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SearchToday in Islamophobia: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expresses concern for China’s Uyghurs. Meanwhile, top Republicans on the House Oversight and Reform Committee criticize Disney for filming parts of Mulan near the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. Our recommended read today is by Alex Emmons on Katharine Gorka, who continued to maintain ties with prominent Islamophobes during her tenure at the Department of Homeland Security. This, and more, below:
United States
At Homeland Security, anti-Muslim activist Katharine Gorka continued to maintain ties with Islamophobes | Recommended Read
In October 2018, Clare Lopez, a far-right activist and longtime top figure at the anti-Muslim group Center for Security Policy, wrote to a senior official at the Department of Homeland Security expecting a receptive audience. After all, the recipient of the email was Katharine Gorka, a former senior adviser in the Department’s Office of Policy, whose tenure in President Donald Trump’s DHS was itself controversial, in light of her past comments about Islam. read the complete article
Opinion | Islamophobia in the US presidential election
With Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 presidential election, many in the United States hoped for the retreat of Bush administration policies that criminalised the lives of Muslims. Yet Obama's two terms did little to challenge the most devastating forms of American Islamophobia: war-making, policing and immigration policy. On the contrary, his presidency saw an eager expansion of Islamophobia. Obama renewed and expanded the US Patriot Act. He classified Muslim civilians killed in US strikes as "enemy combatants". And his Countering Violent Extremism initiative functioned as a form of soft-policing in the lives of ordinary Muslims. In his creation of a "kill list" and a sweeping provision allowing the worldwide indefinite military detention of US citizen terror suspects without charge, Obama did not just inherit Bush-era Islamophobia - he proactively expanded it. read the complete article
Trump Shares Tweet About 'Radicalized' Somalis In Minnesota
President Donald Trump retweeted a post on Monday about “radicalized” Somalis in Minnesota, continuing a history of denigrating refugees and spreading Islamophobia. Trump responded to the tweet by claiming he is “helping Minnesota greatly” and blaming his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, and former President Barack Obama for a “Minnesota disaster.” read the complete article
India
For Hindutva Gang, and Now UP Police, Each Hindu-Muslim Marriage Must Be Probed for ‘Love Jihad’
A Hindu girl marrying a Muslim in today’s forward looking world would ordinarily be taken as a simple inter-faith marriage. But that is not how the right-wing Hindutva groups think. For them, such a marriage is necessarily an act of “love jihad”. This is the phrase the Sangh parivar has coined to describe an imaginary Muslim conspiracy to convert unsuspecting Hindu women to Islam. For the past few years, right-wing groups across Uttar Pradesh have been fighting this imaginary war but have now received the backing of the state’s chief minister and its police force as well. read the complete article
Umar Khalid: India student leader arrested over Delhi riots
A prominent student leader has been arrested in connection with February's deadly riots in Delhi. Delhi police have alleged that Umar Khalid was a "key conspirator" in the riots. Mr Khalid is among several prominent activists and student leaders who have been arrested. Human rights groups say that many activists, mostly Muslims, have been unfairly targeted - police deny the allegation. read the complete article
Myanmar
Myanmar casualties may amount to further war crimes, U.N. rights chief says
The U.N. human rights chief said on Monday that recent civilian casualties in Myanmar may amount to "further war crimes" and that three years after an exodus of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar "no concrete measures" on accountability had been taken. read the complete article
China
China’s system of oppression in Xinjiang: How it developed and how to curb it
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) policies towards Xinjiang have increased colonial development, further eroded Uyghur autonomy through force and ethnic assimilationism, and co-opted the “Global War on Terror” framing to portray all Uyghur resistance as “terrorism.” Since 2016, an intensified regime of technologically-driven mass surveillance, internment, indoctrination, family separation, birth suppression, and forced labor has implicated the provinces and municipalities of eastern China that fund the Xinjiang gulag through the Pairing Assistance Program, as well as potentially thousands of Chinese and international corporations that directly and indirectly supply and benefit from the system. read the complete article
International
GOP lawmakers want answers from Disney on Mulan, China
Top Republicans on the House Oversight and Reform Committee are criticizing Disney for filming parts of the live-action remake of Mulan near the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. In a letter to Disney CEO Robert Chapek and Executive Chairman Robert Iger on Monday, the lawmakers said the film was shot near forced labor camps that have targeted Uighur Muslims and other Muslim minority groups. read the complete article
Am Concerned About Uyghurs Muslims In China, Says UN High Commissioner For Human Rights
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, in her inaugural statement at the 45th session of the Human Rights Council on Monday, raised concerns over rights violations in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. "I am concerned about the Uyghurs. My office continues to engage with the Chinese Government on the situation in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and the impact on human rights of its policies," Bachelet said. read the complete article