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SearchToday in Islamophobia: Banned from Facebook and Twitter, UK’s far right turns to Tik Tok. In Modi’s India, the pandemic inflames communal divisions as Hindu nationalists blame Muslims for the country’s COVID crisis. Our recommended read today is an interview of Indian investigative journalist Rana Ayyub by Meara Sharma. This, and more, below:
India
Rana Ayyub: Reclaiming India from the Fascists | Recommended Read
Investigative journalist Rana Ayyub is among the most tenacious chroniclers of the rise of authoritarian Hindu nationalism in India. For over a decade, she has doggedly scrutinized prime minister Narendra Modi and his BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) associates, who, since coming to power in 2014, have elevated once-fringe Hindu supremacist ideology and aggressively worked to redefine the idea of India, from a secular and multicultural democracy to a Hindu nation in which minorities are subjugated and communal hatred is normalized. Much of the conversation that follows took place in late February 2020, shortly after several days of violence in Delhi triggered by ongoing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a new federal policy that excludes Muslim immigrants from a fast-tracked route to citizenship. As Modi conducted a state visit with president Donald Trump, the nation’s capital saw largely Hindu mobs target Muslim businesses and homes and kill several dozen people. In the weeks since, the coronavirus pandemic has put the nation of 1.3 billion on lockdown and laid bare India’s staggering inequality, with millions of now-jobless migrant workers fleeing cities for their villages on foot and the vast population of urban poor trapped in congested, unsanitary slums where, as Ayyub recently wrote, “social distancing is a curious privilege.” As with regimes around the world, this pandemic will likely only provide fodder for Modi’s autocratic tendencies and the government’s brazen attitude toward not just minorities, but the impoverished. “It has never been more important than now to repeat the same thing over and over again,” she says. “We need to remind the world about India’s downward slide into this majoritarian abyss.” read the complete article
Babita Phogat: India stars under fire for 'anti-Muslim' tweets on coronavirus
A hashtag calling on Twitter to ban wrestler Babita Phogat is trending. She had used a hashtag derogatory towards Muslims and had said that for India, they were a bigger problem than even the virus. The trend comes a day after Rangoli Chandel was suspended by Twitter. Ms Chandel, who is the sister of actress Kangana Ranaut, attracted many complaints after she advocated violence against Muslims and "secular media", accusing the community of attacking and killing doctors. There have been some attacks against medical staff but Ms Chandel did not specify what she was referring to. Some videos purporting to show violence "by Muslims" have been discredited. Phogat's account has not been suspended, but many people who are using the hashtag asking Twitter to take action said they were tired of the hate. Phogat is a Commonwealth gold medallist and recently joined India's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). read the complete article
India hospital segregates Muslim and Hindu coronavirus patients
In what many are calling a case of "apartheid" during a global pandemic, a government-run hospital in Ahmedabad, the main city in the western Indian state of Gujarat, has segregated coronavirus patients based on their religion, claiming the order came from the government. "Generally, there are separate wards for male and female patients. But here, we have made separate wards for Hindu and Muslim patients. It is a decision of the government and you can ask them," Dr Gunvant H Rathod, the medical superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, told The Indian Express newspaper in its report on Wednesday. The Gujarat state is governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which also governs the country. Narendra Modi was the state's chief minister for nearly 13 straight years from 2001 before he became India's prime minister in 2014 read the complete article
In Modi's India, virus fallout inflames divisions between Muslims and Hindus
The purple ink stamped on Iqbal Hussain Siddiqui’s hand by Indian health workers was supposed to ensure he stayed home under quarantine. But the 66-year-old Siddiqui, an egg seller in Mumbai’s sprawling Dharavi slum, rubbed it off as best he could and went back to work. The mark would have condemned him to being stuck in an unventilated one-room home without a toilet. It was also, he claimed, part of an effort by the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to target Muslims like him, using health workers to gather data on the community under the guise of containing the COVID-19 pandemic. “Modi wants to make Muslims second class citizens,” said Siddiqui, who was ordered to be quarantined after a neighbor tested positive for the virus. “There is no one who is sick — it’s all a lie.” His suspicions were echoed by a half-dozen other Muslims whom Reuters talked to in Dharavi, even though community leaders say they have been trying to convince people that the health workers are in the district to protect them from COVID-19. The coronavirus has also exacerbated festering divisions between the country’s Hindus and its sizable Muslim minority, many of whom have seen their livelihoods threatened by the establishment of quarantine zones in densely-packed areas like Dharavi. There have been at least 71 confirmed cases in Dharavi. A deep-rooted distrust of Modi by Muslims follows months of protests against a new citizenship law that critics say discriminates against Muslims, and a crackdown by India in the Muslim-majority territory of Kashmir. There is no official breakdown of coronavirus cases by religion. But many Muslims feel unfairly blamed for spreading the disease after a cluster emerged at a gathering of Muslim missionaries in New Delhi last month. Sensational news coverage about the event, fanned by some Hindu nationalist politicians, helped spur the trending topic “Coronajihad” on social media. read the complete article
In Modi's India, virus fallout inflames divisions between Muslims and Hindus
The purple ink stamped on Iqbal Hussain Siddiqui’s hand by Indian health workers was supposed to ensure he stayed home under quarantine. But the 66-year-old Siddiqui, an egg seller in Mumbai’s sprawling Dharavi slum, rubbed it off as best he could and went back to work. The mark would have condemned him to being stuck in an unventilated one-room home without a toilet. It was also, he claimed, part of an effort by the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to target Muslims like him, using health workers to gather data on the community under the guise of containing the COVID-19 pandemic. “Modi wants to make Muslims second class citizens,” said Siddiqui, who was ordered to be quarantined after a neighbor tested positive for the virus. “There is no one who is sick — it’s all a lie.” His suspicions were echoed by a half-dozen other Muslims whom Reuters talked to in Dharavi, even though community leaders say they have been trying to convince people that the health workers are in the district to protect them from COVID-19. The coronavirus has also exacerbated festering divisions between the country’s Hindus and its sizable Muslim minority, many of whom have seen their livelihoods threatened by the establishment of quarantine zones in densely-packed areas like Dharavi. There have been at least 71 confirmed cases in Dharavi. A deep-rooted distrust of Modi by Muslims follows months of protests against a new citizenship law that critics say discriminates against Muslims, and a crackdown by India in the Muslim-majority territory of Kashmir. There is no official breakdown of coronavirus cases by religion. But many Muslims feel unfairly blamed for spreading the disease after a cluster emerged at a gathering of Muslim missionaries in New Delhi last month. Sensational news coverage about the event, fanned by some Hindu nationalist politicians, helped spur the trending topic “Coronajihad” on social media. read the complete article
Hindu Nationalists Blame Muslims For India's COVID-19 Crisis
After a Muslim missionary meeting in Delhi led to a COVID-19 outbreak in India, Hindu nationalists are blaming all Muslims for the virus. #coronajihad is trending and there are reports of mob attacks. The pandemic has a way of exposing problems that societies already face, and that is true in India, where police did something that seemed at first like the right thing to do. They began contact tracing, seeking all people who might have been exposed in a coronavirus hotspot. They focused on a group of Muslims, members of India's biggest religious minority. NPR's Lauren Frayer reports on what happened next. read the complete article
A Tweet Asking For Muslims And Journalists To Be Shot Stayed Up On Twitter For Almost A Day
The tweet, which falsely blamed Muslims for spreading the coronavirus in India, was posted from the verified account of Rangoli Chandel, manager and sister of popular Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut, on Wednesday morning. “f***k the history they may call us nazis who cares,” the tweet said. The tweet was retweeted more than 2,000 times and received over 8,000 likes. Chandel, who had nearly 100,000 followers on the platform before her account was taken down, is popular among the Indian far right for her controversial opinions that often target the country’s minorities. Earlier this week, she suggested that India scrap its next general elections scheduled to take place in 2024 and let the country’s Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi continue for another term in office unopposed. Social media companies have been struggling to contain abuse and misinformation on their platforms ever since the coronavirus outbreak started sweeping the planet. In countries like India, issues with content moderation have amplified a wave of anti-Muslim sentiment ever since a cluster of COVID-19 cases were traced back to a religious gathering of Muslims in New Delhi last month. read the complete article
Bangladesh
Bangladesh Coast Guard Rescues 396 Rohingya From Drifting Boat; 32 Dead
At least 32 ethnic Rohingya died on a ship that drifted for weeks after it failed to reach Malaysia, Bangladesh coast guard officials said on Thursday, following the rescue of 396 starving survivors. A human rights group said it believed more boats carrying Rohingya - a Muslim minority - were adrift at sea, with coronavirus lockdowns in Malaysia and Thailand making it harder for them to find refuge. "They were at sea for about two months and were starving," a Bangladesh coastguard official told Reuters in a message, adding that the ship was brought to shore late on Wednesday. The 396 survivors would be handed to the U.N refugee agency, said the official, who had initially said they would be sent to Myanmar. The official also revised the death toll to 32 from 24. read the complete article
United States
Top Muslim political group backs Biden
Emgage, which calls itself the largest Muslim political action committee in the country, told POLITICO it is backing the former vice president because he supports ending President Donald Trump’s travel ban on several majority-Muslim countries, raising the refugee admissions cap, and reforming the immigration system, among other issues. "Our nation, and indeed the world, are at a crossroad. Beyond the immediate devastation caused by COVID-19, we are facing an all-out assault against democratic principles and values at home and abroad that we have not seen since the rise of fascism and Nazisim early in the 20th century,” said Wa'el Alzayat, CEO of Emgage PAC. “Joe Biden is the type of leader who can restore America's promise to its citizens, especially its most vulnerable, and to the world.” read the complete article
Muslims praying on the street in the US during COVID-19 pandemic?
A video has been viewed thousands of times on Facebook alongside a claim it shows Muslims in the US praying on a street during the coronavirus pandemic. The claim is false; the footage has circulated online since February 2017; it corresponds with other footage in reports about a February 2017 protest in New York City against President Donald Trump’s Muslim travel ban. read the complete article
Be very wary of Trump’s health surveillance plans
Early in the Trump presidency, senior officials pursued an “Extreme Vetting Initiative,” an automated system that would scour social media data to predict whether an immigrant would commit crimes. The project drew fire as soon as it became public: Computer scientists said such a predictive system was impossible, and lawyers said it would not only chill privacy and speech but also could serve as a “digital Muslim ban.” The idea was abandoned. That cautionary tale shows us that public oversight of any expansion of surveillance is crucial, particularly during a national crisis. Last week, Politico reported that presidential adviser Jared Kushner is talking with health technology companies about creating a “national coronavirus surveillance system.” That system would provide a “near real-time view of where patients are seeking treatment and for what, and whether hospitals can accommodate them,” helping the government allocate resources and determine where to reopen the economy. The data collection would purportedly cover 80 percent of the United States. An aide to Kushner pushed back against the Politico article after it was published, calling it “completely false.” A large-scale system hastily built from the ground up in the throes of a crisis, particularly one run directly out of the White House, warrants serious caution. Health data is among the most sensitive information about individuals. It can carry heavy social stigma (think of HIV/AIDS or mental health diagnoses) and reveal intimate preferences, habits and decisions, including those involving pregnancy. Health status should be used only as a method for social control — to restrict physical movements — if the public health payoff is substantial and if the new surveillance system is subject to exacting oversight. read the complete article
Robert Mercer starts big money effort for Trump and RNC after cutting back support
President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee have one of their old allies back in the big money fundraising game after he stepped back from helping the commander in chief. Robert Mercer, one of Trump’s original financiers during his first run for president, gave his first six-figure check of the 2020 election cycle to the Trump Victory committee in February, according to a new financial disclosure report. The $355,200 contribution to the joint fundraising committee, which raises money for both the Trump campaign and RNC, comes after Mercer was relatively silent since assisting Trump get to the White House. CNBC first reported in 2018 that Mercer had retreated in leading the way in financially backing the president after a wave of public scrutiny for his assistance just two years earlier. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Banned from Facebook and Twitter, UK far right turns to TikTok
Far-right groups and figures in the UK who have been banned from sites such as Facebook and Twitter have started posting on TikTok, a Chinese social media app which is popular among young people and used to share short videos. Britain First, a fascist political organisation, began using the application at the start of April. Many of its TikTok posts are anti-immigration, with one depicting leader of the group Paul Golding telling two Black men in Calais, France: "We don't want any more migrants coming to our country ... don't come to England, we're full up, we're a small country. We want to look after our own people. With all these migrants coming to our country, you're making it difficult." Prominent far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, signed up to the app at the end of March. His account has already garnered almost 22,000 followers. His TikTok bio reads: "Banned from all western social media, lets give the Chinese a go". In one post, Robinson shares a clip from an interview with ITV in which he holds the Quran and says: "This book is the reason we are in such a mess." read the complete article