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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In Italy, the ruling Brothers of Italy party put forward legislation on Wednesday to ban the burqa and niqab in public spaces, part of a broader bill aimed at combating what it called “cultural separatism” linked to Islam, meanwhile in Canada, a Toronto man has been charged with assault causing bodily harm and uttering threats after a hotel employee in Markham was beaten last month in what police are calling a “violent, hate-motivated” attack, and lastly while Van Jones has apologized for making a joke about killed Palestinian babies, he is not alone when it comes to insensitive comments about Gaza’s children. Our recommended read of the day is by Stephen Starr for The Guardian, on how Arab and Muslim residents of Dearborn, Michigan, are “on edge” as threats against their community rise. This and more below:
United States
‘I don’t feel safe any more’: Dearborn’s Arab Americans on rising Islamophobia | Recommended Read
Saida rushed in, holding a napkin against her neck. When Amirah moved it away, she saw a long, deep cut across her daughter’s neck. A man had approached her on the playground, grabbed her head and slit her throat with a knife. “My mind flipped. I didn’t know where I was,” Amirah recalls. The accused, 73-year-old Gary Lansky, who lives near the park, was caught shortly afterwards and in January was found competent to stand trial for assault with intent to murder and other charges. “For a mom to see her daughter’s throat open. It was terrifying,” says Amirah. “He’s a 73-year-old. How could he do that to a little child?” Amirah is convinced her daughter and mother were targeted for being Muslims; the attack happened two days after the first anniversary of Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel and her grandmother was the only visibly Muslim person in the park. That the accused was not ultimately charged with committing hate crimes has angered the local Muslim and Arab American communities who have been feeling abandoned and afraid since 7 October 2023. Those sentiments increased support for Donald Trump, but some are reassessing that support amid the continued killing in Gaza and ongoing threats against their community. Last month, a mosque in neighboring Dearborn Heights received a call from a Texas man threatening to burn down Dearborn and its mosques. On 23 September, a Virginia man was arraigned in court on terrorism charges for threatening on YouTube to attack a mosque in Dearborn. In August, a man in a neighboring city was arrested for writing on social media that he would like to see marchers at a Muslim religious event taking place in Dearborn that month be shot. Dearborn officials have also recently been targeted by pro-Israel groups. Residents report growing racism platformed on rightwing media outlets. In recent weeks, Fox News has devoted significant attention to Dearborn, highlighting, for example, noise complaints about mosques and an alleged dispute between a local pastor and the city’s Lebanese American mayor. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Brides offers a unique insight into the roots of far-right activism and Islamophobia in Britain
Brides is a warm and relatable story of two 15-year-old British Muslim schoolgirls travelling alone to Syria in 2014. It’s not the first film to explore post-9/11 and 7/7 Britain through a Muslim lens. Films like My Brother the Devil (2012), Four Lions (2010), and After Love (2020) have each offered nuanced depictions of British Muslimhood. However, Brides is the first to address the personal impact of racism and Islamophobia through the lens of young Muslim women whose choices stem from complex social and emotional factors, rather than a duty to Islam. The film comfortably passes the Bechdel test, which evaluates gender representation by assessing whether at least two named women engage in a conversation about something other than a man. It also passes the Riz test, an evaluative framework inspired by actor Riz Ahmed’s 2017 speech to the UK House of Commons. It measures whether Muslim characters are portrayed with agency beyond stereotypes of terrorism, oppression, or religiosity. To achieve both is rare for Muslim representation on western screens and is what makes the film feel so refreshing. Woven throughout are delicate challenges to stereotypes often ascribed to Muslim characters. Rather than focus on radicalisation, this buddy-girl adventure is interspersed with short flashbacks and longer sequences that contextualise the girls’ desire to escape. These culminate in a racist attack on Doe by a white male classmate and Muna’s suspension from school as she retaliates violently to protect her friend. Before we arrive at this climactic point (shown shortly before the girls reach the border) there are many examples of the everyday racism and Islamophobia that blight their lives. read the complete article
Officials condemn suspected arson on mosque in England
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday condemned a suspected arson attack on a mosque in an English coastal town, which police were investigating as a hate crime. No one was injured. The fire on Saturday night came two days after two men were killed when a knife-wielding assailant attacked their synagogue in Manchester on the holiest day of the Jewish year, in what authorities have called a terrorist assault. One of the victims was accidentally shot by an armed officer as he and other congregants barricaded the synagogue to block the attacker from entering. Starmer's spokesperson said that the prime minister was "appalled by the arson attack in Peacehaven." read the complete article
Systemic Islamophobia – A Dozen Overlooked Anti-Muslim Attacks in UK: From Graffiti to Arson, a Month of Buried Terror
Twelve anti-Muslim attacks in the UK during a month, including mosque arson, assaults, and vandalism went largely unreported by mainstream media, exposing how such violence is routinely buried. The muted response from politicians, authorities, and media reflects systemic Islamophobia, where attacks on Muslims are minimised, ignored or stripped of urgency within public and institutional discourse. read the complete article
Rising Hate Crimes in the UK: How Protests, Propaganda & Politics Are Fueling Violence
The United Kingdom is witnessing a disturbing surge in hate crimes, with religiously motivated violence reaching record levels. From the tragic synagogue attack in Manchester that claimed two lives to the arson at a mosque in Peacehaven, the pattern reveals a dangerous cycle of hate and retaliation. Since October 2023, both antisemitic and anti-Muslim incidents have spiked, amplified by online mobilisation, misinformation, and polarising protests. Groups like the English Defence League, led by Tommy Robinson, continue to stoke tensions through mass rallies and anti-immigration campaigns, while far-right riots like those in Southport have deepened community divides. Jewish and Muslim families are altering worship routines, living in fear, and taking on security responsibilities to protect their congregations. Despite increased police presence and government condemnation, experts warn that deterrence alone won’t solve the problem — prevention and community collaboration are crucial. As the Gaza war continues to influence domestic unrest, the UK stands at a crossroads, confronting how global conflict, digital extremism, and political rhetoric are reshaping its social fabric. read the complete article
Canada
Toronto man charged in 'hate-motivated' assault on hotel worker, police say
A Toronto man has been charged with assault causing bodily harm and uttering threats after a hotel employee in Markham was beaten last month in what police are calling a "violent, hate-motivated" attack. The victim is a Muslim man, according to the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM). In a post on social media on Monday, the NCCM said a hotel guest had asked the man about his ethnic and religious identity, and when he said he was Muslim, he was attacked and beaten. His injuries are "gruesome and life-altering," the NCCM said. Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s special representative on combatting Islamophobia, said in a social media post on Monday that the assault was "absolutely horrifying and vicious" and the Muslim man was "beaten so severely, he may never fully recover" from his injuries. "Canadian Muslims, like all Canadians, deserve safety – Islamophobia remains an ongoing threat to our country and must be taken seriously," Elghawaby said in the post. read the complete article
Oppressed by the government, hidden behind secularism, silenced by the media and stripped of my freedoms by Bill 21
Growing up as a Muslim woman in Quebec, I had to face racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia. To me, it was almost a rite of passage; everyone went through it, everyone survived it and we just laughed about the comments we got after. But these jokes stopped in 2019, when Muslim women found themselves targeted by Bill 21, a law that oversteps our personal freedoms and forces us to choose between our careers and our dignity. This bill is often talked about in this province, with the main topics surrounding Islam, hijab’s and women. Whether it’s seen on screen, read in newspaper columns or heard over the radio, Bill 21 holds a strong space in the public sphere. Although we happen to be the bill’s spotlight, we always find ourselves suppressed by the loudest silence. What hasn’t been brought to light is the impact this bill has on its main character: veiled Muslim women, who came into this country seeking a better future with the promise of free will and the freedom to exist as they are. It affects the teachers, police officers, prosecutors and judges who have had to choose between their identity and the jobs that put food on the table, a roof over their heads and security for their families. It also affects the younger generations who have abandoned the futures they always dreamed of and the careers they always wanted because they were betrayed in the name of secularism and saw their fundamental right removed from them. Aside from the rise of racism and Islamophobia this bill dragged along, the impact strikes real women and impacts their daily lives. Some women lost their jobs, others saw opportunities slip from them and some quit because of the hostile atmosphere. read the complete article
Canada condemns violent anti-Muslim attack near Toronto
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday denounced an Islamophobic hate attack on a Muslim man in northern Toronto. "The attack on a Muslim man in Markham late last month is appalling," Carney said on the US social media company X’s platform. Stressing that "acts of violence and Islamophobia have no place in Canada," he said: "The authorities have my full support as they work to bring the perpetrator to justice." In late September, a 54-year-old man working as a night auditor at a hotel in Markham, Toronto, was asked about his ethnic and religious background by two customers. One of the customers left the hotel but later came back and allegedly attacked the hotel worker, who had told them that he was Muslim. The Muslim man was left with life-altering injuries. read the complete article
Italy
New Italian bill targets Islamic face coverings and religious funding
Italy's ruling Brothers of Italy party put forward legislation on Wednesday to ban the burqa and niqab in public spaces, part of a broader bill aimed at combating what it called "cultural separatism" linked to Islam. The bill, presented to parliament by lawmakers from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's party, would prohibit garments covering the face in all public places, schools, universities, shops, and offices nationwide. read the complete article
International
‘Not a punchline’: 15 dehumanising quotes on Gaza atrocities by US figures
CNN commentator Van Jones has been facing backlash for making a crass joke about Palestinian children killed by Israel. During an appearance on Real Time With Bill Maher on HBO on Friday, Jones claimed without evidence that young people in the United States are being manipulated by Iran and Qatar through social media to care about the carnage in Gaza. “If you are a young person, you are opening up your phone, and all you see is dead Gaza baby, dead Gaza baby, dead Gaza baby, Diddy, dead Gaza baby, dead Gaza baby,” he said, as the audience erupted in laughter. Making light of the more than 20,000 Palestinian children killed by Israel and invoking the wrapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, who has been involved in a sex abuse scandal, for comedic effect, sparked outrage against Jones. The commentator – who has spoken at pro-Israel rallies – subsequently apologised. “The suffering of the people of Gaza — especially the children — is not a punch line. I’m deeply sorry it came across that way,” Jones wrote on social media. But Jones – who served as an adviser to former President Barack Obama – did not mention who is behind the suffering of Palestinians, nor did he walk back his baseless claim of a “disinformation” campaign. Jones’s comments were the latest in a long history of efforts to dehumanise Palestinians in the US. read the complete article