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SearchToday in Islamophobia: How an American show is fighting Islamophobia, even as Trump’s assault of refugees worsens. An op-ed underscores the dangers of ignoring hateful language. Our recommended read today is a conversation with Bridge Senior Research Fellow Farid Hafez on Islamophobia. This, and more, below:
International
Conversation with Dr. Farid Hafez | Recommended Read
Dr. Hafez, first – is Islamophobia a precise term to use to denote anti-Muslim hostility, bearing in mind that ‘phobia’ is a clinical term used to describe a fear rather than the hatred of a particular religion and its adherents? For me, questions of semantics – the literal meaning of words – are secondary. What is primarily of importance is our concepts of, our understanding, the definition of a word. That’s where the humanities start. All our speech depends on how we make sense of a phenomenon, how we can grasp the meaning of phenomena around us. Hence, the phobia as an irrational fear is definitely of importance in the racist thought of racist people. But this is only one aspect among many. In the scholarly body of literature, there is a strong tendency to think about Islamophobia as anti-Muslim racism. This means to look at individual prejudices as well as to racism as a structural phenomenon, which is linked to asymmetric power hierarchies. read the complete article
United States
Trump’s Assault on Refugees Is Even Worse Than It Looks
The so-called Muslim ban, signed by Trump in January 2017, triggered a public outcry by barring entry to travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. But one of the more obscure, and enduring, provisions of the executive order affected the whole world: a blanket ban on refugee admissions, denying entry to all refugees for 120 days. Although various parts of the ban have lapsed or been thwarted in court challenges, the restrictions on refugee admissions have persisted; admissions have plummeted, while the vetting process has hardened under the pretext of “national security.” In early 2018, the administration announced that it was tightening the screening procedures for 11 countries, nearly all majority-Muslim—Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, North Korea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Advocates say that the combination of the 2017 travel ban and intensified “security” screenings has stalled the processing of refugee cases from these countries. read the complete article
How ‘Ramy’ Is Silently Fighting Islamophobia
From time immemorial, Muslims have played - you guessed it - the terrorist. Representation of Islam, and Muslims in general, could not be more parochial. A number of Indian and international shows are laced with Islamophobic undertones and narratives. However, the new Hulu show Ramy, starring Ramy Youssef, which is now streaming on Amazon Prime is a much needed breather. The show silently fights the prejudiced representation of Muslims by showing them as simple, normal people. read the complete article
Muslim Americans don't have the privilege of forgetting Bush's crimes
I grew up in Orange County, California, or as some called it—Reagan County. It was a rich, white, conservative, Christian place and my family and I were none of those things. That didn’t really matter to me until 9/11, though. I was six-years-old and far too young to start reckoning with things like terrorism, surveillance, war, torture, or Islamophobia. But 9/11 and the next seven years of the Bush presidency taught me about all of that. I haven’t forgotten. In 2007, my family and I were going to Canada to see my uncle and his family. While going through airport security, the TSA agent checking my six-year-old brother noticed his name was “similar” to a terrorist’s on their radar. We were swept away to a private holding room away from our luggage and kept there until the TSA could confirm that a six-year-old child was not an internationally-known terrorist. Not only did the TSA not make me feel safer, the agents who feared my family for nothing more than our last name made me feel anger and shame. I still get to the airport hours too early, as do most American Muslims I know, just in case something similar happens again. read the complete article
The conference held at a Trump resort featuring a fake Trump shooting video is emblematic of the president’s ties to dubious right-wing groups
A fake video depicting the president shooting news media outlets and political opponents was shown at a conference for a pro-Trump group, American Priority. Some of the conference’s speakers included Donald Trump Jr., Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz. Jack Posobiec, who was an early pusher of the fake Pizzagate conspiracy theory, and far-right activist Laura Loomer, were also speakers. The conference was held at Trump National Doral Miami Golf Resort read the complete article
Canada
What happens when we ignore the language of hate
Resettling hasn’t been easy, but we welcomed every new success story like Soufi’s, a family-owned Syrian restaurant that was winning accolades for their delicious food. Just last year, the New York Times profiled Soufi's and wrote about Canada’s Syrian “food boom.” But Soufi’s story looked like it had come to an incredibly sad end when the family was forced to close the restaurant after receiving numerous hate messages and death threats. That was after their son had been identified at an anti-hate rally outside a People’s Party of Canada event in Hamilton. Thankfully, the owner of Paramount Fine Foods is working with the family to help them re-open the restaurant and ensure there is security to protect workers and family. We are failing as a country if this is how we treat a family that came to Canada, overcame adversity and contributed to the cultural fabric of our community as well as our economy. read the complete article
Australia
Right wing extremist accused of terror plot allegedly wrote a 'Patriot's Cookbook' urging others to attack Muslims
A man charged with plotting against left-wing Melbourne groups allegedly tried to make a how-to terror guide he hoped would lead to 'thousands upon thousands' of attacks. Phillip Galea, 34, is charged with one count of preparing for a terrorist attack on the Melbourne Anarchist Club and Melbourne Resistance Centre between August 2015 and 2016. Galea equated the 'left wing' with Muslims and held the former responsible for the 'Muslimisation of Australia,' prosecutor Richard Maidment QC told a Supreme Court jury on Monday. The accused terror plotter also worked on a document called the 'Patriot's Cookbook,' aimed at inciting others to violence. The accused was associated with the far-right group Reclaim Australia, spoke about targeting left-wing rallies and googled 'kill Muslims,' the prosecutor said. read the complete article