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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the UK, Muslim women and girls are being encouraged to report hate and discrimination to a new watchdog run by the Muslim Women’s Network UK (MWNUK) that launches next month, meanwhile in India, the ruling BJP party has been accused of “open hate-mongering” after releasing an AI-generated video targeting Muslims in the election-bound northeastern state of Assam, and in Austria, starting in February, the government is set to introduce a hijab ban for girls under 14 in both public and private schools, a move many analysts say is part of of a state-led project designed to “police, discipline, and criminalize Muslims at large”. Our recommended read of the day is by Simon Speakman Cordall for Al Jazeera, on how Israel has systematically dehumanized Palestinians for decades—through education, media & rhetoric—laying the groundwork for what UN experts now call genocide. This and more below:
International
Dehumanisation: How Israel is able to commit its genocide in Gaza | Recommended Read
Committing a genocide – as a United Nations commission has found Israel has done in Gaza – requires one force to attempt to exterminate another people. But to commit that level of violence, it is necessary to see those being killed as not the same as you, as below human. The population needs to be dehumanised. That’s the conclusion reached by Navi Pillay, the head of the UN commission responsible for saying that Israel is committing a genocide, joining a growing list of bodies that have come to the same conclusion. “When I look at the facts in the Rwandan genocide, it’s very, very similar to this. You dehumanise your victims. They’re animals, and so therefore, without conscience, you can kill them,” said Pillay, a former International Criminal Court judge. For many observers within Israel, that process of dehumanisation – where the value of Palestinian life is negligible – didn’t begin with Israel’s war on Gaza, but reaches back throughout the country’s short history and continues to inform the attitude of its public and politicians today. “It’s not just that Palestinians are the enemy; they’re viewed exclusively through a colonial gaze,” Noy said. “They’re the natives, to be regarded with contempt. They’re somehow worthless and inferior by birth.” “This is a notion that is fundamental to Israeli society; this sense that Palestinian lives are worth less,” Noy said. read the complete article
Muslim men have often been portrayed as ‘terrorists’ or ‘fanatics’ on TV shows, but Muslim-led storytelling is trying to change that narrative
For over a century, Hollywood has tended to portray Muslim men through a remarkably narrow lens: as terrorists, villains or dangerous outsiders. From shows such as “24” and “Homeland” to procedural dramas such as “Law and Order,” this portrayal has seldom allowed for complexity or relatability. Such depictions reinforce Orientalist stereotypes – a colonial worldview that treats cultures in the East as exotic, irrational or even dangerous. However, recent years have seen a noticeable increase in Muslim-led storytelling across platforms in the U.S. and U.K. While still a minority, these stories depart from decades of misrepresentation. As a scholar of Islam and gender who has conducted research on masculinity, sexuality and national belonging in Muslim entertainment media, I analyze a new wave of critically acclaimed shows where Muslim characters are at the center of the narrative. read the complete article
Israel and Islamophobia: Twin Engines Driving the Gaza Genocide | Palestine This Week
In this episode of Palestine This Week, we unpack the findings of a new United Nations report which concludes that Israel’s conduct in Gaza meets the legal definition of genocide. Led by the former chief judge of the Rwanda tribunal, the report’s findings places renewed pressure on international institutions to act. We also look at the fallout from Israel’s unprovoked strike on Doha. With reports emerging that Donald Trump was informed of the attack in advance yet failed to intervene, the episode examines the impact of US failure to protect a key ally. Meanwhile, Netanyahu has issued fresh threats against Qatar while promoting a vision of Israel as a militarised “Super Sparta”. We ask what this means in reality. Finally, we address Israel’s role in stoking anti-Muslim hatred globally. From Netanyahu’s scapegoating of Muslim migration to his embrace of far-right figures in the West, a dangerous alliance is taking shape. The show links this dehumanising rhetoric to real-world violence—including in Gaza, where Islamophobic mercenaries operate deadly aid distribution centres under Israeli cover. read the complete article
Meet the Far-Right Influencers at Tommy Robinson’s Rally
Between 100,000 and 150,000 people descended on central London on Saturday for the ‘unite the kingdom’ rally, organised by far-right agitator and anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson. There was a distinct flavour of hard-right evangelical Christianity at the march, mixed with the beery football hooliganism more commonly associated with events fronted by Robinson. Attendees shouted far-right slogans – with some men simply chanting “NF” [National Front] – and carried union jacks, St George’s and Israeli flags. Others held placards bearing the face of assassinated rightwing activist Charlie Kirk, and slogans such as “Keir Starmer loves rent boys”, “stop the boats” and “send them home”. A Palestinian flag was torn to shreds on stage. A woman of colour was filmed being chased by attendees shouting “smack her”. Beyond US tech billionaire Elon Musk – who joined via video link to call for the dissolution of parliament, saying that “you either fight back or you die” – who were the speakers who drew such a large crowd to London? read the complete article
United Kingdom
Support services for Muslims in the UK
The following faith-sensitive helplines and community support services are available across the UK. Whether you’re looking for someone to talk to, a space to connect with your community, practical support or information about how to report hate crime, we have collated a non-exhaustive list of organisations that can help. read the complete article
UK Muslim women encouraged to report hate to new charity-backed watchdog
Muslim women and girls are being encouraged to report hate and discrimination to a new watchdog run by the Muslim Women’s Network UK (MWNUK) that launches next month. The Muslim Safety Net Service, set to go live on 1 October, aims to capture incidents that often go unreported, according to the network’s founder, crossbench peer Shaista Gohir. “We know that 80% of Muslims do not report hate crime incidents,” said Baroness Gohir, referring to the charity’s research from 2024. “Knowing the true scale really helps to show policymakers how bad the situation is. We need the numbers, data and stories to drive the point home — that way we can put pressure on those in charge to do something.” News of the service comes just a few months after the government awarded funding to the newly formed British Muslim Trust (BMT) to record incidents of anti-Muslim hatred across the UK. The BMT itself replaced Tell Mama, which had been publicly funded to log Islamophobia since its launch in 2012. Asked why the MWN was launching its own reporting service, Gohir told Hyphen the charity already had an established helpline and reputation that she hoped would encourage Muslim women, in particular, to use it. read the complete article
National populists of Christian Europe, unite! Exploring civilizationist alliances in the British far right
As national populism adapts to a globalized world, civilizationism is emerging as a key frame for inclusion and exclusion. This article examines how British national-populist actors – Tommy Robinson, Britain First and Reform – engage Polish migrants by recasting them as defenders of Christianity and Western civilization. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, interviews with activists and primary material available online, we show how Polish nationalist mythology is mobilized to construct Poles not as immigrants undermining the nation, but as historic allies fighting shared enemies: Islam, liberal elites and globalism. Civilizationist narratives allow national populists to reframe belonging beyond ethnic nativity, building transnational solidarities based on myth, memory and imagined cultural proximity. The case of Polish migrants in Britain shows that civilizationism is not a secondary feature but a central engine of national populism’s evolving transnational strategies, a force that will define the contours of political identity across Europe in the years to come. read the complete article
India
Backlash against ‘hate-mongering’ BJP video targeting Muslims in Assam: ‘This cannot be India’
India’s ruling party has been accused of “open hate-mongering” after releasing an AI-generated video targeting Muslims in the election-bound northeastern state of Assam. The video, shared by the official X account of the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP's) Assam state chapter, portrays Muslims as illegal immigrants who seize land owned by the government across the northeastern Indian state. The video showed Muslims, mostly men wearing an Islamic skull cap, a traditional tunic and a loongi or a traditional South Asian sarong, at government establishments such as airports, tea estates, heritage sites, and the stadium in the capital, Guwahati. Muslim women in the video were depicted wearing a hijab or burqa. The video falsely claimed that the state’s Muslim population would rise to 90 per cent over an unspecified period – a nod to the wider so-called “replacement theory”, stoked by right-wing groups, that Muslims will one day replace Hindus as India’s majority religion. The video emerged ahead of state assembly elections scheduled for spring 2026, where the ruling Hindu nationalist BJP aims to secure another term in power. read the complete article
Austria
Austria's hijab ban: First step in the punishment of Muslim life
The newly formed Austrian government, a coalition of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), the Social Democrats (SPÖ), and NEOS, has agreed to introduce a hijab ban for girls under 14 in both public and private schools, starting February 2026. This is not Austria’s first attempt; a similar 2019 ÖVP–FPÖ (Austrian Freedom Party) measure was struck down by the Constitutional Court for violating religious freedom and equality. Nevertheless, the government is back with a broader proposal, cloaked in the language of counter-extremism. Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm called the hijab an “expression of extremist tendencies” linked to “radical Islam”, with a draft law expected this autumn, claiming without credible data, that 12,000 girls could be affected. The unsustainable nature of the hijab ban might render it symbolic, a diversion from Austria’s budget crisis or a nod to far-right voters, with the victorious FPÖ watching from the side-lines. But in reality, the debate alone is a deliberate instrument of control, a calculated move in Austria’s “fight against political Islam”. This hijab ban is not merely about law or policy or safeguarding young girls; it's part of a state-led project designed to police, discipline, and criminalise Muslims at large. read the complete article