Academics & Education

New House Homeland Security Committee chair has history of anti-Muslim comments During a 2016 tea party meeting, Mark Green told an audience that he didn’t want public school students in Tennessee to learn about the Islamic faith.

(HuffPost) Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) is set to lead the House Committee on Homeland Security, which Muslim civil rights groups say is alarming because he has a history of making Islamophobic remarks. Green — a physician, Iraq War veteran and former GOP […]

Academics & Education

CAIR MN backs student who says she was hurt by instructor showing image of Muhammad At a press conference held by the Minneapolis chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the student said she was shocked and pained by an art history instructor.

(Religion News) Hamline University senior Aram Wedatalla held back tears as she described how hurt she felt when her art history instructor informed the class she would briefly show a painting of the Prophet Muhammad last semester. Speaking at a news conference held […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

French writer Michel Houellebecq says he is a ‘part-time Islamophobe’ The best-selling French writer is notorious for repeatedly arguing that Islam is not compatible with France's 'Republican values.'

(Morocco World News) French writer Michel Houellebecq has strikingly admitted to condoning and promoting an anti-Islam discourse, sarcastically pleading guilty to being “a part-time Islamophobe.” France has a problem with Islam The writer made his shocking remarks as he barely emerged from […]

Academics & Education

Academic freedom vs. rights of Muslim students An instructor at Hamline U showed an image of Muhammad in an art history class. The president criticized the instructor for doing so. Another professor, who tried to explain the situation with an essay in the student paper, had his piece removed.

(Inside Higher Ed) This fall, an instructor at Hamline University, in Minnesota, was teaching global art history. For one class, the instructor (who has not been named) was discussing Islamic art and included for a brief period (under 10 minutes) a screen […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Favourable view of Muslims in the US ticks up, even as Islamophobic incidents rise Number of Americans holding Islamophobic and antisemitic views has flatlined, and may actually be shrinking, even as hate crimes increase

(Middle East Eye) The number of US residents holding Islamophobic and antisemitic views has flatlined, and may actually be shrinking, even as hate crimes increase, according to a 2022 poll conducted by Brookings Institute. Favourable views of Muslims in the US have […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Radical Islamist organisations being funded by Tory government’s counter-terrorism programme: report

(Breitbart) The British taxpayer has allegedly been handed out to radical Islamist organisations that have “promoted extremist narratives,” according to leaked draft excerpts from an independent review on the government’s counter-[terrorism] programme. A long-awaited review conducted by former Charity Commission Chairman Sir […]

Academics & Education

An academic is fired over a medieval painting of the Prophet Muhammad The dismissal of an instructor at Hamline University on baseless charges of 'Islamophobia' raises concerns about freedom on campus

(New Lines) On Nov. 18, Hamline University’s student newspaper, the Oracle, published an article notifying its community members of two recent incidents on its campus in Saint Paul, Minnesota, one indubitably homophobic and the other supposedly Islamophobic. Both occurrences were placed under […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Court upholds French far-right leader’s conviction over anti-Muslim comments The European Court of Human Rights dismisses former French presidential candidate Eric Zemmour’s freedom of speech claim.

(Politico) The European Court of Human Rights rejected the appeal of former French presidential candidate Eric Zemmour, who was convicted in France for “inciting discrimination and religious hatred” over comments targeting the French Muslim community. “The court held that the interference with […]

Banks & Banking

US lawmakers demand banking regulators address discrimination against Muslims Congressman Ilhan Omar and Senator Elizabeth Warren urge Treasury to adopt corrective measures to promote equal access to banking institutions

(Middle East Eye) US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Senator Elizabeth Warren are leading an effort to urge American banking regulators to reassess policies that discriminate against Muslim Americans and immigrant communities. The two lawmakers, along with Senator Ed Markey and Congresswomen Rashida […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Ron DeSantis: Republican rising star alarms Muslim, Palestinian communities As the Florida governor positions himself for a possible presidential bid, activists and organisers say DeSantis reminds them of bigoted rhetoric birthed in US-led 'war on terror'

(Middle East Eye) In 2006, then-Navy officer Ron DeSantis was an appointed attorney supporting the US military’s mission at Guantanamo Bay. Not much is officially known about his months-long stint at the prison, which at its peak held nearly 800 Muslim men […]

Crime

Ofcom confirms ‘significant failings’ in BBC Chanukah bus attack report Broadcast watchdog says BBC caused 'distress and anxiety to the victims of the attack and the wider Jewish community.'

(Jewish News) An Ofcom investigation into the BBC’s reporting of the Oxford Street Chanukah bus attack on a group of Jewish students has uncovered “significant editorial failings” following the broadcast. The BBC’s reports of the November 2021 incident claimed that an audio […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

US may elect first Muslim senator. Why are few Muslims thrilled? Donald Trump-backed Mehmet Oz’s Senate bid fails to produce enthusiasm seen with previous Muslim firsts in US.

(Al-Jazeera) The United States may elect its highest-ranking Muslim official next week — a Donald Trump-backed Republican who has questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 elections. Mehmet Oz, a television personality and retired surgeon of Turkish descent, is running in Pennsylvania against […]

Crime

Islamophobic hate crime rising as UK government tries to ‘appease far-right’: head of Muslim group Anti-Muslim hate crimes rose 42% in England, Wales for year ending March 2022: British Home Office

(Anadolu) Hate crimes in the UK are on the rise because the government “tends to try to appease the far right by adopting some of their positions,” according to a prominent Muslim scholar. Anas Altikriti, CEO of Cordoba Foundation, told Anadolu Agency […]

Children & Teens

European governments accused over ‘suppression of Muslim civil society’ OSCE conference in Poland hears plea for member states to protect Muslim citizens from Islamophobia and 'state racism'

(Middle East Eye) Muslim civil society organisations have raised the alarm about a rising tide of state-sponsored Islamophobia in Europe at a major security and human rights conference in Poland. France, Denmark and Austria were among countries singled out over policies which […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Muslim groups are alarmed by new CNN boss’ first big hire John Miller resigned from the NYPD after lying about its Muslim surveillance program. Now he’s covering law enforcement for CNN.

(HuffPost) CNN has hired John Miller, a former New York City Police Department official who lied about the department’s history of surveilling Muslims, to be its chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst — a move that has alarmed civil rights leaders and […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Poll: Americans’ views on 9/11 depend more on age than political party Many Americans share common beliefs approaching the anniversary of Sept. 11, but a closer look at New Yorkers — and Muslim Americans — reveal[s] nuance

(WRC) Twenty-one years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks of 2001, Americans across the political spectrum share many of the same feelings when it comes to their memories and sentiments related to the attacks. However, younger adults demonstrate less connection to the […]

Academics & Education

UK: Muslim students threaten to disaffiliate from NUS after Islamophobia claims The Federation of Student Islamic Societies said it would urge its members to disaffiliate after Shaima Dallali was reportedly suspended from the union

(Middle East Eye) The Federation of Student Islamic Societies (Fosis), the national body for Muslim students in Britain, has threatened to launch a disaffiliation campaign against the National Union of Students (NUS) after the NUS suspended its president-elect, Shaima Dallali. Earlier this […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Islamophobia remains steady in the US, but why do some Muslims share the sentiment? Institute for Social Policy and Understanding suggests past two decades of demonisation of Muslims post-9/11 may have played a role in negative sentiments

(Middle East Eye) As Islamophobia in the United States has remained steady in recent years, internalised Islamophobic sentiments have risen from within the Muslim American community, according to newly released data from the Institute for [Social] Policy and Understanding. The new American […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

US Muslims five times more likely to face police harassment due to their religion, study shows Muslims who identify as white are less likely to be harassed by the police because of their faith compared to non-white Muslims, the study notes

(Middle East Eye) Muslims are five times more likely to experience police harassment because of their religion compared to those of other faiths, a study by Rice University shows. More specifically, Muslim adults who identify as black, Middle Eastern, Arab or North […]