Britain’s panicked take on ‘Islamists’ has enabled the spread of racism and emboldened the far-right UKIP party, argues Rachel Shabi.
Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia
Stand Up to UKIP holds protest against Farage
Australia’s far-right fringe groups must not be allowed to become mainstream
Far-right groups, inspired by their European counterparts, remain on the fringes but show signs of steady growth. We have to remain vigilant, argues Antony Loewenstein.
Prague: Hundreds of Muslims protest police mosque raid
With prayer mats spread on the ground behind the Ministry of the Interior, hundreds of kneeling Muslims gathered today to protest last Friday’s police mosque raid.
About 300 men and several dozen women prayed, listened to speeches and made religious chants in a show of defiance against what a community leader described as an “entirely inappropriate” raid by officials.
There was a small anti-Muslim counter-protest in the area behind the Prague 7 ministry where the prayer gathering – Friday is the most important day of worship for Muslims – was held.
The action by the Czech Republic’s Muslim community comes after a raid by police on Friday last week of a mosque and of the headquarters of the Islamic Foundation. Officers detained a 55-year-old Czech citizen accused of organizing the translation of a book that, according to police, spreads racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia. Dozens of people were held at the mosque when the raid took place during Friday prayers.
Is the far Right setting the Daily Mail’s agenda?
In the last week, the Daily Mail has run stories emanating from the far Right without revealing this fact to its readers, Ryan Erfani-Ghettani shows.
Macy’s customer falsely charged with theft forced to remove hijab
Juweria Khalid said she was a frequent Macy’s shopper, never missed their popular one day sales and this past October was no different, but little did she know how that day would change her life.
Khalid said after she already purchased a bracelet from the jewelry department, she spotted some earrings she also liked. Since she was already headed to the children’s department to shop for her two-year-old and 10-month-old, Khalid decided to pay for all of her items together on the 7th floor.
With her arms were full of bags from previous purchases, Khalid said she placed the earrings in her purse, fully intending she insists, to pay for her items. That’s when she was stopped by Macy’s loss prevention guards.
“I took out the jewelry and said to them I’m not stealing it. I’m going to buy it on the 7th floor. They never listened to me,” said Khalid.
Khalid was taken to the now infamous detention area of Macy’s, which she described to us as nothing short of a jail with bars. The Muslim woman, who wears a hijab, a Muslim head scarf, was forced to remove it. “They kept me locked there for hours. They never allowed me to take calls. My husband kept on calling like nine times,” explained Khalid.
Despite insisting she would pay for her items, which her attorney said added up to less than $100, Khalid said she was forced to pay a $500 fine with her Macy’s credit card. The NYPD was called, then Khalid charged with petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.
Khalid has now been vindicated, a judge dismissed her case for insufficient evidence. But it appears the damage has already been done. Khalid was eight weeks pregnant at the time of the ordeal. She lost her baby just days after. Khalid and her doctors believe because of the stress she suffered.
Stop the Islamification of…Subway?!
Steve Rose responds to a Daily Mail report that Subway is stopping customers from enjoying pork and ham to appease Muslims.
Steve Rose’s Blog, 30 April 2014
Update: See “Halal search option removed from Subway website over staff safety fears”, Islamophobia Watch, 3 May 2014
Update 2: See also Steven Rose, “The sorry ‘Subway’ saga”, Tell MAMA, 7 May 2014
BNP to demonstrate against non-existent mosque application
Members of the British National Party are planning to demonstrate at the site of a former church which pre-application plans suggested could house a new mosque.
Dacorum Borough Council has confirmed no formal applications for the Muslim house of worship on the former Nash Mills Methodist Church site off Barnacres Road have been submitted. But the BNP’s secretary for the eastern region Chris Livingstone has announced the protest will be taking place on Saturday, May 10.
A spokesman for the council said no applications are even expected to be submitted at this time.
Racism troubles French Muslim footballer
French international footballer who plays in the English Premier League and the France national team has expressed concerns over growing Islamophobia and anti-Muslim sentiments in France, warning that it has become more difficult to be a Muslim in France.
“Nowadays, it is more difficult in France [being Muslim]. In the last three or four years people who come from a [Muslim] community feel like they are not being treated like they deserve. It is now about the extreme Right,’’ Samir Nasri, who plays for Manchester City was quoted by Morocco News as saying to The Telegraph.
Nasri, of Algerian origin, referred the phenomenon to the rise of the “extreme right” and the National Front of Marine Le Pen. “French people turned against the Muslims. That is a little bit scary,” Nasri added. “Ten to fifteen years ago, it wasn’t like this. I don’t like the way the mentality is in France now.”
California: State asked to investigate religious discrimination claim
When 13-year-old Noorah Abdo went with her family in August to the Boomers amusement park in Livermore, the ride she especially looked forward to was the go-karts.
But when she got to the ticket window, she was told her head scarf, which she wore for religious reasons as a Muslim, violated the park’s no-headwear safety policy for that ride.
Her father, Nasir, protested, proposing to cover Noorah’s head with a helmet or a hoodie, but said a manager told him there were no exceptions. They were shown a policy statement, which read, in part, “If fashion, religious expression or your hair style is more important to you than safety, that’s fine. You can do what you want with your life. You just can’t do it at our park.”