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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In Minnesota, the city of St. Paul approves measure declaring the Indian government Islamophobic. Human Rights Watch pushes for Rohingya stranded at silt island to be immediately relocated by the Bangladesh government. Our recommended read today is on India, where the UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide has expressed concern at the BJP’s treatment of Muslims in the country. This, and more, below:
India
UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide expresses concern over discrimination against Muslims in India | Recommended Read
The Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, expressed his concern over reports of increased hate speech and discrimination against minority communities in India since the adoption of the Citizenship Amendment Act in December 2019. “While the objective of the act, to provide protection to minority communities is commendable, it is concerning that this protection is not extended to all groups, including Muslims. This is contrary to India’s obligations under international human rights law, in particular on non-discrimination.” the Special Adviser stated. The Special Adviser also expressed concern over reports that demonstrations against the law, which occurred across some regions of India since its enactment, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, had reportedly resulted in the injury and death of civilians, attacks on religious sites, as well as an increase in expressions of hate against India’s Muslim community. The Special Adviser added that “statements such as those expressed by Member of Parliament Subramanian Swamy, that all people are not equal, and that Muslims are not in an ‘equal category’ as others are extremely alarming. Hate speech and the dehumanization of others goes against international human rights norms and values.” read the complete article
Watch | 'We Thought You Were Muslim' Say MP Police as 'Apology' for Beating Lawyer
An incident from Betul in Madhya Pradesh has raised concerns about Islamophobia within the police. On March 23, a lawyer named Deepak Bundele was brutally beaten by the state police while he was going to a government hospital for treatment. Now a month later, the police apologised to him, but in their defence told Bundele that he was assaulted by mistake because a police officer thought he was a Muslim. The Wire‘s Arfa Khanum Sherwani speaks to Bundele. read the complete article
China
Imprisoned Uighur professor's release shows how Beijing forces loyalty
The last time Samira Imin saw her father, Iminjan Seydin, was three years ago before he was shipped off to a work program in China's northwestern Xinjiang region as part of a government "deradicalization program." Seydin, a former professor of Chinese history at the Xinjiang Islamic Institute, had been sentenced to 15 years in jail for "inciting radical ideologies." Apart from being a history professor for over 30 years, Seydin had also started his own publishing house in 2012, and published more than 50 books on technology, education, psychology and women's issues. According to Imin, her father wasn't particularly religious and has generally adhered to the Chinese government's guidelines on religious observance. Hundreds of Uyghur intellectuals are among the thousands of people who have been imprisoned or put into Xinjiang's re-education camps by the Chinese government over the past three years. On May 4, Imin was tipped off by friends that her father had appeared in a video published by the Communist Party mouthpiece China Daily. It was the first time she had heard anything from him since he disappeared in 2017. When she finally gained the courage to click on the Twitter link, she saw that her dad was a lot skinnier and had a shaved head. read the complete article
International
After Cyclone Hits India and Bangladesh, the Waiting Begins
An ambitious evacuation effort and the weakening of Cyclone Amphan as it swirled onto land seems to have spared many lives. But the authorities in India and Bangladesh were waiting for daybreak to see just how bad things are. “The next 24 hours are very crucial,” said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, India’s chief meteorologist, The Associated Press reported. “This is a long haul.” The cyclone washed away bridges connecting Indian islands to the mainland and left many areas without utilities, the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters Wednesday evening. Ms. Banerjee said that while a clearer picture of the devastation would emerge by Thursday, there had been at least seven deaths, the A.P. reported. India and Bangladesh are still under lockdown, and many people living along India and Bangladesh’s swampy coast were fearful of packing into crowded shelters where the chances of infection could be much higher. “First Covid-19, now cyclone,” said a headline on the Indian broadcaster NDTV on Wednesday evening. What do you do if your shelters pose a danger of their own? That was the problem faced by officials preparing for the onslaught of Amphan. South Asia is no stranger to cyclones, but this one had an added challenge: protecting people from becoming infected by the coronavirus while they are packed inside emergency shelters. read the complete article
St. Paul City Council Approves Measure Declaring Indian Government Islamophobic
After delaying a vote for two weeks, the St. Paul City Council approved a measure denouncing India’s prime minister and ruling political party for its “Islamophobic” and “exclusionary ideology.” While gaining support from organizations like the Minnesota chapter of the Council on Islamic Relations, World Without Genocide at Mitchell Hamline School of Law and Amnesty International, the measure drew opposition from groups like the Hindu American Foundation, the India Association of Minnesota and the Alliance for Persecuted Peoples Worldwide. The symbolic resolution passed on a 5-0 vote with Council President Amy Brendmoen and Council Member Chris Tolbert abstaining. Both cited the complex nature of political affairs in India and the amount of concern they heard from members of the local Indian American community, but also the council’s “shared values” that oppose discrimination against religious minorities. read the complete article
United States
Republicans move to disown California candidate over social media posts
Republican leaders are frantically backpedaling away from the party’s candidate in a key Central Valley congressional race in reaction to a second report that his social media accounts formerly contained anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant and conspiracy theory messages. The National Republican Congressional Committee on Thursday pulled its endorsement of Ted Howze, who will face Democratic Rep. Josh Harder of Turlock (Stanislaus County) in the November election, and GOP leaders had harsh words for the messages that had been deleted. Among them was a post on Howze’s Facebook page in September 2016 that said, “The Western world and Christian Nations should all be suspicious of ALL MUSLIMS! They obviously cannot be both ‘good’ Muslims and good Americans,” Politico reported Wednesday. A post in June 2016 signed, “Ted Howze, American Citizen,” said then-President Barack Obama “puts the welfare of foreign Muslims ahead of his own citizens,” and that “it is time to arrest and charge Barrack (sic) Obama with TREASON!” read the complete article
How Islamophobia And Trump Are Dividing Major Jewish Organizations
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations' incoming Chair-elect Dianne Lob faced attack from of Morton Klein of the Zionist Organization of America because of her work with Muslim refugees. Since the occupation of ’67 and especially during the era of Trump, CoP has become more fanatical about supporting the right wing in Israel with many, if not most American Jews questioning that. Many centrist, peace, and left wing Jewish organizations are not allowed to become members of CoP. So, in a new article published in +972 magazine, McMoRan analyzed the recent elections for the president of that group, CoP, and where Dianne Lob won by a wide margin, but she came under a vicious attack from Morton Klein, who’s president of the Zionist Organization of America. Klein accused Lob of helping quote un quote “non Jews” because of her work with HIAS, which is a refugee aid organization that was targeted in the Pittsburgh shooting in 2018 at the synagogue, in which 11 people were murdered. Last September, Klein spoke at the Center for Security Policy. Let’s hear some of what he said. Morton Klein: It is not a coincidence that the two leading antisemites in Congress are both Muslims. It pains me to say this. It’s not a coincidence. ADL polls show that 34% of American Muslims are antisemitic. The Koran, the standard Koran, preaches that Jews are under the curse of Allah, that Allah has transformed disobedient Jews into apes and pigs and such at the west point of Islam in Cairo, Al-Azhar University, they preach hatred against Jews. They even give sermons preaching the Hadith lines about seeking out the Jew, whether it be behind a tree or a rock and kill him. Imams have been videotaped all over America, all over America, promoting this type of hatred and asking that every Jew be annihilated one-by-one. It’s shocking that I’m saying this, but this is the painful truth. read the complete article
Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Cyclone Endangers Rohingya on Silt Island
The Bangladesh government has kept over 300 Rohingya refugees confined on Bhasan Char, a remote silt island in the path of a “super cyclone” without adequate protections or safety measures, Human Rights Watch said today. Three people were reported killed in Bangladesh soon after the storm struck the coast. The authorities should take immediate steps to ensure safety and transfer the refugees, including nearly 40 children, to the camps in Cox’s Bazar as soon as possible. The United Nations refugee agency and other humanitarian organizations are there, prepared to provide them with critical services and reunite them with their families. “The Bangladesh government properly brought Rohingya refugees stranded at sea ashore, but holding them on a tiny island during a cyclone is dangerous and inhumane,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Our fear that Bhasan Char would become a ‘floating detention center’ has now turned into a fear of a submerged one.” read the complete article
United Kingdom
Coronavirus: Dabirul Choudhury, 100, raises £150k with Ramadan walk
Dabirul Islam Choudhury, from St Albans, challenged himself to walk 100 laps of his garden during the Islamic holy month, which ends on Saturday. Mr Choudhury wants the donations to help people affected by coronavirus in the UK and Bangladesh. He was inspired by World War Two veteran Captain Sir Tom Moore, who raised nearly £33m for charity. Capt Tom, who is now 100, began walking 100 laps of his 80-metre garden on 26 April to raise money for NHS Charities Together. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer praised Mr Choudhury's effort as "incredible" in a Tweet and added he was "an inspiration to us all". read the complete article
Patience, sacrifice and zakat: An Islamic response to coronavirus
Among the deceased in the United Kingdom are staff members of the National Health Service (NHS) who have succumbed to the virus. The fact that they died from the very disease from which they were trying to save others is particularly poignant. Many of the doctors who have been killed by the virus in the UK were experienced medics with decades of service behind them. And many of them were Muslims. This is an example of the disproportionate effect that the pandemic has had on Muslims. Although Muslims are not synonymous with an ethnic minority, many Muslims are from backgrounds that have been shown to be more vulnerable than others to the virus. For example, British Muslims are over-represented in the medical field. But even beyond the NHS, coronavirus seems to have hit the Muslim community in the UK particularly hard. One of the country's youngest victims, Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, died at the age of 13 with no family members allowed to be present in his final moments. There is also the devastating financial impact. Even before COVID-19 struck, it was the case that Muslims were more than twice as likely to be in poverty than others in Britain. With widespread job losses and bereavements, thousands will be pushed to despair. A high proportion of Muslims are self-employed, a group that will have to wait until June to receive government financial assistance from a support package announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak. read the complete article
Australia
Sydney: Car driven into Muslim clothing shop and at least 12 injured
At least 12 people have been injured after a car crashed into a Muslim clothing shop in Sydney on Thursday afternoon. Local emergency services said 11 pedestrians and the male driver had been treated at the scene of Hijab House in Greenacre, on the corner of Waterloo and Boronia roads. There was no initial indication the crash was terror-related, police added, while NSW ambulance service said those injured in the store were mostly women, aged between 18 and 30. read the complete article