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SearchToday in Islamophobia: Netherlands joins US and Canada in declaring Chinese treatment of Uyghurs ‘genocide’. In the U.S, bystander intervention trainings combat hate crimes against Muslims and Asian Americans. Our recommended read today is by Billy Perrigo on Facebook’s banning of Myanmar military accounts. This, and more, below:
Myanmar
Facebook’s Ban of Myanmar’s Military Will Be a Test of the True Power of Social Media Platforms | Recommended Read
It is also the culmination of a years-long dance between Facebook and Myanmar’s military, which infamously used the platform to spread hate speech and disinformation about the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority in the years leading up to 2017, in a campaign that ended in mass murder, rape and arson, which the U.N. said was carried out with “genocidal intent.” read the complete article
International
What should Australia do about Uyghur forced labour in China?
The Netherlands parliament has now joined the Canadian House of Commons and the US government in labelling China’s treatment of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang a genocide. Australia’s response has so far fallen short of that designation. In October, the government, along with 38 other countries, expressed ‘grave concern’ about China’s ‘gross human rights violations’ in a letter to the United Nations. So, what should the Australian government do? read the complete article
Netherlands joins US and Canada in declaring Chinese treatment of Uyghurs ‘genocide’
The Netherlands is one of only three nations to have made such a declaration against China. The US led the pack, with then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo having issued a statement on January 19, in which he determined that China was in the midst of committing genocide against the Uyghurs and other ethnic minority groups, and called for the cessation of all persecutory and cruel treatment in the Xinjiang region. The Canadian House of Commons passed a similar resolution last Monday. The Dutch and Canadian motions both state that China has been engaging in acts governed by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. read the complete article
Australian senator calls to recognise China’s treatment of Uighurs as genocide
The proposed motion – placed on the Senate’s notice paper for 15 March – looms as a test for the major parties at a time when Australia should join the international community in taking a stand, according to the South Australian independent senator Rex Patrick. read the complete article
United States
Sinclair report on Syrian military strike cited an anti-Muslim hate group
A day after the Biden administration launched a military strike in Syria, a report from a Sinclair Broadcast Group national correspondent about the strike cited a senior fellow from an anti-Muslim hate group. When Sinclair’s James Rosen introduced Victoria Coates for her commentary during the segment, he mentioned only that she worked in the national security apparatus of the Trump administration. Her position as a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy was shown only in an on-air graphic. read the complete article
Bystander intervention trainings combat hate crimes against Muslims and Asian Americans
About a year ago when the whole world was really just up in flames, we also saw nationally, and partly globally, a huge rise in Asian-American harassment. A lot of it was verbal, a lot of it was also physical when we saw things escalate. I think a lot of people, especially given the fact that we also had the George Floyd uprisings, I think there's a lot of folks-- both Asian and non-Asian-- that are looking for some sort of concrete way to be able to essentially combat racism in some way, shape, or form. - A lot of our Sikh siblings were often the target of Islamophobic attacks, even though they are not, in fact, Muslim. read the complete article
Hollywood is slowly working to rectify decades of Muslim misrepresentation
Muslims have long been excluded or misrepresented in media. After 9/11, Muslims went from being largely invisible to being regularly portrayed as terrorists or villains in film and television. In news coverage, the label "terrorist" is almost exclusively applied to those associated with Islam. Attacks by Muslims on average get 357% more coverage. read the complete article
India
Why a Muslim reporter in India has spent nearly 150 days in jail
Siddique Kappan, 41, was arrested in October while attempting to reach Hathras, a small town in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, about 200km (124 miles) from the capital New Delhi. Police first accused Kappan of intending to start a caste-based riot and creating communal disharmony. Later, sedition charges and provisions under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) were added. Four months later, India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), which probes financial crimes, also added money laundering charges against him. read the complete article
Canada
The Mauritanian's Canadian connection: What the new film about Guantanamo detainee left out
The film, which will be widely released in Canada Tuesday, is bringing new attention to Salahi's treatment by the Americans. But what viewers won't see is any depiction of his experience in Canada, where Salahi lived for a short time that he described as a "nightmare." He said he was followed and photographed while living in Montreal. "The intelligence community started to interfere in my life and turned it into hell," he said. "I was really scared." read the complete article