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SearchToday in Islamophobia: The French foreign minister asserted his country’s “profound respect for Islam” during a visit to Cairo on Sunday, Athens Greece welcomes its first mosque since the 19th century, and British MP Jeremy Corbyn touches on why the world needs to pay more attention to the Rohingya refugee crisis. Our recommended read of the day is by Azeezah Kanji of Al Jazeera on the linking of Islam and Muslims as a paradigm of illegitimate politics in America. This and more below:
United States
If (only) Amy Coney Barrett was a Muslim
In the dysfunctional system that produced the spectacle of the Trump presidency, it is Islam and Muslims that continue to be upheld as the paradigm of illegitimate politics. Once again, in the opposition against new Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a popular rhetorical tactic was put on display: Condemning her extremely conservative ideology by likening her to a Muslim. read the complete article
'This case is about hatred': Prosecutors say prejudice motivated bomber of Bloomington mosque
Federal prosecutors told jurors Monday that hatred for the Muslim faith motivated an Illinois man to meticulously plan and help execute the bombing of Dar Al-Farooq Mosque in Bloomington in August 2017. The domestic terrorism trial for Michael Hari, 49, of Clarence, is underway in St. Paul's federal courthouse this week. read the complete article
With Trump voted out, can I finally feel at home in America again?
Unlike most of the native-born, to be an immigrant in this country is to keep one eye always trained on the exit, just in case you’re forced by circumstance to make a dash for your life. I was in Manhattan during the September 11 terrorist attacks. I recall not just the endless horror of that event but also how the fallout from the attacks burned like wildfire through immigrant Muslim communities around the country. read the complete article
Muslim voters doubled their turnout, turning a much-watched minority into an influential one
A majority of the credit for this swing has gone to Black voters — and rightfully so. But there are many groups that have made significant gains in their ability to deliver the vote in 2020, perhaps the most influential of which is the Muslim American bloc. read the complete article
International
The Politics of Terrorism in a Combustible Europe
Beyond the magnitude of the attacks, the striking difference between then and now has much to do with President Emanuel Macron’s response, which has alienated many French Muslims and generated anger across the Muslim world. His government set in motion a broad-brush crackdown on Islamists and some Muslim organizations, with language that appeared to conflate Islam (the religion) with “Islamism” (an ideology that has sometimes led to violence). read the complete article
French minister, in Cairo, affirms respect for Islam in dispute over cartoons
The French foreign minister asserted his country’s “profound respect for Islam” during a visit to Cairo on Sunday in a dispute with the Muslim world over France’s defense of the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad. read the complete article
Jeremy Corbyn: ‘Rohingya refugees are being ignored’ | #AJOpinion
“Rohingya refugees are being ignored and the causes of them seeking a place of safety are also being ignored.” #AJOpinion hears from British Member of Parliament Jeremy Corbyn on why the world needs to pay more attention to the Rohingya refugee crisis. read the complete article
France
In trying to defeat terrorism, Macron must not undermine the principles of the French Republic
In 2006, over half of French people thought it wrong of Charlie Hebdo to publish caricatures of the Prophet, while after the 2015 attacks on the magazine’s offices, which killed 12 people, 57 per cent thought they should be allowed to be disseminated. By contrast, 69 per cent of French Muslims believed publication was wrong. Some French Christians share Muslim concerns. After the Nice attack, the Archbishop of Toulouse said that showing the cartoons in class was “throwing oil on the fire.” read the complete article
Questions raised over French plan to ban ‘virginity tests’
In a statement to Al Jazeera, Muslim feminist organization Lallab condemned the practice as “sexist and humiliating” and suggested that it has a low prevalence in France. But it added: “We do not understand why this completely peripheral issue is at the top of the French political agenda in the defense of women’s rights.” read the complete article
Austria
Austria: Police raid Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas-linked targets
Austrian police carried out sweeping raids on Monday targeting dozens of people with suspected ties to terrorist and criminal organizations. Prosecutors in the Styria region said they were investigating over 70 people and several associations that are suspected of "belonging to and supporting the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas organizations." read the complete article
Greece
Athens's first mosque since the 19th century is 'a dream come true'
The city of Athens and its suburbs in the Attica region are home to some 200,000 Muslims, according to the Muslim Association of Greece. Yet Athens has been without an official mosque since the 19th century, when the country was still under Ottoman occupation, and until recently it was the only European capital without one. read the complete article
India
India Love Project: The Instagram account telling tales of 'forbidden' love
Interfaith and inter-caste marriages have long been frowned upon in conservative Indian families, but in recent years, the conversation around such unions has become even more fractious. And most scorn is reserved for alliances involving Hindu women and Muslim men. read the complete article