Search
SearchToday in Islamophobia: Malcolm X’s family reveals letter they say shows NYPD, FBI assassination involvement. A year on, India’s riot victims say justice still unserved. China rejects Uighurs genocide charge, invites UN’s rights chief. Our recommended read today is by Marwan Muhammad on France’s “Islamo-leftism” debate, and how it exemplifies just how far the Macron government are willing to go. This, and more, below:
France
France: 'Islamo-leftism' debate shows just how low Macron's regime can go | Recommended Read
In either case, we are now back to the cycle of Islamophobic trash. This past week was dedicated to how Trappes, a popular banlieue in the western suburbs of Paris, was supposedly “a territory lost to Islamists”, as its recently elected Mayor Ali Rabeh was, according to the far right, “not doing enough” (to prevent racist fake news, most probably). The title for the worst, most ignorant, most racist and polarising statement related to Islam and Muslims in France has become, over the years, one of the most sought-after credentials. read the complete article
United States
Congress Deluged With False Attack On Voting Rights And Campaign Finance Reform Bill
An anti-Muslim conservative group is flooding congressional offices with emails with a false attack on the For The People Act, Democrats’ top legislative priority, one week before the House will vote to pass it. The email campaign organized by ACT for America falsely states that the For The People Act, a package of voting rights, election, campaign finance and ethics reforms that bears top billing as H.R. 1 and S. 1 in both chambers of Congress, will allow lawmakers to pay themselves an additional $600,000 in compensation on top of their existing $174,000 annual congressional salary. Congressional offices received more than 330,000 emails with this message by Monday afternoon. The problem with this assertion is that it has no basis in reality. read the complete article
Former leader of anti-Muslim hate group to be featured at CPAC
From 2017 to 2018, Pressler worked as a lead organizer for Act for America, which the Associated Press described as a "hate group." Act for America is described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as "the largest anti-Muslim group in America." The Anti-Defamation League describes Act for America similarly and notes that the group "stokes irrational fear of Muslims via a number of false claims" and "propagates the hateful conspiracy theory that Muslims are infiltrating US institutions in order to impose Sharia law." read the complete article
The judge who blocked Trump's first travel ban said he received 40,000 threatening messages, forcing US Marshals to guard his home
In a recent episode of "60 Minutes," Robart told CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker he's since faced tremendous backlash and threats stemming from his court order and Trump's tweets. "When you call someone a so-called judge, what you do is you attack the judiciary," Robart told CBS News. "You may not even have wanted to convey that message, but that's the message which your 40 million Twitter followers took down, which was you were never authorized to issue this decision." read the complete article
Congress Deluged With False Attack On Voting Rights And Campaign Finance Reform Bill
An anti-Muslim conservative group is flooding congressional offices with emails with a false attack on the For The People Act, Democrats’ top legislative priority, one week before the House will vote to pass it. The email campaign organized by ACT for America falsely states that the For The People Act, a package of voting rights, election, campaign finance and ethics reforms that bears top billing as H.R. 1 and S. 1 in both chambers of Congress, will allow lawmakers to pay themselves an additional $600,000 in compensation on top of their existing $174,000 annual congressional salary. Congressional offices received more than 330,000 emails with this message by Monday afternoon. The problem with this assertion is that it has no basis in reality. read the complete article
China
China rejects Uighurs genocide charge, invites UN’s rights chief
Foreign Minister Wang Yi, addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, said there were 24,000 mosques in the western region, adding that “basic facts show that there has never been so-called genocide, forced labour or religious oppression in Xinjiang”. “The door to Xinjiang is always open. People from many countries who have visited Xinjiang have learned the facts and the truth on the ground. China also welcomes the High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit Xinjiang,” Wang said, referring to UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet, whose office has been negotiating terms of access to the country. read the complete article
India
Do India’s Cows Have Special Powers? Government Curriculum Is Ridiculed
Indian students were hitting the books hard in preparation for a big test on cows, reading that India’s cows have more emotions than foreign ones, and that their humps have special powers. But facing widespread ridicule, this weekend the government abruptly postponed the first exam based on a new curriculum, pushed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government. read the complete article
A year on, India's riot victims say justice still unserved
The shooter shouted “Victory to Lord Ram,” the Hindu god, before pulling the trigger that sent a bullet into Muhammad Nasir Khan’s left eye. Khan placed his trembling hand on his bloody eye socket and his fingers slipped deep into the wound. At that moment, Khan was sure he would die. Khan ended up surviving the violence that killed 53 others, mostly fellow Muslims, when it engulfed his neighborhood in the Indian capital 12 months ago. read the complete article
International
U.S. ban on China’s Xinjiang cotton fractures fashion industry supply chains
Last month, Chinese cotton yarn maker Huafu Fashion sent a warning to investors. “Multiple American brands have canceled orders,” Huafu said in a Shenzhen stock exchange filing, citing U.S. sanctions. “It’s brought negative effects to the company.” Huafu — which said it lost at least $54.3 million last year vs. a net profit of $62.5 million in 2019 — is one of the few suppliers to publicly acknowledge the sanctions’ effects. But thousands of companies worldwide are affected after the United States blacklisted 87 percent of China’s cotton crop — one-fifth of the world’s supply — citing human rights violations against Muslim Uighurs in China’s northwest Xinjiang region. read the complete article
Canada
Canada's parliament says China committed genocide against Muslim minorities
The motion, which recognizes "that a genocide is currently being carried out by the People's Republic of China against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims," also calls on the International Olympic Committee to move the 2022 Winter Olympic Games from Beijing. The motion will likely now put pressure on Trudeau's government to toughen its stance on China. Diplomatic tensions between the two countries have risen in recent years, following Canada's arrest of Huawei's Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou on behalf of the US, as well as China's subsequent detention of Canadian's Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor for alleged espionage. Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister, Marc Garneau, was the only cabinet minister to attend the vote in parliament, officially abstaining "on behalf of the Government of Canada." read the complete article
United Kingdom
Muslim Council says UK ministers' refusal to cooperate has had 'tragic consequences'
Britain’s largest Muslim group has complained that the government’s refusal to work with it throughout the pandemic crisis has had “tragic consequences” and urgently called on ministers to reconsider a policy of non-engagement with the organisation. The Muslim Council of Britain asked whether “similar faith-based, democratic bodies are excluded in this way” at a time when there is concern about the levels of vaccine uptake among members of minority communities in the UK. read the complete article