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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the US, a new survey “Feeling The Hate In Our Schools”, conducted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in New York, revealed that “58.2% of Muslim students in New York reported being bullied at school by another student because they were Muslim,” meanwhile in India, at least seven Indian states have filed criminal charges against 51 people who have been booked under various sections of Indian law for engaging in pro-Palestine protests, and in Canada, the government of Quebec has demanded the resignation of Canada’s anti-Islamophobia representative after she sent a letter to post-secondary institutions urging them to hire more Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian professors. Our recommended read of the day is by Areeb Ullah for Middle East Eye on how a court in the UK has found a woman not guilty of a racially aggravated public order offence for holding a placard depicting politicians Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman as “coconuts” during a pro-Palestine march in central London. This and more below:
United Kingdom
'Coconuts' trial: Woman acquitted over Palestine protest placard | Recommended Read
A court has found a woman not guilty of a racially aggravated public order offence for holding a placard depicting politicians Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman as “coconuts” during a pro-Palestine march in central London. Marieha Hussain was arrested and charged after being photographed holding the placard depicting the former prime minister and home secretary, who are both British Asians, at a protest against the war in Gaza in November. Speaking in front of Westminster Magistrates Court, Hussain, who is nine months pregnant and a mother of two young children, thanked her family, supporters, including CAGE UK, and lawyers for supporting her over the last ten months. "Despite the pressure from the CPS and Police, Judge Vanessa Lloyd has seen through this politicised prosecution and I have found justice today," said Hussain. "The damage done to my reputation and image can never be undone and I am proud to have defended the principle that our language and political critique is not illegal. "The laws of hate speech must serve to protect us all but this trial showed how these laws are weaponised to target ethnic minorities and in my case to crackdown on pro-Palestine political activism. read the complete article
Quantifying extremism: A data-driven analysis of UK riot-related far-right Telegram networks
Following the most significant far-right violence in the UK in a decade, social media platforms have come under renewed scrutiny as spaces for ideological inspiration and operational organising. This article demonstrates how far-right extremists leveraged a range of mainstream and smaller ‘alt-tech’ social media platforms in the wake of the Southport attack to grow their following, promote hate and organise. The first part of the research is a quantitative analysis of online far-right networks, including the volume and nature of conversation about the riots; it demonstrates how links to different social media platforms were used to build an ecosystem which promoted a sense of impunity among participants. The second part of the article details a timeline of online mobilisation; this included the organisation of protests on Telegram and the unification of disparate far-right factions. read the complete article
United States
Nearly 60% of Muslims students in New York bullied at school: Study
A recent study on Friday revealed that nearly 60% of Muslim students in New York have experienced bullying at school by their peers, especially after Israel’s onslaught in the Gaza Strip, Anadolu Agency reports. The survey “Feeling The Hate In Our Schools” was conducted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in New York, and revealed that “58.2% reported being bullied at school by another student because they were Muslim.” “Almost half (44.7%) of students who wear a hijab reported their hijab was tugged, pulled, or offensively touched by another student rarely, sometimes, often, or very often,” the findings said. The survey also revealed that “64% of students have witnessed a Muslim student at school being bullied by another student,” and nearly 65% of students have seen “their school make offensive comments or posts about Islam or Muslims online.” read the complete article
Trump ally Laura Loomer called herself ‘white advocate’, audio reveals
Close Donald Trump ally Laura Loomer told a white nationalist conference in 2022 that she considered herself a “white advocate”, according to a recording of the speech obtained by the Guardian. Loomer has come under scrutiny in recent days after being seen accompanying Trump on a flight to the presidential debate on Tuesday, and a subsequent string of racist tweets aimed at Kamala Harris. That caused a political firestorm after Trump’s disastrous debate performance, with Harris emerging the clear winner. In particular, Trump’s raising of false claims around Haitian immigrants in Ohio eating pets triggered outrage and mockery of him. Some observers have placed the blame on Trump’s performance partly due to his recent closeness to Loomer, including being pictured standing with him in his entourage at this week’s 9/11 commemorations. The revelation of Loomer’s comments about being an advocate for white people is likely to further fuel the controversy around Trump’s relationship with Loomer, not least because they are just the latest in a long line of extremist remarks by the podcaster and self-described journalist. read the complete article
Tillis, Graham, Greene unite against Loomer’s comments
Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) have united in admonishing racist remarks made by far-right activist Laura Loomer, a supporter of former President Trump. Loomer, a former congressional candidate with a history of anti-Muslim comments, shared a post online in which Vice President Harris was talking about her Indian heritage. Loomer said if Harris wins the election, “the White House will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center and the American people will only be able to convey their feedback through a customer satisfaction survey at the end of the call that nobody will understand.” Tillis, Graham and Greene released a joint statement Saturday in an attempt to separate Loomer from the Trump campaign. read the complete article
‘I know the dangers of a Trump presidency’: Palestinian solidarity groups pressure Harris as election looms
However, following the convention, during which party officials refused to allow a Palestinian to speak on the main stage, and where Harris hawkishly affirmed her support for arming Israel, many of those groups’ initial hope has turned into a belief that Harris will remain in line with Joe Biden’s Israel policies. The result has been a splintering of sorts: some organizations are still attempting to push Harris toward a more anti-war stance; others have decided to support Harris through the election regardless, citing the risk of a Donald Trump presidency. read the complete article
Carol Rosenberg Discusses Status of Guantanamo Bay Detainees
New York Times correspondent Carol Rosenberg discusses this week’s 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and the status of foreign nationals still being held at the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. read the complete article
Report finds hate crimes in San Diego County rose 39% from 2022 to 2023
In just one year from 2022 to 2023, the number of hate crimes reported in San Diego jumped 39%, according to government data detailed in a recent report. A recent report from the San Diego Association of Governments documents crime statistics in San Diego County from 2021 to 2023. Although the SANDAG report shows crime overall continues to fall across the San Diego area, hate crimes are on the rise. Most crimes (44%) were motivated by race, ethnicity or national origin. Of those cases, more than half were described as anti-Black, 12% were anti-Hispanic, 5% were anti-Asian, 5% were anti-White and 3% were anti-Arab. Another 17% were of other race or ethnicities. Crimes motivated by sexual orientation followed, making up 31% of incidents, the report found. About a quarter of reports were motivated by religion. read the complete article
Israel
How Does Israel Justify Genocide? It Starts in the Schools.
Throughout the world, there are groups that are deemed “other,” and their “otherness” is imposed by those who control dominant forms of discourse — those who have the representational power to demean, to marginalize and demonize. Historically, schools and religious institutions have helped to underwrite such dehumanizing discourse. Nurit Peled-Elhanan is a retired lecturer in language education at Hebrew University and at the David Yellin Academic College in Jerusalem, and the author of several books. In this exclusive interview, she discusses how Israeli schoolbooks (and by extension, Israeli schools) powerfully frame anti-Palestinian discourse and inculcate Israeli children with suspicion, fear and hatred of Palestinians. Peled-Elhanan’s work provides a powerful analysis of the relationship between Israeli state pedagogical power and racist, anti-Palestinian ideology. read the complete article
Canada
Why is Quebec demanding resignation of Canada’s anti-Islamophobia adviser?
The Quebec government demanded the resignation of Canada’s anti-Islamophobia representative after she sent a letter to post-secondary institutions urging them to hire more Muslim, Arab and Palestinian professors, Canadian media reported. The letter, dated August 30, was criticised Friday by the Quebec government and it resulted in a stern rebuke demand for her resignation from Quebec’s Minister of Education Pascale Dery. “Amira Elghawaby needs to mind her own business,” Dery wrote on X. “We are talking about the same person who has insulted Quebecers on several occasions. She has no legitimacy to ask our colleges and universities what to do. We repeat: she must resign.” Elghawaby wrote to the heads of colleges and universities that since the start of the Israeli Gaza war on October 7, a dangerous climate has festered on post-secondary campuses. She suggested colleges and universities could defuse the unrest by doing more to support freedom of expression, giving personnel information on Islamophobia and hiring more Muslim, Arab and Palestinian professors. read the complete article
India
How India Crimininalised Pro-Palestinian Protests & Posts, Including Using The Anti-Terrorism Law Against Protestors
At least seven Indian states have filed criminal cases against pro-Palestine protesters. We traced 17 FIRs—nine in states run by the BJP or in a BJP coalition or directly from Delhi; eight by the Congress or a Congress coalition—in which 51 people have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the newly introduced Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 for organising pro-Palestine rallies and for posting pro-Palestine content on social media since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas on 7 Oct 2023. read the complete article