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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the UK, when Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner was asked by an MP if the Labour government was working on a definition of Islamophobia, her answer appears to indicate that they’ve “backed away” from adopting a concrete definition, meanwhile in India, the government is rebuking comments made by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei online which express concern over the treatment of Muslim minorities in the country, and in Canada, the National Assembly has once again called for the resignation of Canada’s Special Representative on combating Islamophobia Amira Elghawaby after it was discovered that Elghawaby had written to colleagues and universities urging the hiring of more Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian instructors. Our recommended read of the day is by Al Jazeera on how at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, instead of addressing the rise of hate crimes in the country as the hearing intended, several Republican senators targeted the sole Arab American witness – Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute. This and more below:
United States
US senator to Arab American advocate: ‘You should hide your head in a bag’ | Recommended Read
A US senator has launched ad hominem attacks against a prominent Arab American community advocate during a congressional hearing into hate crimes in the United States, which have surged in the shadow of Israel’s war on Gaza. Several Republicans dedicated their time to bashing college students who have protested for Palestinian rights amid the Gaza war, and many took aim at the event’s sole Arab American witness – Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute. “You support Hamas, do you not?” Louisiana Republican John Kennedy asked Berry. She unambiguously said “no” as she tried to refocus the conversation on the domestic issue of hate crimes, rather than foreign policy. “I’m going to say thank you for that question because it demonstrates the purpose of our hearing today,” Berry told the senator, suggesting that it effectively shows the rise in hate and dehumanisation she has been decrying. But Kennedy would not drop his line of questioning. “You support Hezbollah too, don’t you?” he asked, referring to the Lebanese armed group. Again, Berry responded by calling the question “disappointing”. The senator went on to grill Berry over her opposition to a decision by the US Congress to cut funding to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which she had called “an incredible moral failure”. When Berry defended her support for UNRWA, which provides vital services – including healthcare and education – to millions of Palestinian refugees across the Middle East, Kennedy asked her one more time whether she supports Hamas. Although Berry had clearly said she does not support Hamas or Hezbollah, Kennedy said the witness could not bring herself to say that she did not back the groups. “You should hide your head in a bag,” he told Berry. read the complete article
BREAKING NEWS: CAIR Condemns U.S. Senator Kennedy’s Anti-Arab Hate During Hate Crimes Hearing
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned U.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) for his anti-Arab bigotry targeting a respected Arab American leader during a Senate hearing on hate crimes. During a U.S. Senate Judiciary hearing on Tuesday titled “A Threat to Justice Everywhere: Stemming the Tide of Hate Crimes in America,” Senator Kennedy – and other senators – deployed common anti-Arab and Islamophobic stereotypes during his questioning of Arab American Institute Executive Director Maya Berry. From January to June 2024, CAIR documented 4,951 incoming complaints, a sixty-nine percent increase over the same period in 2023. Education discrimination incidents spiked in May as student encampments urging universities to take an anti-genocide stand dominated media headlines. The experience of students and employees during this cycle of anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian hate remain the standout trends compared to past cycles. read the complete article
Muslims Protest Over Symbolism, School Free Speech
Zoya told the board Monday that she had painted three main elements into her parking spot at Half Hollow Hills West: Her name in Arabic script, a Muslim phrase, “peace be upon you,” and a watermelon. Depiction of the fruit has become a symbol of Palestinian protest against Israel. She and her family said that she had been brought into a meeting shortly after school began to be told that some people objected to her art choices but that she wasn’t in trouble. A few days later, she said, early on the morning of Sept. 11, she got calls from friends to tell her that district workers were removing the artwork, without warning to her or her family. That provoked Monday’s protest, where numerous students and parents complained both about the district’s actions and accused the district of allowing discrimination against Muslims, citing several comments over the years by students and staff that indicated bias against them. Two speakers questioned the artwork and effects on Jewish students; one was booed after she raised other kinds of symbols, such as a swastika or a Ku Klux Klan image, noting how the symbolism can change over the years. Others stood by the artwork, with one saying of Zoya, “She has touched us at a profound level, she has expressed what so many of us are afraid to say.” That speaker also mentioned the word “genocide.” read the complete article
International
India reacts with outrage after Iran’s supreme leader raises concerns for Indian Muslims
India “strongly deplored” comments made by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who expressed concern over the treatment of Muslim minorities in the South Asian nation. Mr Khamenei said in a social media post on Monday Muslims cannot be oblivious to the suffering of their brethren in India, Myanmar, and Gaza. "The enemies of Islam have always tried to make us indifferent with regard to our shared identity as an Islamic Ummah," he wrote. "We cannot consider ourselves to be Muslims if we are oblivious to the suffering that a Muslim is enduring in Myanmar, Gaza, India, or any other place," Mr Khamenei said. New Delhi on Tuesday objected to the "unacceptable" statement, calling it "misinformation". "Countries commenting on minorities are advised to look at their own record before making any observations about others," an Indian foreign ministry spokesperson said. India's 200 million Muslims, under the governance of prime minister Narendra Modi’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have been subjected to discrimination, economic boycott, mob lynchings and sectarian violence, according to rights group. read the complete article
Canada
National Assembly again calls for resignation of Islamophobia representative Elghawaby
The National Assembly has again called for the resignation of Canada’s Special Representative on combating Islamophobia. In a strongly worded motion adopted unanimously Tuesday, the legislature denounces the representative, Amira Elghawaby, after it was discovered Elghawaby had written to Canadian colleges and universities urging them to hire more Muslim, Arab and Palestinian teachers. The vote was 109 for, zero against. The news of the letter was first reported by the Journal de Québec. It was dated Aug. 30 and sent to institutions across the country. It adds that hiring of professors has to be based on their “excellence and competence,” and “certainly not based on their religion.” It says the National Assembly “reiterates that hiring professors on the basis of religion is not only discriminatory but also contrary to the secularism of the state.” It says Quebec is a secular society and this principle is entrenched in the Quebec Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It says Elghawaby has made insulting remarks about the Quebec nation and described it as racist. read the complete article
United Kingdom
UK government quietly backs away from Islamophobia definition
The Labour government appears to have quietly backed away from adopting a definition of Islamophobia proposed by MPs that campaigners say is needed to tackle rising hate crime against Muslims. Labour had been expected to formally adopt the definition on entering government, having already done so internally in 2019. But last week, the government cast doubt over its plans in response to a written question from an MP. Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner was asked whether her Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government “has made an assessment of the potential merits of adopting the working definition of Islamophobia published by the APPG on British Muslims”, in a written question by Conservative MP David Simmonds, the shadow housing minister. Alex Norris, the minister for democracy and local growth, made no mention of a definition in his response to the question on Rayner’s behalf. “We are actively reviewing our approach and considering various options for how best to tackle Islamophobia and all forms of hatred, to deliver a more integrated and cohesive approach to this vital work,” he said. read the complete article