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SearchToday in Islamophobia: 65 Rohingya Muslims are found shipwrecked in Thailand, while a U.S panel claims the media portrays “Muslims more negatively than cancer”. The Muslim Council of Britain condemns the Conservative Party over Islamophobia, as North Carolina expects plea in hate crime case involving the slaying of 3 Muslims. Our recommended read for the day is by Rowaida Abdelaziz on the Muslim woman who investigated her own hate crime after NYPD dismissed her case. This, and more, below:
United States
Muslim Woman Investigated Her Own Hate Crime After NYPD Dismissed Her Case | Recommended Read
A Muslim woman who was robbed and brutally beaten by a group of young people last month says the New York Police Department and the Bronx District Attorney’s office failed to properly investigate until she dug up video evidence proving the hate crime. Fatoumata Camara, 22, said the authorities’ lack of investigation into the May 10 beating that sent her to the hospital with a broken nose and a head injury forced her to do the investigative work herself, uncovering surveillance videofrom a business near the crime scene. Camara, who lives in the Bronx and wears a hijab, said the NYPD reopened her case and is investigating the attack as a possible hate crime after she presented the footage this week. read the complete article
Opinion | US media portrays Muslims ‘more negatively than cancer’
Mainstream US media coverage of American Muslims is more negative than that of North Korea, often denounced as one of the world’s three worst sponsors of terrorism, panelists at a conference on crisis reporting claimed on Sunday. The Pulitzer Center’s “Beyond Religion” conference at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. featured six panel discussions, with topics including the building of peace, intersectionality of gender and religion, and religion and the environment. read the complete article
North Carolina: Plea expected in 3 Muslim students’ slayings
The North Carolina man charged with killing three much-admired Muslim university students is expected to enter a plea more than four years after the slayings, which the victims’ families blamed on bigotry. A judge could hear evidence about what prompted the February 2015 shootings in Chapel Hill. Police said Hicks claimed the confrontation stemmed from competition for parking spaces at the condominium complex where they all lived. The families of 23-year-old University of North Carolina dental student Deah Barakat; his 21-year-old wife Yusor Abu-Salha, and her 19-year-old sister Razan Abu-Salha said they believe Hicks acted with anti-Muslim hatred. read the complete article
United Kingdom
Muslim Council of Britain condemns Conservative Party over Islamophobia: 'Fundamental failures in every single way'
Britain's largest Muslim organisation has condemned the Conservatives over "fundamental failures" in addressing Islamophobia within the party's ranks. In alarming remarks, the spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Britain(MCB) said he had documented "hundreds of cases" showing the scale of Islamophobia in Tory quarters. It comes after the MCB submitted more than 20 pages of evidence to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, urging investigators to launch an official probe into accusations within the party. Appearing at an inquiry of the Home Affairs Select Committee in Westminster into the definition of Islamophobia, Miqdaad Versi vented frustration at inaction and "unequivocal failures". read the complete article
Boris Johnson’s racist insults, dog whistles and slurs
New Statesman lists Boris Johnson's most egregious remarks on Muslims, immigrants and refugees. Boris is widely touted to be the frontrunner to replace Theresa May. read the complete article
Myanmar
65 Rohingya Muslims found shipwrecked in southern Thailand
The chief of Tarutao National Marine Park, Kanjanapan Kamhaeng, said the boat carrying the Rohingya was found after several Thai and Myanmar citizens told park officials their ship had broken down. They initially denied they were transporting Rohingya. Kanjanapan said the boat was found smashed onto a rocky shore and a preliminary check showed it was carrying 65 Rohingya and several Thai and Myanmar citizens who were identified by the Rohingya as in charge of operating the ship. Navy officer Cmdr. Thanapong Sudrak said authorities will investigate whether the incident involved human trafficking. Rohingya originate in Rakhine state in Myanmar, where they face extreme persecution by authorities and majority Buddhists, prompting their flight over the years, many on rickety boats that were sometimes pushed back into the open sea by countries such as Thailand. read the complete article
Canada
Montreal woman says STM bus driver didn't stop for her because of her niqab
Zineb Benrochd was standing at a bus stop in broad daylight last week, wearing her niqab, when a bus whizzed right past her. The 23-year-old Montrealer wondered why. She says she looked the driver up online and discovered a trail of Islamophobic social media posts. In 2010, for instance, the bus driver posted: "I'm so happy and in a good mood today, that I love everybody, except the [expletive] who wear the hijab or the veil. Sorry, but I can't stand them." But when Benrochd took to Facebook in an attempt to call out the bus driver's behaviour, she was soon bombarded with dozens of messages — some angry, some hateful — from other Montreal transit employees defending their colleague. read the complete article