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SearchToday in Islamophobia: Gunman fires at anti-CAA rally in Delhi, as millions form human chain in Kerala to protest the anti-Muslim legislation. In China, fear grows over the coronavirus epidemic reaching camps in Xinjiang where over one million Uighurs remain in internment. Our recommended read today is on Donald Trump’s impeachment, with Amani Al-Khatahtbeh arguing the President should have been impeached for his racism and Islamophobia. This, and more, below:
United States
Opinion | Trump’s Racism and Islamophobia Should Have Led to His Impeachment | Recommended Read
When Trump kicked off 2020 by beating the war drum with Iran, I felt triggered by the senseless sound bites and racist misinformation, which brought me back to how I felt as a child during the Iraq War. The first thought that came to my mind was, How many lives will be lost for Trump’s reelection? Earlier this month the Trump administration assassinated one of Iran’s highest-ranking military officials; imposed additional rounds of economic sanctions on Iran; dispatched another 3,000 troops to the Middle East; and threatened to bomb Iranian cultural sites. The same president who campaigned on pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq and Afghanistan is now enthusiastically intervening abroad, further destabilizing a region that is already suffering from decades of U.S. interference. And it's only the end of January. read the complete article
Trump expected to reveal travel ban expansion on Friday
President Donald Trump is expected to reveal an expansion of his controversial travel ban on Friday, the same day he could be acquitted in his impeachment trial and just days ahead of the president’s annual State of the Union address. The expected announcement — confirmed by two people familiar with the matter— had initially been planned for this past Monday to coincide with the three-year anniversary of the original order, which restricted travel from several majority-Muslim nations. But the administration was delayed as it responded to the fast-spreading coronavirus, according to an administration official. read the complete article
China
'Massive disaster': Fears coronavirus could rapidly spread through Xinjiang concentration camps
There are fears the Wuhan coronavirus will spread to the province of Xinjiang, where more than one million Muslims are housed in China's concentration camps. Experts have warned the camps would make a perfect breeding ground for the virus to grow and mutate based on overcrowding and squalid conditions. read the complete article
India
Gunman fires at anti-CAA protest rally in Delhi
A gunman has fired at a protest rally against India's new citizenship law near the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) university in capital New Delhi, witnesses and officials said. The alleged assailant, identified by the police as a 17-year-old teenager, brandished a single-barrel weapon and shouted slogans against the protesters before firing at them, wounding a JMI student on Thursday. "He [the gunman] was shouting, 'Delhi Police Zindabad' [long live Delhi police] and 'Who wants Aazadi [freedom], come, I'll shoot you'," said witness Nazim Qazi, who was also part of the protest. "And then he shot one fire. A student named Shadab was hurt and has been taken to the nearby Holy Family hospital," he added. read the complete article
Indian Police Detain Man for Firing During Student Protest
Indian police on Thursday detained a man who allegedly fired a pistol near a university in New Delhi where students were protesting a new citizenship law that excludes Muslims. The man challenged protesters as they started marching from the university to the mausoleum of India’s independence leader Mohandas Gandhi on his death anniversary, said Ahmed Azeem, a Jamia Millia Islamia University spokesman. The shooting injured one student in the hand. An eyewitness said the man fired the shot when the police tried to overpower him. read the complete article
Gandhi's death anniversary galvanises India's anti-CAA protesters
"We assembled here in memory of Gandhi, but police are not allowing us to make a human chain," he told Al Jazeera. Organisers said thousands of people were expected to participate in the human chain. They alleged police revoked permission at the last moment and detained people instead. Authorities even closed three metro stations in the area and deployed policemen at several places in the capital to stop people from gathering for the protests. read the complete article
Canada
Quebec City remembers 2017 mosque attack with emotional ceremony
A Muslim Quebecois rapper addressed the solemn crowd gathered Wednesday night to commemorate the third anniversary of the Quebec City mosque attack, and his words reflected the inherent politics of the tragedy and its aftermath. In front of survivors, politicians, gun control activists and city residents, the artist and historian — who goes by the name Webster — said Quebec society is still afraid to face its Islamophobia three years after a gunman shot dead six men in a mosque on Jan. 29, 2017. “Don’t tell me that this commemoration tonight isn’t political — because it is, especially now,” he told the crowd gathered at St-Mathieu Church. read the complete article
Opinion | OPINION The Third Anniversary Of The Quebec Mosque Shooting Was This Week—Did You Notice?
To my great disappointment, the mosque attack doesn’t seem to be considered a national tragedy. But whether Canadians like it or not, this hate-motivated mass shooting tells a national story. In 2018, the shooter pled guilty to six murders and was sentenced to life in prison, with no possibility of parole for 40 years. Derbali was an important presence during the trial and Superior Court Justice François Huot praised him for his “incredible demonstration of courage.” But three years after the shooting, and two after that public praise, I’m afraid of what Aymen Derbali sees when he looks at Canada. read the complete article
Bangladesh
'Great news': Bangladesh allows education for Rohingya children
Rights groups and activists have welcomed Bangladesh's decision to allow Rohingya children living in sprawling refugee camps to receive a formal education, calling it a "positive step". To date, only one-third of Rohingya child refugees - who fled a brutal 2017 crackdown in neighbouring Myanmar - are able to access a primary education through temporary learning centres run by international agencies. read the complete article