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SearchToday in Islamophobia: AfD sacks former spokesman for saying migrants ‘could be gassed.’ In India, Amnesty International’s operations grind to a halt due to “reprisals” from the government. Our recommended read today is by Patrycja Sasnal and Yasemin El Menouar titled on the culture of hatred against Muslims sweeping across Europe. This, and more, below:
International
There's a social pandemic poisoning Europe: hatred of Muslims | Recommended Read
Prejudice against Muslims exists in every corner of Europe. Not only do we collectively devalue and discriminate against Europeans who follow Islam, but the incidence of violence against Muslims is increasing. We have known since the refugee and migration crisis of 2015 and the jihadist terrorist attacks in France, Spain and Germany that Muslims suffer from an exceptionally bad reputation in our societies. In 2019, research conducted for the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Religion Monitor yet again confirmed widespread mistrust towards Muslims across Europe. In Germany and Switzerland, every second respondent said they perceived Islam as a threat. In the UK, two in five share this perception. In Spain and France, about 60% think Islam is incompatible with the “west”. In Austria, one in three doesn’t want to have Muslim neighbours. read the complete article
Netflix defends 'Three-Body Problem' adaptation after criticism from five senators
Netflix is responding to recent criticism about its plans for a new series, "The Three-Body Problem," an adaptation of Chinese author Liu Cixin's trilogy of the same name, led by "Game of Thrones" creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Five Republican senators sent a letter to Netflix's co-CEO and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos Wednesday accusing the streaming platform of "normalizing" China's imprisonment and persecution of Uyghur Muslims by promoting the upcoming sci-fi drama. Netflix responded to the criticism Friday. read the complete article
Germany
Germany: AfD sacks former spokesman for saying migrants 'could be gassed'
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Monday sacked its former spokesman Christian Lüth for reportedly inhumane comments about migrants. The online version of Germany's Zeit newspaper alleged that Lüth spoke of "shooting" and "gassing" migrants last February while meeting a woman influencer in a Berlin bar. The comments were aired in a TV documentary by German media giant ProSieben. "The comments attributed to Christian Lüth are totally unacceptable and incompatible with the aims and policies of the AfD," said the co-leader of the AfD's parliamentary group, Alexander Gauland. Suggestions that he had "even endorsed" Lüth's remarks were "fully absurd and entirely fictitious," said Gauland in a statement. read the complete article
India
Amnesty International to halt India operations
Amnesty International says it has been forced to halt its India operations due to "reprisals" from the government. The watchdog has also accused the government of indulging in a "witch-hunt of human rights organisations". Amnesty says its bank accounts have been frozen and it's been forced to lay off staff in the country, and suspend all its campaign and research work. The government is yet to respond to the allegations. "We are facing a rather unprecedented situation in India. Amnesty International India has been facing an onslaught of attacks, bullying and harassment by the government in a very systematic manner," Rajat Khosla, the group's senior director of research, advocacy and policy, told the BBC. "This is all down to the human rights work that we were doing and the government not wanting to answer questions we raised, whether it's in terms of our investigations into the Delhi riots, or the silencing of voices in Jammu and Kashmir." read the complete article
Authoritarianism and Anti-Muslim Violence: Comparing the Emergency to Today
Over the course of Narendra Modi’s political career, he has consistently persecuted Muslims for political gain. As chief minister of Gujarat, he stoked communal tensions that culminated in the 2002 genocide, for which he had been denied a US visa. Modi’s persecution of Indian Muslims continued after he was elected prime minister in 2014. Lynchings of Muslims and Dalits have become increasingly common across India since Modi’s election. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) was passed in December 2019 and fears persist that it will be used to disenfranchise and revoke the citizenship of Muslims. read the complete article
China
China's President Xi says Xinjiang policies 'completely correct' amid growing international criticism
Chinese President Xi Jinping believes his policies in the far-western region of Xinjiang are "completely correct," despite growing international criticism of alleged human rights abuses and mass internment. Up to 2 million Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group, as well as other minorities, are believed to have passed through detention centers in the region in recent years, according to the US State Department, where they have allegedly been subject to political indoctrination and abuse under the guise of de-radicalization efforts read the complete article
United Kingdom
There is nothing unconscious about Tory bias
In a fresh display of Tory resistance to addressing the deep-seated racism within the Party's ranks, some 40 MPs have stated that they will not be taking part in unconscious bias training. The decision to make the training available to all sitting MPs came from the parliamentary taskforce to address inequality. Unsurprisingly, there is however, much that Tory MPs could learn from the training - or from any initial engagement with anti-racist thought. In the last year alone, for example, the Conservative Party has repeatedly been accused of institutional Islamophobia by Muslim figures within its own ranks, as well as by the Muslim Council of Britain. read the complete article
United States
Stephen Miller: The origins of Trump's hater in chief
A recent book on Stephen Miller, the senior policy advisor embedded in US President Donald Trump’s White House and who holds white supramacist and racist views, has received much deserving praise and necessary attention in these waning days of his first term of a criminal presidency. Jean Guerrero’s Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, and the White Nationalist Agenda unfolds like a horror show. Consider yourself blessed if you have not yet heard of Miller - an avowed white supremacist Islamophobe and chief advisor to Trump on draconian anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant measures. He is understood to be the architect behind hardline immigration policies including banning families from joining their loved one in the US, separating children from their parents at the border, incarcerating them in what have rightly been called "concentration camps". The depth of this man’s dreadful deeds remains unfathomable to any decent human being. read the complete article