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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In China, high-tech companies target the creation of a national DNA database to identify minorities. Aaron Blake points out how ‘mental health’ as an excuse for mass shootings is used exclusively when the perpetrator is white. Our recommended read of the day is by Talia Lavin on the roots of white supremacy and its violent consequences today. This, and more, below:
United States
The Boundaries of Whiteness Are Protected With Blood and Bullets | Recommended Read
The desire to uphold white rule has always been a potent force in American politics. And since the era of eugenics ushered in a fanatical obsession with breeding, that goal has been aided by rhetoric that inflames fears of the extinction of whiteness. From the anti-immigration statutes of the 1920s to anti-miscegenation laws to Trump’s Muslim ban, racists have sought to protect the boundaries of white racial purity. It’s a boundary often drawn in blood and bullets. read the complete article
Settlement in the works for Muslim county employee who claimed workplace discrimination
Neither side has hinted at whether Saddif Khurshed will receive the $62,000 in lost wages she is demanding after the county office allegedly paid non-Muslim employees with fewer responsibilities twice her salary since she was hired as an office clerk in 2014. But settlement talks have progressed since discussions opened in January and are nearing a conclusion, said Eric Bernstein, an attorney for the county. read the complete article
Trump often blames mass shootings on mental health. When the perpetrator is Muslim, he blames Islam.
While Trump makes a point of invoking mental illness when it comes to large-scale tragedies, there is one instance in which he has never done it. And that’s when he’s talking about tragedies perpetrated by Muslims. In those cases, a hateful ideology isn’t a byproduct of existing mental issues; the ideology is the cause, full stop. read the complete article
Rep. Paul Gosar endorses anti-Muslim bigot Laura Loomer for Congress
Laura Loomer, a Tucson native and right-wing provocateur, is running against U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., who ran unopposed in 2018 and whose district includes President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. "I fully endorse Laura Loomer in her quest for Congress," Gosar, R-Ariz., tweeted on his personal Twitter account. "She has proven herself to be an army of one and embodies fearlessness." read the complete article
YouTube Terminated The Account Of A 14-Year-Old Star Over Her Anti-Gay Video
YouTube has removed the account of Soph, a 14-year-old girl who accumulated nearly a million followers through racist and anti-Muslim videos, after she uploaded an anti-LGBTQ video on July 31. According to YouTube, the channel was removed in accordance with its strike system, under which YouTube terminates accounts that violate its Community Guidelines three times in 90 days; in the case of Soph’s channel, the final strike violated the site’s Community Guidelines on hate speech. read the complete article
N.J. Republicans do little about Islamophobia
Not a single Republican leader has called for Jerry Scanlan to resign as Sussex County Republican chairman after he re-tweeted a series of posts, including one calling for “eradication” of Islam in the U.S. — messages (emphasis on the plural) that Scanlan claimed he propagated after not carefully reading the content. read the complete article
India
India’s settler-colonial project in Kashmir takes a disturbing turn
Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday informed the Parliament of a presidential order revoking Article 370, which gave the state of Jammu and Kashmir special status within the Indian Constitution. The article was instituted by India’s early leadership to give a certain degree of autonomy to its only Muslim-majority state — one it had incorporated without the consent of its people, who would have preferred independence or accession to Pakistan. read the complete article
China
In China, High-Tech Racial Profiling is Social Policy
China intends to create a nation-wide DNA database, ostensibly to help catch criminals, just as law enforcement agencies in the U.S. have done with cold cases like the Golden State Killer. However, China has published papers and filed patents on methods of identifying members of minority groups based on their DNA. According to Chinese authorities, ethnicity markers will be used to fight terrorism. read the complete article
Myanmar
UN Calls for Sanctions Against Firms Owned by Myanmar Military
The 111-page report released on Monday details what it said was illicit behavior by the military’s vast businesses, including two of its largest and most secretive enterprises -- Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited and Myanmar Economic Corporation. The report warned foreign firms who work with businesses from the military, known as Tatmadaw, that they could find themselves as complicit in international human rights violations. read the complete article
United Kingdom
BBC apologises after presenter calls Muslim prayer sign 'IS salute'
Stacey Meets the IS Brides, which is due to be shown on BBC One on Monday night, features the presenter travelling to camps in Syria to meet women who left their own countries to join Islamic State. In one scene, trailed on Sunday night’s News at Ten, Dooley described leaving a camp and watching “women raising their index finger in an IS salute” – without making it clear that the gesture also had another meaning. read the complete article