committing genocide. read the complete article
Prime Minister ‘appalled’ by suspected arson at seaside mosque
The Prime Minister is “appalled” after a mosque in a seaside town was set on fire in a suspected arson attack, his official spokesman said. The fire, which damaged the front entrance of the mosque in Peacehaven in East Sussex on Saturday night, is being treated as a hate crime by police. Detectives are hunting for two suspects, with Sussex Police having released images of balaclava-clad people seen approaching the front door, before spraying suspected accelerant on the entrance to the mosque and igniting a fire. On Monday, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “(Sir Keir Starmer) was appalled by the arson attack in Peacehaven. “As the Home Secretary said, attacks against Britain’s Muslims are attacks against all Britons and this country itself. read the complete article
Tommy Robinson's anti-Muslim brand uses clothing made in Bangladesh
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has built his image as a self-styled defender of British nationalism. The 42-year-old founder of the now-defunct English Defence League (EDL) has led large anti-immigration rallies and built a business selling branded apparel featuring patriotic symbols such as the Union Jack and St George’s Cross. The garments, promoted to his followers as symbols of "British pride," are sourced from the Belgian company Stanley/Stella, which manufactures its products in Bangladesh. According to the FairWear Foundation, an industry watchdog, workers in these factories earn the equivalent of around 36 pence an hour - a wage critics describe as exploitative, says Daily Mail. read the complete article
Unless we tackle western racism, the Gaza nightmare will be repeated elsewhere
US President Donald Trump’s 20-point "peace plan" for the future of Gaza can be distilled into one message for Hamas: take our terms - no amendments, no discussion - or face more death and destruction. This gun-to-the head approach towards Palestinians is not new, and it perfectly illustrates a peculiar western mindset towards non-white people - one that persistently belittles and ignores their rights and aspirations. This attitude has been at the heart of the West’s dealings with the Palestinian people from the 1917 Balfour Declaration up to the present US plan. More than a century on, nothing has changed for western elites. On the contrary, their disdain and condescension towards Palestinians have increased. Nothing else can explain the West’s collusion and inaction during two years of Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza. Imagine if the victims had been Ukrainians, or other Europeans, in place of Arabs. It is not only western elites who hold these views. Many average people in western countries, despite all that has happened, still regard Israel as an acceptable state. Yet it is not the twists and turns that immediately lie ahead which should concern us most. Rather, it is western imperialism, and its concomitant denigration of “natives”, that brought us here - and so long as this mentality endures, the persecution of Palestinians, and all non-white peoples, will never end. Even if the genocide in Gaza comes to an end, trouble spots will erupt elsewhere and be handled in the same destructive, supremacist manner. Only when the racism that underlies much of the West’s behaviour is addressed and ended, can the world look to a future based on justice, as opposed to tyranny and brute force. read the complete article
India
Criminalizing devotion: How India’s state practices erode Muslim identity in public space
The “I Love Muhammad” controversy began in the first week of September during the celebration of Milad-un-Nabi, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. This marks not only the beginning of renewed communal tensions but also underlines the deepening pattern of how the government of Uttar Pradesh, particularly under the current Hindutva-led governance, paints and criminalises Muslim expression in public spaces. It’s a manufactured controversy when Muslim youths displayed an ‘I Love Muhammad’ banner along the traditional route, immediately provoking objections from local Hindu groups who claimed that the display signalled the introduction of a “new tradition.” How does a banner that shows admiration for Prophet Muhammad turn into a warning sign for peace and order? Hindutva politics isn’t just reactive; it consciously builds narratives, designs, and manufactures controversies as an ideo-political strategy. This hardline practice of the state curtailing the ability to express faith, religious freedom and Muslim voices to organise protests and advocate for their rights, establishes a new normal as a public threat. What is problematic for Muslims is not just the denial of legal or political rights, but also the severe existential disruption caused by the state’s normalisation of violence and erasure of public space, which imposes self-censorship practices that undermine political agency and the ability to construct one’s identity. read the complete article
Canada
Anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab racism is on the rise in Canada
In April 2024, a video circulated online showing an Oakville, Ont. high school teacher and a student having an alarming and contentious conversation about his keffiyeh. The Iroquois Ridge High School educator says mid-way in the clip: “I didn’t call you a terrorist. I said it (the keffiyeh) reminds me of …” When the student pushes her to finish her sentence and suggests “Hamas?” she answers “yes.” The Halton District School Board (HDSB) quickly placed the staff member on leave and launched an investigation, deeming her language “harmful and discriminatory.” This incident, a clear example of Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism, is one of many detailed in our recently released Islamophobia Research Hub report, Documenting the “Palestine Exception”: An Overview of Trends in Islamophobia, Anti-Palestinian and Anti-Arab Racism in Canada in the Aftermath of October 7, 2023. Our findings point to a pattern of unethical use of institutional power to intimidate and alienate those expressing support for Palestine or their identities — what many community organizers in Canada now call “the Palestine exception.” read the complete article
Austria
Fear and unequal treatment grip Muslim schoolgirls as Austrian government seeks to reintroduce hijab ban
Austria’s government is once again moving to impose a headscarf ban targeting Muslim girls in schools — reviving a policy first introduced in 2019 by the former right-wing coalition led by then-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache. That original law applied to primary school pupils aged six to ten and imposed fines of up to €440 on parents who failed to comply, or even short prison sentences as substitutes. However, in 2020, Austria’s Constitutional Court struck down the measure, ruling that it breached both religious freedom and the principle of equality before the law. The judges found the ban explicitly targeted Muslim girls and therefore violated the state’s duty of neutrality. Despite that ruling, the current government is again pushing for a similar ban — this time extending it to all schools, both public and private, up to the eighth grade. If passed, it would apply to girls up to the age of 14. Under the new proposal, penalties are harsher than before: parents who allow their daughters to wear the headscarf could face fines of between €150 and €1,000, or up to 14 days in prison. The measure could come into effect as early as February 2026. Austria’s Islamic Religious Community (IGGÖ) has condemned the proposal, warning that it places Muslims under “collective suspicion.” Legal experts have voiced similar concerns, arguing that the revised draft still breaches the principle of equality by targeting a single religious group. read the complete article
Sweden
Swedish appeals court partially acquits far-right activist who burned copies of Koran
A Swedish appeals court on Monday partially acquitted a far-right activist convicted in 2022 of hate crimes against Muslims over statements he made whilst burning the Koran, and suspended his four-month prison sentence. The Skane and Blekinge appeal court acquitted Rasmus Paludan of one of two charges, ruling he had criticised Islam as an idea, and not its followers. It suspended his sentence and fined him 50 daily fines of 50 crowns ($5.31). Denmark and Sweden were at the time experiencing a series of public protests where lone anti-Islam activists burned or otherwise damaged copies of the Koran, prompting outrage in the Muslim world and demands that the Nordic governments ban such acts. A citizen of both Denmark and Sweden, Paludan has several times set Islam's holy book on fire in public, on occasion also draping it in bacon. While burning religious texts is permitted under Sweden's freedom of speech legislation, agitation against an ethnic or national group, such as insulting and offending Muslims, can be a violation of the law. read the complete article