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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the US, Muslim and Arab constituents of U.S. Sen. John Kennedy are criticizing his comments toward Arab American civil rights leader Maya Berry at a Senate hearing on hate crime and hate speech last week, meanwhile in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has publicly condemned recent Islamophobic attacks in London, Ontario and Winnipeg, Manitoba, as anti-Muslim sentiment continues to escalate in the West amid Israel’s ongoing campaign in Gaza and Lebanon, and in Australia, the Albanese government has finally announced British Australian academic Aftab Malik as the special envoy to combat Islamophobia in Australia after months of delays. Our recommended read of the day is by Peter Oborne for Middle East Eye on why former Tory Cabinet Minister and Party Chair Baroness Sayeed Warsi had to “leave a party she no longer recognized”. This and more below:
United Kingdom
UK Islamophobia: Why Sayeeda Warsi had to leave a party she no longer recognized | Recommended Read
Baroness Warsi served as a member of former Prime Minister David Cameron’s cabinet before resigning on principle over what she saw as her government’s “morally indefensible” approach to Israel’s 2014 war on Gaza. Since then, Warsi has become isolated as the Tories have become increasingly bigoted and lurched towards the far right. In recent years, many issues have estranged her from the Conservatives, including the party’s growing Islamophobia and its hostility towards the rule of law and human rights, as exemplified in the plan to deport migrants to Rwanda. More recently, the divide has grown over the Tory government’s blind support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government during the slaughter in Gaza. But Warsi stayed loyal, hoping she could exercise influence from within. On Thursday night, she cracked. Though many factors were at work, the immediate cause was the acquittal of schoolteacher Marieha Hussain in a London court two weeks ago. In her resignation statement, Warsi said the Conservative Party had launched an inquiry after she refused to withdraw her statement of support for the verdict. “The case was due to be conducted in private behind closed doors,” she said, adding that she was not even informed of the complainant's identity. “It was effectively to be a secret retrial of the #coconuttrial… I was not prepared to accept this.” Today, the Conservatives are on the warpath, with senior figures wheeled out to trash Warsi’s reputation. The treatment of Warsi shows how the Conservative Party is moving at breakneck speed in the direction of Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) or France’s National Rally. Warsi deserves our thanks for struggling to hold the line against bigotry. read the complete article
Community's 'restrained' response to riots praised
People in Burnley have been praised for rejecting "hate and Islamophobia" when violence erupted across much of England this summer. Public disorder broke out in several towns and cities following the fatal stabbing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, Merseyside, on 29 July. Burnley Council Leader Afrasiab Anwar said he was "proud with how our communities came together... to send a clear message that there is no place for such racism and anarchy in our borough". Mr Anwar said he was pleased the government had invited members of council staff to contribute to a review of the summer's events and help shape any subsequent reforms. At Wednesday's full council meeting, he said: "The violence we witnessed across the UK last month was deeply concerning. "Although we escaped violence locally, we witnessed a lot of fear and anxiety as well as several heinous provocations, including the desecration of Muslim graves at Burnley cemetery and the mural at Valley Street Community Centre." read the complete article
Labour backs down on Islamophobia definition
Labour has signalled a U-turn on backing a definition of ‘Islamophobia’ amid concerns over free speech. In opposition, the Labour Party formally adopted a definition of Islamophobia and incorporated it into its code of conduct which all party members are expected to follow. The definition states: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” But campaigners fear that the definition, drawn up by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on British Muslims, is too broad and could amount to a “blasphemy law”. Labour has signalled a U-turn on backing a definition of ‘Islamophobia’ amid concerns over free speech. In opposition, the Labour Party formally adopted a definition of Islamophobia and incorporated it into its code of conduct which all party members are expected to follow. The definition states: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” But campaigners fear that the definition, drawn up by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on British Muslims, is too broad and could amount to a “blasphemy law”.Critics argue that its adoption risks leading to free speech being “curtailed”, with legitimate debates about issues such as polygamy being shut down. Now, in the strongest signal yet that the Government is now backing away from adopting this definition, Lord Khan, the faith minister, has admitted that it is “not in line” with equality laws. read the complete article
Muslim Labour members tell conference that party must do more to fix relationship with the community
Faith minister Wajid Khan told the opening day of Labour’s annual conference that he was committed to rooting out Islamophobia in society — but Muslim members at the event, held in Liverpool, said the party must do more to repair its own relationship with the community. Lord Khan made the pledge while speaking at a Labour Muslim Network reception on Sunday. He also offered a commitment to pushing through a formal definition of Islamophobia, but did not give a timeframe. Hyphen reported last week that the government appeared to be backing away from an earlier commitment to a definition proposed by an all-party parliamentary group (APPG) in 2019. “Islamophobia has no place in our country,” said Khan. “That’s why I promise you that we will deal with the issue of Islamophobia. We will ensure we have Islamophobia defined, so when a young woman in hijab or an elderly man is attacked, we will get more protection and people will think twice before they discriminate against people of faith.” Khan did not commit to the APPG position, saying he would be taking “an independent approach to ensure that we will build on a definition”. Speaking at the same event, Labour Muslim Network chair Ali Milani said Labour leadership should be “clear-eyed and open-eyed that Muslims feel like the party has let them down”. read the complete article
United States
Professor Sahar Aziz delivers lecture on how racialization of the Israel-Hamas war is causing Islamophobia
Professor Sahar Aziz delivered a lecture and answered audience questions about the racialization of the Israel-Hamas war, particularly by political parties in the United States. The event, titled “The Palestine Taboo: Race, Islamophobia, and Free Speech,” was the first John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics event of the year. Sept. 23. In her speech, Aziz unpacked the dangers of racialization, highlighted the threats facing free speech, and emphasized the power of collective action as a form of education. Aziz stressed that students can use the Israel-Hamas war protests and their participation in them as a learning experience and way to experience collective action firsthand. In regards to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, Aziz emphasized how politicians, whether conservative or liberal, weaponize Islamophobic and antisemitic rhetoric to keep Jewish and Muslim communities in fear of each other for their own political gain. “The Islamophobic racial trope that Muslims hate Jews is being maliciously peddled by Republican politicians punching down at Palestinian students … while Democratic politicians cowardly remain silent,” Aziz said. Additionally, Aziz criticized the way the media has portrayed the war in Gaza and accused “Zionist pro-Israeli organizations,” such as the Anti-Defamation League, of perpetuating Islamophobia by sending leaders at 200 universities a letter demanding that they investigate students involved in the pro-Palestine movement on the basis of supporting Hamas. read the complete article
U.S. Senate resolution honors 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy killed in Chicago-area hate crime
The U.S. Senate passed a resolution Friday honoring the life of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American Wadee AlFayoumi of Illinois. AlFayoumi died after he was stabbed 26 times in front of his mother in October 2023. The boy's mother, Hanan Shaheen, was also stabbed 12 times and survived. The assailant was their 71-year-old Plainfield Township landlord, Joseph Czuba. Prosecutors said that Czuba attacked them because they were Muslim and that he believed Shaheen "was going to call over her Palestinian friends or family to harm them." Czuba was charged with one count each of first-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated battery, along with two hate crime counts. A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the boy's family claims that Czuba had "violent tendencies, temper, and prejudiced beliefs against Arabs and Muslims." read the complete article
New Orleans Muslims, Arabs express outrage over Sen. John Kennedy’s comments at hate crime hearing
Muslim and Arab constituents of U.S. Sen. John Kennedy are criticizing his comments toward Arab American civil rights leader Maya Berry at a Senate hearing on hate crime and hate speech last week. Some of Kennedy’s New Orleans constituents also said they think the Republican senator does not see them as full American citizens despite being part of his constituency. The Sept. 17 Senate Judiciary hearing was meant to address rising hate crimes against Jewish, Palestinian, Arab and Muslim Americans. But instead of discussing incidents of hate at home, Kennedy asked Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute, “You support Hamas, do you not?” He continued his line of questioning by asking Berry if she supported Hezbollah and Iran. Moments later, he told Berry she should hide her “head in a bag.” Kennedy’s questioning of Berry was condemned by civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Council on American-Islamic Relations. Residents of greater New Orleans also denounced the comments. read the complete article
Canada
Muslim women assaulted, mosque attacked in Canada's London, Winnipeg
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned recent Islamophobic attacks in London, Ontario and Winnipeg, Manitoba, as anti-Muslim sentiment continues to escalate in the West amid Israel’s ongoing attacks and provocations in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. “I’m angry to learn that women wearing hijabs were the target of a violent attack in London, and a mosque in Winnipeg was the target of hateful harassment,” Trudeau said on his official X account on Friday. According to a statement by the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), two women wearing the Muslim headscarf were attacked Thursday in front of their children in London, where four members of a Muslim family were killed in a ruthless attack in 2021. The statement noted that a knife-wielding man punched the women in their faces and made inappropriate comments. “The Israelis did a good job of landscaping Gaza. They’ll do the same to Lebanon,” and other slurs of an Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian nature,” according to NCCM. “Needless to say, the incident amounts to yet another disturbing example of how Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism, often intersecting, continues to pervade corners of our communities, primarily targeting the vulnerable,” the civil rights organization said, adding that anti-Muslim hatred led to the killing of the Muslim family three years ago, and earlier this year, a Muslim family’s house was set on fire due to anti-Palestinian racism. read the complete article
India
India’s Largest Paramilitary Force Got Away With Terror
On September 29, 2008, bomb blasts tore through a crowded marketplace in the city of Malegaon in India’s Maharashtra state, where hundreds of Muslims were breaking their Ramadan fast just days before the holiday of Eid al-Fitr. The explosions killed six people and injured 101. The bomb was planted by terrorists linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), India’s oldest and largest Hindu-supremacist paramilitary group and the ideological parent of the country’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Some were workers for the RSS; others were members of the paramilitary’s many affiliate groups. It was a clear act of domestic terrorism, and yet sixteen years later, there has been no justice for the victims; the trial continues to drag on, and many of the accused in the case were granted bail and acquitted. It wasn’t the only time the RSS had engaged in terrorism. The 2008 Malegaon blast was just one of at least nine bomb attacks on primarily Muslim victims orchestrated by the militant group between 2003 and 2008. The RSS is often referred to in global media as a paramilitary group — a violent militia with millions of members that has been implicated in massacres, lynchings, riots, mob demolitions of historic mosques, and even the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. But in the early 2000s, in pursuit of building support for the BJP, the RSS also functioned as a terrorist group and has suffered no lasting consequences for it. In fact, its terrorism has been rewarded by a section of India’s increasingly radicalized Hindu-nationalist voter base. read the complete article
International
Muslim 3D, a video game designed to fight Islamophobia
In the video game Muslim 3D, users can adopt three-dimensional avatars and move around in virtual reproductions of holy Islamic sites: the Grand Mosque of Mecca, the Jamarat Bridge, the Plain of Arafat, and others. They can pray, read, interact with each other, take part in quests, go back in time to relive crucial historic moments in Islamic history, or embark on a virtual Hajj pilgrimage. The game was developed by Bigitec Studio, a Germany-based Islamic digital media startup. Bilal Chbib, managing director of the studio, told Rest of World that the aim was for the game to create an “interactive environment where users could explore and learn about Islamic rituals, history, and lifestyle in a positive and compelling way.” Chbib, who grew up playing immersive role-playing video games, said he had dreamed of building something similar that explored Islamic history. “When you encounter Muslims in video games or movies, there is a high chance that they are depicted as terrorists or people who are backward,” he said. “I believe Islamophobia and prejudice have one root: ignorance and lack of knowledge.” Initiatives like Muslim 3D, he said, can help fight anti-Muslim prejudice. In the video game Muslims Game Islam: Eid Mubarak, for instance, players can be part of a virtual Muslim family, cook food for suhur (the predawn meal eaten during Ramadan), and go shopping for an iftar party. Muslim Tales, also created by Bigitec, offers interactive stories based on the Quran; in Muslim Sadiq 3D, players explore simulations of Mecca and other Islamic holy sites. read the complete article
Australia
Labor appoints British Australian academic Aftab Malik as new Islamophobia envoy
The Albanese government has announced British Australian academic Aftab Malik as the special envoy to combat Islamophobia in Australia after months of delays. Anthony Albanese said in early July that two envoys would be established: one to tackle antisemitism and another to look at Islamophobia during the war in Gaza. Lawyer Jillian Segal was announced as the antisemitism envoy shortly afterwards but Labor delayed announcing the Islamophobia envoy amid reports people had turned down the role. But on Monday, the government announced Malik would be taking up the role, which they say will serve to listen to and engage the Muslim community, religious discrimination experts and all levels of government on how to combat Islamophobia. Earlier on Monday sources confirmed to Guardian Australia that Malik was to be appointed, with the news announced at a Muslim community event later in the evening. Malik has been working in the New South Wales Premier’s Department for almost a decade. He has previously held roles at the Lebanese Muslim Association. read the complete article