Fine’s comments on X were in response to a post Omar made criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s U.S. visit.

“I’m sure it is difficult to see us welcome the killer of so many of your fellow Muslim terrorists,” Fine wrote on X in response to Omar, who is Muslim and a Democrat.

“The unhinged, racist and Islamophobic comments made by Randy Fine about Rep. Ilhan Omar are bigoted and disgusting,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Whip Katherine Clark and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar said in a statement.

Omar welcomed the Democrats’ support on X. Fine dismissed their criticism in a subsequent online post, labeling them sympathizers of extremism.

Robert McCaw from the Council on American-Islamic Relations advocacy group labeled Fine as “anti-Muslim” and pointed to past comments from him, saying his remarks should be condemned in a bipartisan manner.

“We are just weeks removed from heinous acts of political violence targeting elected officials in Minnesota for assassination,” the Democrats noted. A Democratic state assembly woman in Minnesota, where Omar is from, was fatally shot along with her husband in mid-June.

Advocates have raised concerns about escalatory rhetoric in the U.S. due to political polarization in recent years and, more recently, due to rising anti-Muslim sentiment and antisemitism during the Israel-Gaza war.

Omar’s post to which Fine responded, cast Netanyahu as a “war criminal.” The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in November against the Israeli leader over war crimes in Gaza. Netanyahu denies the charges, despite damning evidence proving attacks on civilians, civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, refugee camps, aid distribution centers and more.

U.S. ally Israel has faced accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the ICC over its military attacks and inhumane blockade on Gaza.

Source: The Daily Sabah

The UK has seen a significant surge in anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia in the year following the Israeli war on Gaza, according to a report released by a leading hate crime monitoring group.

Tell MAMA, a noted NGO that tracks hate crimes in Britain, recorded 4,971 incidents of anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia between Oct. 7, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2024. The findings were revealed in a report on Monday.

Iman Atta, the organization’s director, described the alarming rise as unprecedented in the group’s history.

Since Oct. 7, Middle Eastern communities, regardless of faith, as well as visibly Muslim individuals, particularly women, have been increasingly targeted for their perceived support of Palestinian rights, Atta said.

These communities have endured verbal abuse, with people being called “terrorists,” and “Nazis,” in addition to facing threats, violence, and discrimination in public spaces, she added.

This growing hostility has not only threatened their sense of security but has also affected their social mobility, careers, and education, undermining their fundamental rights.

Abusive and threatening behavior

The report revealed that nearly two-thirds (63%) of the incidents involved abusive behavior, while 27% were categorized as threatening behavior.

Most of these cases were reported in major urban canters such as London, the Northwest, Yorkshire, and the Midlands.

The increase in anti-Muslim sentiment has left many questioning their safety and sense of belonging in the UK, especially amid rising far-right violence and incidents like the horrific stabbings in Southport.

Tell MAMA also emphasized that hate crimes remain severely underreported, with many victims becoming to daily abuse and choosing not to report incidents to the police.

The report warned that this rise in anti-Muslim hatred poses serious long-term risks to the economic and social well-being of Muslim communities in the UK, threatening community cohesion.

The NGO called on politicians, the media, and public institutions to take urgent action to address these challenges, counter harmful stereotypes, and prevent the normalization of narratives that link Muslim communities to violence and criminality.

Regional tensions have escalated due to Israel’s brutal offensive on Gaza, which has killed nearly 42,000 people, mostly women, and children, following a Hamas blitz last October.

The conflict spread to Lebanon with Israel launching deadly strikes across the country, which have killed more than 1,251 people and injured over 3,000 others since Sept. 23.

Source: TRT World

“I’m angry to learn that women wearing hijabs were the target of a violent attack in London, and a mosque in Winnipeg was the target of hateful harassment,” Trudeau said on his official X account on Friday.

According to a statement by the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), two women wearing the Muslim headscarf were attacked Thursday in front of their children in London, where four members of a Muslim family were killed in a ruthless attack in 2021.

The statement noted that a knife-wielding man punched the women in their faces and made inappropriate comments. “The Israelis did a good job of landscaping Gaza. They’ll do the same to Lebanon,” and other slurs of an Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian nature,” according to NCCM.

“Needless to say, the incident amounts to yet another disturbing example of how Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism, often intersecting, continues to pervade corners of our communities, primarily targeting the vulnerable,” the civil rights organization said, adding that anti-Muslim hatred led to the killing of the Muslim family three years ago, and earlier this year, a Muslim family’s house was set on fire due to anti-Palestinian racism.

“It is time to act. Now. There is no time for more platitudes and words. Our leaders have to come up with a real plan to address this massive and disturbing rise in hate against our communities,” NCCM statement said.

No details were provided about the attack on the mosque in Winnipeg, in the country’s central Manitoba province.

A horrific mosque attack in Quebec province, where a lone gunman killed six Muslims and wounded 19 during evening prayers, shook the North American country in 2017.

In June 2021, four members of a Muslim family, who were out on a stroll in London, Ontario, were killed after a white nationalist man deliberately drove his truck into them. Countless other attacks occur on an ordinary basis, as Muslims across the country urge the government to take concrete action to stop the crimes.

Islamophobia is entrenched in Canada, according to a report by the country’s Senate Committee on Human Rights.

Source: Daily Sabah

An additional intensified wave of Islamophobic disinformation – or the deliberate spread of false information – comes amid a rising tide of Islamophobia across Europe.

Official data show that Islamophobic crimes in Germany more than doubled in 2023, with nearly one in 10 incidents involving violence, according to the German Alliance against Islamophobia and discrimination against Muslims (CLAIM).

Austria and other EU countries have also reported similar trends while racism and intolerance are rising in France, fuelled by the war in Gaza and far-right ideas in public debate, according to France’s human rights commission, the CNCDH.

It says reports of antisemitic and anti-Muslim acts have increased by 284% and 29% respectively, while other types of racist acts increased by 21%.

Anti-Muslim hate in the UK has more than tripled in the four months since Hamas’s attacks, says the charity Tell Mama which documented 2,010 Islamophobic incidents between 7 October and 7 February – a steep rise from the 600 it recorded for the same period the year previously.
It is the largest number over four months since the charity began in 2011.

Generally, anti-Muslim and anti-semitic attacks have surged in the UK following the Israel-Gaza conflict while in the U.S the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, received a staggering 3,578 complaints about discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or religion in the last three months of 2023.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is also concerned, saying that, “amidst an increase in prejudice and violence against Muslims in a growing number of countries, greater efforts are needed to build dialogue and counter anti-Muslim hatred.”

It hails the fact that all 57 OSCE states, including Uzbekistan, “have committed to fighting prejudice, intolerance and discrimination against Muslims and members of other religions. But it also called on all participating states “to intensify commitments and actions towards this crucial endeavor, striving to nurture an environment where every person can live free from hate and discrimination.”

The OSCE said, “There has been an upsurge in hatred against Muslims especially since the renewed outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East in October last year, with online and offline hate speech, threats and violence having a negative impact on Muslim communities, particularly women and girls.

The organization says all OSCE participating States have committed to combating discrimination and hate crime, adding: “Supporting countries across the OSCE region in combating anti-Muslim hate crime is a key area of our work, but victims across the OSCE area are reluctant to report their experiences to the authorities.”

This worrying trend is not confined to Europe or the U.S and was one of the issues of discussion by international scientists and scholars who got together recently in Uzbekistan to find ways to combat the problem.

Participants from 35 countries were attending the eighth annual Congress of the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan (WOSCU) in Uzbekistan, with representatives of the International Organization of Turkic Culture, Muslim World Islamic League, the Al-Furqan Foundation, the International Turkic Academy, the Arab World Institute and others.

The event heard that there is a growing global concern related to islamophobia and how the international community, both in the West and beyond, should deal with it.

The conference focused on efforts by Uzbekistan – a Muslim country- to address the issue.

The event heard that the Uzbek focus is on education and “enlightenment”, an approach and policy which the country’s president outlined during his landmark speech in the 78th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in September last year in which he reaffirmed his commitment to freedom of speech.

He also spoke of the “need to strengthen our joint efforts in preventing the spread of the scourge of extremism.”

A declaration was issued at the end of the annual WOSCU congress by the 300 participants from 35 countries, including 15 academicians, 40 professors, 103 doctors of science, 54 directors of museums and libraries and others.

It said: “We are firmly convinced that the work on studying and preserving cultural legacy is of paramount importance for the sustainable development and prosperity of not only Uzbekistan, but also the entire world community.”

A resolution supporting Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s call for “enlightenment against ignorance” and for an end to Islamophobia was adopted.

Those attending agreed that education on Islam should be the main objective and agreed that improved understanding is vital for addressing the “irrational fear or hostility towards the religion of Islam and Muslims in general.”

In a letter to President Mirziyoyev, conference participants noted his broad support for the idea of a “humane Islam” that he expressed in his UN address and his emphasis on the importance of “spiritual enrichment”.

The letter said the congress “fully” supported his initiatives, including in large-scale projects to “preserve the cultural legacy of Uzbekistan for world civilization.”

The congress, held both in Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent and ancient Samarkand, approved some 150 projects, including a forthcoming heritage project, developed around the world by the World Scientific Society on Preservation and Popularization of the Uzbek Heritage (WOSCU).

The projects, it was said, seek to foster recognition of “the great contribution of Oriental scholars who have made a significant contribution to world civilization.”

Participants went on to praise Uzbekistan’s investment in Tashkent’s Centre of Islamic Civilization and the Imam al Bukhari Spiritual Centre near Samarkand, both currently under construction, saying, “We consider it our most important task not only to join the activities of the Centre of Islamic Civilization, but also to create a powerful and rapidly developing scientific and cultural platform that will become a bright beacon of enlightenment and knowledge in the East.”

The declaration, adopted at the congress’s plenary session, recognizes the “importance” of the Centre, a “cultural and humanistic mega-project which will give a powerful impetus to fundamental research dedicated to the worthy contribution of great scholars and thinkers of the East to the development of world science and civilization.”

However, the declaration cautioned, “We are concerned about the situation in the world and believe that the ideas of the Uzbekistan president on the truly humanistic and educational essence of the religion of Islam are worthy of the closest attention.”

Established in 2017, the Tashkent-based WOSCU, sponsored by leading Uzbek businessman Bakhtiyor Fazilov, works to highlight the country’s cultural heritage around the world.

A conference in Baku, Azerbaijan in March heard similar concerns to those voiced at the WOSCU event, with Ilham Aliyev, the Azer president, saying, “Regrettably, Islamophobia trends across the world are on the rise.

“We are witnessing the portrayal of Islam as a potential threat, with doubt, discrimination and open hatred against the Muslims becoming increasingly widespread with each passing day.”

He said that Azerbaijan’s determination to combat Islamophobia was “one of the challenges of the modern era” and called for “concerted efforts” to combat Islamophobia and to “generate fresh initiatives aimed at promoting the culture of tolerance and peace found d on respect for religious and faith diversity”.

Source: EU Reporter

It comes amid a 365 percent surge in anti-Muslim hate incidents across the UK since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

She said: “There’s been an explosion of Islamophobia since October 7 – but there’s also a huge underreporting of the issue.”

“In my constituency, people report it to me but not the police. They kind of just put it down to the price you pay for being a Muslim in this country, (but) reporting is then what drives police policy, social policy and potential legislation. We all have a role to play.”

Ms Mahmood made the comments after the recent screening of HIJABI, a documentary created by BAFTA award-winning filmmaker, Samir Mehanovic, at the House of Commons.

The documentary charts the journeys of five British women who choose to wear the hijab and their experiences of Islamophobia in the UK and was unveiled to mark the International Day To Combat Islamophobia and International Women’s Day.

The heartwrenching story of a Muslim grandmother left devastated after an Islamophobic attack by teenagers and forced to flee Britain formed part of the testimonies heard in the film.

During a panel discussion after the screening, Ms Mahmood, who has been MP for Birmingham Ladywood since 2010, added: “Islamophobia has passed the dinner party test – it’s seen as acceptable. This is not just a Muslim problem, it should be addressed by all of society.”

According to Tell Mama, an organization dedicated to fighting Islamophobia, 65 percent of all incidents target women, with those who wear a hijab or niqab especially vulnerable.

Lee Anderson, the former Tory deputy chairman, was suspended from his party last month after accusing Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London, of being controlled by Islamists.

Mr Anderson has refused to apologise for the remarks despite Rishi Sunak, Britain’s first Asian prime minister, labelling them “wrong”.

Speaking after the screening, Labour MP Afzal Khan said: “With Islamophobic hate crime having trebled since October and senior members of the Conservative Party spouting Islamophobia through the media in recent weeks, there has never been a more pressing time to listen to the testimonies of visibly Muslim women in Britain.

A government spokesperson told The Independent: “British Muslim women make a huge contribution to the United Kingdom and in strengthening the ties that bind our country together.

“It is unacceptable for anyone to feel unsafe while practising their religion and we take a zero-tolerance approach to anti-Muslim hatred.

“We expect the police to fully investigate all hate crimes and work with the Crown Prosecution Service to make sure the cowards who commit these abhorrent offences feel the full force of the law.”

Shaista Aziz, who was among the first Labour councillors to resign in protest over Keir Starmer’s response to the Gaza attacks said: “When it comes to Islamophobia, there’s rightly lots of focus on the government and what is they are doing and not doing. There’s no focus though, on the man who wants to become the next leader of this country: Keir Starmer.”

A recent poll by HOPE not Hate revealed that 58 percent of Conservative Party members think Islam is a threat to the British way of life while Labour’s support amongst British Muslims has plummeted amid major concerns about Sir Keir Starmer’s handling of the Gaza war.

London-based charity Islamophobia Response Unit (IRU) reports that many Islamophobia incidents have involved people being targeted over their support for Palestine, as the Israel-Hamas war spirals on.

Source: The Independent

Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, in a report to the Human Rights Council, referred to widespread negative representations of Islam, fear of Muslims generally, and security and counter terrorism policies.

He said these have served to perpetuate, validate, and normalize discrimination, hostility, and violence towards Muslim individuals and communities.

“Islamophobia builds imaginary constructs around Muslims that are used to justify state-sponsored discrimination, hostility, and violence against Muslims with stark consequences for the enjoyment of human rights including freedom of religion or belief,” said Shaheed, also a former foreign minister of the Maldives.

The UN expert said that following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US in 2001 and “other horrific acts of terrorism purportedly carried out in the name of Islam,” institutional suspicion of Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim have escalated to “epidemic proportions.” “In such climates of exclusion, fear, and distrust, Muslims report that they often feel stigma, shame, and a sense that they are ‘suspect communities’ that are being forced to bear collective responsibility for the actions of a small minority,” he said, without naming specific countries.

The report cites European surveys in 2018 and 2019 showing that 37% of the population held unfavorable views of Muslims.

In 2017, some 30% of Americans surveyed viewed Muslims in a negative light.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Today, it is perpetuated by a poorly regulated media and sustained by agenda-driven think-tanks and self-professed ‘experts’ who brazenly deny the existence of anti-Muslim bigotry. In its most implicit incarnation, Islamophobia is a prejudicial barrier, and in its most explicit form it manifests as an existential threat to all who suffer in its shadow.

“Migration is the mother of all problems” – that’s according to German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer. But central to the flagrant anti-immigration and anti-refugee sentiment stoked by politicians across our continent is an unchecked undercurrent of Islamophobia.

Muslims have been selectively scapegoated for the ills of society, and relentless suspicion has been unfairly and unjustly cast our way for merely existing. Often the first to suffer are women who choose to express their Muslim faith and identity in the clothes they wear – in 2018, 76% of victims of Islamophobic incidents in Belgium were female.

Instead of defending people’s liberties to the last; their basic human rights and freedom to eat what they want, to wear what they like. and practice the faith of their choice, we have mainstream political leaders telling Muslim girls they don’t have a right to freedom of expression, issuing fines for calls to prayer, or banning halal meat.

While far-right extremism and populism proliferates, European governments and political leaders have been culpably complicit in condoning and abetting anti-Muslim hatred like no other form of racism…

Source: EURACTIV

That a parliamentary group has finally recognized the scale of a problem that some Muslims themselves had first identified almost 30 years ago has to be welcome (my report on this subject “Race Relations and Muslims in Britain” was written in 1992).The APPG could hardly have denied the scale of the problem because prejudice and hatred of Islam and Muslims are the acceptable face of bigotry today, not just in Europe but globally, and has long been recognized by most fair-minded people and campaign groups. Comments by politicians and media reporting over the last few decades is testimony to that.

This APPG report also collated more evidence and explored academic works on the subject. Evidence is always welcome, but there comes a point when skirting around the issues must stop, and action has to replace evidence-gathering, and comfortable discussions for political purposes. However, a prerequisite to effective action requires dealing with the root causes of the problem, not identifying and trying to deal with the after-effects, which is effectively what this report has done.

Source: 5pillarsuk.com