11th Annual Report On Islamophobia English

ELEVENTH OIC OBSERVATORY
REPORT ON
ISLAMOPHOBIA
July 2017 – April 2018
PRESENTED TO THE
45th Council of Foreign Ministers
Dhaka, People’s Republic of Bangladesh

5-6 May 2018
2 ELEVENTH OIC OBSERVATORY REPORT ON ISLAMOPHOBIA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE by the OIC Secretary General 4
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6
INTRODUCTION 8
1. TRENDS BRINGING SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS ON THE DECLINE OF ISLAMOPHOBIA, INTOL-

ERANCE AND DISCRIMINATION AGAINST MUSLIMS 11
1.1. The failure of racist policy in the United States and the break-apart of Trump’s
far-right inner circle 12
1.2. Multilateral consensus and unilateral settlement of ‘Immigrant Issue’ in Europe 15
1.3. Defeat of far-rights political parties at the European elections 20
1.4. The growing trend of inter-faith Dialogue in Europe and in the US 24
2. MANIFESTATIONS OF ISLAMOPHOBIA 28
2.1. Islamophobia in the U.S. and Canada 29
2.1. 1. Polls and Reports on Islamophobia in the U.S. and Canada 29
2.1.
2. Islamophobic Discourses and Campaigns 35
2.1.
3. Surveillance against Islam and Muslims 38
2.1. 4. Far Rights and populism in the U.S. and Canada 42
2.2. Islamophobia in Europe 47
2.2. 1. Polls and Reports on Islamophobia in Europe 47
2.2. 2. Islamophobic Discourses and Campaigns in Europe 54
2.2.
3. Far Rights and populism in Europe 58
2.3. Islamophobia in the Rest of the World 63

PREFACE BY THE OIC SECRETARY GENERAL 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
2.3.
1. Myanmar 63
2.3.
2. Australia 70
2.3.
3. China 74
2.4. Other Islamophobic Trends 78
2.4. 1. Islamophobic Gestures and Policies against Veil, Hijab, and Burqa 78
3. SOME POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS 83
3.1.
Public Policy 84
3.2. Court Decisions and Trials against Islamophobes 86
3.3.
Positive Views on Islam 94
3.4.
Counter-balances on Far-Rights 97
3.5.
Supports on Mosques 106
3.6.
Positive Development on Hijab 107
3.7.
Positive Development on Inter-Faiths 109
4. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 117
ANNEXES: ISLAMOPHOBIC INCIDENTS 122
I. Incidents Related to Mosques 123
II. Political and Social Campaigns against Islam and Muslims 133
III. Intolerance against Islam and its Sacred Symbols 135
IV. Discrimination against Muslim Individuals and Communities 136
V. Incidents Related to Hijab (Veil) 140
Margins 142
Dr. Yousef A. Al-Othaimeen

Secretary General PREFACE BY THE OIC
SECRETARY GENERAL
It is my pleasure to preface the 11th OIC rhetoric that rode the wave of Trump’s presi-
Observatory Report on Islamophobia, which dency, and following electoral failure of sever-
maps incidents of prejudice against Islam al populist, right-wing political factions in Eu-
and focuses on the situation of Islamophobia rope, particularly in France, the Netherlands
the world over. The report, a periodical publi- and Germany. These major political changes
cation of the OIC Islamophobia Observatory, were not without benefit to Islam and to Mus-
is also a reflection on the points of strength lim populations in western countries. This
and drawbacks of anti-Islamophobia policies phenomenon, the report demonstrates, has
worldwide. been diminishing considerably.
Submitted to the Council of Foreign Min- Also significant, the anti-Islamophobia

isters, the report aims to raise global aware- policy measures carried out by several coun-
ness of how Islamophobia impedes Muslims’ tries like Canada are bearing fruit. Intensive
coexistence with their host communities and awareness-raising programmes have been
perils peace and harmonious togetherness in put in place, both by Muslim communities in
the world. No less malevolent than terrorism, the West and by local western governments,
Islamophobia shatters the social, religious to create an inviting and inclusive environ-
and cultural fabric of communities. Islamo- ment for Muslims in these communities. This
phobia and violent terrorism are equally de- year, the fever pitch of anti-Hijab laws and re-
structive, being intrinsically interrelated. More strictions on mosque-construction has died
terrorism generates more Islamophobia, in a down. A mosque, one of Europe’s biggest,
reciprocal relationship. The less intense is Is- was inaugurated in June 2017 in Cologne
lamophobia, the less terrorism do we have. (Germany), amid wide official and popular
acclaim. However, no similarly positive trend
In this 11th report we shall see that Islamo-
has been identified in the second hemisphere
phobia has exhibited a downward trend over
of the terrestrial globe. Anti-Islam sentiment
the past year, amid disintegration of racist
PREFACE BY THE OIC SECRETARY GENERAL 5
SECRETARY GENERAL
PREFACE BY THE OIC
and violent, terrorist attacks against Rohingya operation.
Muslims are continuing unabated, amid inter-
Finally, I wish to reiterate that the OIC, man-
national community’s inability to stop the on-
dated by the Islamic Summit and the Council
going carnage of Muslims in this part of the
of Foreign Ministers, is acting in earnest to ad-
world.
vocate the values of justice and coexistence
I am fully confident, in light of the positive and contribute to achieving global peace,
and negative trends regarding Islamophobia, countering terrorism and combating hate
that the OIC and its Member States should speech and exclusion.
urgently continue efforts to combat this phe-
Through the submission of this report, I
nomenon. We have to say that Europe’s con-
also wish to invite the distinguished Member
tribution to reducing anti-Islam sentiment and
States to provide greater support, both politi-
activities is by no means unnoticed. It may be
cal and material, to the OIC institutions, most
more difficult, however, to preserve the prog-
notably the Islamophobia Observatory and
ress achieved, especially amid the growing
Sawt Al-Hikma (Voice of Wisdom) Centre to
influence of populist, radical-right parties in
Combat Terrorism. Both institutions jointly ad-
Europe which have performed better in small
dress the two evil phenomena of Islamopho-
European countries like Austria.
bia and terrorism, which are two sides of the
Just as we are focused on curbing and same coin. It is therefore obvious that without
monitoring this phenomenon in western com- further support, it will be hard for the Obser-
munities, we need to give more attention to vatory to fully discharge its mission of inves-
Muslims in Myanmar, Australia, and China. tigating this phenomenon, and to continue
This requires that we drive new initiatives to supporting the Organization’s endeavours for
combat this phenomenon in Muslim minority peaceful coexistence and harmony to prevail
countries in Asia, whose conditions remain a between Muslims and their host communi-
top priority for the Organization of Islamic Co- ties.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The 11th Annual Report of the OIC Islamophobia Observatory covers the period
from July 2017 to April 2018. The Report contains 4 (four) main chapters and an
Annex.
Chapter 1
This Chapter Speaks about ‘Trends Bringing Significant Impacts on the Decline of Islamo-
phobia, Intolerance, and Discriminations against Muslims’ describes the decreasing trend of
Islamophobia under the covered period, indicated by the number of incident which was much
lower if being compared to those at the latest trimester of 2016, or at the first trimester of 2017,
during which the US and Europe were always at the top of the Hotspot List—but were now
moving towards significant improvement despite the remaining ‘worrisome’ overall situation.
This positive trend was assessed by the Observatory to have been driven mostly by 4 (four)
factors, namely: the failure of racist policy in the United States and the break-apart of Trump’s
far-right inner circle; the consensus and unilateral settlement of ‘Immigrant Issue’ in Europe;
defeat of far-rights political parties at the European elections, and; the growing trend of inter-
faith Dialogue in Europe and in the US. On this Chapter, the OIC Permanent Observer Missions
in New York, Brussels, and Geneva as well the OIC Liaison Office in the UNESCO, Paris, have
helped the Observatory to elaborate these four factors focusing on these factors’ contribution
towards the declining Islamophobia in the US and in Europe during the reviewed period.
Chapter 2
This Chapter reveals ‘Manifestations of Islamophobia’ around the world, being classified into
3 (three) different categories based on geographical consideration: a) Islamophobia in the
United States and Canada; b) Islamophobia in Europe, and; c) Islamophobia in the rest of
the world. In addition to these three categories, d) ‘Other Islamophobic trends’ forms a sec-
tion under the same chapter since it shows a general trend of fear against Islam and its attire
which is not necessary regional or geographical in term of character. For this latest category
of Chapter 2, the Observatory focuses on Islamophobic gestures and policies against Veil,
Hijab, and Burqa. Chapter 2 provides a review on how Islamophobia grew in the United
States and Canada, and how it continued to take root through intensive far-right campaigns
and public discourses showing ‘fear’ towards Islam; and also through a number of incidents
occurring against Muslims, mosques, Islamic centers, as well as Islamic attire. This Chap-
ter also reveals the fact that Europeans remain critical to Muslim population, a condition
that continue feeding Islamophobia in the continent and tends to lead to intolerant attitudes
against Muslim minorities. Chapter 2 also exposes the concerning trend of Islamophobia in
3 (three) locus of different regions: a) Myanmar; b) Australia, and; c) China. These locus was
chosen based on the Observatory’s assessment on the level severity, or due to the potential
growing of Islamophobia in the areas. They are presented here in this report in hoping to
have particular attention from Member States.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7
Chapter 3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Chapter highlights some ‘Positive Developments’ in term of actions, attitudes, senti-
ments, initiatives as well as other steps and positions taken by governments or by non-Mus-
lim individuals against Islamophobes. All of these positive signs were classified into seven
categories through which such friendly signs were reflected, comprising: public policy, court
decision and trials against Islamophobes, positive views on Islam, counter-balances to the
far-rights, support on mosques, positive attitude towards hijabs, and positive development
on inter-faiths. In fact, through this chapter the Observatory wants to bring upon the Mem-
ber States’ attention that counter-balancing power to the Islamophobia does exist in places
where the issue was growing. Most of them were the long-existing products of the spirit of
tolerance and harmony within the local society, and many of them flourish as reaction to the
growing hate sentiments against Islam and Muslims, based on their awareness on the dan-
ger of Islamophobia within their own society. The positive gestures elaborated in this chapter
were undertaken mostly by non-Muslims, whether they are representing the governments,
religious groups, communities, or individuals.
Chapter 4
This Chapter presents the conclusion of the overall chapters, followed by a set of recommen-
dation that proposes some steps and actions suggested to be taken by the OIC as well as
by the relevant stakeholders including Member States, while to encourage them to consider
taking concrete actions to renounce Islamophobia. The main background of this recom-
mendation is the fact that, despite its declining pattern, the overall situation of Islamophobia
remains alarming hence requires serious actions at international and national levels. Collec-
tive and worldwide endeavor to combat Islamophobia is expected to minimize its negative
impacts on social life based on tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Finally,
The report also includes an Annex showing a list of Islamophobic incidents happened around
the world under the reviewed period, which was classified into five categories: Incidents Re-
lated to Mosques, Political and Social Campaigns against Islam and Muslims, Intolerance
against Islam and its Sacred Symbols, Discrimination against Muslim Individuals and Com-
munities, and Incidents Related to Hijab.
INTRODUCTION
For quite sometimes, Islamo- well as through incidents targeting
phobia has been growing strongly mosques, Islamic centers, Mus-
in the West and has continued to lim individuals and communities,
take root through intensive cam- and women wearing the veil or hi-
paigns and public discourses jab. Mosques and Islamic centers
disseminating fear of Islam, and are the most common target, as
through a significant number a significant number of incidents
of incidents targeting Muslims, of vandalism and arson involving
mosques, Islamic centers, Islam- mosques and prayer facilities are
ic attire, and Islam’s sacred sym- occurring in the U.S., Canada,
bols. Reports and evidence reveal Germany, Sweden, UK and Neth-
that negative sentiment toward Is- erlands.
lam and Muslims keeps expand-
The current main hotspots of
ing in the minds of mainstream
Islamophobia remain the U.S. and
Westerners, through mistrust
Europe. In the U.S., the Islamo-
toward Islam and its adherents.
phobia trend is the most con-
There are clear indicators showing
cerning in terms of scale. Rac-
that more and more Westerners
ist graffiti, pig carcass dumping,
are in doubt that Islam is a religion
threatening mail, Holy Quran de-
of peace; they feel suspicious
facing, physical assaults, and ver-
over religious activities conducted
bal insults are among the frequent
in mosques and Islamic centers,
incidents. Also, quite recently in
while associating Islam with the
the U.S. there was an atmosphere
ongoing phenomena of extrem-
of overwhelming chaos, as the
ism and terrorism.
early days of President Trump’s
Particularly during the last few administration had made clear
years, Islamophobia has reached that Islam is a major Public En-
an intractable point as it continues emy. Among the most notorious
to grow, despite up-and-down instances was the issuance of a
graphic from time to time. This is xenophobic order that flies in the
reflected in the wide scale of neg- face of America’s self-proclaimed
ative narratives against Islam, as values of freedom and equality.
INTRODUCTION 9
INTRODUCTION
The policy was called Executive Order Pro- social, and public life.
tecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry
Islamophobia, therefore, is not an issue
into the United States, and it suspended en-
that ‘stands alone’, for it is very close con-
try for nationals of certain Muslim countries.
nected with other issues which reciprocally
Meanwhile in Europe, the bleak picture of Is-
feed the phenomena. In simpler words, 9/11
lamophobia was seen in intense campaigns
was a problem of terrorism; ISIS was problem
waged by populist-right wing parties amidst
of radicalization and violent extremism, while
ongoing elections.
Islamophobia was actually something else,
Islamophobia has existed since very long but it was so affected by those issues in term
ago, meaning that Muslims were targets of vice-versa.
negative stereotyping and prejudice in all its
Terrorism and violent extremism both had
forms and manifestations for quite some time.
boosted Islamophobia elsewhere, which was
It is particularly since the attacks on the World
the fact, and the fast-growing Islamophobia
Trade Center in 2001 that the phenomena
had nurtured extremism and terrorism, which
has increased drastically at global level, since
was just another fact. By consequence, ad-
when Islam was seen as a serious threat in
dressing the issue of Islamophobia must be
certain parts of the world.
undertaken in parallel with efforts to tackle
The rise of ISIS in the last few years has other ‘related issues’ which is unfortunately
made the situation even worse, as Islam not an easy matter.
was then portrayed as a religion of intrinsic
The main task of the Islamophobia Obser-
violence whose disciples had a tendency
vatory is to ‘monitor’ those events on day-to-
to spread harm to the followers of other re-
day basis, scanning the minds, public feel-
ligions. In many Western countries Islam is
ings, incidents, and everything that serves
even considered as an ‘alien’ religion prone
as possible indicator of Islamophobia. All of
to bloodshed, a stigma that triggers intolerant
the information were then gathered and pre-
attitudes amongst non-Muslims.
sented in this report with the expectation that
These negative stereotyping eventually the Member States would have a picture on
ended up into negative sentiments, dread or the trend of Islamophobia around the world
hatred of Islam that includes multi-form dis- during the reviewed period; and hopefully this
crimination against its adherents, manifested report could be used as materials for making
into the exclusion of Muslims from economic, policies and decisions on relevant issues.
Chapter 1 11
1. TRENDS BRINGING SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS ON THE

DECLINE OF ISLAMOPHOBIA, INTOLERANCE AND
1
DISCRIMINATION AGAINST MUSLIMS
Chapter 1
Chapter
After almost 4 (four) years of constant high-level of Islamopho-
bia around the world, it was now to note its significant decline.
Such a positive trend has been the case since May 2017 and it
continued to show a declining pattern until this report is written
and being submitted to the OIC Member States. The main indica-
tor was the number of incident which was much lower if being
compared to those at the latest trimester of 2016, or at the first
trimester of 2017, during which the US and Europe were always
at the top of the ‘Hotspot List’—but were now moving towards
significant improvement. Along with this positive trend, the Ob-
servatory identified and made assessment on main factors which
might have contributed significantly to the declining trend of Is-
lamophobia since May 2017, namely: The failure of racist policy
in the US and the break-apart of far-right inner circle of President
Trump, Multilateral consensus and unilateral settlement of ‘Immi-
grant Issue’ in Europe, Defeat of far-rights political parties at the
European elections, and the growing trend of inter-faith Dialogue
in Europe and in the US.
1.1. The failure of racist policy in the US and the break-

apart of far-right inner circle of President Trump1
After more than two years since Donald pose such ban were challenged by the court
Trump called for “a total and complete shut- and widely opposed and condemned by many
down of Muslim entering the United States un- in the public and in the media and elsewhere.
til our country’s representatives can figure out Although the US President went on with his
what is going on” and declared to Anderson program by signing a third ban order, but the
Cooper that “Islam hates us”, Islamophobia potential failure of the racist and anti-Muslim
and racism remain unabated in the United policies in the US was looming since then.
States. Muslims have come under further at-
This situation was getting worse through-
tack and more scrutiny in different ways. The
out the early period of Mr. Trump’s presidency
US administration continued with its campaign
due to the presence of some high profile indi-
of banning Muslims from some Muslim coun-
viduals who had surrounded the US President
tries to enter the United States. The US Presi-
for quite some time and who also harboured
dent’s first and second signed orders to im-
racism and anti-Muslim sentiments. Individuals
Chapter 1 13
Chapter 1
in this category included Army Lt. General Mi- crafting the iteration of the Muslim Ban and who,
chael Flynn, whom Trump named national se- in college, started a “terrorism awareness proj-
curity adviser and who once called “Islamism” ect” with the goal of making “students aware
a “vicious cancer inside the body of 1.7 billion of the Islamic jihad and the terrorist threat, and
people on this planet and it has to be excised”, to mobilize support for the defense of America
and former White House aide Sebastian Gorka and the civilization of the West.”
who stated that violence is a fundamental part
It became clear later on that the US adminis-
of Islam and that were no moderate Muslims,
tration and the white House cannot continue to
only those who had already been radicalized or
work with these figures and pursue their policies
were on their way to being radicalized.
and therefore, distanced themselves to an ex-
Then, of course, there were the chief White tent from their anti-Muslim and racist programs
House strategist Steve K. Bannon, a well- and adopted a different path. This change was
known white supremacist and key architect of also partly due to the fact that these policies
the Muslim Ban who publicly stated that “Islam and programs received negative reactions do-
is not a religion of peace” and the White House mestically and internationally. It was encourag-
policy aide Stephen Miller, who played a role in ing to note that the upward trend of Islamo-
phobia and anti-Muslim discrimination within show the actions of violent political extremists.
the president’s inner circle has lost momentum
An alarming example of racism that was se-
as these key figures were no more among the
verely rejected by most in the American society
advisors and decision making team of the US
was the racist rally, with racist slogans, chants
president. This also reflected a change in the
and salutes by white nationalists, neo-Nazis,
policy and approach of the US president as he
and the Ku Klux Klan, promoting white suprem-
positively improved his rhetoric towards Mus-
acy and inciting racial discrimination and ha-
lims as well as his government’s relations with
tred in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017.
some Muslim countries and attended the Sum-
An anti-racist protester was killed by a white
mit of the Muslim world leaders held in Riyadh,
supremacist during this time.
Saudi Arabia.
The failure at the highest political level in the
However, beside this cautious optimism,
US administration to reject racist demonstra-
one has to be aware of the volatility of the situ-
tion attracted a lot of criticism within the United
ation and the changing mode and behavior of
States. According to a poll by Quinnipiac Uni-
the US administration towards Islam and Mus-
versity, most of Americans disapproved the
lims. On 29 November 2017 the U.S. President
way President Trump responded to the events
Donald Trump’s decided to retweet the three
in Charlottesville and rejected how he handled
Islamophobic videos originally twitted by a far-
race issues. Following these incidents, Profes-
right and virulently anti-Muslim British activist,
sor Daniel M Kammen, resigned from his post
which provoked condemnation from religious
as Science Envoy of the US State Department
leaders worldwide. The videos purported to
in protest to President’s response to white su-
show Muslims committing violent and anti-
premacists and neo-Nazis, which was followed
Christian acts.
by resignation of several actors and prominent
Interfaith organizations and institutions arts figures from an advisory committee to the
spoke out against Trump’s role in amplifying White House. The group included actor Kal
three videos shared by Britain First’s deputy Penn, photographer Chuck Close and author
leader Jayda Fransen. The critics said the Jhumpa Lahiri. The president was also forced
president’s retweets gave her a much bigger to shut down four major business advisory
platform on which to spread anti-Muslim hate. councils over tensions with the business com-
Fransen’s tweet claimed that one of the videos munity following the events in Charlottesville.
depicted a Muslim migrant beating up a Dutch
While hate-mongers and racist groups will
boy on crutches. The Dutch Embassy in Wash-
continue to push with their agenda, it is upon
ington, D.C., discredited that claim, confirming
the US government and other stakeholders to
in a tweet that the attacker was born and raised
combat against all forms of racism and preju-
in the Netherlands. The two other videos ap-
dice against Muslims.
pear to be from Syria and Egypt in 2013 and
Chapter 1 15
1.2. Multilateral consensus and unilateral settlement

of ‘Immigrant Issue’ in Europe2
Chapter 1
It is well documented that Islamophobia in erlands, France, Germany, Austria, the Czech
Europe is particularly on the rise since 2015, Republic, Poland and most recently in Italy, im-
namely following the refugee crisis. The level of migration has become the central theme of the
Islamophobia in fields such as education, em- campaign, fuelling feelings of fear and hatred,
ployment, media, politics, the justice system brandished by the extreme right as a pretext of
and the internet is on the rise across Europe. the socio-economic malaise felt by the popula-
Notably, however, Islamophobic incidents tion. To justify the link between immigration and
have been taking place even in countries where crime, Georgia Meloni, President of the neo-
Muslim communities are almost absent, for ex- fascist party Fratelli Italia (Frères d’Italie), said
ample, in some Central European states. The during a meeting that “the migrants in Italy are
rise of nationalist sentiments and Islamophobia responsible for 50% of the crimes, 40% of rob-
is no doubt based on the false notion linking beries, 47% of cases of violence, 25% of mur-
Muslims with terrorism. There were attempts to ders and 60% of other crimes of sexual abuse.
blame Muslim refugees for the recent terror- Georgia Meloni is following the footsteps of
ist attacks, despite the fact that the majority of Czech President Milos Zemman and Hungar-
perpetrators have been citizens of Western Eu- ian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who make no
ropean states. It is interesting to note, that the secret of their Islamophobia. While under the
European policy-makers including the EU has Lisbon Treaty, immigration policies are to be
been consciously resisting to acknowledge the
inherent difference between “refugees who are
fleeing conflict situations” and “migrants” by
lumping them together in their policy debates.
This is obviously in a bid to bypass their inter-
national protection responsibilities under the
UN Refugee Convention and thus avoid criti-
cism for violating human rights obligations by
putting up barriers against refugee inflows into
Europe.
The rhetoric about immigration/refugee in-

flows, perceived as a danger for Christian
civilization, continued throughout 2017 in the
European political debate. Some European
governments and right-wing politicians have
been openly expressing anti-Muslim opinions.
During the recent elections, notably in the Neth-
governed by the principle of solidarity and fair Facing this obsession with security, the Eu-
sharing of responsibility, meeting in Sofia on ropean Union is continuously investing in the
27th January 2018, the four Visegrad coun- search for “appropriate solutions to the migra-
tries (Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech tion crisis”, working towards a common multi-
Republic) rejected in one voice the European lateral, as well as bilateral policy. It adopted a
quota for relocation and reaffirmed their refusal roadmap to reach to, by June 2018, intending
to accept migrants. To date, only Luxembourg to establish a balanced approach dealing with
and Ireland are seemingly not affected by a both regular and irregular migration through a
strong wave of anti-immigrant populism that comprehensive agreement on the reform of the
is sweeping Europe. While isolated incidents Common European Asylum System (CEAS),
even there cannot be ruled out. consolidate partnerships with third countries
Chapter 1 17
prove the return capacity of illegal migrants in

dignity and security, based on coordination on
the fight against smuggling networks and their
economic model. The summit also decided to
Chapter 1
create hotspots in Niger and Chad in order to
identify those entitled to asylum, ensure the se-
curity of the Libyan border in order to stem the
flow of refugees and adopt a code of conduct
for rescue. At the EU-AU Summit held in Abi-
djan on 29-30 November 2017, in addressing
the “root causes” a call was launched for the
empowerment of women and youth to pro-
mote decent employment creation and sus-
tainable development. The Summit strongly
condemned the criminal acts against migrants
in Libya. (It is recalled that the EU had come
under serious criticism from human rights
groups for their unilateral policy to engage with
Libya in preventing migrants/refugees reaching
European shores, who were then literally held
in detention and subject to violence in Libya.)
It is also noted that the United Nations has
reprimanded the EU’s attitude towards the hot
spots and the new forms of slavery they entail.
The mini-summit on migration held in Rome fo-
cused on support for countries of origin, transit
and destination, as well as on the principle of
solidarity in the reception of migrants.
Bilateral actions were also carried out, in

including the AU, open travel routes to Europe,
particular between France and the UK, at their
ensure adequate funding to manage migration
35th summit to better control illegal immigra-
and tackle its root causes. The European Com-
tion by strengthening the management of the
mission also plans to relocate more 50.000
joint border by the “Treaty of Touquet II” and by
vulnerable refugees by May 2019 and pledges
granting better treatment to unaccompanied
support for IOM through the EU-AU-UN Task
minor migrants. Other countries like Germany,
Force to speed up returns from Libya.
Italy and France have signed agreements with
The EU-Africa mini-summit on migration in some African countries to fight against illegal
Paris took steps to strengthen the resilience of migration.
countries of origin, in order to address the root
At the national level, all EU countries have
causes of migration, prevent departures, im-
taken steps to facilitate the judicial process al- sive approach in 2017 to halt migratory inflows
lowing them to immediately expel asylum seek- from North Africa by cracking down on NGOs
ers who have not obtained protection status, operating rescue operations off the country’s
in particular by speeding up the processing coast have been criticised without any results.
of asylum applications and the reduction of With each new twist and turn, the number of ar-
appeal time. Germany created “deportation rivals has however, dropped. The IOM reported
centres” for rejected asylum seekers to coun- that slightly fewer than half as many migrants
tries of origin because of bilateral agreements reached Europe by sea in 2017 than 2016. In
and limits the migrants number to 200.000 2016, only 710.395 refugees were granted asy-
per year. Italy, the main entry for migrants sent lum and 14.205 people were relocated. Look-
back more than 24% of rejected applicants. In ing at the numbers globally, most refugees flee
Sweden, which has long been a land of asy- to neighbouring countries. Thus, the refugees
lum for migrants, has also revised its line and in Europe represent less than half of the num-
dismissed nearly 70.000 rejected asylum seek- ber living in Jordan for decades and not to
ers in 2017 and restricted its family reunification speak of the huge number hosted by Lebanon
policies. France introduced a bill on immigra- and other neighboring countries in the Middle
tion and asylum, based on “humanity” towards East as well as those hosted by countries in
refugees and “firmness” against rejected mi- Africa and the Rohingya refugees in Bangla-
grants. However, out of a total of 100.000 asy- desh! In the context of the ground reality of
lum applications received in 2017 in France, global refugee situation, the anti-refugee /anti-
1/3 became refugees, 26.000 people were “re- immigration measures of Europe have been
moved” from French territory including 1.400 strongly criticized by the human rights groups,
by forced re-terminations. In 2018, the country notably the OFPRA (French Office of protection
will open only 7.500 places for asylum seekers of the refugees and stateless persons), the na-
and 5.000 places for refugees. The EU and its tional court of the right of asylum (CNDA), as
individual members are also focusing on “ef- well as by Amnesty international and the Hu-
fective return policy” and “readmission agree- man Rights Committee of the United Nations,
ments” with countries of origin or provenance which fear that the migrants’ fundamental rights
of third country nationals. are being affected.
The EU, which prides itself on being the con- In the absence of a responsible common
tinent of solidarity, is paradoxically witnessing a migration policy, Europe is insidiously setting
drastic decrease in refugees due to its restrict- up a “closed-door policy”. Many associations
ed policies of closing borders in the name of shared their efforts with politicians and parlia-
more security. Europe’s migration policies are mentarians to ‘move the lines’ of rejection of
also critically reviewed outside of Europe. In others and intolerance, to foster intercultural
2016, the European Union’s controversial “one dialogue, to deconstruct, among other things,
in, one out” deal with Turkey to stop migrants the myths of Muslim women “submissive and
and refugees fleeing to Europe from the Middle deprived of all their rights “and more broadly
East and Italy’s similar adoption of an aggres- of a Muslim minority that has no place in the
Chapter 1 19
West. Thus, during its survey, the FRA (EU Fun- ity. But for the V-4 countries “the demographic
damental Rights Agency) showed the view of problem will not be solved by immigration but
“others” on Muslim minorities. On 14th Decem- with a strong family policy”. Sooner than later
ber 2017, a survey of the European Network the EU leaders must reinvigorate their efforts to
Chapter 1
against Racism (ENAR) in 5 EU countries (Ger- promote respect for diversities, the only way to
many, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Sweden) ensure peaceful coexistence, on the basis of
gave the voice to people at the heart of the better integration. The first thing would be es-
EU migration policies. The survey reveals that tablished a social contract between refugees/
all respondents are dissatisfied with their lives migrants and receiving states in order to restore
in general, 1/3 do not feel close to the people public and political trust and foster a welcom-
around them, particularly in Greece (36,6%) ing environment, and address xenophobia.
and Germany (33%), at least 77% find it difficult 2018 announces reforms in many countries.
to find housing, 54% of study permit holders The outcomes however, remain to be seen.
who have arrived in Europe as part of family re- French President Emmanuel Macron intends
unification are overqualified for their job, while to prepare the ground of “all organizations of
27,3% are likely to be treated worse than their Islam in France” by May 2018.
colleagues, 37% of those questioned were vic-
As has been evident, the European lead-
tims of insults. Finally, 36% of migrants who are
ers openly or covertly have pressed on several
victims of crime believe that the offense was
fronts to stem migration especially after a burst
committed on the basis of their ethnicity, 54%
in 2015. The deals struck with Turkey and Libya
on their migratory status and 63% on the basis
and the intensive ongoing efforts in sub-Saha-
of their Muslim religion.
ran Africa, tying development aid to countries’
In the name of so-called “Western Islam” and willingness to accept returnees from Europe
the fight against radicalization, 2017 has seen and offering fresh assistance in exchange for
the closing of many mosques or a change in pledges to cut flows are considered piecemeal
the custodian, including of the Grand mosque solutions in addressing the greater humanitar-
in Brussels itself. With unbridled rise of Islamo- ian concerns of refugee inflows or immigration
phobia, the already difficult situation of Mus- per-se. In the ultimate, the EU must reject its
lims in Europe would no doubt be a cause of policy of unilateral settlement of immigration
grave alarm. There is also a growing realization issue and expand on a principled, pragmatic
within European civil society organizations that and common approach to responding to ref-
building social cohesion, stability and security ugees and migrants and reach a multilateral
requires that communities are well-equipped to consensus within the framework of effective
receive refugees, and that refugees are well- coordination with the UN including the IOM
supported to realize their potential in their new and UNHCR. It remains to be seen how the EU
environments. The EU on its part, recognizes will engage in multilateral consensus on Global
that factors such as climate change, insecurity Compact for Safe, orderly and Regular Migra-
and instability and the aging of Europe’s popu- tion to be adopted in Morocco later this year.
lations make migration a long-standing prior-
1.3. Defeat of far-rights political parties at the Euro-

pean elections3
During the last few years, right-wing popu- nent. The slow economic growth in recent
list parties have gained popularity and elec- years, the terrorist attacks on the European
toral successes throughout Europe. Several soil and the refugee and migrant crisis have
new right-wing populist actors have begun to contributed significantly to the rise of populist,
change the European political landscape and anti-establishment and extreme right-wing par-
many EU countries continue to face a num- ties and consequently to the breakdown of the
ber of internal destabilizing political trends. In mainstream European political system and the
several European countries, including Finland, strong rejection of the political class in general.
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Swit-
The political programs and discourse that
zerland, right-wing parties participate in the
were once unacceptable had become a well-
governments. The United Kingdom Indepen-
entrenched and normalized activity and behav-
dence Party (UKIP), the French Front National,
ior. Standing up to Islam and Muslims, rejecting
the Alternative for Germany (AfD), the Austrian
the European Union, demonizing immigration
Freedom Party (FPO) and the Dutch Party for
and encouraging national pride and authori-
Freedom (PVV) were enjoying record popularity.
tarianism have dominated public discussion
The Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s victory in
and were the paths that led towards important
the US election have normalized in many ways
electoral success. The United Kingdom Inde-
the once-disdained far-right po-
pendence Party (UKIP), the
litical parties across
French Front Na-
the European
tional, the
conti-
Alter-
Chapter 1 21
Chapter 1
native for Germany (AfD), the Austrian Freedom ing their exclusionist, ethno-nationalist notion
Party (FPO), the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV), of citizenship, anti-establishment rhetoric and
the Finland’s Finns Party, the Danish People’s rejection of immigration and ethnic diversity.
Party, the Italian Lega Nord, the Czech Free- Those parties share some additional features
dom & Direct Democracy and the Slovakia’s including populism which is reflected in simple
People’s Party have gained popularity and be- division between “we/us” and “they/them” and
came the leading opposition forces. authoritarianism that highlights the need for
stronger leadership reflecting “the will of the
Much has been written on the causes lead-
people” with regard to promoting traditional
ing to the rise of these extreme parties and the
values, nationalism, law and order and opposi-
consequences of their participation in the po-
tion to multiculturalism, immigration and above
litical life and the work of the European parlia-
all Islam.
ments and governments. Scholars, journal-
ists and analysts use different labels such as Using racist rhetoric to exploit a migration
“extreme right”, “far-right” and “populist radical crisis and attacking Islam and Muslims has
right” to refer to the same organizations, po- proved to be a successful instrument to gain
litical parties and movements that build their votes in the elections. Some scholars have
narratives on common denominators includ- observed that radical party orientations have
been adapted in the recent years. In particular, has been fueled by policies concerning immi-
Islamophobia has replaced anti-Semitism (Mi- gration, integration, law and order, perceived
chelle Hale Williams, 2010). The rise of far-right loss of identity and economic deprivation.
parties endangers pluralism and the protection
In many cases, far-right movements and
of minorities.
populist parties rely heavily on media and par-
In some Western European countries, far- ticularly on social media channels to deliver
right parties have enjoyed a de facto institution- their messages to potential adherents as they
alization in party politics (e.g. Austria, Italy, Den- often lack sufficient organizational and financial
mark, Switzerland and France). These parties means.
were instrumental in passing policies that are
The recent elections in some European
more restrictive on immigration, multicultural-
countries exposed a major shift in European
ism and law and order.
politics. While the mainstream political parties
On the other hand, in Eastern European and media outlets welcomed the defeat of the
countries, some studies have showed that the far-right candidates in Austria, the Netherlands
political establishment, mainstream parties and and France, it should be highlighted that this
discourses are more radicalized than in West- “major defeat” represents the fact of being
ern Europe. Law and Justice (PiS) in Poland and placed in a second position in the presidential
Fidesz in Hungary adopted more radical po- or national elections. There is a clear evidence
sitions than some Western European far-right that the once-unacceptable radical, xenopho-
parties did. Experts’ surveys show that the rise bic and discriminatory language of extreme
of far-right parties in post-communist Europe far-right parties are no longer too toxic to ex-
clude their candi-
dates from com-
ing a breath away
from leadership.
Besides, another
trend is still clearly
visible and ex-
tremely worrying.
In an attempt to
regain the support
of the electorate,
some mainstream
political parties
have started to
capitalise on se-
curity concerns
and use some of
Chapter 1 23
the radical, xenophobic and discriminatory lan- (SPD) party of Tomio Okamura, with 10.7 per
guage. cent of the votes. The party attracted electoral
support through its slogan “No to Islam, no to
In France, despite her defeat in the second
Chapter 1
terrorism”. In December 2017, the SPD hosted
round of the presidential election in May 2017,
a meeting in Prague of the right-wing Europe of
Marine Le Pen, marked a high point and claimed
Nations and Freedom Group in the European
a “historic, massive result” for the far-right party
Parliament with the objective to create a new
in the modern French history. Campaigned on
model of intercontinental cooperation. Lead-
fear and anger, Le Pen tried to draw herself as
ers of far-right parties from France, the Nether-
the defender of French values from the “inva-
lands, Italy, Austria, Britain and other countries
sion” of immigrants and “radical Islamic funda-
participated in the meeting.
mentalism”. However, despite the defeat, she
has profoundly changed French politics. During the regional elections in Slovakia in
November 2017, the far-right People’s Party
In Germany, during the Federal elections
– Our Slovakia, (PPOS) was the main looser
in September 2017 that aimed at the election
bucking the trend of the rise of far-right parties
of the members of the Bundestag, the popu-
across Europe. The party become known for
list radical-right Alternative for Germany (AfD)
its anti-EU and anti-immigration rhetoric and
party, which was previously unrepresented in
openly expressed admiration for Nazi rule dur-
the German parliament, became the third party
ing the Second World War. The party’s platform
with a stunning 13.3 per cent of the vote. Some
includes anti-Roma and anti-Jewish rhetoric,
statistics showed that the party has its strong-
Christian morality and the need to increase
holds in the former communist east of the
the size of the army to be able to prevent the
country. Like most right-wing parties of Europe,
“hordes of Muslim immigrants” from coming to
anti-Islam policies replaced its Eurosceptic fo-
Slovakia.
cus with the slogan “Islam is not a part of Ger-
many”. The party’s “Manifesto for Germany”, On the other hand, during the recent Ital-
states that “Islam does not belong to Germany. ian general elections in March 2018, the anti-
Its expansion and the ever-increasing number establishment Five Star Movement of Luigi
of Muslims in the country are viewed by the AfD di Maio obtained 32.66 per cent of the votes
as a danger to our state, our society, and our and secured an important number of seats
values.” in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.
The right-wing Lega Nord obtained 17.37 per
In October 2017, an anti-establishment
cent while Brothers of Italy, a radical right party,
party “Ano”, founded by Andrej Babis, gained
gained 4.35 per cent of the votes.
nearly 30 per cent of the votes in the Czech
legislative elections. Among the biggest sur- We can note that the far-right European par-
prises in the election was the important result ties are undergoing a groundbreaking trans-
obtained by the extreme right-wing anti-migrant formation and steadily making their way in the
and anti-Islam Freedom & Direct Democracy European political landscape.
1.4. The growing trend of inter-faith Dialogue in Europe

and in the US4
Political polarization in the US and Europe faith dialogue in Europe and the US, where the
today, including the erosion of political parties focus is on the need to promote understand-
and the rise of political and religious pluralism is ing and tolerance among followers of different
calling for innovative ways to promote the cul- faiths, and on the intertwined necessity to fight
ture of peace. Even in secular Western liberal terrorism and propaganda on the “clash of civi-
democratic societies, there is an urgent need lizations”. Hence, interfaith dialogue proves as
to bridge the widening gap between faiths and an excellent tool to heal fragmentations within
cultures as extremists increasingly exploit re- society and constitutes an important compo-
ligions for their own political agenda. This ex- nent for global politics in the current Interna-
plains the growing trend of initiatives on inter- tional political context. The aftermath of 9/11,
Chapter 1 25
and the terrorist attacks in Europe and the USA meetings, based on a solid legal framework.
fuel fear, ignorance and negative stereotyping Thus, in 1994, European Commission Presi-
of the religious other. This negative portrayal dent, Jacques Delors established the first for-
Chapter 1
of ‘the other’ particularly impacts Muslims, who mal links of the European institutions with reli-
are too often depicted as inherently violent by gious communities within the initiative ‘A Soul
mass media. In this context, interfaith dialogue for Europe’. He set up a structured dialogue
may play a role of catalysts for national cohe- with religious associations with the objective of
sion and constitutes a pivotal tool for cultural promoting civil society’s participation in EU’s
diplomacy. integration process.
In Europe, dialogue between the European A Reflection Group on the Spiritual and Cul-
institutions and European churches and reli- tural Dimension of Europe was established
gious groups has moved from informal con- in 2003 to debate on values relevant to Euro-
tacts to a more organized system of regular pean unification. The Reflection Group’s work
inspired Article 17 of the Lisbon Treaty on the
Functioning of the EU which introduced, for the
first time, a legal basis for regular, open and
transparent dialogue between the EU institu-
tions and churches, religious associations,
and philosophical and non-confessional orga-
nizations. The Reflection Group’s task was to
establish contacts with churches, and religious
and philosophical associations. From 2005,
it established annual high-level meetings be-
tween the EU institutions and representatives of
religious associations, such as COMECE (the
EU Catholic bishops’ conference), the Council
of European Churches (CEC – including Prot-
estant, Anglican, Orthodox and Old Catholic
churches), Muslim communities, the European
Jewish Congress and Hindu, Sikh and Mor-
mon associations.
The first high-level meeting, which took

place just five days after the July 2005 attacks
in London, highlighted the need for Europe
to combat terrorism and eliminate its causes.
Since 2007, the high-level meetings have been
hosted by the European Commission and co-
chaired by the President or responsible Vice-
President of the European Parliament and the ues underpinning the Future of Europe.
European Council President.
In Europe’s landscape, it is also worth high-
In its April 2014 resolution on EU foreign pol- lighting efforts by OSCE institutions in promot-
icy in a world of cultural and religious differenc- ing tolerance and non-discrimination, particu-
es, the EP recognized the role of parliamentary larly through the work of the OSCE Office for
assemblies of international organizations for the Democratic Institutions and Human Rights,
promotion of inter-religious dialogue and called which has developed tools to promote dia-
upon the European External Action Service and logue about religious tolerance and non-dis-
EU Delegations to contribute to its promotion. crimination. Indeed, Inter-faith dialogue has
EU’s official dialogue with churches, religious, been on the OSCE agenda for several years as
and non-confessional organizations involves an integral part of the Organization’s efforts to
organizing regular dialogue seminars between promote tolerance and non-discrimination, and
faith actors and parliamentarians or the com- to combat violent extremism.
mission, aimed at bringing a faith perspective
Meanwhile in the USA, since 9/11 intercul-
to EU policy making on issues related to cul-
tural dialogue has become a critical element for
ture, education, migration, racism, and the fight
the maintaining of civic and international stabil-
against radicalization. In this respect, the 13th
ity. Furthermore, a strong political impetus for
annual high-level meeting with religious leaders
interfaith dialogue was given by the former U.S.
across Europe took place 7th November 2017
President Barack Obama, who spoke favor-
in the context of the ongoing debate on the val-
Chapter 1 27
Chapter 1
ably of interfaith dialogue in his landmark 2009 interfaith dialogue occurred when several faith
speech in Cairo, addressing the Muslim world. groups joined forces against President Trump’s
ban on refugees. Hence, more than 2,000 re-
In this context, interfaith associations regu-
ligious leaders signed a letter to the President
larly gather for discussion. Christians and
and Congress supporting the refugees and
Jews, Hindus and Muslims, and Buddhists visit
denouncing the so-called Muslim ban. Rallies
one another’s places of worship, gather over
have brought together people across the reli-
meals, sponsor programs on inter-religious
gious spectrum.
awareness for schools, and undertake annual
conferences on interfaith dialogue. Thus, in cit- Inter-religious dialogue is crucial in the con-
ies such as New York, Boston, Chicago, Los temporary era. Interfaith dialogue can be a
Angeles, San Francisco and other large cities powerful tool for relationship-building and for
in the U.S., interfaith dialogue is occurring fre- nurturing cultural diversity and pluralism, which
quently in universities, seminaries, and houses are necessary components for social solidar-
of worship. The movement is growing and the ity, stability and security. Access to knowledge
mainstream media has started to shed light on religious diversity and the development of inter-
this spreading movement. Major newspapers cultural skills through dialogue are one of the
like the New York Times and the Washington most effective ways to deconstruct stereotypes
Post, frequently report on the benefits of inter- and prejudices that often create and deepen
religious engagement. One striking example of divisions within societies.
Chapter
2. MANIFESTATIONS
OF ISLAMOPHOBIA
Chapter 2 29
2.1. Islamophobia in the USA and Canada
Chapter 2
2.1.1. Polls and Reports
Trump phenomenon had served as a dou- with the election’s cycles.

ble-edge sword to the Islamophobia in the
In line with the above-mentioned conclusion
U.S. On one side, Mr. Trump had bolstered
was the statement of the Pew Research Cen-
anti-Islam sentiments, but at the same time Mr.
ter, as it released the results of a new survey
Trump popularity was becoming a ‘blessing in
of Muslims nationwide that highlighted a broad
disguise’, as his xenophobic narratives were
sense of anxiety and unease about their place
then responded by a wide-scale mobilization
in the United States and with a president who
of support towards Muslims living in the coun-
most consider unfriendly toward Muslims. The
try. There was an interesting pattern showing
study suggested that anti-Muslim discrimina-
the fact that Islamophobia in the US were so
tion was quite common in the United States
intense during the latest three months of 2016
under the reviewed period— and so, too, were
which was in coincidence with the period of po-
expressions of support for Muslims. A nationally
litical campaigns in the US; and also during the
representative sample of 1,001 Muslim adults
early months of Trump’s presidency, meaning
were surveyed by telephone between January
that spikes in anti-Muslim sentiments and hate
and May 2017, and the report wrote: “Overall,
crimes appeared to have strong connections
Muslims in the United States perceive a lot of
discrimination against their religious group, are surveyed said they think the American public
leery of President Donald Trump and think their did not consider Islam a part of mainstream
fellow Americans do not see Islam as part of society. The poll found that Trump was not the
mainstream US society.” The study also found only source of mistrust. Six in 10 respondents
that share of US Muslims who had experienced said they think U.S. media coverage of Islam
discriminatory treatment was trending upward, and Muslims was unfair. About a third of Mus-
with 48 percent of respondents saying they lims said they had been treated with suspicion
were subjected to at least one discriminatory at least once over the past year, the highest
incident based on religion over the past year, in Pew surveys since 2007. Nearly 1 in 5 said
compared with 40 percent a decade before. A they had been called offensive names, and a
large majority — 75 percent — said there was similar share had seen anti-Muslim graffiti in
a lot of discrimination against Muslims in the their communities. Six percent said they were
United States. Nearly three-quarters said Trump physically threatened or attacked, identical to
was unfriendly toward Muslims, compared with the share saying this in 2011. Those who ap-
just 4 percent who said that of President Barack peared Muslim — either because of the way
Obama in 2011. About two-thirds said they they look, dress or speak — were significant-
don’t like where the nation is headed. Most of ly more likely to experience discrimination for
the estimated 3.35 million Muslims living in the being Muslim, and women overall were more
United States were immigrants or the children likely to report discrimination than men. A sig-
of immigrants; and nearly two-thirds of those nificant minority — one third — said they were
Chapter 2 31
Chapter 2
at least somewhat worried that the government still dwarfed by the 296 victims of anti-Muslim
was tapping their phones because of their re- intimidation in 2001. Certain types of crimes
ligion. The poll found that 30 percent said they that damaged or destroyed property, includ-
were skeptical of law enforcement sting opera- ing vandalism, also had risen, from 70 cases
tions against suspected terrorists, thinking that against Muslims in 2015 to 92 in 2016. Overall,
authorities mostly arrested “people who were there were 307 incidents of anti-Muslim hate
tricked and did not pose a real threat.”5 crimes in 2016, marking a 19% increase from
the previous year. This rise in hate crimes built
PEW report also said that the number of
on an even sharper increase the year before,
assaults against Muslims in the United States
when the total number of anti-Muslim incidents
rose significantly between 2015 and 2016,
rose 67%, from 154 in 2014 to 257 in 2015. As in
easily surpassing the modern peak reached
previous years, the largest number of all types
in 2001, the year of the September 11 terrorist
of hate crime incidents against religious groups
attacks, according to a Pew Research Center
targeted Jews. In 2016, there were 684 anti-
analysis of new hate crimes statistics from the
Jewish hate crime incidents, marking a slight
FBI. In 2016, there were 127 reported victims of
increase from 664 in 2015. By comparison, in
aggravated or simple assault, compared with
2016, there were 62 hate crimes against Cath-
91 the year before and 93 in 2001. But assaults
olics and 15 against Protestants. Amid the rise
were not the only form of hate crime carried out
in incidents of hate crimes, most Muslims in the
against Muslims and other religious groups.
U.S. said their community faced discrimination.
The most common was intimidation, which was
In a Pew Research Center survey conducted in
defined as reasonable fear of bodily harm. Anti-
early 2017, three-quarters of Muslim American
Muslim intimidation also increased in 2016, with
adults (75%) say there was a lot of discrimina-
144 reported victims, compared with 120 the
tion against Muslims in the U.S., a view shared
previous year. These numbers, however, were
by nearly seven-in-ten adults in the general being a Mus-

public (69%). In addition, half of U.S. Muslim lim or wearing a
adults (50%) said that in recent years it had be- headscarf, their
come more difficult to be a Muslim in the U.S., place of worship
with 10% of this group attributing this to discrim- or their political
ination, racism and prejudice. In general, nearly opinions.8 The
a quarter of U.S. Muslim adults (23%) viewed Observatory
discrimination, racism or prejudice as the most would particu-
important problem facing American Muslims larly underline
today.6 —Pew said 48 percent of Muslims had the CAIR’s 2017
reported experiencing at least one incident of civil rights re-
discrimination in the past 12 months. While the port titled ‘The
survey showed that Americans report warmer Empowerment
feelings toward Muslims today than they did in of Hate’, say-
2014, Muslims continued to be the most nega- ing that there
tively rated religious group – followed closely was a 57 per-
by atheists. In fact, about half of Americans (49 cent increase in
percent) believed that at least some Muslim anti-Muslim bias
Americans were anti-American.7 incidents since
2015, and a 44
The Council on American-Islamic Relations
percent increase
(CAIR) and other Muslim advocacy organiza-
in hate crimes
tions found these trends were particularly in-
against Muslims
tense during the 2016 campaigns and the ear-
during the same
ly months of the Trump presidency. The CAIR
period. Harass-
even presented worse picture on anti-Muslim
ment, which the
hate crimes saying there had been an astound-
group defined as a non-violent or non-threat-
ing 91 percent increase in Islamophobic hate
ening bias incident, was the most frequent type
crimes in the first six months of 2017. The re-
of abuse, accounting for 18 percent of the to-
port said the anti-Muslim bias increased by 24
tal cases recorded in the report. The trigger for
percent compared to the first half of 2016. The
most of the incidents was the victim’s ethnic-
report compared the toll with the second quar-
ity or national origin, accounting for 35 percent
ter of 2016, as there were 946 reported bias in-
of all cases, and 16 percent were the result of
cidents out of which 451 cases “contained an
women wearing headscarf, and the majority of
identifiable element of anti-Muslim bias.” The
the cases took place in a residence or home.9
most frequent type of incidents included ha-
rassment (16 percent), violent hate crimes (15 CAIR branches also released reports that re-
percent), FBI targeting victims (12 percent), in- flects the situation of Islamophobia at regional
timidation (12 percent) and cases involving the levels. — i.e. CAIR California reported hate in-
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (8 per- cidents in California went up almost 50 percent
cent). The study also revealed the crimes were between 2015 and 2016. The report detailed
provoked by a victim’s ethnicity, the person civil rights issues that were reported to the four
Chapter 2 33
Chapter 2
offices in the state in 2016. At 182 hate-related 120, according to CAIR director, types of com-
issues, including hate incidents, hate crimes plaints ranged from bullying to employment is-
and hate calls or mail, were the second most sues and housing discrimination. One employ-
common type of issue reported in 2016 statement issue described in the report involved a
wide. They received 34 hate-related issues of man named Mohammed who was studying to
Islamophobia, especially bullying in schools be a chef through a program at a restaurant
which had been a concern for several years. in downtown San Diego. Because of his faith,
More than half of American Muslim students Mohammed did not want to cook with alcohol,
surveyed in California said they had been bul- and the restaurant told him that it could not ac-
lied because of their religion. As reported by commodate that need.10
media, San Diego district was sued in May
Despite such a worrisome sentiments
over the changes by several parents who be-
against Muslim living in the country — ninety-
lieved the district was unfairly favoring Muslim
two percent of Muslims in the US were proud
students. The total number of issues reported
to be American, of whom 75 percent said there
to CAIR’s local San Diego office in 2016 in-
was a lot of discrimination against Muslims
creased by 46 percent from 2015, to 175 from
in the US. Nine-in-ten Muslims reported hav-
ing a positive feeling about living in the US, ism. What the data tells us in the past 10 plus
even though 75 percent believed it had be- years is it is far right-wing extremism, white su-
come harder to be Muslim in the US in recent premacists and their ilk that are responsible for
years. The survey found that Muslims felt that more extremist-related murders than any other
the main problems they faced in the US were group.” Greenblatt also pointed to the current
negative media coverage about the religion (60 national climate in the wake of President Trump
percent), misconceptions about Islam (9 per- taking office as emboldening the actions of
cent) and President Trump’s attitudes and/or white supremacists, in adding: “Concretely,
policies towards Muslims (9 percent). The sur- it confirms extremists feel emboldened in the
vey was conducted 23 January to 2 May, and current environment. Right-wing extremists in
1,001 U.S. Muslim adults participated. Nearly particular were responsible for nearly 60% of
48 percent have experienced some type of dis- extremist-related fatalities last year. The data
crimination. Researchers at the Southern Pov- lays bare that this is not an exaggeration, as
erty Law Center (SPLC) found that the number some would try to paint it.”12
of hate groups specifically targeting Muslims
Meanwhile, Canada showed a relieving pic-
in the U.S. has nearly tripled in the past year.
ture of Islamophobia. A report said the num-
SPLC reported that there were 34 hate groups
ber of police-reported hate crimes specifically
in 2015 and the figure has risen to 101. The
targeting Muslims went down since 2017 after
SPLC attributed the increase in hate groups in
spiking by over 250 per cent in the previous
part to Trump’s campaign rhetoric. However,
four years-period. According to Statistics Can-
despite the backlash Muslims had received
ada data released in November 2017, police
from Trump’s presidency, participants said
across the country recorded 139 hate crimes
they had experienced support in the past few
against Muslims in 2016, down from 159 in
months from non-Muslims.11
2015. In 2012, that number stood at just 45,
Again, the Observatory would rather say that and the National Council of Canadian Muslims
Muslims in the United States had been preju- had said they feared the numbers would only
diced or even been unfairly victimized under continue to go up with each passing year. Sta-
the pretext of extremism — A report conducted tistics Canada cautioned that there were almost
by the Anti-Defamation League showed that always other factors at play, beyond a simple
the white supremacist groups account for the increase or decrease in hateful acts. Overall,
highest number of extremist-related killings in police reported 1,409 hate crimes in Canada
the United States. The report said that 34 peo- in 2016, 47 more than in 2015. That was an
ple were killed by domestic extremists in 2017, increase of three per cent, which could be at-
mostly by right-wing extremists who accounted tributed to more hate crimes targeting South
for 20 of the 34 deaths. Eighteen (18) of those Asians, Arabs, West Asians, the Jewish pop-
20 were by white supremacists making it the ulation and members of the LGBTQ commu-
fifth deadliest year for extremist violence since nity. Hate crimes against Jewish people saw
1970. Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan the largest spike in 2016, from 178 incidents
Greenblatt in a statement said: “Extremism in reported to police in 2015 to 221 reported in
any form is an issue…foreign born, politically 2016. These increases were recorded mainly
minded extremism or racially focused extrem- in Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba.13
Chapter 2 35
2.1.2. Islamophobic Discourses and Campaigns in the

U.S. and Canada
Chapter 2
- “5th of November, it is national burn alerted the police.14
a mosque night.” -
- “We are going to blow off the heads
Islamophobic remarks were posted by a of Muslim people in this country” -
man who created the profile ‘Shuff Moham-
The Georgia Council for American Islamic
mad’ who also posted comments about the
Relations (CAIR) was calling for the arrest of the
prophet Muhammad. One comment read:
man who called in multiple death threats to an
“5th of November, it is national burn a mosque
Augusta mosque over the earlier two months
night.” Images of the various mosques indicat-
period. The caller said on the voice message:
ed that the sites were based in the Stoke-on-
“We are going to raise arms and we are go-
Trent area. One image was of a masked man
ing to blow off the heads of Muslim people in
outside the City Central mosque in Hanley, as
this country. I don’t mean that we are going to
well as photos of the Normacot mosque, an
just harass you. We are going to kill you.” The
Islamic centre in Cobridge and a former school
phone calls cae from a Missouri area code,
which had been converted into a community
while local and federal law enforcement officers
centre with prayer rooms. The offending posts
were searching for the caller.15
were spotted by members of the public who
tic Canada. He told Media he opposed Islam

because it was “not compatible with Western
culture.” The Bangor Daily News reported that
Kawczynski frequently shared his political views
on the far-right website GAB and his personal
Facebook page. The media quoted Kawc-
zynski as calling Islam “the scourge of West-
ern civilization.” The man was quoted saying:
“I would say unequivocally that I see Islam as
fundamentally incompatible with Western civili-
zation.”16
- “Islam, Sharia, and the Quran are the

- “Islam is the scourge of Western civi- antithesis of the US Constitution” -
lization” - Phillip Parrish, a Republican candidate for
A town manager of a small northern Maine governor in Minnesota told a Muslim communi-
community was under fire for promoting white ty leader that “Islam is ultimately not a faith,” and
separatist views and making comments critical refused to meet with her if she was a “practicing
of Islam. Thomas Kawczynksi said he was the Islamist.” The story started when Regina Mus-
leader of New Albion, a racial segregationist tafa, founder of the Minnesota-based Commu-
movement that wanted to preserve the white nity Interfaith Dialogue on Islam, reached out to
majority of northern New England and Atlan- Parrish after learning he attended a talk by Us-
Chapter 2 37
only sub-
mission.
I will not
participate
Chapter 2
in any faith
dialog be-
cause Is-
lam is ulti-
mately not
a faith.”
Parrish de-
manded
Mustafa
“publicly
denounce
Sharia and
swear to
adhere to,
protect,
comply
with, ac-
ama Dakdok called “Revealing the Truth about
cept, and defend the United States Constitu-
ISIS.” Dakdok was one of a number of anti-
tion.” He suggested that as a practicing Muslim
Muslim speakers who had created a cottage
— or as he put it, “practicing Islamist” — she
industry touring the country to malign Islam as
would be unable to do so. He also wrote, “Is-
an inherently violent religion. In his Minnesota
lam, Sharia, and the Quran are the antithesis of
presentation, Dakdok said ISIS was the “true
the US Constitution.”17
representation of Islam.” Mustafa sent Parrish
an email, offering to meet with him face-to- - “All Muslims dead on 10/30” -
face. “Since you have attended this talk about
Threatening anti-Muslim graffiti found in a
my faith,” she wrote, “I figured you would also
girls bathroom at Kent-Meridian High School.
like to hear from a person who actually prac-
The graffiti read: “All Muslims dead on 10/30,”
tices Islam.” In Parrish’s reply, he condemned
which also included swastikas and the hashtag
Islam as fundamentally incompatible with US
“MAGA” — commonly used to refer to the
law. First, he claimed to have, “a very unusual
Trump campaign slogan, “Make America Great
in-depth level of training, experience, and un-
Again.” Kent police were investigating and did
derstanding regarding multiple faiths and the
not yet know whether the threat, found was real.
practice of Islam,” which he had suggested in
District called police immediately and started
public interviews was related to his time in the
its own investigation, wanted to communicate
US Naval Reserve working in intelligence. He
in a thoughtful way that balanced informing and
continued, “I separate Islam from the word faith
alarming.18
because faith takes belief and Islam requires
2.1.3. Surveillance against Islam and Muslims in the U.S.
Muslims living in the United States have been “When I am elected, I will suspend immigration
under close surveillance by the US authorities from areas of the world when there is a proven
since the 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001; and the history of terrorism against the United States,
Observatory believes that this intelligent activ- Europe or our allies, until we understand how to
ity was becoming even worse worse under end these threats.” Mr. Trump first called to ban
Trump’s administration. When asked on the Muslims shortly after the terrorist attacks in Par-
campaign trail whether he thought the United is in November 2015.19 There were also solid
States should create a database of Muslims in indications that the government was planning a
the country, Mr. Trump said: “Oh, I would cer- further crackdown on the democratic rights of
tainly implement that — absolutely.” Following Muslims, with increased surveillance of Muslim
the terrorist attacks in Berlin, Mr Trump said he communities in the works.
still planned to ban Muslims from entering the
Despite the wide controversies, until today
US and to build a Muslim registry. Trump re-
such a monitoring policy continued to gain sig-
newed his calls to carry out sweeping discrimi-
nificant supports. For instance Rep. Peter King
natory acts against Muslims from overseas and
used to encourage the creation of a federal
the American Muslim. He then changed his
Muslim surveillance program. He said in refer to
policy to only suspend immigration from coun-
former New York City Police Department Com-
tries that had been compromised by terrorism,
missioner Ray Kelly: “I suggested a program
rather than discriminating against the religion
similar to what Commissioner Kelly did here in
which was adhered by more than 1.6 billion
New York.” For over half a decade after the 9/11
people. Mr Trump said in a June 2016 speech.
Chapter 2 39
terror attacks, Kelly oversaw a surveillance pro- the Bay Guardian newspaper. They said they
gram that targeted New York and New Jersey wanted to know whether the FBI was using ed-
Muslims because of their faith. Officers in the ucational and “community outreach” programs
since-disbanded Demographics Unit infiltrated to infiltrate Muslim institutions and conduct
Chapter 2
Muslim student groups, kept track of Muslims surveillance without evidence of criminal activ-
who changed their last names, eavesdropped ity. The federal agency turned over more than
on conversations between Muslims, spied on 50,000 pages of documents, some of which
Muslim-owned businesses, recorded imam’s showed that its agents in San Francisco had
sermons, and put undercover officers and in- taken notes on the viewpoints and religious
formants inside mosques. activities of Muslims they encountered from
2004 through 2010. However, the FBI deleted
Such an on-going racist approach had ob-
material from some of those documents and
viously suffered a lot of challenges at home.
withheld more than 47,000 additional pages,
For instance, a federal appeals court over-
saying the information was protected because
turned a ruling by a judge in San Francisco that
it had been compiled for “law enforcement pur-
would require the FBI to release documents
poses.”20
describing its efforts to keep watch on Muslims
in Northern California and recruit informants Not only from state institutions, legal chal-
from the Muslim community. The writings were lenges were also coming from individuals
sought in a 2010 lawsuit by the American Civil among the targeted communities— Two Mus-
Liberties Union, the Asian Law Caucus and lim men challenged the New York Police De-
partment’s cloak of secrecy over NYPD surveil- groups, put informants in mosques, monitored
lance of Muslim mosques and student groups. sermons and catalogued every Muslim in New
The men’s case went to the New York Court of York who adopted new, Americanized sur-
Appeals. The men’s lawyer demanded to know names.21
why New York state’s Freedom of Information
It was quite clear to the Observatory that the
Law request for the spy documents was met
project was closely-linked to the U.S. policies
with an evasive NYPD response that it could
on foreign immigrants, which somehow found
“neither confirm nor deny” that such docu-
evidence in January 2018 when the Trump ad-
ments even existed. The NYPD had a long his-
ministration said it was resuming the admission
tory of spying on civil rights organizers and anti-
of refugees from 11 countries with additional
war activists, as well as leftist organizations and
screening that it said would increase security.
members. A 1971 federal lawsuit put in place
In October 2017, after a pause in admissions,
guidelines that supposedly prohibit the NYPD
the administration began accepting new refu-
from collecting information on political speech
gees except for those from the 11 countries,
unless it was related to terrorism. News reports
citing the need for a 90-day security review.
in 2011 and 2012 exposed a combined CIA/
Officials did not name the countries, but they
NYPD program to spy on Muslims in the New
were widely reported to be Egypt, Iran, Iraq,
York area. The Demographics Unit was at the
Libya, Mali, North Korea, Somalia, South Su-
heart of a police spying program, built with
dan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Those countries
help from the CIA, which assembled databas-
had accounted for more than 40 percent of all
es on where Muslims lived, shopped, worked
refugee admissions in recent years. President
and prayed. Police infiltrated Muslim student
Trump set a ceiling of 45,000 refugee admis-
Chapter 2 41
Chapter 2
sions for the fiscal year, compared with the hysteria in the country. It was clearly designed
85,000 set by President Barack Obama the to reinforce the bogus notion that Muslim-
year before amid an unabated refugee crisis Americans and Muslim immigrants constituted
worldwide, including civil war in Syria and con- a unique threat to “national security.” The at-
flict in other countries.22 tempt to portray ordinary Muslims as potential
security threats had a devastating impact on
Particular on this issue, the Observatory
Muslim-Americans, contributing to an increase
was pleased to note that, during the reviewed
in hate crimes against Muslims and fostering
period the U.S. racist policy received another
a general climate of fear and uncertainty within
setback when the Fourth Circuit Court of Ap-
the community.22 — The U.S. Supreme Court
peals in Richmond, Virginia, ruled against the
allowed in December 2017 the Trump admin-
latest version of Muslim ban. In its ruling, the
istration’s policy to fully enforce a ban on travel
court stated that the ban was “unconstitution-
to the United States by residents of six mostly
ally tainted with animus towards Islam” and that
Muslim countries. This was not a final ruling on
its central purpose was “to exclude Muslims
the travel ban since challenges to the policy
from the United States.” Despite the ruling,
were winding through the federal courts, and
‘Muslim Ban 3.0’ would remain in effect while
the justices themselves ultimately were expect-
the Supreme Court considered the case. The
ed to rule on its legality. But the action indicated
decision by the Fourth Circuit had been cau-
that the high court might eventually approve the
tiously welcomed by Muslims, many of whom
latest version of the ban, announced by in Sep-
had endured prolonged separation from their
tember 2017. Lower courts had continued to
loved ones as a result of the ban. The Mus-
find problems with the policy.24
lim ban was aimed at whipping up anti-Muslim
2.1.4. Far-Rights and populism in the U.S.
Donald Trump had been widely seen as an cans.

icon of the “far right” in the U.S., and his ascen-
Nevertheless, it was a relief to note that Is-
sion to the presidency has left Muslims living in
lamophobia in the U.S. had shown a declin-
the U.S. with deep concerns. Since very early
ing trend since medium 2017. President Trump
on, Mr. Trump had stood in opposition to Islam
himself seemed to soften his tone on Islam.
and Muslims, a position clearly shown in his
When sitting among 55 Muslim world leaders
political campaign. After declaring that “Islam
in Saudi Arabia, President Trump delivered a
hates Americans,” Mr. Trump proposed ban-
moderate speech on Islam designed to reset
ning Muslims from entering the country and
his relationship with the Muslim world. Presi-
heightened surveillance of mosques across
dent Trump’s speech distanced him from the
the nation. He embraced the hateful language
divisive anti-Muslim rhetoric he employed to
of Quran-burning rallies and anti-mosque pro-
appeal to voters during his election campaign.
tests. As a result, within a week following the
However, it doesn’t mean that anti-Muslim
election, a huge number of Islamophobic and
sentiments and far-right ideologies evaporated
racist harassment and intimidation incidents
from the American lands, for it seems that hate
were reported. Interestingly, such a growing
against Islam and Muslims had been deeply
xenophobia was not only targeting Muslims but
implanted and rooted into the mind of their
also Jews and some other ethnic and religious
supporters in the country.
minorities, such as black and Hispanic Ameri-
Chapter 2 43
As a simple instance, the Observatory wish- Another ridiculous instance was the legal
es to mention a case in the U.S. where a stu- complaint filed by Plaintiff Ross Levay alleging
dent’s mother, Libby Hilsenrath, filed a com- that the United States and various government
plaint and request for jury trial in the U.S. District officials had committed gross negligence,
Chapter 2
Court in Newark, according to which Chatham breach of contract, First Amendment viola-
schools were “promoting” Islam and use ma- tions, and breach of oath by failing to prevent
terials that “call to the children” to convert. The incitement to imminent lawlessness by Radical
complaint alleged her son was required to ac- Islamic Terrorists. On 11 July 2017, the Court
cept lessons and homework assignments in concluded that Levay’s suit was frivolous and
his seventh-grade World Cultures and Geog- would be dismissed. On 21 July 2017, Levy filed
raphy class that contained religious teachings a Motion to Amend Judgment, asking, among
of Islam presented, not as beliefs, but as facts. other things, that the court amend the previous
Hilsenrath particularly objected to an assign- order to remove the holding that the suit was
ment to view what she described as a conver- frivolous. In his complaint, Levay explained that
sion video posted on YouTube that she claimed “there have been a high and increasing num-
was “an explicit and direct call to the children for ber of Islamic motivated violent acts targeting
conversion to the religion of Islam.” This con- Jews and our places of worship.” Levay was a
version video, replete with biased, chastising Jew and contends that the incitement to immi-
statements encouraging the students at Cha- nent violence found in the Quran and cited by
tham Middle School, including (her son), to fol- ISIS, Al Qaeda and others has deprived Levay
low the Quran and become Muslim, concluded of the freedom of religious expression. Levay
with a direct and explicit call for the children to provided an extensive list of requested relief.
convert to Islam.”25 A similar ‘phobia’ should He wished the Court to hold that “specific Ko-
be the case when a homework assignment ranic verses, presented during the trial, fail the
given to sixth-grade students in Illinois asserted Imminent Lawlessness Test.” He also intended
that Christians, Muslims and Jews believed in to prove a direct link to specific Koranic verses
the same God; and when an Elgin Area School extolling among specific Radical Islamic Ter-
District board member by name Jeanette Ward rorists as the underlying motive, cause and
caught wind of it, then she harshly criticized the essential for 74 specific Radical Islamic Terror-
assignment. The issue boiled over as dozens ist attacks within the US. He desired a formal
of people attended a school board meeting to declaration of incompatibility between Koranic
express their opinions on the subject. Jeanette Sharia Law … and US Constitutional Law. He
Ward sparked the outcry on social media as also asked that the Court direct Congress to
she wrote that the assignment was “utterly in- take action by outlawing certain passages of
correct and false on many levels.” Ward had the Quran, issue a federally sanctioned and
also taken a photo of the assignment and edited Koran, and withdraw tax-exempt status
shared it to her Facebook page, where her fol- from mosques which do not adopt the new
lowers denounced the message and the use Quran, and institute a National Islamic Registry
of religion in schoolwork. She told media that Program. The Court found that Levay’s suit was
the assignment presented a “godless view” of frivolous and his legal theory was manifestly
the world.26 foreclosed by settled law. As such, no appeal
porters. For instance, a council member in

northern Texas was rejecting calls for his res-
ignation over a series of anti-Muslim and anti-
black Facebook posts, including one saying
that President Trump should ban Islam in US
schools. Tom Harrison, a city council member
in Plano, Texas, shared a post from a Facebook
page titled “Joined Hands across America for
Trump.” The meme, which showed a young girl
wearing a hijab, read: “Share if you think Trump
could be taken in good faith.27 should ban Islam in American schools.” The
post sparked a public outcry, with Plano Mayor
Along the way, far rights politicians keep
Harry LaRosiliere calling for Harrison’s removal
exploiting narrow-minded phobia on Islam.
from the council and the council voting Sunday
For instance, two Minnesota Republican state
to publicly admonish Harrison. The council vot-
lawmakers and a local GOP official were facing
ed 7 to 1 to censure Harrison, which the mayor
scrutiny after they reportedly shared a Face-
called “the only course of action available to
book post accusing Muslims of preparing to
the council.” He said that Harrison was the only
“infiltrate” the party’s caucuses. State Reps.
dissenting vote.29 — Also, a village president
Kathy Lohmer and Cindy Pugh, shared the
in northern Michigan was refusing to apologize
post created by Dave Sina, chairman of the
for sharing Facebook posts denouncing Islam
Fourth Congressional District GOP. In the post,
and calling for the killing of every last Muslim.
Sina said a friend of his had attended a caucus
Media reported that Kalkaska Village President,
training session held at a mosque by the Mus-
Jeff Sieting, said that he did not owe anyone
lim American Society. MAS was a nonpartisan
an apology over his Facebook posts. The
organization that promoted civic engagement
posts were discovered by area native Cindy
among American Muslims with local chapters
Anderson, who along with others unsuccess-
across the US. Sina claimed that Muslims were
fully sought an apology month before. Sieting
trying to “infiltrate our republican caucuses on
said his comments were protected by the First
Feb. 6” and that “they didn’t talk about the gen-
Amendment and that those trying to oust him
eral election but I am sure they are ahead of us
from office were only doing so because they
in that as well.” The local party chair played to a
oppose President Donald Trump.30 Negative
sense of hysteria that American Muslims were,
campaign on Islam was also found in the White
and would always be, foreigners who want po-
House — Rev. Jamie Johnson, a senior official
litical influence only to harm the country.28
at the Department of Homeland Security, had
The Observatory would say Islamophobia once said that Islam had given the world only
keeps crawling in the minds of the Americans “oil and dead bodies.” He had also argued
because of the continuous and intense hate that Jews became disproportionately wealthy
campaigns demonizing Islam through social through hard work while African Americans
media, news, and event through ‘advertise- turned cities into “slums because of laziness,
ment’ at public spaces by the far-right sup- drug use, and sexual promiscuity.” Later on
Chapter 2 45
Chapter 2
Johnson resigned as the head of DHS’s Cen- At public space — Islamophobic flyers and
ter for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partner- graffiti were found at least three times since
ships. However Frank Wuco, a senior White August 2017 at Western Washington Univer-
House adviser at DHS who had made similarly sity, with messages that expressed hatred. It
inflammatory comments about Muslims and was said that he University Police Department
other groups, was still working at the depart- records found instances of flyers posted in
ment in a role with significant implications for residence halls and graffiti scrawled across
Muslims in America and abroad.31 Wuco is a other posters with hateful messages. Flyers
Senior White House adviser at the Homeland included an image of a demonstration with
Security Department who repeatedly pushed words that called for the extermination of “Isla-
a number of far-right conspiracy theories in ra- mo-Nazi scum,” and also discussed desiring
dio appearances before joining the Trump ad- free speech. The first flyers were spotted on 10
ministration. CNN’s K-File reported that Frank August, with more found two days later. Even
Wuco, who was charged with helping enforce more were spotted on 29 September, days af-
President Trump’s executive orders, regularly ter fall quarter began.33
propagated unfounded and outlandish claims, Typical on far-rights anti-Muslim campaign
including many about former Obama adminis- at American public space, the Observatory
tration officials. Among them was the claim that would always put an eye to a notorious lady
former President Obama’s memoir was actu- — the anti-Muslim activist Pamela Geller who
ally penned by anti-war activist and radical Bill at this time included a video in the 11 Febru-
Ayers, as well as claims that former Attorney ary 2018 edition of her newsletter, intended
General Eric Holder had once been a member to prove that immigrants posed a dangerous
of the Black Panthers and that former CIA Di- threat. Unfortunately, the video appeared to be
rector John Brennan had converted to Islam.32 a hoax. The video, titled “Immigrants in Italy,”
depicted a group of people battering an Ital- should be rallies which often brings about ca-
ian police car with bats and sticks while others sualties, like one happened at Virginia, when a
cheer on. By including the video in her newslet- car rammed into a crowd of protesters and a
ter, Geller, who claimed that President Obama state police helicopter crashed into the woods
was radical Muslim who “wants jihad to win” as tension boiled over at a white supremacist
and had ties to white supremacists and Euro- rally, leaving three dead and dozens injured.
pean right-wing extremist factions, was likely at- The chaos erupted was believed to be the larg-
tempting to capitalize off of anti-immigrant fear est group of white nationalists to come together
in Italy just weeks before the country’s general in a decade — including neo-Nazis, skinheads,
election where immigration is anticipated to be members of the Ku Klux Klan — who descend-
a hot button issue. The video was in actuality ed on the city to “take America back” and at
an amateur recording of the shooting of an Ital- this event by rallying against plans to remove a
ian film called Mediterranea. The film focused Confederate statue. The governor declared a
on two friends from Burkina Faso who “experi- state of emergency, police in riot gear ordered
ence hostility after immigrating to Italy.” The vid- people out and helicopters circled overhead.
eo clearly showed the film’s camera crew and City Mayor Jim Gray said on Twitter: “Today’s
production crew could be seen walking into the events in Virginia remind us that we must bring
scene at the end of the clip, prompting the ac- our country together by condemning violence,
tors to stop.34 white supremacists and Nazi hate groups. We
cannot let them define our future.”35
The worse of far-right anti-Islam campaign
Chapter 2 47
2.2. Islamophobia in Europe
Chapter 2
2.2.1. Polls and Reports
In Europe, the statistical situation during their name, skin color or appearance. About
the reviewed period was quite mix, for the Is- 17% said they felt discriminated against directly
lamophobia trend remained high in the region because of their religious belief. Nearly 40% of
with some positive signals here and there. women who wore a headscarf or niqab in pub-
Discrimination against Europe’s Muslims was lic felt that was why they had faced discrimina-
increasing, with two in five (40%) saying they tion when applying for a job. More than 30%
had faced unfair treatment when job- or house- of women wearing traditional or religious cloth-
hunting or accessing public services such as ing said they had been harassed, most often
education or healthcare, according to a recent- through offensive gestures or comments. Only
ly released report by EU’s Fundamental Rights 12% of all Muslims who experienced discrimi-
Agency. Nearly 30% of respondents in a survey nation, and 9% of those who faced harass-
said they had been insulted or called names ment, said they had bothered to report it. The
and 2% had been physically assaulted in the survey found that 47% of men who had been
previous 12 months before the survey which stopped by the police said they felt it was be-
was carried out in late 2015 and early 2016 cause they were wearing traditional clothing.
and involved 10,500 Muslims in 15 countries The report said Europe’s Muslims, who make
including France, Germany, the Netherlands, up about 4% of the continent’s population, re-
Spain, Sweden and the UK. Most of those who tained an above-average level of trust in institu-
had been treated unfairly in the five years be- tions such as the police and legal system of
fore the survey said they felt it was because of their country. A large majority, 78%, said they
had a “strong attachment” to their country of Next, the initiative “Yes to a ban on face cov-
residence and felt broadly integrated into their erings” in Switzerland garnered more than the
communities, and 92% said they felt comfort- required 100,000 signatures last September
able living next to neighbours of a different re- 2017 to put the decision to a popular vote. A
ligious background.36 — Insider Monkey had study revealed that 76 percent of Swiss people
published a report about Islamophobia in Eu- support the burqa ban; 20 percent disagreed,
rope enlisting the most racist Islamophobic and three percent had ‘no view’ on the issue;
Europian countries towards muslims, of which The Swiss government had publicly opposed
three were taken and presented here. The first the idea; A vote was unlikely to take place be-
country was the United Kingdom, where 47% fore 2019, and; Three in four people in Swit-
of the people who participated in the survey zerland supported an initiative to ban all face
agreed that they did not want Muslims to in- coverings in public - which would effectively
habit their country. There were things that pro- ban the burqa. The survey of 1,167 people
voked such a narrative, and one of them was was conducted by two Swiss Sunday papers,
the London Bridge attack that occurred in June found 76 percent of those spoken to be in fa-
2017. The second country was Italy where 51% vor of the initiative. This was compared with 20
of the respondents would reject Muslim immi- percent who disagreed and three percent who
gration to this country. However, Italy did not said they had ‘no view’ on the issue. This put
have any unpleasant situations or attacks in the the initiative on the ballot under Switzerland’s
past. Then Germany, where 53% of the people system of direct democracy, which let voters
who responded agreed that they would not like decide major policy issues. The measure was
more Muslims in their country, and that being proposed by a group including MPs from the
more than a half was a little bit worrying.37 nationalist Swiss People’s Party that was also
Chapter 2 49
behind a ban on building minarets in Switzer- from 10.6% in 1980 to 18.4% in 2017. The vote
land. The group called for it to be made illegal share for populist parties had overtaken sup-
for anyone to cover their face in public. Some port for liberalism in the last two decades. Over
exceptions include local custom, the weather the same period, there had been a decline for
Chapter 2
and health and safety reasons. Such a law support for mainstream ideologies, including of
would mean the effective ban of the niqab conservatism and Christian democracy (down
and burqa, although the committee says it is 4.7 percentage points), while support for social
also targeting hooligans who cover their face Democracy had decreased by 4.1 percentage
for criminal intent. The Swiss government has points. The 2009 recession and the ongoing
publicly opposed the idea, saying it is up to refugee crisis gave nationalist-authoritarian-
each of the 26 cantons (areas) to legislate on populist parties their biggest boost, with many
the issue.38 receiving their best electoral result during the
last year. Among a number of examples of
Nevertheless, Europe sighed with relief when
right-wing populist parties in the report were
a number of European populists, including the
Le Pen’s Front National, Wilders Party for Free-
Netherland’s Geert Wilders and France’s Ma-
dom, and the United Kingdom Independence
rine Le Pen, lost their elections last year. That
Party (UKIP).39
relief might be short lived, as the long-term
trends of populist support in Europe suggest- In France, President Donald Trump was
ed that this authoritarian movement was not once a beacon for French far-right leaders,
going away. One in five Europeans (a total of who pointed at his election victory as a taste of
55.8 million people) voted for a populist party in the coming populist uprising that would sweep
2016 and 2017, according a new study by the them into power. But among France’s far-
European Policy Information Center. The think right voters, there had been a growing dislike
tank analyzed electoral data in EU member of Trump ever since he took office. Support-
states as well as Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, ers of France’s anti-immigrant, anti-Islam Na-
Serbia, and Montenegro and found the vote tional Front “ a party whose platform can often
shared for authoritarian populist parties jumped resemble Trump’s “ had an increasingly unfa-
vorable opinion of the U.S. president. In a new Quite interestingly, fifty-six percent of French
poll released in November 2017, only around people believed that Islam was compatible
20 percent of National Front voters said they with the values of their country, according to a
had a positive outlook on Trump, while 37 per- survey conducted by the French-based poll-
cent saw him in a negative light. The remaining firm, the Institut Français d’Opinion Pub-
ing 43 percent of those voters said they had lique (IFOP). The survey results, which were
neither a negative nor positive view of Trump. published by the French weekly newspaper,
The number of National Front supporters who Le Journal Du Dimanche, showed that the ma-
did not view Trump favorably was up around jority of French people thought that Islam was
11 percent since a similar poll from February compatible with their society, while 43 percent
2016, suggesting that the more familiar these believed the opposite. A similar survey con-
voters had become with Trump, the less they ducted in September 2016 showed that 56
cared for him. Although Trump had higher un- percent of French people saw Islam as incom-
favorable ratings among French centrist and patible with the country’s values, while only 44
left-wing voters, the YouGov poll conducted for percent of respondents thought that Islam is
Le HuffPost between Oct. 25 and 27 showed compatible with their society. According to the
that the country as a whole viewed him in an newspaper, notwithstanding this apparent de-
increasingly poor light. It was an interesting re- velopment, “Islam remains a major topic that
sult, given that National Front leader Marine Le brings a cleavage” among French people ac-
Pen’s campaign for president seemed to mim- cording to their political sensitivities and biases.
ic Trump’s election run in a number of ways, The survey responses indicate a sharp divide
and it highlights just how unpopular Trump was based on political affiliation. 63 percent of Re-
abroad.40 publicans supporters and 62 percent of Na-
Chapter 2 51
tional Front (Front National) supporters believed must be prepared for more terrorist plots and
that Islam was incompatible with the values of use of extreme violence from the far-right for
French society. However, 73 percent of Social- the foreseeable future”. He said a smaller
ist Party supporters and 60 percent of those of number of extremists believed a war against
Chapter 2
la France Soumise, as well as 58 percent of Muslims “needs to happen” so they could be
la République en Marche supporters, thought expelled from Europe. He was speaking few
the opposite, according to the survey. In 2016, days after Mark Rowley, the outgoing head of
former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said U.K. counter-terror policing, revealed that four
in an interview with the French newspaper Lib- far-right terror plots had been foiled since the
eration that the majority of French people saw Westminster attack in March 2017. The report
Islam as incompatible with the values of the said that while anti-Semitism was still pervasive
Republic.41 in the far-right, recent years had seen tradition-
ally fractured groups rally around specifically
Hope Not Hate’s annual report mentioned
anti-Muslim ideas in the wake of 9/11 and ISIS
that the far right extremists in the U.K. were
terror attacks.42 — Meanwhile, Tell MAMA re-
preparing for what they believed was a “war
ceived 1,223 reported of street-based and on-
against Islam”. It also forecasted further vio-
line incidents in 2016 - with 953 of those veri-
lence emanating from various factions follow-
fied. Its annual report showed that the majority
ing the Finsbury Park terror attack on Muslims
of incidents were “offline” - rising from 437 to
and neo-Nazi murder of Labour MP Jo Cox.
642 the year before. The charity’s director, Iman
Nick Lowles, chief executive of the campaign
Atta, criticised social media platforms in the re-
group, said that with the combination of civil
port - saying they had become “conveyor belts
war rhetoric and growing online hatred, “we
of hate” which potentially contributed to an in-
5 November 2016, despite a drop in the num-

ber of refugee arrivals. The Federal Statistics
Office (Destatis) said those seeking protection
in Germany surged to 1.6 million by the end
of 2016, a rise of 113 percent from 2014, and
equivalent to 16 percent of the number of for-
eigners in the country. More than half of the 1.6
million arrivals had been granted permission
to stay in Germany, the Destatis said, about
half of those were from Syria with 455,000, 191
from Afghanistan and 156,000 from Iraq. The
number of new arrivals in Germany had fallen
crease in attacks on the street. Tell MAMA used sharply since the start of the year after Euro-
data from 18 police forces plus reports from pean Union member states stepped up action
victims and members of the public to compile to trim the flow of refugees and migrants into
a picture of Islamophobic activity in the UK.43 the EU. However, about 158,000 of those living
in Germany were rejected asylum seekers, de-
In Germany, hate crimes against migrants spite Berlin’s efforts at deporting those without
had statistically reached an alarming point as any legal right to be in the country.44
more than 200 attacks on refugee shelters
were recently reported across the country. Ac- Worse than those been mentioned — a re-
cording to Federal Criminal Police (BKA) statis- port by the Foundation for Political, Economic
tics published by the Neue Osnabrucker Zei- and Social Research (SETA) revealed rising
tung, 226 attacks were registered so far in the anti-Muslim sentiments across Germany in
country. According to report, more attacks had the fields of education, the media, law, and
been counted in 2017 than before the refugee the internet. According to a report written by
crisis began in 2014, when there were only 199 Alexandra Lewicki, an expert in political sociol-
reported cases for the entire year. The reports ogy, anti-Muslim tendencies in Germany had
suggested that most offenses had a right-wing been gradually increasing since 2015 and are
radical background. Far-right offenses in Ger- affecting a variety of Muslims, as the number
many spiked to their highest level since 2001, of attacks on Muslims and refugee shelters
amid growing anti-refugee and migrant senti- had quintupled since 2015. Stating that even
ment in the country triggered by propaganda though the Germen Federal Police announced
from far-right parties. Accommodations for that the number of attacks on Muslim founda-
asylum seekers had frequently been the tar- tions was approximately one to two per week,
get of arson and hate crimes in Germany. The the report said the actual number of attacks
number of crimes against accommodation against Muslims was higher since the exact
centers in Germany was almost a third higher number of attacks were reported. The report
in the first 10 months of 2016 than in the same said: “While German authorities recorded 17
period last year, according to data released on attacks per week, German media outlets pub-
Chapter 2 53
Chapter 2
lished approximately 37 news of attacks week- ing crimes, despite lack of proof, causing fur-
ly.” The report went on to say that “Every other ther prejudice towards Muslims.45 The overall
person in Germany - 50 percent of the German Islamophobia situation in Germany could be
population - indicated that they feel alone in even worse in the coming future as the far-right
their country due to the ‘Muslim population get- party AfD surpassed Merkel’s coalition part-
ting crowded,’ while 40 percent of the popula- ners, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD),
tion said “They will prohibit Muslims from taking for the first time in a national poll. Some 16 per
shelter in Germany.” The report revealed that cent of Germans said they would vote AfD,
people who exhibit Islamophobia aimed to turn while the SPD fell one percentage point to just
their thoughts into actions, stating: “Those who 15.5 per cent. Merkel’s CDU/CSU bloc gained
support Islamophobia had clearly expressed 2.5 percentage points to reach 32 per cent.
that they want to turn their opinions into physi- The election saw the AfD won seats in parlia-
cal action.” The report asserted that the nega- ment for the first time - a political earthquake
tive stance toward Muslims was the product that followed Merkel’s 2015 decision to leave
of institutions, saying that prejudices shown open German borders to more than 1 million
towards various groups had gained high ac- migrants. Leaders of the party had repeatedly
ceptance in certain periods of history. The re- made headlines with insulting remarks about
port also revealed that German public opinion Germany’s immigrant community.46
widely placed false blame on Muslims regard-
2.2.2. Islamophobic Discourses and Campaigns
- “F***ing stupid Muslim” - Judge was quoted saying: “Comments like

you have made cannot be accepted in our so-
A woman had been waiting with her nine-
ciety.”47
year-old son for her husband outside a jewel-
lery shop at the Bridges shopping centre when - “[Mocking]…Islam, eternal religion
Peter Scotter, from Roker in Sunderland, then of peace” -
walked towards her and pulled her niqab veil
French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo
from her head really hard, before throwing it
again published a provocative front-page car-
to the ground. After exposing the distraught
toon about Islam and the quite recent terror at-
woman’s face, he shouted racist slurs at her,
tacks in Spain, leading to criticism. The latest
such as “you’re in our country now f***ing get
edition of the magazine, which was targeted by
out” and “you f***ing stupid Muslim”. The vic-
terrorist gunmen in 2015, showed two people
tim’s husband then came out of the shop and
lying in a pool of blood having been run over by
pushed Mr Scotter away in order to protect his
a van next to the words “Islam, eternal religion
wife, while a few members of the public also
of peace.” As the cartoon became one of the
came to offer her assistance. Scotter was sen-
top trending topics on Twitter in France, promi-
tenced to fifteen months in prison, while the
Chapter 2 55
nent Socialist MP and former Minister Stephane that Islam was evil, Anne Waters told media:
Le Foll called it “extremely dangerous”.48 “Yes, and I don’t see why that’s an enormous
or outrageous thing to say. We ought to be able
- “Anyone who shouts ‘Allahu Akbar’
in this country to say whatever we like about a
Chapter 2
will be gunned down” -
religion and the problem we have got is that
Italian city’s mayor had ordered Cops in we pussyfoot around, we spend so much time
Venice to target anyone shouting “Allahu Ak- agonizing over not saying the wrong thing, and
bar”. Luigi Brugnaro, mayor of the tourist hot this is what’s putting the public off. But this is
spot of Venice, revealed the order at a summer how millions of people in this country feel and
think tank and was applauded by delegates. they are waiting for someone to articulate it for
He said: “Anyone who shouts Allahu Akbar in St them.” Anne Waters, who co-founded a UK
Mark’s Square can expect to be gunned down wing of German anti-Islam movement Pegida
by snipers within four paces. They said they with Steve Robinson, said she would leave it
wanted to go and meet Allah so we will send up to party members to decide if the former
them straight to Allah without having to throw EDL leader could join Ukip if he expressed that
them off the bridge, we will just shoot them.’’49 desire.51
- “Islam? It doesn’t fit in with our cui- - “We don’t want mosque and Muslims
sine” - in our neighborhood” -
Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany An under-construction mosque in south-

(AfD) party had launched a provocative ad eastern Netherlands was targeted by a group
campaign featuring a blend of Islamophobia of far-right extremists as the far-right ‘Identitair
and misogyny. The ads also revealed the AfD’s Verzet’ movement hanged anti-Islam banners
decision to double down on its anti-immigrant at the roof of Tevhid mosque. The group, which
stance. One poster showed two women, pho- claimed the responsibility for the incident,
tographed from behind, dressed in skimpy draped banners reading “Stay away. The Neth-
two-piece bathing suits that barely cover their erlands belongs to us. We don’t want mosque
asses. The tagline reads, “Burkas? We prefer and Muslims in our neighborhood” both in
bikinis.” Another read, “New Germans? We’ll Turkish and Dutch. They also shared the pho-
make them ourselves.” The accompanying im- tos of banners on social media, and claimed
age featured a baby pig with the caption “Is- they “occupied” the mosque.52
lam? It doesn’t fit in with our cuisine” — a refer-
- “Muslims are not completely human”-
ence to the fact that observant Muslims do not
eat pork.50 Strid, a local politician from the town of Bor-
lange, told the audience at the party’s nation-
- “It’s not outrageous to call Islam evil”-
al conference in Norrkoping that there was a
Anne Marie Waters, a Ukip leadership can- “scale of 1 to 100. On one end of the scale
didate, said that calling Islam evil was not an you are 100 percent human, a person, every-
outrageous thing to say and a lot of British thing that’s part of that concept. At the other
people agreed with her view that Islam was evil. end, you are 100 percent Mohammedan.”
Prompted to address her previous statement Strid continued by saying that “all Muslims are
somewhere on that scale” and that members — Britain First’s deputy leader Jayda Fran-
of terror group ISIS “are close to being 100 per- sen called Muslims “bastards” and “rapists” in
cent Mohammedan…If you are an ex-Muslim an aggressive clash, a court heard in January
you have come quite far towards being fully hu- 2018. Fransen was standing trial alongside the
man,” Strid continued.53 leader of the far-right group, Paul Golding, 36,
accused of religiously-aggravated harassment.
- “I would rather see the mosque burn
They were arrested in May 2017 as part of an
down” -
investigation into the distribution of leaflets and
PVV’s leader in Utrecht, Henk van Deún, online videos which were posted during a trial
was planning to meet the leadership of the Ulu at Canterbury Crown Court.56
mosque in order to apologize for his statements
- “Islam glorifies death” -
made earlier. On a radio interview he said he
would “rather see the mosque burn down” in UKIP’s acting leader, Gerard Batten said that
reply to a fellow local politician saying it should British Muslims should sign a document reject-
be a symbol for the city. Later on the talk ra- ing the Koran’s teaching because Islam “glori-
dio broadcast Van Deún refused to withdraw fies death”. He stood by a string of shocking
his statement, and on Twitter he would only anti-Islam comments in his first interview since
acknowledge his words “had been cumber- he took over from Henry Bolton. The MEP sug-
some”. Now, he was reportedly trying to apol- gested that new mosques should be banned
ogize directly to the Ulu mosque for his word - and hinted that he could seek to spread his
usage. The Utrecht’s PVV leader was still con- views by seeking the Ukip top job full-time. Ap-
vinced that the mosque should be shut down pearing on media, he was confronted over his
“But it has to be done without any violence. We previous views on Islam, which included calls
want to do it through a legal procedure,” he for a ban on building mosques and a compul-
said. According to him, Ulu management had sory declaration of loyalty from Muslims. Batten
shown a positive response to his request for said: “Islam doesn’t allow a Christian church or
dialogue.54 a Sikh temple to be built in its heartland, be-
cause it’s in the Koran”. He defended his previ-
-”All Muslims are jihadis”-
ous claim that Islam was a death cult, saying
Anti-Islam activist Tapan Ghosh spoke at the comments were factually and historically
an event in Parliament which sparked outrage true.57
among Muslim groups and MPs because of the
- “F***ing Muslims” -
speaker’s track record of inflammatory rhetoric
for he used to say that “all Muslims are jihadis”. British Transport Police (BTP) was investi-
Mr Ghosh had called on the UN to stop Mus- gating an anti-Muslim hate incident on the Lon-
lims having children and blamed the Rohingya don Underground which took place on 31st
of Burma for their own genocide. Harrow East January 2018. The Muslim woman, who wore
MP Bob Blackman refused to apologise for the hijab was abused by a man who boarded
hosting the meeting.55 the train at Clapham Common station in south
London at morning on 31 January. During the
- “Muslims are bastards and rapists” -
journey, the man stood near the woman and
Chapter 2 57
mumbled “f***ing Muslims” several times. He weekend by a far-right activist, Mr Berlusconi

then moved to a seat opposite and continued poured petrol on the flames by claiming that
to stare at her until he departed the train at Bank immigrants lived “hand to mouth or from crime”
station. The woman then followed the perpetra- and that they were responsible for most bank
Chapter 2
tor off the train where she witnessed him direct robberies. The leaders of the main rival parties
the same abuse at a group of Muslim women in the March 4 parliamentary election retorted
in headscarves around an hour later. She was that some policies from Mr Berlusconi’s three
then able to report the incident to a BTP offi- stints in office helped create the conditions
cer after initially speaking with a member of TfL that brought so many newcomers to Italy; while
staff. The woman then contacted TellMAMA to the country’s experience with the hundreds of
raise awareness, the TfL staff member and the thousands of people who arrived after being
BTP officer for their support during the incident rescued from smugglers’ boats in the Medi-
which made her uncomfortable.58 terranean Sea in the last few years had domi-
nated much of the pre-election campaigning.
- “600,000 migrants are ‘ready’ to com-
Quite recently, the migrant issue took on even
mit crime in Italy” -
more energy when an Italian gunman allegedly
Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi shot and wounded six Africans from his car in
claimed in February 2018 that 600,000 mi- the central Italian town of Macerata. Police de-
grants who arrived illegally in Italy were “ready” scribed the suspect as a far-right extremist with
to commit crimes, and he vowed they would neo-Nazi sympathies. The drive-by attack fol-
be sent back to their homelands if the march lowed the arrest of a Nigerian man in the slay-
2018 election month propelled his centre-right ing of an 18-year-old Italian woman shortly after
party into government. In an explosive contri- walking away from a drug rehabilitation center
bution to the national debate after the shooting in the area.59
of a number of African migrants at the previous
2.2.3. Far-Rights
Far-right and populism were characterized (AfD), which started out as a protest movement
by strident nationalism, anti-immigrant senti- against the euro currency, managed to attract
ment, economic resentments and a deep sus- anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, anti-liberalization,
picion of international alliances and trade pacts and anti-European voters, and won 25 per-
— that had been building across Europe for cent of the vote in the German state elections.
years. Now this European populist movements Austria’s Freedom Party, who campaigned on
burst into full and furious view, driven by com- limiting benefits for immigrants and strengthen-
plex factors that vary widely from one country to ing the country’s border control, held 40 out
the other — united by a broad sense of griev- of 183 seats in the National Council. Europe’s
ance against the political establishment and all most hardline anti-immigrant Prime Minister,
it represents. It came at the time when elections Viktor Orban, was the head of Fidesz Party, a
took place in Austria, Netherlands, France, and national conservative political party in Hungary.
Germany—the Europe’s main political and Moreover, an anti-immigration, anti-EU, anti-
economic powers. This section will look at the LGBT, and economic protectionist party called
situation of far-rights in Europe while seeing its “Jobbik” was currently the third-largest party
connection with the similar trend in the US. in Hungary. In the Netherland, leading in polls
before the March 2017 Dutch parliamentary
Populism has become increasingly preva-
elections was Geert Wilders, frontrunner for the
lent, encouraging more and more Europeans
far-right anti-European Union, anti-Islam Party
to seek a solution from conservative options.
for Freedom. United Kingdom’s Prime Minister
Constituents were turning to conservative ide-
Theresa May was Eurosceptic and belonged
als in contrast to the formerly preferred lib-
to the right-wing Conservative Party. Also, the
eralism, which was believed to have been
pro-Leave UK Independence Party (UKIP) led
provoked by issues i.e. migration crisis, Euro-
by Nigel Farage used the refugee crisis and
scepticism, terrorist attacks, economic dissat-
immigration as main points of his campaign
isfaction, and unemployment. Across Europe,
on Brexit. Lastly, the Sweden Democrats won
right-wing parties became electorally success-
49 seats in parliament, which promotes heavy
ful, albeit sparing France and Netherlands.
restriction on immigration and a referendum on
In Slovakia, People’s Party, a Far-Right party
EU membership.
campaigning against minority, immigrants, Eu-
ropean Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty A new study confirmed that Populism had
Organization (NATO), won significant percent- now surpassed liberalism in European politics.
age of the vote in parliamentary elections. The The anti-establishment ideologies had appar-
neo-fascist Golden Dawn, the third largest ently succeeded in taking over the desperate
party in Greece, was extremely anti-immigrant hearts of European voters who placed their
and anti-euro. The Alternative for Germany faith in the hands of those who promise total
Chapter 2 59
change, despite the fact that authoritarian gov- nificantly reduced by the electorate, most no-
ernments rarely existed in Europe since 1980s. tably by the AfD who was only formed in 2013.
Today, the trend showed European Union It has been an undeniable fact that the rise of
member states had a tendency to be led by far-rights goes in parallel with the growth of Is-
Chapter 2
anti-establishment governments, as we had lamophobia in Europe, hence this AfD’s vic-
recently witnessed the infamous Brexit in the tory had added fuel into the alarming trend in 5
UK, as well as Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom (five) countries in the region, where the populist
in the Netherlands and Marine Le Pen’s Front right had continuously made significant prog-
National in France were coming close to vic- ress while gaining more and more popularity,
tory in their respective general elections. The i.e. France, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden,
signs were confirmed out by a recent study and Denmark:
published by Swedish think tank TIMRBO and
Back in April 2017, Front National Leader
the European Policy Information Center, in a
Marine Le Penn came second in the first round
document so-called Authoritarian Populism
in France’s presidential election. In another hit
Index 2017 indicating that conservatism and
to the establishment, centrist Emmanuel Ma-
social democracy continued to be the first two
cron came from nowhere to come in first place.
ideological preferences by European voters,
Two weeks later, the two leaders faced each
but authoritarian-populism had now moved
other. Macron won two-thirds of the vote, a
past liberalism and become the third choice. In
move that led to sighs of relief in the European
addition, Populist parties feeling the support in
mainstream, but Le Penn’s 33.9% of the vote
Europe as one fifth of European voters, or 55.8
(and 10.6 million votes) was a big leap forward
million people, casted a vote in favor of a pop-
from the 17.8% won by her father fifteen years
ulist party in the latest general elections. The
before.
report mentioned that while left-wing populism
had emerged strongly in the last decade, right- Austria’s 2016’s presidential election left
wing populism witnessed a constant growth controversies as independent candidate and
over the last 30 years and remained the favorite Green party member Alexander Van der Bel-
of the two.60 len faced the nationalist Freedom Party candi-
date Norbert Hofer in the second round. After
In Europe, the Observatory was concerned
electoral irregularities, the results of the sec-
about the electoral dominance of right-wing
ond round were annulled, and in the legitimate
parties which, again, found further evidence
second round, Bellen won just shy of 54% of
in Germany, after the right-wing Alternative für
the vote. Hofer won 46.2%. Despite losing, it
Deutschland (AfD) scored a significant vic-
was a significant move forward for nationalists
tory in September 2017’s election – becoming
in Europe. Hofer’s party ‘FPO’ is currently the
the Germany’s third largest party. The AfD is a
country’s third-largest party, and was looking to
right-wing, populist movement and it went from
make gains in the country’s legislature in Octo-
virtually nowhere to win almost 13% of the vote.
ber 2017.
Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU was the clear win-
ner, but its share of vote and seats was sig- In The Netherlands, the right-wing Freedom
party led by the controversial Geert Wilders was expected to get lesser number of seats
did not do as well as many commentators ex- this time. German Chancellor came under se-
pected in the Dutch elections earlier this year, vere criticism from the far-right for her 2015
but they did supplant Labour as the country’s open-door policy allowing over a million refu-
second largest party, and secured 13.1% of gees from war-torn countries in West Asia and
the vote. North Africa into Germany. AfD campaigned
against Merkel’s liberal immigration policy,
In Sweden, the rise of the right-wing Sweden
and its anti-European Union and anti-immigra-
Democrats who won 12.9% of the vote in 2014
tion stand had resonated with voters who felt
election became a major story. Sweden is due
left out due to Merkel’s policies.61 Dozens of
to go back to the poll in September next year
lawmakers from the party made their debut in
(2018), and the election could be an electoral
October 2017 at the first sitting of Germany’s
earthquake while a massive blow to the Swed-
newly-elected Parliament, an unprecedented
ish mainstream as Akesson’s anti-immigrant
showing for a nationalist force since World War
Sweden Democrats is currently the second-
II. A record 709 MPs would gather for the ses-
largest party in the polls, meaning that the next
sion, with all eyes on the 92 members from AfD,
Swedish election could be a major advance-
which took 12.6 per cent of the vote in Sep-
ment for the country’s right-wing nationalists.
tember’s watershed elections and became the
In Denmark, at the 2015 election the right- country’s third biggest party. The AfD’s arrival
wing populist Danish People’s Party emerged in the Bundestag unleashed a political earth-
as the second largest. The left-of-centre coali- quake in post-war Germany, as leading figures
tion bloc lost seats, resulting in a right-of-centre in the party had repeatedly smashed through
government led by the mainstream right-of- their claims on German identity or by challeng-
centre Venstre, which came third in the elec- ing Germany’s culture of atonement over World
tion. The Danish People’s Party currently helps War II and the Holocaust. Two days ahead of
out the centre-right coalition government, fol- the session, thousands of people holding up
lowing their biggest parliamentary win in their “Stop AfD” signs demonstrated outside the
history in 2015. The Danes are due to go back Parliament building in Berlin.62
to the polls in two years, and are currently neck
It was very clear to the Observatory that the
and neck with Venstre for second place.
AfD was about to launch an extensive reach-
The AfD was now set to enter the German out far beyond the Bundestag. The party had
Parliament, the Bundestag, and this was the announced plans to set up a television studio
first time when a far-right party be represented in its Berlin offices and employ 20 new com-
in the German Parliament in the post-war era. munications staff. According to media, the AfD
The AfD, which was formed in 2013, centred was looking to bypass Germany’s mainstream
its campaign opposing the huge refugee in- media landscape and build on its successes
flux and German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s communicating directly to the public. The far-
“Open Door” policy. Pollsters had predicted a right party was reportedly looking to launch the
fourth term for Chancellor Angela Merkel but her service in April. The AfD newsroom staff mem-
party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) bers are expected to work in shifts round the
Chapter 2 61
clock, with three members dedicated to re- on the number of migrants allowed to enter
search and spotting topics. The far-right party Austria and reduce benefits received by asy-
entered the Bundestag for the first time last lum seekers. Though the Freedom Party had
year after it picked up almost 13 percent of the traditionally been highly Eurosceptic, Sebastian
Chapter 2
vote in September’s federal election, finishing Kurz, leader of the People’s Party and Austria’s
third nationwide. It is therefore set to become new chancellor, sought to assuage concerns
the main opposition party in the German parlia- of Vienna’s commitment to the EU by affirming
ment, given the decision taken by Chancellor the new government’s “pro-European orienta-
Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc and the So- tion.” With nationalism and xenophobia surging
cial Democrats to form a grand coalition.63 through Europe, the presence of another right-
wing EU government will undoubtedly give
Apart from Germany, the far-rights in Austria
momentum to the far-right nationalist parties
deserve particular attention, as Europe’s new-
battling for electoral victories in 2018 in coun-
est right-wing government took office on 18
tries like Hungary, Italy, Sweden, Finland and
December 2017. The two parties that form the
Belgium.65
government were the Freedom Party and the
People’s Party. During the fall campaign, they Far right Austrian Minister Herbert Kickl told
vilified refugees, attacked Vienna (the country’s a news conference that he wanted “basic ser-
liberal big-city capital), and promised major tax vices centres, suitable infrastructure that en-
cuts for the rich. This won them a combined ables us to concentrate people in the asylum
57.5 percent of the vote. Austria thus appeared process in one place”. The comments quickly
to be the newest member in the Central Eu- provoked outrage, with Alexander Pollak, head
ropean club of “illiberal democracy,” as Hun- of migrants charity SOS Mitmensch, calling it
gary’s authoritarian leader Viktor Orban proudly a deliberate provocation and left-wing essay-
called it. The Freedom Party developed the hall- ist Robert Misik saying “a Rubicon has been
marks of its current style: scare tactics about crossed”. The opposition Green Party warned
refugees; attacks on bien-pensant urban intel- against the language of National Socialism
lectuals, artists, and the media; and pledges to creeping into way of thinking and feeling, while
reduce taxes.64 the NEOS party said Kickl must apologise for
his deliberate provocation. Kickl, became inte-
Austria’s new coalition government, led by
rior minister recently when his Freedom Party
the conservative People’s Party and the far-
(FPO) formed a coalition with the centre-right
right Freedom Party was sworn in, making the
following elections in October 2017, back-
country the only one in Western Europe to have
peddled in saying he did not intend to provoke
a far-right party in power. In the recent national
anyone. He said the government would imple-
election, the Freedom Party won third place
ment a very strict asylum policy in response to
on a wave of anti-migrant sentiment. The party
what he said was a rise in crimes committed
had been allotted control of the country’s se-
by foreigners last year. The head of the FPO,
curity, obtaining the posts of foreign, defence
Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, also
and interior ministries. As such, it was likely that
caused unease earlier by appearing to sug-
the new government would push stricter caps
gest that asylum-seekers should be kept in they claim was a trend of multiculturism threat-
empty military barracks and subject to an eve- ening the traditional identity and heritage of
ning curfew.66 their countries.68
Few months back Mr. Trump’s election bol- In Czech, Andrej Babis and his populist
stered right-wing forces particularly in Europe, ANO (Yes) movement were expected to cruise
and now Mr. Trump’s influence did it for once to victory – but it remained to be seen by how
more and this time was in England. The far- much, and what kind of a coalition he would
right group Britain First had boasted of gain- put together. Like Donald Trump in the United
ing hundreds of new membership applications States and Silvio Berlusconi in Italy, this owner
after Donald Trump shared anti-Muslim videos of the sprawling Agrofert chemicals, food and
it had posted online, sparking a transatlantic media conglomerate and second-wealthiest
row with Theresa May. Britain First leader Paul Czech had transformed himself from an en-
Golding also said the group’s Facebook posts trepreneur into a politician. Surprisingly, his
were reaching hundreds of thousands more staunchly anti-Islamic rhetoric had won him
users. UK Prime Minister has said Mr Trump popularity in a country where there were hard-
ly any Muslims. He had also called for a ban
was “wrong” to retweet videos posted by Brit-
on Islam in the Czech Republic, insisting that
ain First’s deputy leader Jayda Fransen, which
its Sharia law was incompatible with Europe-
she condemned as a “hateful organisation”
an law.69 Few months later, Dutch Freedom
dedicated to spreading division and mistrust.
party leader told far-right gathering in Prague
The extraordinary flare-up between the two key
that European countries should adopt Donald
allies came after Mr Trump responded directly
Trump-style travel bans to counter a wave of
to her assertion - originally made through her
Islamisation supposedly sweeping the conti-
official spokesman - that his re-postings had
nent. He also urged Europe to adopt Austra-
been wrong.67
lia’s tactics in turning back migrant boats and
In Poland, thousands of right-wing national- to build new border walls, as Trump had vowed
ists descended upon what was supposed to to do along the US frontier with Mexico. Wilders
be a celebration of Poland’s independence was flanked during his press conference by
day in Warsaw. Official ceremonies and patriot- France’s Front National leader, Marine Le Pen,
ic songs were drowned out by demonstrators and Tomio Okamura,the leader of the Czech
who chanted slurs such as “Pure Poland. Refu- Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD),
gees get out.” Some even paraded signs that which finished joint third in recent parliamentary
read “White Europe” and “Clean Blood.” This election with nearly 11% of the vote. Wilders,
who was convicted in 2016 by a Dutch court
march represented one face of a growing na-
for incitement against Moroccans, cited US re-
tionalist movement that had swept across Eu-
search he claimed showed that the Czech Re-
rope. Emboldened by a surge in anti-immigrant
public would be bordered to the north, south
sentiments following the refugee crisis, ultra-
and west by countries that were more than 20%
conservative rhetoric was now seeping out of
Muslim by the middle of the century if current
the fringes and into the mainstream. Many in
demographic trends continued.70
these movements said they were battling what
Chapter 2 63
2.3. Islamophobia in the Rest of the World
Chapter 2
2.3.1. Myanmar
The Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar have against the Rohingya became institutionalized.
long been the targets of persecution. They The government legislated new discriminatory
have been systematically stripped of their citi- measures—the four “race and religion laws”
zenship, discriminated against and increas- that specifically target Rohingya Muslims. Since
ingly marginalized in the economic, social and 2012, the Rohingya have faced increased dis-
political spheres of their country. Despite their crimination and have been denied legal rights
long-standing presence, the Rohingya are not to challenge this discrimination. Such discrimi-
even fully accepted as members of Myanmar nation includes:
society and are often labeled as illegal Bengali
• Lack of freedom of movement: For over
migrants.
five years Rohingya in northern Rakhine state
Dislike and hatred of the Rohingya Muslims have been virtual prisoners in their homes. Se-
in Myanmar has a long lineage which predates curity posts and checkpoints are outside each
its independence. However, during the ad- town and special permits are needed to travel
vent of democratic elections the discrimination between towns. Travel permits can only be se-
cure by permission from local administrators, Rohingya from participating in congregational

who may extract payment or bribes to fulfill prayers. Permission to repair religious buildings
such requests. is virtually impossible to secure.
• Lack of access to healthcare: Rohingya In addition, many right wing extremists within
are routinely denied access to medical facili- the government and from among the religious
tates due to travel restrictions and curfew. In establishment have taken advantage of greater
the few hospitals where Rohingya re allowed freedom under the democratic government to
to access they are in segregated wards and advance anti-Muslim hatred. Through the use
guarded by police. of social media platforms like Facebook and
other online media, efforts were made to fabri-
• Lack of access to education: For the
cate and spread rumors that incited and legiti-
past five years there have been tightened re-
mized discrimination and violent acts against
strictions on Rohingya access to education.
Muslim Rohingya. Unfortunately, the govern-
Rohingya children are no longer allowed into
ment rarely held accountable those that perpe-
previously mixed government schools. Also
trated or incited acts of violence. These factors
many government teachers refuse to come to
schools in Muslim areas. Some villages have
set up informal community schools staffed by
local volunteers. Rohingya have virtually no ac-
cess to higher education.
• Lack of religious freedom: Muslim Ro-

hingya are prevented from freely practicing their
faith. Since 2012 most of the mosques and
Islamic schools have been closed. A ban on
gatherings of more than four people prevents
Chapter 2 65
Chapter 2
have led to a deep-seated hatred towards the inhabitants, arbitrary arrests, detentions, tor-
Rohingya that has become embedded within ture, in addition to burning of Rohingya homes,
religious organizations and Buddhist national- places of worship, villages and fields of stand-
ist sentiments. The most significant propaga- ing crops.UN human rights chief, Zeid Raad
tors of anti-Muslim sentiment are the Buddhist Al Hussein, accused the Myanmar military of
monk Ashin Wirathu and his Buddhist nation- conducting a “cruel military operation” against
alist 969 movement who are well known for Rohingya Muslims which was “a textbook ex-
advocating violence against Muslims. The nar- ample of ethnic cleansing.
rative of this movement emphasizes “protect-
The Government stated that their mili-
ing religion, race and motherland from threats”
tary was responding to attacks by insurgents
which includes boycotting Muslim businesses
armed with knives and home-made bombs
and criminalizing interfaith marriage. From 25
on more than 30 police posts in northern Ra-
August 2017 the Rohingya suffered one of
khine. The government denied claims that its
the most brutal campaigns of violence against
security forces had used excessive use in re-
them in a blatant violation of international law,
sponding to these attacks. However, observ-
international human rights conventions as well
ers on the ground and satellite images confirm
as violations of international humanitarian law
many razed Rohingya villages across northern
and in total disregard of Myanmar’s state re-
Rakhine state after government security forces,
sponsibility to protect its unarmed civilian Mus-
backed by local Buddhist mobs, began burn-
lim minority. Security forces and militias com-
ing Rohingya villages and attacking and killing
mitted brutal acts of violence towards Rohingya
civilians.
Muslims including mass gang-rape, killings in
thousands including of babies and children, Under the reviewed period, the Rohingya
burning people alive, brutal beatings, disap- Muslims was even becoming constant head-
pearances, eviction and forced expulsion of lines of world Media due to the harsh approach
military base in the western state of Rakhine,

which bordered Bangladesh. Since then sol-
diers along with some local residents had set
fire to numerous villages and had butchered
Rohingya men, women and children.71 Satellite
images of Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine state,
released to Media showed that dozens of
empty villages and hamlets had been leveled
by authorities. The villages were all set ablaze
in the wake of violence last year, when a brutal
clearance operation by security forces drove
hundreds of thousands of Rohingya into exile
applied by the Burmese Security Forces follow- in Bangladesh. While Myanmar’s government
ing the incident on 9 October where 9 (nine) claimed it’s simply trying to rebuild a devastat-
police officers were killed. International and ed region, the operation had raised deep con-
human rights organizations have noted that cern among human rights advocates, who said
recent atrocities are part of a systematic strat- the government was destroying what amounts
egy and plan of ethnic cleansing of Rohingya to scores of crime scenes before any credible
Muslims of Rakhine State which have since Au- investigation took place. The operation had
gust 2017, affected over 655,000 Muslims who also horrified the Rohingya, who believe the
have been forcibly displaced to Bangladesh, government was intentionally eviscerating the
in addition to the 87,000 Rohingya that have dwindling remnants of their culture to make it
been displaced since violent incidents of Oc- nearly impossible for them to return.72
tober 2016 and more than 300,000 who have Condemnation on brutal approach taken by
fled previous episodes of violence since 1990. Burmese authorities comes from every corner
As was stated by Mr Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the of the world, as massive refugees continued
United Nations high commissioner for human to arrive in October 2017 from across the riv-
rights, the Burmese military’s brutal security er separating the two countries, even though
campaign was in clear violation of international Myanmar insisted military operations ceased
law, and cited what he called refugees’ consis- on 5 September. Aid agencies estimate that
tent accounts of widespread extrajudicial kill- 536,000 people had arrived in Cox’s Bazar dis-
ings, rape and other atrocities. Mr. al-Hussein trict in Bangladesh, straining scarce resources
said the crackdown “resembles a cynical ploy of aid groups and local communities. About
to forcibly transfer large numbers of people 200,000 Rohingya were already in Bangladesh
without possibility of return,” noting that Myan- after fleeing persecution in Myanmar, where
mar had progressively stripped its Rohingya they had long been denied citizenship and
minority of civil and political rights for decades. faced restrictions on their movements and ac-
More than 300,000 Rohingya had fled to Ban- cess to basic services.
gladesh since August 2017, when armed Ro-
hingya militants attacked police posts and a Thousands of people took to the streets
Chapter 2 67
Chapter 2
across Asia to denounce Myanmar’s treatment Myanmar military crackdown in late August
of its Rohingya Muslim minority. Protests took 2017.74
place in Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia,
U.S. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson stated
Pakistan and Bangladesh to urge Myanmar
that he was deeply concerned about the con-
to ‘stop committing genocide’ and take back
tinuing atrocities involving the Rohingya Muslim
those who had sought refuge elsewhere.73 The
minority in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. His com-
United Nations General Assembly adopted a
ments came during a press conference with
resolution calling on Myanmar to end military
Burmese De-Facto civilian head of state, Aung
operations that had led to the systematic vio-
San Suu Kyi, in November in Myanmar. The
lation and abuse of human rights of Rohingya
ethnic group had faced oppression in the pre-
Muslims in the country’s Rakhine state. The
dominantly Buddhist area for years. Since the
resolution, which was tabled by the Organiza-
25 August 2017 attacks by Arakan Rohingyan
tion of Islamic Cooperation, was adopted by a
Salvation Army on security forces and Muslim
vote of 122 to 10 with 24 abstentions. China,
minorities, over 600,000 Rohingyan had fled to
Russia, Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines and
Bangladesh. An unknown number from multiple
Vietnam joined Myanmar in voting against the
ethic groups remain internally displaced with
measure as did Belarus, Syria and Zimbabwe.
limited access to food, water and shelter. As
It called for Myanmar to grant aid workers ac-
a result, Tillerson announced an additional $47
cess, and to give Rohingya Muslims full citizen-
Million in humanitarian assistance for refugees,
ship rights. The resolution also called on UN
bringing the American response to the Rakh-
Secretary General Antonio Guterres to assign a
ine State crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh to
special envoy to the Southeast Asian country.
more than $87 million since August of 2016.
Over the past three months more than 655,000
This strong statement just came a week after
Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh, after
the United Nations Security Council slammed and arrived in Bangladesh to avoid persecu-
called upon the government of Myanmar to en- tion that the United Nations has called ethnic
sure no further excessive use of military force cleansing.76
in Rakhine State, to restore civil administration
Myanmar’s Foreign Minister and de facto
and apply rule of law, and to take immediate
leader Aung San Suu Kyi was announced the
steps in accordance with their obligations and
2017 International Islamophobe of the Year.
commitments to respect human rights.75
Her atrocities targeting Myanmar’s Muslim mi-
Even ‘neutral’ country like India raised loud nority were so egregious that she shot past
voice saying that Myanmar must take back Ro- other nominated international Islamophobes,
hingya Muslims to resolve one of Asia’s larg- U.S. President Donald Trump, French far-right
est refugee crises in decades. As reported by party National Front leader Marie Le Pen, far-
Bangladesh’s government, the Indian Foreign right Dutch party Freedoms Party leader Geert
Minister Sushma Swaraj conveyed this mes- Wildres. Between 2,000 and 3,000 Muslims
sage during a meeting with Bangladeshi Prime were killed in Myanmar’s Rakhine state in No-
Minister Sheikh Hasina, who ordered border vember, according to the European Rohingya
guards and her administration to accommo- Council, and more than 617,000 Rohingya
date hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Mus- Muslims were forced to take shelter in neigh-
lims to allow them to cross the border and shel- boring Bangladesh. The annual Islamophobia
ter in makeshift camps in the coastal district Awards by the London-based Human Rights
of Cox’s Bazar. More than 600,000 Rohingya Commission. In the “United Kingdom” catego-
Muslims have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state ry, the Islamophobe of the year was announced
Chapter 2 69
as Tommy Robinson – the former leader of the had had a plan to set up a civilian-led agency,
fascist English Defense League (EDL) – who with foreign assistance, to deliver aid and help
is infamously known by his anti-Islam views. resettle Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state. A
The other candidates in this category were TV close adviser of Aung San Suu Kyi said the pro-
Chapter 2
presenter and columnist Katie Hopkins, former posed body had been long planned, and was
leader of the populist UK Independence Party part of an attempt to show the civilian govern-
(UKIP) Nigel Farage, far-right For Britain Party ment she lead, rather than the Burmese military
founder Anne Marie Waters and British Foreign could deliver humanitarian relief, resettlement
Secretary Boris Johnson.77 and economic recovery.
As response, Burmese State Media an- The Nobel laureate had been criticised for
nounced in January 2018 that the Government failing to denounce a brutal army crackdown
of Myanmar was making final preparations to on the Rohingya in Rakhine state, which forced
take back the first batch of Rohingya Mus- hundreds of thousands to flee to neighbouring
lims who had fled conflict in troubled Rakhine Bangladesh. In a speech carried by state TV
state, despite growing doubts about the plan in the month, Aung San Suu Kyi said: “There
among refugees and in the United Nations. has been a lot of criticisms against our country.
Rakhine State Chief Minister Nyi Pu insisted on We need to understand international opinion.
completion of the finishing touches on build- However, just as no one can fully understand
ings, medical clinics and sanitation infrastruc- the situation of our country the way we do, no
tures during a visit to repatriation camps in the one can desire peace and development for our
state, as was reported by the Global New Light country more than us.”79
of Myanmar newspaper. It published a photo
of his delegation standing by a long, wooden
house that would be used to house returnees
at the camp near the town of Maungtaw. A wire-
mesh fence topped by barbed wire appeared
in the background of the photo. Over 655,500
Muslim Rohingya fled to Bangladesh after the
Myanmar military cracked down in the northern
part of Rakhine in response to militant attacks
on security forces in August 2017. It was also
reported that Myanmar would start receiving
Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh at two re-
ception centres and the temporary camp near
Maungtaw starting in January and continuing
over the coming two years, under an agree-
ment to be signed the two countries.78 This
measure must be part of Aung San Suu Kyi’s
promise announced in October 2017 that she
2.3.2. Australia
Far Right groups were quite active in Aus- Muslims. Hanson sat in her seat in the assem-
tralia during the reviewed period, and the heat- bly for about 20 minutes covered by the black
ing-up issue was related to Burqa and Niqab, burqa before removing it to call for them to
as certain politicians opened the discourse at be banned in public for national security rea-
public. The Australian ‘One Nation’ leader Pau- sons. Hanson, who first rose to prominence in
line Hanson stated her party would move to the 1990s because of her strident opposition
ban the burqa nationally after indicating a ban to immigration from Asia and to asylum seek-
would be put in place in Queensland if it won ers, had in recent years campaigned against
the state election there. She told that the party Islamic clothing and the building of mosques.80
would forge ahead with a proposal to ban the
Senator Jacqui Lambie had also introduced
burqa in public areas, including schools and
legislation banning Muslim women from wear-
government buildings in Queensland. Senator
ing the burqa in public. Senator Lambie insist-
Pauline Hanson wore a burqa to parliament as
ed full face coverings make Australians fearful
part of her campaign to ban the all-enveloping
and the right to feel safe must outweigh the
garment worn by some Muslim women, draw-
right for expression of religious freedom. She
ing a quick rebuke from the government and
said that a nationwide ban on all identity-con-
Chapter 2 71
cealing garments was needed for national se- It seems to the Observatory that the issue
curity reasons, unless the wearer had a reason- would be even hotter in the coming future as
able and lawful excuse. The private senators’ the campaign had reached far into the Austra-
Chapter 2
bill, introduced in the Senate in February 2017, lian publics and more likely to be politicized in
linked the ban to the national terrorism threat times approaching elections. A study by RMIT
level, kicking in when the terror threat. The bill University showed that two-thirds of Australians
bans people from wearing full face coverings in living in poorer suburbs were uncomfortable
commonwealth jurisdictions such as airports, with women wearing burqas. The sample was
as well as the ACT and Northern Territory. It taken among people in Broadmeadows and
also made it illegal to force another person or Fawkner, in Melbourne’s north, found high lev-
child to wear a full face covering, that would els of discomfort with burqas, with two-thirds
result in six months’ jail while forcing a child to of non-Muslims surveyed expressing concerns
wear one would attract 12 months jail. Under about Muslim women wearing face coverings.
the reviewed period, Islamophobic flyers were The study also found that even Muslims were
posted around the city of Penrith read: “Say uneasy about burqas, with 28 per cent of them
no to the Burqa”, claiming to be from the local saying they were uncomfortable, as Burqas
council. It also said: “For reasons of security no and niqabs were seen as forms of clothing
person with any form of facial covering should that ‘precluded inter-ethnic commmunication’.
be allowed to enter or be served in Penrith. On the individual level, respondents with lower
Save our values, save our laws.” The council socio-economic status and older respondents
was aware of the flyers and strongly denied any tended to be more Islamophobic, which con-
links.81 firms findings of other Australian and overseas
studies. The study was done with help from the
Islamic Council of Victoria and Moreland City There is a problem within Islam… I think it’s in-
Council.82 cumbent on all Islamic authority figures to say
that it’s never right to kill in the name of God.”83
There was also a tendency that the issue
would be exploited far beyond ‘burqa’ and Not only by politicians, anti-Islam campaign
eventually could be directed towards the deni- was also intensely done by far-right religious
gration of Islam. Such an assumption found leaders, i.e. pastor Keith Piper, a baptist pas-
evidence at for instance, former Prime Minister tor who claimed Islam was ‘a cancer that will
Tony Abbott who spoke with journalist following destroy society’. During a recorded sermon for
the attacks in Melbourne’s Flinders Street, an lessons for special religion education (SRE) - an
incident which left many wondering what was optional 30-minute weekly class offered to stu-
to blame, whether faith or mental illness. The dents by government schools when a teacher
Australian politician stated that more account- was available. In the 40-minute video, which
ability need to put on Islamic authorities. He was recorded and uploaded to YouTube, Mr
said: “The perpetrator has claimed that it was in Piper repeatedly condemned Islam and the
some way because of alleged discrimination of Koran. He told the crowd “Islamism is a can-
Muslims in this county. No one is discriminated cer. We must destroy the cancer or the can-
against in this country. I think it’s just appalling cer will destroy out society and our freedoms
that someone who came to this country as a and everything we hold dear. Islam and Koran-
refugee should’ve done something so terrible. practising Muslims were culturally incompatible
Chapter 2 73
with western and Christian values.” Piper went ciety. The annual survey found the number of
on to claim he was not anti-Muslim but was an- people reporting experience of discrimination
ti-Koran. He said: “The Koran is the evil rotten, because of skin colour, ethnic origin or religion,
Chapter 2
rotten cause of every Islamic terrorist action in had more than doubled - from nine per cent in
the whole world.”84 2007 to 20 per cent in 2017. Asked whether
they felt positive, negative or neutral towards
The Observatory would suggest a continu-
Muslims, 25 per cent of those polled felt ‘very
ous close attention to the trend in Australia. A
negative’ or ‘somewhat negative’. In compari-
report on social cohesion had shed light on the
son, six per cent of people felt negatively to-
number of Australians reporting racism and how
wards Buddhists. The report said the findings
some feel about Muslims. According to which
might be influenced by perceptions that some
one in four Australians held a negative attitude
sections of the Muslim population rejected
towards Muslims and more people were re-
Australia’s secular democratic values. The re-
porting racism, but the number of people who
port’s author and Monash University professor
wanted migrants to be rejected from coming
Andrew Markus said concerns about women’s
to Australia based on their race had dropped.
rights and feelings of a lack of integration often
The Scanlon Foundation’s Mapping Social Co-
come up in focus group discussions around
hesion survey polled 1,500 people between
Muslims. The survey found 28.3 per cent of re-
June and July 2017, asked respondents 77
spondents felt positive towards Muslims, while
questions on a range of issues including im-
the majority were neutral.85
migration, democracy, the economy and so-
2.3.3. China
Last year, authorities in China’s Xinjiang re- tightly enforced. The naming restrictions were
gion were applying policy of prohibiting parents part of a broader government effort to secu-
from giving children some Islamic names to di- larize Xinjiang, which was home to roughly 10
lute the influence of religion on life in the ethnic million Uighurs. Top officials had publicly said
Uighur minority heartland. According to a list that radical Islamic thought had infiltrated the
distributed by overseas Uighur activists, “Mu- region from Central Asia, protracting a bloody,
hammad,” ‘’Jihad” and “Islam” were among years long insurgency and claimed hundreds
at least 29 names now banned in the heavily of lives. Government scholars and high-ranking
Muslim region. An official at a county-level pub- officials, including Chinese President Xi Jinping,
lic security office in Kashgar, a hub in south- had urged local governments to better assimi-
ern Xinjiang with strong Islamic influences, said late their Muslim minorities into the majority Han
some names were banned because they had Chinese culture. Aside from the prohibition on
a “religious background.” It was unclear how Islamic names, local Xinjiang officials had, at
widespread the ban was, or whether it was the earlier times, strongly discouraged or pro-
Chapter 2 75
hibited Islamic veils, while government-linked ened to punish their owners. A week before,
figures had called for bans of mosques with a similar message was received from resi-
domes or other Middle Eastern architectural dents of Kashgar, Khotan and other regions of
Chapter 2
styles.86 A little bit earlier, the China’s province China. The speaker of the world Congress of
had put a ban on ‘Beards’ which was blamed Uighurs Dilihat Raxit stated that they received
by some human rights groups as repressive a notification according to which each ethnic
policy. These restrictions had been approved Uighur shall transmit to the authorities any ob-
by the Xinjiang lawmakers and being posted jects associated with Islam. According to local
on the official website. The rules had further officials, the authorities of Xinjiang confiscated
demanded all the workers to dissuade those all Korans published more than five years ago,
who fully cover their bodies, including veiling because of their “extremist”. Chinese officials
their faces. As the consequence, these people said that they stopped illegal propaganda, re-
would be restricted from entering public places ligious activities, religious instruction and pro-
otherwise being reported to the Police.87 hibited items which could become instruments
of terrorism, including flammable objects and
Lately, provincial governments in western
knives.88 A man in Northwest China’s Xinjiang
China had reportedly banned children from at-
Uyghur Autonomous Region was sentenced to
tending religious events during the winter holi-
two years in prison after teaching people about
days, as authorities stepped up control of reli-
the Koran in a WeChat group, according to a
gious education. School pupils in Linxia county
verdict published on China Judgments On-
in Gansu province, home to many members
line run by China’s Supreme People’s Court.
of the Muslim Hui ethnic minority, were prohib-
Huang Shike was found guilty of illegally using
ited from entering religious buildings over their
information and the Internet, said the verdict re-
break, as the district education bureau said
leased by the Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture
in a notice posted online. Students must not
branch court of Higher People’s Court of Xin-
read scriptures in classes or religious build-
jiang. Huang, by preaching and teaching the
ings, said the notice, which also ordered pu-
Koran at non-religious venues, had been con-
pils and teachers to work to strengthen politi-
sidered as disturbed the administrative order
cal ideology and propaganda.Chinese police
of normal religious activities, severely violated
ordered Muslims to give up all copies of the
China’s laws on regulating religious affairs and
Koran and prayer mats, as reported by the
greatly harmed society. Huang established a
publication Yenicag.Ru who cited a message
WeChat group in June 2016, and taught its
from Uighur activists. According to the activ-
roughly 100 members, mostly his friends and
ists, officials in the North-Western region of Xin-
family members, how to pray via voice mes-
jiang had warned of a mosque that the Muslim
sages. Huang then explained the Eid al-Adha
families from ethnic minorities should convey
festival in another WeChat group in August
the objects of worship, including the Koran
2016. This WeChat group also had more than
and prayer rugs. In case of detection of their
100 members, according to the verdict. To
objects of worship, the authorities had threat-
regulate social media groups, including We-
Chat, QQ and Weibo groups, the Cyberspace to block any content the government deemed
Administration of China (CAC) issued a new offending, or not in the country’s interests. The
regulation which would take effect on 8 Octo- Observatory would like to underline the fact
ber 2017.89 that China is the home for over 21 million Mus-
lims, mostly the Uyghurs people living in Xinji-
In term of positive developments, China
ang Province, and the Hui Community living in
gave a surprise amidst the on-going trend of
Ningxia Province, where discontent and fears
Islamophobia in Xinjiang Province, as the Chi-
of Muslims had been reported during the re-
nese national authorities had blocked Islamo-
cent years.
phobic terms used by internet users to stigma-
tize Muslims. As a result of the ban, searches In addition, new regulations on religious af-
for keywords often used by Internet users to re- fairs were announced by China in October
fer to Islam showed no results on China’s We- 2017 and due to take effect in February 2018,
ibo microblog. The Observatory found that on- aim to increase oversight of religious education
line postings containing the anti-Islam phrases and provide for greater regulation of religious
could not be posted for it signifies “violations of activities. Chinese law officially granted reli-
Weibo’s complaints related rules”. China had gious freedom for all but regulations on educa-
a booming internet population surpassing over tion and protection of minors also said religion
700 million, and it had used massive firewalls could not be used to hinder state education or
Chapter 2 77
to coerce children to believe.90 It was also re- lims in making the pilgrimage to Mecca this
lieving to note on the other side that the Chinese year, and closed streets for Muslims to cele-
Government undertook positive measures brate Eid ul-Fitr.91
Chapter 2
friendly to Islam and Muslims. For instance, the
Also a commendable evidence of Chinese
Chinese authorities had blocked Islamopho-
friendly gestures toward Islam was a Chinese
bic terms used by internet users to stigmatize
court who had sentenced an ethnic Han to two
Muslims in order to prevent bias against Islam.
years and six months in jail for attacking Islam
As a result of the ban, searches for keywords
and Muslims online. The Heping district Peo-
often used by Internet users to refer to Islam
ple’s Court in Shenyang in Liaoning Province in
showed no results on China’s Weibo micro-
its verdict charged the man with inciting ethnic
blog. Posts containing the phrases could not
hatred after he set up a website and online chat
be posted for it signifies “violations of Weibo’s
groups and posted pictures and articles at-
complaints related rules”. Insults against Islam
tacking Muslims from April 2009 to June 2016.
were also blocked in Weibo’s search engine.
The verdict delivered in November 2017 said
China which had a booming internet popula-
that Li’s behaviour violated the principle of eth-
tion surpassing over 700 million, used massive
nic equality and negatively impacted society.
firewalls to block any content the government
Li was detained in September 2009 for incit-
deems offending, or not in the country’s inter-
ing ethnic hatred, but later released on bail.
ests. China has over 21 million Muslims mostly
However, he was arrested again for the same
the Uyghurs in Xinjiang and Hui community in
charge in June 2016, as the verdict read. Chi-
Ningxia province. Discontent and fears of Mus-
na’s top legislature adopted the Cybersecurity
lims had been on the rise on China’s Internet in
Law in 2016, which stated that any online activ-
recent years. Complainers target Chinese au-
ity that undermines national unity was prohib-
thorities’ discrimination policies toward ethnic
ited. The law also forbid activities such as incit-
minorities, especially Muslim groups. Another
ing ethnic hatred, discrimination and spreading
positive gesture was seen as a report said that
violent and obscene content online.92
the Chinese government assisted 12,800 Mus-
2.4. Other Islamophobic Trends
2.4.1. Islamophobic Gestures and Policies against Veil,

Hijab, and Burqa
other mask in public places such as the street,

shops, museums, public transportation, and
parks. In 2016 several French coastal towns
implemented a Burkini ban, a swimming suit for
Muslim women, after government officials said
that it raised concerns around security.
What was happening in France in 2010 was

actually part of a long story of resentment in
Europe against this particular dress, which had
even started since 2003:
24 September 2003—Germany’s federal

Massive public phobia against veil, hijab,
constitutional court rules in favor of an Afghan-
and burqa started from France in 2010, when
born teacher who wants to wear an Islamic scarf
President Nicolas Sarkozy and leaders in both
at school, but the court also said that states
houses of the French Parliament overwhelm-
can change their laws locally if they want to.
ingly favored the ban, reasoning that face veils
The result is that half of Germany’s regions go
threatened France’s secularism, women’s
on to ban teachers from wearing headscarves.
rights, and public safety. Later step was when
the National Assembly of France on 13 July 3 February 2004—France’s national as-
2010 proposed a bill which then passed by sembly begins debating a bill to ban religious
the Senate of France on 14 September 2010, symbols, including Muslim headscarves, Jew-
resulting in the ban on the wearing of face- ish skullcaps and large Christian crosses, from
covering headgear, including masks, burqa, schools.
helmets, balaclava, niqabs and other veils cov-
11 April 2011—under a decree by the then
ering the face in public places. The key argu-
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, women
ment supporting this proposal was that face-
were banned from wearing the niqab in any
coverings prevent the clear identification of a
public place. Under the first ban, face veils are
person, which was both a security risk, and a
outlawed virtually anywhere outside women’s
social hindrance within a society which relies on
homes, except when worshipping in a religious
facial recognition and expression in communi-
place or travelling as a passenger in a car.
cation. Therefore, as of 11 April 2011, it was
illegal in France to wear a face-covering veil or 31 March 2010—a committee in Belgium
Chapter 2 79
votes to implement the first European ban tion together by placating the anti-immigration
against wearing the burqa and niqab in public, Freedom party.
but French government imposes first the ban,
14 March 2017—in its first decision on the
as a law banning the full-face veil does not
Chapter 2
headscarf issue the European court of justice
come into effect in Belgium until July 2011—
rules that employers can bar staff from wearing
three months after the French ban.
visible religious symbols.
1 July 2014—The European court of human
By now there are at least 12 (twelve) Europe-
rights upholds France’s burqa ban. The judg-
an countries who have banned veil, headscarf,
es said preservation of a certain idea of “living
hijab, niqab, and burqa i.e. France, Belgium,
together” is the “legitimate aim” of the French
the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzer-
authorities.
land, Denmark, Bulgaria, Latvia, Estonia, and
22 May 2015—The Dutch cabinet approves Albania. More were on the way with intensive
a partial ban on face-covering Islamic veils on debates are ongoing in some countries, and
public transport and in public areas. The ban the number is predicted to grow fast, especially
does not apply to wearing the burqa or the after the decision taken on the 14th of March
niqab on the street, except when there are spe- 2017 by the European Court of Justice (ECJ),
cific security reasons. which ruled that employers/companies could
ban staff from wearing these particular clothes.
18 January 2016—the former UK Prime Min-
A country would be followed by another, made
ister David Cameron said he would back insti-
the ban part of their national law, despite the
tutions with ‘sensible rules’ over Muslims wear-
clear manifestation of social discrimination be-
ing full-face veils, but ruled out a full public ban.
hind such a policy.
18 August 2016—France’s Prime Minis-
Particular on this issue, the Observatory
ter, Manuel Valls, defended municipal bans
monitored situations during the reviewed pe-
on body covering burkini swimwear designed
riod as the following:
for Muslim women after mayors imposed bur-
kini bans in several seaside towns including The European Court of Human Rights
Cannes, Villeneuve-Loubet and Sisc on the is- (ECHR) upheld a Belgian ban on wearing the
land of Corsica. full-face niqab veil in public. The veil had been
a controversial issue across Europe, with some
6 December 2016—The German chancel-
countries banning the garment in public in the
lor, Angela Merkel, endorses a partial ban on
name of safety and rights groups arguing that
the burqa and the niqab.
this amounts to a violation of civil liberties. The
30 January 2017—Austria’s ruling coalition court ruled that the ban sought to guarantee
agrees to prohibit full-face veils such as the social cohesion, the protection of the rights and
burqa and the niqab in courts and schools. It freedoms of others and that it was “necessary
also pledged to investigate banning heads- in a democratic society. Just a reminder, Bel-
carves for women employed in public services, gian banned the wearing of the full-face veil in
in a move designed to hold the ruling coali- June 2011, which prohibited appearing in pub-
lic with a face masked or hidden, in whole or headscarf ban, Fassmann said: “Yes, I have
in part, in such a way as to be unidentifiable.93 a sympathy for the secular state and find that
teachers should not wear a headscarf, except
In Austria, new restrictions came into force in
religious and private school teachers.” The co-
Austria on the 1st of October 2017 banning the
alition government formed by Austrian People’s
wearing of the full Islamic veil and other items
Party (OVP) and the far-right Freedom Party
concealing the face in public places and build-
(FPO) earlier in the month, had an anti-Islam
ings. The government said that Exemptions un-
and anti-immigrant stance.95
der certain conditions include items i.e. clown
disguises at cultural events, work wear such as In the UK, Amanda Spielman, chief inspec-
medical masks, and scarves in cold weather. tor for the Office for Standards in Education
Violations of burqa ban would be punished (OFSTED), publicly supported Neena Lall, the
with a fine of up to €150. The measures also head teacher of a predominantly Muslim state
applied to visitors/tourists holiday in the Alpine school who imposed the ban earlier month,
country.94 Austria’s newly appointed Education setting off an uproar from parents and com-
Minister Heinz Fassmann to-the-pointly stated munity leaders in east London. Speaking at a
his position against the headscarf. Fassmann’s Church of England conference, Spielman said
interview published in local newspaper quoted that school leaders must have the right to set
him saying “teachers should not wear a heads- school uniform policies as they see fit, in or-
carf.” When asked about his opinion on the der to “promote cohesion,” and also to warn
Chapter 2 81
of the dangers people pose in using religion to Europe, setting advocates of religious freedom
“actively pervert” education. She claimed, “Un- against secularists and those who argue that
der the pretext of religious belief, they use edu- such garments are culturally alien or a symbol
cation institutions, legal and illegal, to narrow of the oppression of women. The Danish Jus-
Chapter 2
young people’s horizons, to isolate and segre- tice Minister Soren Pape Poulsen was quoted
gate, and in the worst cases to indoctrinate im- saying: “It is incompatible with the values of the
pressionable minds with extremist ideology.”96 Danish society or the respect for the communi-
ty to keep the face hidden when meeting each
In Switzerland, voters would decide whether
other in the public space.”98
to ban Muslim face veils including the burqa
after a campaign by far-right groups to out- In Canada, the Quebec National Assembly
law the garment which they said undermine adopted Bill 62 in October 2017, making it il-
the “dignity of women”. The public would get legal to wear a mask or any other clothing that
a chance to have its say in a referendum ex- covered the face when providing or receiving
pected to be rolled out in 2018 in the country public services managed by the province or
where less than 5 per cent were Islamic in the by municipalities. The law would primarily affect
largely Christian nation. It was tabled after ex- Muslim women who wear niqabs or a burqas.
tremists gathered 100,000 signatures for the This was the first piece of legislation to be ad-
ballot, forcing officials to react under a rule in opted in Quebec after 10 years of debates on
the country where voters decided the agenda the definition of secularism and religious di-
in a system known as direct democracy. If the versity. As with similar debates in France, the
measure went through, Switzerland would fol- notion of Quebec as a secular society, en-
low suit with other countries in Europe includ- capsulated in the phrase ‘laïcité’ had increas-
ing France and Austria which cracked down on ingly been used to primarily target the rights
full-face veils. The measure was proposed by a of Muslims.99 The new law was meeting with
group including MPs from the nationalist Swiss confusion, street protests and resistance from
People’s Party (SVP) that was also behind a civic leaders, exposing the divisive impact of
ban on building minarets in Switzerland.97 legislating on matters of faith and human rights
in Canada. Bill 62 became law, but the larg-
In Denmark, the government announced
est cities and transit authorities said they would
in February 2018 that it planned to fine people
not yet put it into effect. The legislation required
who covered their face in public, putting it in
people receiving public services in Quebec –
line to join France and others restricting the
on buses, in a hospital, in daycares or in librar-
burqa and the niqab, worn by some Muslim
ies – to show their faces, a rule that effectively
women. The center-right government, which
singles out Muslim women who wear the face-
was backed by the nationalist Danish People’s
covering niqab and burka. Prime Minister Jus-
Party, said it would bring in legislation imposing
tin Trudeau took aim at Bill 62 on Friday while
fines of up to 10,000 Danish crowns ($1,658)
campaigning ahead of a federal by-election in
for repeat offences. It did not give a date for a
Quebec, although he stopped short of saying
vote on the law. Full and partial face veils such
Ottawa would challenge the law’s constitution-
as burqas and niqabs divide opinion across
ality in court.100
Chapter 3 83
3. POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS
Chapter 3
Chapter
The Observatory noted with pleasure that during the covered

period, there were efforts in many countries around the world
to promote harmony and tolerance, while countered anti-Islam
sentiments and other Islamophobic activities, of which the Ob-
servatory would consider as positive signs towards combatting
Islamophobia and incitement of hatred and violence towards Is-
lam and Muslims. The following instances of positive trends are
worth mentioning:
3.1. Public Policy
and NetzDG would require the sites in ques-

tion to investigate user reports of such post-
ings, delete most within 24 hours, and act on
more complicated cases within a week. The
German parliament originally passed the law in
late June 2017 and it went into force in October
2017, but legislators gave sites three months
to put together internal systems to remove the
banned content.102
In the U.S., Virginia’s governor, Terry

McAuliffe, urged people to stay away from a
planned rally of far right and white supremacist
In Germany, the parliament had voted in groups in the university town of Charlottesville.
favor of a law that includes the provision to levy The National Guard had been put on alert be-
fines of up to €50 million from popular compa- cause of the risk of violence during the so-
nies such as Facebook and YouTube if they called “Unite the Right” rally while counter dem-
failed to remove hateful posts in a timely man- onstrators were also expected. Thousands of
ner. The law, which was due to come into effect white nationalists, including supporters of the
in October 2017, would affect sites with more Ku Klux Klan white supremacist group, and
than 2 million users nationally. It required inter- anti-fascist activists were expected to turn out
net giants to find and delete posts containing in Charlottesville, a sleepy town planning to re-
“evidently unlawful” abusive material within 24 move a statue of General Robert E. Lee, who
hours to avoid being hit with a penalty.101 The led Confederate forces in the US Civil War.103
sweeping anti-hate speech law requiring web-
sites to promptly investigate reports of posts il- In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
legal under German law and delete them. On said that Islamophobia and racism were to
January 1st, 2018, the grace period before that blame for the murders of six men in a Que-
law would began being enforced by authorities bec mosque in 2016 and could never have a
expired. Companies affected by the Network place in the country. Trudeau made the asser-
Enforcement Act (NetzDG) included Facebook, tion just hours before he was to attend a vigil
Twitter, Google, YouTube, Snapchat, and Ins- in Quebec City to mark one year since a gun-
tagram, while professional networks like Linke- man killed six and injured 19 others when he
dIn and Xing were expressly excluded as were fired into the Islamic cultural centre during eve-
messaging services like WhatsApp. Germany ning prayers. Quebec Premier Philippe Couil-
has strict laws prohibiting content like neo-Nazi lard, along with opposition leaders, were also
propaganda, swastikas, and Holocaust denial, there to commemorate the grim anniversary. In
Chapter 3 85
speech in the House of Commons earlier that

day, Trudeau called on all MPs to stand against
Islamophobia. He said: “We owe it to (the vic-
Chapter 3
tims) to speak up and stand tall and explicitly
against Islamophobia and discrimination in all
its forms.” His call to action received applause,
conjuring up memories of the heated debate
about the use of the term Islamophobia which
took off after Liberal MP Iqra Khalid introduced
a 2016 motion which also called on parliamen-
tarians to condemn Islamophobia and all forms
of discrimination and have a committee study
lowed the ban, put in place by Mr. Trump in
how to combat it.104
September 2017, to go into effect while litiga-
In the U.S., the US federal appeals court tion challenging it continued. The 4th Circuit rul-
ruled in February saying that President Don- ing went further than the earlier decision by the
ald Trump’s travel ban targeting people from San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of
six Muslim-majority countries violated the US Appeals, which found the ban violated federal
Constitution by discriminating on the basis of immigration law but did not address the ques-
religion, meaning another legal setback for the tion of whether it also violated the Constitution.
policy. The Richmond-based 4th US Circuit The Supreme Court already had said it would
Court of Appeals, on a 9-4 vote, became the consider both issues in deciding the legality
second federal appeals court to rule against of the ban in the coming months. The justices
the ban, finding that the Republican president’s were due in April 2018 to hear arguments over
own words demonstrated that bias against the ban and issue a ruling by the end of June
Muslims was the basis of the policy. What hap- 2018.105
pened was that the US Supreme Court had al-
3.2. Court Decisions against Islamophobes:
In Canada, Kevin J. Johnston was Islamophobia motion in the Canadian House of

charged with committing a hate crime, follow- Commons. The rise of the anti-Islamic right was
ing a five-month investigation after he posted something that Canada was experiencing. The
a YouTube video in March offering a $1,000 Canadian statistical agency, Statistics Canada,
reward for a recording of Muslim students at found that there was an increase of reported
Friday prayers spewing hate speech. He later hate crimes against Muslims in Canada from
raised the amount to $2,500 before his You- 2014 to 2015, from 99 incidents to 159, an in-
Tube account was suspended. The video crease of 60 percent. The far-right groups in
caused school officials to issue a memo to be Canada had taken a firm stand against immi-
extra vigilant about recordings and it resulted in gration, seizing on problems arising from Prime
concern among Muslim families. On his web- Minister Justin Trudeau’s welcoming of 40,000
site Johnston also attacked Mississauga MP Syrian refugees. The membership numbers
Iqra Khalid, who introduced a successful anti- of far-right groups in Canada were steadily
Chapter 3 87
increasing. Much like Geert Wilders in The Also in Australia, three far-right activ-
Netherlands, they were critical of Islam, say- ists who staged a mock beheading in protest at
ing that it did not comply with Western values, plans to build a mosque had been found guilty,
Chapter 3
oppressed women and dictated life to an illib- convicted and fined for a criminal offence un-
eral extent. While there were currently no viable der Victoria’s racial vilification laws. United Pa-
political parties in Canada which threaten the triots Front members Blair Cottrell, Christopher
establishment like the Front National or Wilders’ Shortis, and Neil Erikson, were all found guilty
Party for Freedom, they did have some public by a magistrate of inciting contempt, revulsion
and online presence.106 or ridicule of Muslims. Magistrate John Hardy
found the men guilty after a two-day contested
In the UK, Jamie Mullins and Mathew
hearing in Melbourne Magistrates Court. The
Sarsfield had been charged with religiously ag-
trio were the first people convicted under Vic-
gravated public order offences at a Nottingham
toria’s Racial and Religious Tolerance Act. The
mosque. Both appeared at Nottingham Magis-
charge carried a penalty of up to six months
trates’ Court on 1 August 2017.107 Jamie Mul-
in jail or fines of more than $9000. In court, Mr
lins had been given 40 hours of unpaid work
Hardy told the trio they had “crossed the line”
after he admitted smearing pork sausage meat
in staging a mock beheading outside the City
over a lock on the front door of the mosque. He
of Bendigo offices on 4 October 2015, in pro-
went to the Sherwood Education and Culture
test against building a mosque in Bendigo. In
Centre in Nottingham on 18 June and CCTV
the video, Cottrell spoke to camera about the
footage presented to magistrates showed him
mosque plans and directed Shortis - wearing a
wipe his hand on his trousers after smearing
Middle Eastern-style head covering, and shout-
the meat on the lock. The man then draped an
ing “Allahu Akbar” - and Erikson to decapitate
English flag over a flowerpot outside the build-
a dummy with a toy plastic sword. When the
ing and took selfies in front of it. Mullins also
dummy was beheaded, red liquid spilled onto
admitted religiously aggravated criminal dam-
the footpath.111
age.108 Matthew Sarsfield admitted one charge
of causing racially or religiously aggravated ha- In Sierra Leone, a popular Nigerian
rassment, alarm or distress.109 pastor, Victor Ajisafe had been arrested by the
government after found to have made certain
In Australia, a pig head was left at the
outrageous comments about Islamic religion
front gate of a mosque in Stockleigh, south of
during his Sunday sermon. Ajisafe, who was
Brisbane, and a 23-year old man from Victoria
the founder and leader of the country’s larg-
Point had since been arrested. The man was
est church, The Sanctuary Praise Church, while
arrested after photos were posted to social
speaking to his congregants called Islam a
media showing two men outside the mosque’s
“violent religion of lies and deceit,” adding that
gate pulling shocking gestures. The incident
Muslims had been responsible for “every ter-
sparked outrage among local Muslim commu-
rorist act in the history of the world.” Audio and
nity.110
video recordings of the sermon appeared on-
line within three days, and were met with im- Facebook message expressed sympathy for
mediate and near-universal condemnation by the families of those caught up in the bombing
both Muslims and Christians in the country. but then, using racist and offensive language,
Sierra Leone’s population is roughly 78% Mus- he called for every Muslim in the country to
lim.112 be killed. The prosecution argued that Jakov-
levs’s single message was particularly serious
In the UK, Keegan Jakovlevs who posted
because it was posted so soon after the Man-
a Facebook message calling for all British Mus-
chester bombing when public emotions were
lims to be killed in the wake of the Manches-
running high. The Government had launched
ter attack had been jailed for a year. He was
enhanced efforts to tackle extremist material
sentenced at Mold Crown Court for the crime,
online amid increasing warnings over the threat
which was made illegal by the Public Order Act
posed by the far-right.113
1986. Prosecutors said Jakovlevs posted his
message shortly after the bombing at Man- In the Netherlands, a Dutch human
chester Arena on 22 May 2017 and that it was rights council had ruled that hindering a Muslim
taken down shortly afterwards. Jakovlevs’s female police officer from wearing a headscarf
Chapter 3 89
Chapter 3
with her uniform was discrimination, since the take statements, the headscarf being seen
officer had limited contact with the public. The would not affect her job performance.114
ban for on-duty headscarves stemed from a
In the UK, Paul Rimmer appeared in court
Dutch law prohibiting officers from wearing vis-
charged with inciting hatred during a speech at
ible religious symbols, stating uniforms must
a Britain First-linked rally. He faced two charges
be “neutral.” After Rotterdam-based officer
of using threatening, abusive, insulting words
Sarah Izat lodged a complaint in May 2017, the
or behaviour at the Northern Ireland against Ter-
Netherlands Institute for Human Rights ruled on
rorism rally outside Belfast City Hall in August
the case, finding it discriminatory. Izat claimed
2016. Rimmer was the third person charged in
the ban hindered her career progression as
connection with the demonstration. The others
Izat chose to wear the headscarf, she could
were Paul Golding, the leader of Britain First,
only come to work in plain clothes, whereas
and Jayda Fransen, its deputy leader.115
her non-Muslim colleagues wore uniforms. In
the ruling, the Institute stated that since Izat’s In the U.S., Gerald Wallace pleaded guilty
job as an administrative officer had limited in- to threatening to attack a mosque and shoot
teraction with the public and most of her work its members. He admitted to one count of ob-
was completed over the phone, the headscarf structing the free exercise of religious beliefs af-
ban was not justified. The human rights council ter leaving a hate-filled and profanity laden mes-
added that as Izat was not authorized to make sage against Islam, the prophet Mohammed,
decisions on behalf of the police but only to and the Koran, during which he threatened to
go to the comments. Detective Constable Richard Cain

mosque, pleaded guilty to one count of professional mis-
and stated, conduct earlier 2017 in connection with posts
“I’m gonna on his personal Twitter account. Cain scrubbed
shoot all the account, but several tweets were quoted
y’all,” the in an agreed statement of facts from an ongo-
U.S. Depart- ing disciplinary hearing. Among his provoca-
ment of Jus- tive online statements: “The religion of violence
tice said in a #islam. #Mohamedwasapedophile”; “Proph-
statement. et Muhammad. Police be upon him.”; “Export
According islam back to where it came from. #bruxelles.”
to the indictment, Wallace called the mosque In one post, Cain referred to actor Chris Burke,
on 19 February 2017 and left a message in who had Down syndrome, as a “gimp.” Others
which he said, “I hate you Muslims, you Mus- were the kind of statements common among
lims are terrible. I hate you people. I’m gonna the breed of right-wing Twitter user convinced
go down to your center, I’m gonna shoot all of Islam’s supposedly dangerous and creep-
y’all. I hate your Allah, I hate your Koran, I hate ing influence. Cain tagged the Gatestone Insti-
everything about Islam. You people are worth- tute and The Rebel, whose former staffer Faith
less. Go to hell you.”116 Goldy was fired after appearing on a neo-Nazi
podcast.117
In the U.S., a Durham detective who used
slurs, called Islam “the religion of violence,” In the U.S., a man had been sentenced
and shared police information on Twitter was for threatening to blow up an Islamic bookshop
facing professional discipline over his online in London and “kill all the Muslims”. David Mof-
Chapter 3 91
Chapter 3
fatt pleaded guilty to religiously aggravated planet. Yeah, I will cut each one of your ears off
intentional harassment, alarm and distress at with a sword, I will cut your fingers, your toes,
Willesden Magistrates’ Court.118 I will cut you a thousand times until you bleed
out.” The footage was quickly shared on social
In the UK, Paul Hepplestall wore a plastic
media and left Muslims in Merseyside, Bristol,
grenade and brandished a sword in the foot-
Newcastle, and Scotland terrified.119
age that made Muslims in Britain and beyond
fear for their safety. The man recorded the video In the U.S., a federal grand jury in Sa-
two weeks after the Manchester Arena suicide vannah indicted Preston Q. Howard of Mis-
bombing and a day after the London Bridge souri for threatening members of the Islamic
terror attack. In the shocking clip, he said: Society of Augusta. The indictment against
“This is a quick message to Muslims, p***s the man alleged he made numerous calls to
and terrorists, you can’t call yourself terrorists, the mosque threatening to “kill”, “shoot”, “be-
cowards is what I want to call youse. Yeah, head”, “slaughter”, “execute”, “light on fire”,
you run in with bombs strapped to youse and “murder”, “hunt down”, “zone in” on Muslims
blow yourself up, where there’s a bunch of in- and to “blow up the mosque”. Howard might
nocent kids. There is nothing terrorising about face up to five years imprisonment on each
that. Let me tell you, I will get people to run in count.120
your mosques with pineapples [a reference to
In the U.S., a former Army medic ac-
grenades], blow your mosques off this f***ing
knowledged breaking windows and throwing
a Bible into a Colorado mosque. The media He was motivated by religious prejudice after
reported that Joseph Giaquinto pleaded guilty watching the London Bridge terror attacks on
to a felony charge of criminal mischief and a TV when he mounted the bomb hoax at the
misdemeanor charge of bias-motivated crime, mosque in Wellmeadow Street. Worshippers
or a hate crime. A plea deal stipulatesd that were inside during Ramadan on 4 June 2017
he be sentenced to three years of wellness when the lout left the suspicious device, a bag
court. People referred to wellness court receive containing two aerosol cans labelled ‘strong
therapy and psychiatric treatment while under adhesive spray’ which were taped together with
supervised probation rather than serving time a wire, giving the impression it was a bomb.
in prison. Police said Giaquinto threw two large Palmer also attached a badly written note,
rocks through windows of the Islamic Center which read “Yous are next defo” on the pack-
of Fort Collins, as well as a New Testament age which was placed at the entrance to the
Bible, on 26 March 2017. The Bible was found mosque. The disciplinary proceedings reveal
among the shattered glass in the mosque’s Cain’s posts at a time of anti-Islamic fervour,
prayer room.121 both online and in public, as well as credible al-
legations of racial profiling by Ontario’s cops.122
In the UK, James Palmer, a bigoted
drunk who planted a fake bomb outside a Pais- In Germany, Deputy leader of Germa-
ley mosque had been caged for 32 months. ny’s far-right AfD Party was facing investigation
Chapter 3 93
after she made anti-Muslim remarks on Twit- wich Crown Court deliberated for about an hour
ter on new year’s eve. Beatrix von Storch ac- before finding 48-year-old Darren Osborne
cused Cologne police of appeasing “barbaric, guilty of the June 2017 attack in the city’s Fins-
Chapter 3
gang-raping Muslim hordes of men” after of- bury Park neighborhood. A 51-year-old man,
ficers tweeted a new year greeting in Arabic, Makram Ali, was killed and nine people were
as reported by the media. Twitter removed the injured when a rented van ploughed into wor-
tweet and suspended von Storch’s account for shippers gathering to break their fast during
12 hours for breaching the site’s rules on hate Ramadan. Prosecutors said Osborne was mo-
speech. Von Storch’s tweets came as Germa- tivated by a hatred of Muslims, whom he saw
ny began to enforce strict new rules govern- as extremists or rapists in pedophile gangs.
ing hate speech on social media, which could Osborne, of Cardiff, Wales, had pleaded not
result in sites like Twitter and Facebook being guilty. Prosecutors said Osborne was radical-
fined up to £44m if they fail to remove “obvi- ized over a short period of time, in part through
ously illegal” material within 24 hours of being online far-right propaganda. Searches for two
notified.123 prominent extreme-right figures - English De-
fense League founder Tommy Robinson and
In the UK, a man who drove a van into
Britain First leader Paul Golding - were found
a crowd of worshippers near a north London
on Osborne’s computer. Osborne’s partner,
mosque after expressing far-right and anti-
Sarah Andrews, told prosecutors he had be-
Muslim opinions was convicted of murder and
come “brainwashed” and was a “ticking time
attempted murder. A jury at London’s Wool-
bomb.”124
3.3. Positive Views on Islam
In Germany, Angela Merkel, German Turkey, Libya, Niger and other countries in solv-
Chancellor and leader of the conservative ing refugee and immigration issues, and in the
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party said meantime opening channels for legal immigra-
she still believed that “Islam belongs to Ger- tion. She also urged to better screening asy-
many”. Merkel made the remarks on a TV duel lum seekers on for what reasons they come to
with Martin Schulz, chancellor candidate of the Germany. The SPD chairman Schulz criticized
Social Democratic Party (SPD), her major rival that Merkel had not voted with the European
in the federal elections, as refugee and immi- partners at the beginning of the refugee crisis
gration issues were some of the prime focuses in autumn 2015, however, Merkel defended her
in the debate. Both Merkel and Schulz saw no decision of two years ago to allow over about 1
issue with Muslim immigration to Germany, but million refugees to enter Germany, mostly from
Merkel said the 2015 refugee crisis had left war-torn Middle East and North Africa, that she
Germany with a difficult task of integrating new could not act otherwise.125
arrivals into society, making sure they found
At different occasion, Angela Merkel de-
places in educational institutions and the labor
scribed the rise of right-wing populism in Eu-
market. Merkel also called for cooperation with
rope as ‘a poison’. Merkel, speaking at the
Chapter 3 95
Chapter 3
economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, said Myanmar’s Aung Sang Suu Kyi had squan-
the problem stemmed from unresolved issues dered her status by not standing up for per-
in Europe and she was trying to get it ‘under secuted Muslims in her country. Suu Kyi was
control’. In Germany’s case she pointed to facing calls for her Nobel Peace Prize to be
the bailout of Greece during the financial crisis taken away for not speaking out on behalf of
and the influx of migrants in 2015 as the drivers the 125,000 ethnic minority Rohingya Muslims
of right-wing support. Both events happened that had fled Myanmar’s Rakhine province to
while she was leader of the country. Her com- neighbouring Bangladesh. Bennett said that
ments come after the far-right AfD party won its he detected prejudice and suspicions about
first ever parliamentary seats at the last German Muslims when he visited the predominantly
election, which left Merkel struggling to form a Buddhist nation in 2015 in his previous job as
government. She now entered formal negotia- Canada’s religious freedom envoy. He said
tions with her old partners the SPD, but no deal Rohingya Muslims had been the long-standing
had been hashed out more than four months victims of systemic discrimination, and that
after voters went to the ballot boxes. Merkel they were herded into concentration camp-like
also said there was too much ‘national egoism’ settlements by the government.127
in politics and that leaders needed closer co-
In the UK, a report titled A Very Merry
operation to face modern challenges.126
Muslim Christmas’ by the All-Party Parliamen-
In Canada, former ambassador for re- tary Group (APPG) on British Muslims said that
ligious freedom, Andrew Bennett, said that charitable acts by the UK’s Muslim commu-
the Commons Home Affairs Committee. She

said: “There is widespread Islamophobia
across Britain and anti-Muslim sentiment and
anti-Muslim discrimination. Specifically with the
press, I could spend hours giving you case af-
ter case after case.” In 2011 Baroness Warsi
claimed that prejudice against Muslims had
become widely socially acceptable in Britain.129
In the U.S., President Donald Trump said

in a British television interview in January 2018
that he was ready to apologize for retweet-
ing anti-Muslim videos from a far-right British
group, and he reiterated his assertions that he
nity often went unnoticed because they were was not a racist In the interview with the ‘Good
not considered “newsworthy”. In a year which Morning Britain’ program, Trump was pushed
saw five terror attacks and the Grenfell Tower by Piers Morgan, the presenter, about his No-
tragedy, Muslims had been at the frontline of vember re-tweet of three videos by the group
providing aid to those affected. In the aftermath called Britain First that caused outrage in Britain
of the Manchester bombing, Muslims rushed and brought a rare rebuke from Prime Minis-
to help by giving blood to hospitals, offering ter Theresa May. Trump said he was unaware
rides home and raising money for victims and of the group’s politics and that the tweets
their families. However, the British media will- showed his concern over the threat of radical
fully ignored the contribution made by charities, Islamic terrorism. Trump was quoted saying “If
instead focusing on latent fears that Islamic you are telling me they’re horrible people, hor-
charities were open to being abused to finance rible, racist people, I would certainly apologize
terrorism, despite evidence to the contrary. if you’d like me to do that.”130 Donald Trump
Anna Soubry, co-chair of the APPG and Con- was condemned for re-tweeting comments
servative Member of Parliament, said the find- from far-right group Britain First’s leader Jay-
ings showed that Britain’s three million-strong da Fransen in November 2017. They showed
Muslim community were supporting the most what the group claimed was a Muslim man
deprived in their communities.128 destroying a statue of the Virgin Mary, and a
teen being hurled to his death from a roof by
Meanwhile Baroness Warsi, a former Tory
an ‘Islamic hate mob’. Trump insisted that was
cabinet minister said the situation of Islamo-
a misunderstanding on his part, and insisted
phobia in the UK was far worse now than in
Muslims back his tough security policies. He
2011, when she argued prejudice against
said: “I had good support from Muslims dur-
Muslims had passed the dinner-table test.
ing my presidential run, and I think I have good
She described Islamophobia as the country’s
support now.”131
“bigotry blindspot” as she gave evidence to
Chapter 3 97
3.4. Counter-balances on Far Rights
In the US, the city of Boston launched isers invited several far-right speakers who were
Chapter 3
a poster campaign to fight Islamophobia by confined to a small pen that police set up in the
encouraging bystanders to intervene, in a historic Boston Common park to keep the two
non-confrontational way, if they witnessed anti- sides separate. The city avoided a repeat of
Muslim harassment. The city began installing bloody street battles in Charlottesville, Virginia,
50 posters around the city with advice on what where one woman was killed. Police estimated
to do if someone saw Islamophobic behavior. that as many as 40,000 people packed into the
The posters recommended sitting by a victim streets around the nation’s oldest park.133
of harassment and talking with them about a
In another city in the U.S., protests
neutral subject while ignoring the harasser. A
against a far-right rally in Berkeley had drawn
resource said: “The technique is called ‘non-
more than 3,000 people, with the atmosphere
complementary behavior,’ and is intended to
moving from festive to tense as the day wore
disempower an aggressive person by counter-
on. Marchers and anti-fascists gathered at Mar-
ing their expectations.” A similar campaign was
tin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park, where a
also underway in San Francisco.132
large police presence was on scene and many
In the same city, tens of thousands of them have donned riot gear and gas masks.
of people took to the streets to protest a “free Many parts of Berkeley were filled with people
speech” rally featuring far-right speakers a protesting the far right. At the corner of Center
week after a woman was killed at a Virginia and Oxford streets, people chanted, “No hate,
white-supremacist demonstration. Rally organ- no fear, Nazis get out of here” and “When immi-
grants are under attack, what do we do? Stand conservative commentator Ann Coulter were
up, fight back.” The protests came a day after reportedly scheduled to speak at this event,
thousands turned out to demonstrate against a but their appearances were never confirmed.135
far-right rally in San Francisco.134
Another setback was suffered by far rights
The countered-rally itself had been called when a coalition of neo-Nazis and white na-
off, and far-right activist Milo Yiannopoulos re- tionalists in Tennessee on October planned
portedly held a press conference formally can- rallies for the day, but was abruptly canceled
celing the event. The event fell apart after the in the face of massive local counter-protests.
co-organizers — The Berkeley Patriot and Yi- The back-to-back rallies in Shelbyville and Mur-
annopoulos — failed to confirm the guest list freesboro were planned as the first joint event
and book multiple indoor venues on campus. for extremist groups with racist, anti-Semitic
Tensions and confusion mounted on the week and pro-Nazi views including the League of the
ahead of the event, which organizers said was South, the Traditionalist Worker’s Party, Nation-
planned in response to Berkeley’s efforts to al Socialist Movement, Vanguard America and
shut down conservative speakers. A fierce de- Anti-Communist Action since the August rally in
bate about free speech on campus ignited in Charlottesville, Virginia that resulted in a riot with
February when the university canceled an ap- dozens of injuries, one dead counter-protester
pearance by former Breitbart editor Yiannopou- and two police officers killed in a helicopter
los because of security concerns. Steve Ban- crash. At the morning rally in Shelbyville, rough-
non, former adviser to President Trump, and ly 350 counter-protesters gathered to wait in 30
Chapter 3 99
degree weather for the white supremacists to firmed. The former White House chief strategist
arrive. Most were local, hailing from Shelbyville faced mounting pressure to resign from Breit-
or as far away as Nashville. Hundreds of police bart after he was quoted disparaging President
Chapter 3
officers patrolled the area and kept the coun- Donald Trump and his family in a new book
ter-protesters back from the designated dem- “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House”
onstration zone. Approximately 200 protesters by Michael Wolff. The Breitbart board started
finally showed up at an hour and a half late.136 discussing his future at the company after the
comments were revealed last week and con-
The Massive blow on far rights in the U.S.
tinued debating it over the weekend, as media
came along with significant political strikes
told.138
suffered by their elites. Stephen Bannon, the
former Breitbart News chairman who helped Such a decision was taken after more than
Donald Trump win the election and served 2,500 advertisers had reportedly stopped ad-
as the West Wing’s resident nationalist ideo- vertising on right-wing news website Breitbart
logue, was leaving the White House. Trump News in recent months, underscoring the
had told senior aides that he had made the swelling power of a grassroots campaign to
decision to remove his embattled chief strate- boycott the platform, especially amid escalat-
gist, and was later reported that Bannon had ing political tensions in the US. According to a
already resigned.137 Not only being kicked out tweet by Sleeping Giants, a campaign group
from the White House, Stephen Bannon had aiming to pressure companies into cutting
also stepped down as executive chairman of ties with media they deem to be racist or sex-
Breitbart News, the company announced in an ist, the number of advertisers that had ceased
online post and a source close to Bannon con- advertising was climbing towards 2,600. Bre-
itbart gained prominence as a deeply divisive tive Jeff Bezos and senior vice president Jeff
mouthpiece for many supporters of US Presi- Blackburn with the heading: “Amazon Must
dent Donald Trump ahead of last year’s elec- Stop Advertising on Breitbart News”.139
tion. In February, Milo Yiannopoulos, a senior
In Austria, more than 20,000 people
editor and well known figurehead for the site,
rallied in January in Vienna against Austria’s
was forced to resign his position after remarks
new conservative-far right coalition over its
surfaced in which he seemed to condone pae-
hardline stances on immigration and social
dophilia. Recently Steve Bannon, known for his
policy. Marchers descended on a central dis-
nationalist views, returned to head up the site.
trict housing several ministries to make known
He had been executive chairman until August
the views of a protesters’ “New Year welcome
last year before taking a leave of absence to
committee” for the administration of Chancel-
serve as chief strategist to Mr Trump. Mr Ban-
lor Sebastian Kurz, who became the world’s
non was the force behind some of Mr Trump’s
youngest leader. As many as 60,000 took to
most contentious policies, including the travel
the streets to protest against the inclusion in
ban on people from a number of Muslim-ma-
the government of the anti-immigrant Free-
jority countries. Amid the advertiser exodus,
dom Party (FPO), which held six cabinet port-
Sleeping Giants had repeatedly urged e-retail
folios, including that of the vice-chancellor,
giant Amazon to cut advertising ties with Breit-
party leader Heinz-Christian Strache. People of
bart, a move that many of the company’s em-
all ages, including families, answered the call
ployees appear to support. In April 2017, nearly
of leftist and anti-racist groups, marching in a
600 people at the Seattle-based organisation
long procession through the centre of the Aus-
reportedly signed an email sent to chief execu-
Chapter 3 101
trian capital. The march came to an end at the In Greece, Twitter had suspended the ac-
former imperial Hofburg palace, where crowds count of Greece’s far-right Golden Dawn party
gathered, illuminating the darkness with the amid a push to combat white supremacist and
Chapter 3
light of thousands of smartphones.140 other hateful groups operating on the microb-
logging site. The move came two weeks after
Few months earlier, around 3,000 people
Twitter announced it had broadened its hate-
formed a chain of light in Austria‘s capital city
ful conduct policy to permanently suspend any
to protest against the formation of a govern-
account that displays “violent threats, multiple
ment that included the far-right Freedom Party.
slurs, epithets, racist or sexist tropes, incites
Demonstrators held candles, torches and bi-
fear or reduces someone to less than human.”
cycle lamps encircled the government district.
In a statement, Golden Dawn slammed the de-
Spokesman for SOS Mitmensch, one of the hu-
cision, saying the ban was orchestrated by the
man rights groups which organized the dem-
entangled news media and the corrupt political
onstration, said: “Our republic’s most powerful
power which was controlled by the new world
political offices should be exclusively reserved
order. The party said it had sent a tough mes-
for trustworthy people who are not in the slight-
sage of complaint to the company, arguing
est connected to right-wing extremists.” It was
that disabling its account constituted a brutal
the biggest protest in Austria since coalition
undemocratic act that violates political rights
talks between the conservative People’s Party
as well as the individual rights of half a million
(OVP) and the Freedom Party (FPO) started.
Greek Golden Dawn voters who were excluded
Organizers estimated the number of people
from being informed about their party’s posi-
taking part at 8,000 to 10,000, the police at
tions.142
around 3,000.141
In Belgium, Françoise Schepmans, the member Filip Dewinter, Wilders said he would
mayor of the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek appeal against the ban, saying he “finds it un-
said that far-right politicians seeking to stage acceptable that parts of our cities are not ac-
an “Islam safari” in the area were not welcome. cessible to parliamentarians.” Dewinter added
The statement refered to the visit planned by he had wanted to bring Wilders on a tour of
the Dutch anti-Islam Freedom Party leader “Europe’s capital of jihad.”144
Geert Wilders and the right-wing Flemish na-
Strikes against far right figure. In Poland, me-
tionalist politician Filip Dewinter. Mayor Schep-
dia report said Polish authorities banned Rich-
mans said, “In Molenbeek, more than 100,000
ard Spencer from entering 26 countries in Eu-
people live. The vast majority are democratic.
rope’s visa-free Schengen area for five years.
Those people do nothing wrong and just want
A source close to the Polish Foreign Ministry
to live together peacefully.”143
confirmed to the media that the ban had taken
Later on, Geert Wilders, the head of the Dutch effect. Spencer previously was banned from
far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), canceled his the Schengen zone for three years after his
visit to Molenbeek, following the ban forbidding 2014 arrest in Hungary, where he had planned
Flemish far-right groups and the Dutch far-right to host a conference. Spencer popularized
leader from visiting the Brussels neighborhood, the term “alt-right” to describe a fringe move-
home to many of those behind the Paris and ment that’s a loose mix of racist, anti-Semitic
Brussels terrorist attacks. An official said as and anti-immigration beliefs. In August, he was
quoted: “We do not want Mr. Wilders to export scheduled to speak at a white nationalist rally
his message of racist hatred on the territory in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a car plowed
of Brussels.” Speaking at a press conference into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing a
with Flemish nationalist Vlaams Belang party woman.145
Chapter 3 103
In Canada, a counter protest was or- immigrant videos originally shared by a far-right
ganized to balance Quebec’s largest far-right political group. Trump shared three videos
groups, when they staged a demonstration in posted by Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of the
Chapter 3
November 2017 in the provincial capital, where fringe group Britain First, which opposed what it
police were working to keep them apart from a called the “Islamization” of Britain and had en-
counter-demonstration by anti-racism and an- gaged in a series of stunts, including occupy-
ti-capitalism activists. Around 300 members of ing mosques. Prime Minister Theresa May said
far-right groups, including La Meute and Storm in a statement: “It is wrong for the president to
Alliance, marched towards a convention cen- have done this.” Trump responded to the Brit-
tre where the governing Quebec Liberals were ish leader with a heated tweet saying “Theresa
holding a major policy meeting. Leaders of La @theresamay, don’t focus on me, focus on
Meute and Storm Alliance accused the Liberal the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that
government of being too tolerant of the cultural is taking place within the United Kingdom. We
practices of minorities. Outside the convention are doing just fine!” — but mistakenly directed
centre, police placed themselves between the that to an unrelated Twitter account. He later
far-right groups and the counter-protesters.146 deleted that post and replaced it with a similarly
In different city, around 4,000 people took part worded tweet, but with May’s correct handle.
in a protest against a far-right anti-immigration The first video Trump shared claimed to show
demonstration in the Canadian city of Vancou- a Muslim migrant beating up a Dutch boy on
ver. The rival demonstrations ended without crutches. The second was captioned “Muslim
violence with police escorting several far-right destroys a statute of Virgin Mary,” and the third
protesters away from the crowd.147 read “Islamist mob pushes teenage boy off
roof and beats him to death!”149
Also in Canada, the OC Transpo would
not follow a new Quebec law that forced peo- Similar critics on far rights were also raised
ple receiving a public service to uncover their by the church in the country. The Archbishop
faces, with Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson dismiss- of Canterbury used his Christmas Day sermon
ing the law as “a thinly-veiled appeal to populist to reflect on the terrorist atrocities and deceitful-
sentiment.” Watson wrote to Quebec Premier ness of ‘populist leaders’ witnessed in 2017.
Phillippe Couillard, telling him that the premier The Most Rev Justin Welby told worshippers
should not expect the City of Ottawa to follow at Canterbury Cathedral that much could be
the new Quebec law. Speaking to reporters lat-
er, Watson expressed shock that the Quebec
government would pass a law that compels
people to remove their face veils to receive
public services.148
In the UK, British government delivered

a rare rebuke of President Donald Trump for
retweeting inflammatory anti-Muslim and anti-
venue in Melbourne. Television

images showed officers work-
ing to keep the groups apart,
but violence erupted. Police re-
sponded with pepper spray as
rocks, glass bottles and sticks
were thrown. Five police were in-
jured and two protesters arrested.
Mr Yiannopoulos is a conserva-
tive firebrand and staunch fan of
US President Donald Trump, re-
signed from right-wing news site
Breitbart in February 2017 amid
a storm triggered by comments
in which he seemed to condone
learnt from the Nativity story, where Jesus was
paedophilia.151
‘power seen in humility’. Preaching at the Sung
Eucharist service, he made an apparent jibe at In Hungary, Budapest-based tour oper-
US President Donald Trump by contrasting the ator Setamuhely (Budapest Walkshop) run 30
son of God with ‘populist leaders that deceive’ different walks taking visitors around the city’s
their people. And in an echo of Pope Francis’s architectural and cultural sites and the Jewish
address at Christmas Eve Mass in the Vati- and Muslim communities. Anna Lenard, who
can, the Archbishop drew a parallel between runs the business, told media: “Most people
the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem have never met a Muslim in their life and this…
and the refugee crisis. He told the congrega- together with what they hear every day in the
tion: ‘The nature of those who have power is to media causes a lot of tension and stress in dai-
seek to hold on to it. The Archbishop in 2017 ly life. I think this is the main reason why people
publicly spoke out against Mr Trump when he are coming now.” Most of the people on the
shared videos from far-right group Britain First four-hour walk had a college degree, and two-
via Twitter. He said at the time: “It is deeply dis- thirds were women, she said. Hungary’s Mus-
turbing that the president of the United States lim community, estimated to number about
has chosen to amplify the voice of far-right ex- 40,000, grew with the migration crisis of 2015,
tremists.”150 though most of them arrived earlier to study at
Hungarian universities.152
In Australia, right-wing British provoca-
teur Milo Yiannopoulos blasted those who do In the U.S., a professor at Columbia
not agree with him as “petulant babies” after University argued that he was justified in shut-
violent protests in Australia. Hundreds of pro- ting down a speech by a far-right British politi-
testers clashed with police and supporters of cian because his speech represented an act
Mr Yiannopoulos outside a supposedly secret of violence. Tommy Robinson, co-founder
Chapter 3 105
and former leader of the anti-immigration and enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investi-
anti-Islam English Defense League, previously gation after hours of questioning and being in-
served as a leader in Britain’s far-right British vasively searched, but that Southwest refused
Chapter 3
Freedom Party. Columbia University College to rebook him, and instead refunded his ticket.
Republicans invited Robinson to give a talk on He later flew home on Delta Air Lines.154
“The Fall of Europe: Mass Immigration” via Sky-
In Germany, a civil rights organisations
pe in October 2017. Media reported that the
were mobilising against the newly elected far-
speech was immediately interrupted and shut
right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and
down by shouting left-wing protesters. Many
other more hardline groups, vowing to avert the
of the protesters carried signs reading “hate
even stronger rightward lurch seen in neigh-
speech = violence.”153
bouring countries. Thousands of protesters
Also in the U.S., the Southwest Airlines were present in the eastern city of Dresden
Co was sued by an American citizen who came when the anti-Islam Pegida movement cel-
to the United States as an Iraqi refugee, who ebrated its third anniversary. Pegida - Patriotic
said he was removed from a California flight Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West
after another passenger became unnerved - had seen dwindling crowds since early 2015,
upon hearing him speak in Arabic. Khairuldeen with the AfD absorbing some of its supporters.
Makhzoomi said he was seeking compensa- The AfD railed against what it called the “Islami-
tory and punitive damages for civil rights vio- sation of Europe”. It won almost 13 per cent
lations, discrimination and emotional distress of the vote in the 24 September 2017 national
stemming from the “Islamophobia” underlying elections, making it the third-largest party in the
the 6 April, 2016 incident, which began as he Bundestag, or Lower House of Parliament, and
awaited takeoff to Oakland from Los Angeles. the first far-right party to win seats in more than
The complaint was filed with the US District half a century. Police data showed a 14 per
Court in San Francisco, and Southwest had cent rise in right-wing extremist violent acts in
no immediate comment. Makhzoomi said he 2016, and that anti-Semitic crimes rose 4 per
had been seated and talking with his uncle by cent to 681 in the first eight months in 2017.155
phone, after attending
a dinner featuring Unit-
ed Nations Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon,
when two police of-
ficers and Southwest
employee Shoaib
Ahmed removed him
from the plane. Makh-
zoomi said he was
released by local law
3.5. Supports on Mosques
other city in the U.S., as the New Jersey city

of Bayonne agreed to a $400,000 settlement
with a local Muslim group that would allow a
planned mosque to proceed, ending a lawsuit
that accused officials of illegally rejecting the
zoning application. The Bayonne Muslims filed
a federal lawsuit in 2016 after their application
to establish a permanent home was rejected
by the city’s zoning board, claiming the deci-
sion violated a U.S. law that prohibited local
governments from imposing an undue burden
on religious exercise through land use regula-
In the U.S., community support contin-
tions. The agreement called for a public hear-
ued to build for an Islamic center after a bomb-
ing within 30 days to approve the mosque. The
ing Governor Mark Dayton branded a terrorist
settlement did not affect a probe opened by
attack. Members of Pax Christi Catholic Church
the U.S. Department of Justice last year into the
in Eden Prairie delivered in a basket more than
case. In recent years, the Justice Department
200 handwritten notes of support to the Dar Al-
had settled lawsuits against numerous locali-
Farooq Center. Other signs of support arrived
ties for denying mosque applications, includ-
through the day,and a crowdfunding cam-
ing Bernards Township, New Jersey; Bensa-
paign had raised nearly $30,000 to help pay for
lem, Pennsylvania; and Des Plaines, Illinois. A
repairs at the Islamic Center.156
similar Justice Department lawsuit against Cul-
The governor of Minnesota, Mark Dayton, peper County, Virginia, was dismissed as moot
denounced the attack on a mosque as a “ter- by a federal judge after the county agreed to
rible, dastardly, cowardly” act of terrorism. He allow the mosque to be built.158
said during a visit to the targeted mosque:
In Sweden, King Carl XVI Gustaf, visited
“It’s an act of terrorism, a criminal act of terror-
a mosque in Orebro gutted in an arson attack
ism. I hope and pray that the perpetrator will
on 26 September 2017. He was in Orebro for
be caught and prosecuted to the full extent of
a previously scheduled visit to the university,
the law.” The explosion, which the FBI said was
and paid a visit to the mosque afterwards on
caused by an improvised explosive device,
his own request. A 20 year-old man was ar-
rocked the mosque in August 2017 as congre-
rested in connection with the arson attack on
gants began to gather for prayers. No one was
the mosque, the latest in a string of such in-
injured, but the building sustained damage
cidents in recent years. The mosque was first
close to the site of the explosion.157
targeted in 2014 when someone threw a bottle
Support on mosques was also seen in an- with flammable contents through a window.159
Chapter 3 107
3.6. Positive Development on Hijab
Canada became one of countries to prohibit not order people to remove their face cover-
Chapter 3
the wearing of full-face coverings in public. A ings until a provision was put into the law that
law, which was only passed in Quebec, men- allows for citizens to apply for religious accom-
tioned those wearing the niqab or burqa must modations. The law, called Bill 62, was seen
unveil when riding public transport or offering by many as targeting Muslims because some
and receiving government services in the prov- Muslim women wear niqabs or hijabs. The
ince. It was expected to affect school teachers, province said the law was only to provide clear
hospital workers and police officers among oth- separation between state and religion, known
ers, though the law change did not specifically as a state religious neutrality law. The National
mention the Islamic veils. However the legisla- Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) and the
tion had one particular critic in Canada’s own Canadian Civil Liberties Association launched
Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. He told media: a court challenge to the law, arguing that it vio-
“I don’t think it’s the government’s business to lated the freedom of religion and equality. They
tell a woman what she should or shouldn’t be asked that the law be set aside until the court
wearing.”160 could rule whether it was unconstitutional. But
the justice did not go that far and granted a
Meanwhile, a Canadian judge granted a
temporary stay, until the provincial government
temporary stay to the law that banned face
provided a section to allow those who object to
coverings on those who provided or received
the law on religious grounds to file for exemp-
public services in the province of Quebec. Jus-
tion. Bill 62 did not have a clause giving people
tice Babak Barin ruled that the province could
In Switzerland, the Swiss Fed-

eral Council signaled its clear opposi-
tion to the so-called burqa ban initiative,
and presented a counter measure to
compete with it at the polls. Swiss vot-
ers would eventually be called to vote
on the initiative ‘Yes to a ban on face
coverings’ devised by the Egerkingen
committee led by Walter Wobmann, a
member of the populist rightwing Swiss
People’s Party (SVP). The initiative,
which in September 2017 garnered
more than the required 100,000 signa-
the right to file for religious accommodations, tures to put it to a popular vote, called
but that part of the legislation had yet to be put for it to be made illegal for anyone to cover their
into force. As such, the justice ruled the law face in public, with some exceptions including
was incomplete.161 for local customs, the weather and health and
The similar positive gesture towards veils safety reasons. Such a law would effectively
was also seen in the U.K., when the Saint Ste- ban the burqa, though the committee said it
phens Primary School in London’s east-end was also targeting hooligans and others who
reversed its ban on young children fasting and covered their face for criminal intent.164
wearing Islamic veils. In response to the rule, In Sweden, the leader of the anti-immi-
Islamist advocacy group Muslim Engagement gration Sweden Democrat party appeared to
and Development started a public campaign have dropped his push for a burqa ban, days
accusing the school of intolerance. The cam- after Denmark’s government proposed a na-
paign gained widespread support from Lon- tional ban on full-face veils. In a gambit seen
don’s Islamic community and left-wing poli- as part of his preparations for a post-election
cymakers. The ban was only enforced for one deal with Sweden’s centre-right, Jimmie Åkes-
week.162 Earlier in the country, models dressed son said he did not think a ban was right. “I
in headscarves and Islamic robes took to the think that it is problematical,” Åkesson told
catwalk for the first ever London Modest Fash- media saying he was against a “blanket ban
ion festival with the aim of empowering Mus- on any item of clothing”. He said: “I’m more in
lim women.Dozens of models took part in the favour of limiting parents’ ability to force chil-
inaugural event at London’s Grosvenor House dren to wear religious symbols which degrade
Hotel in October 2017 to showcase the leading women.” Åkesson in the past railed against the
designers of the ‘modest fashion’ world. The veil, claiming in 2010 that “terrorists and other
inaugural catwalk was hosted by Dr Myriam criminal elements” used them to disguise their
Francois-Ferrah, a Franco-British journalist who identities.165
specialized in Islam in France and the UK.163
Chapter 3 109
3.7. On Inter-Faiths
In Hungaria, Catholic Priest Father anti-Islam rally continued to grow and now an
Chapter 3
Zoltan Nemeth took risk by providing refugees interfaith group was adding its voice to the mix.
shelter from the winter cold in a church build- The Centre for Jewish-Catholic-Muslim Learn-
ing, a move that had attracted local condemna- ing based out of King’s University College re-
tion and international attention. The church had leased a statement saying that “when one of
functioned as a multipurpose social service us is being marginalized or threatened, we
center in the troubled neighborhood, offering are all marginalized and threatened.” Michael
language classes for refugees, free counseling Bechard, Chair of the centre said: “As a centre,
for homeless people, a base for social workers, we thought that we could make a very strong
and accommodations for those who would statement to indicate that we have no time or
struggle to find a stable home elsewhere. As tolerance for any forms of bigotry in our com-
widely reported by media, Hungarian Prime munity. We ask that other people of faith – and
Minister Victor Orban and his ruling Fidesz Party really all folks of good will – stand together with
were scapegoating migrants and other minori- us to make sure that London is a safe place for
ties—which included cracking down on NGOs, all of God’s people.”167
threatening university, and exerting control over
In Vatican, Pope Francis was decrying
the media, etc., but some faith leaders were
persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar
defying government attacks on marginalized
and praying they received full rights. The pontiff
communities.166
said there was “sad news about the persecu-
In the UK, backlash against a planned tion of the religious minority of our Rohingya
Bologna known as ‘The Hub’, a home to about

1,000 asylum seekers, most of whom risked
their lives crossing the Mediterranean from
Africa and the Middle East. Many of the refu-
gees and migrants were without documents
and all wear a plastic yellow bracelet. The pope
wore one bearing his name and the number
3900003 on his right wrist. Some 600,000
impoverished migrants and refugees arrived
in Italy in less than four years, and more than
13,000 have died trying to cross the Mediterra-
nean. Francis also condemned internet trolling
against foreigners, saying they had been sub-
jected to terrible phrases and insults. Francis
brothers,” as thousands of Rohingya were
called on more governments to facilitate initia-
trying to flee into Bangladesh after escalated
tives backed by the private sector and commu-
deadly violence at home. Francis asked the
nity groups to set up humanitarian corridors for
faithful in St. Peter’s Square to pray that God
refugees in the most difficult situations.170
“saves them” and they received help.168
At different occasion Pope also expressed
In his first official speech in Myanmar in No-
his support on Muslims in Palestine. Pope Fran-
vember 2017, the head of the Catholic Church
cis reinforced calls for a two-state solution to
cautioned that every ethnic group must be re-
the decades-long conflict between Israel and
spected. Conflict, he said, must be resolved
the Palestinians in his traditional Christmas Day
through dialogue, not violence. Prior to the re-
message delivered just over two weeks after
marks, Pope Francis met with various religious
the US president, Donald Trump, inflamed ten-
representatives in Rangoon, where he called
sions in the region. Speaking before the faith-
for the “wealth of our differences” to be ac-
ful in St Peter’s Square in Rome, Francis said
knowledged in religious and ethnic questions.
the children of the Middle East continued “to
Seventeen participants were present included
suffer because of growing tensions between
six Christians, five Buddhists, three Muslims,
Israelis and Palestinians”. Earlier in the month,
two Hindus and a Jew. The pontiff was on his
President Trump fulfilled his controversial elec-
nineteenth foreign trip of his papacy. The com-
tion pledge by recognizing Jerusalem as the
mon thread that brought them all together was
capital of Israel, enraging the Palestinians who
interfaith dialogue, especially with Muslims.169
also want the city to be the capital of their future
Speaking in Italy, Pope Francis urged gov- state. As response, more than 120 countries
ernments and people to do more to help mi- backed a UN resolution urging the US to re-
grants and not to see them as enemies. Francis verse its decision.171
visited a drab refugee centre on the outskirts of
In the U.S., after a Florida mosque
Chapter 3 111
burned down in an arson attack, Jewish peo- er said those who were harassing Muslims
ple had launched and supported an online “should remember Buddha”, as Buddha would
fundraiser to help rebuild it. The campaign to have helped the Rohingya Muslims who were
Chapter 3
help restore the mosque, created by Adeel fleeing violence in Buddhist-majority Burma.
Karim, raised an impressive $78,000 - well over The Dalai Lama said he had also delivered this
the $40,000 goal set by the Islamic Society of message to Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu
New Tampa. “This community has held several Kyi several years before.173
events for outreach and the money will double
In South Africa, Archbishop Emeritus
down our efforts to ensure love, empathy, and
Desmond Tutu broke his “vow to remain silent
compassion were instilled”, Karim posted on
on public affairs” to call on Myanmar de facto
Facebook at the time, when he realised people
leader Aung San Suu Kyi to speak out about
were donating wierd amounts to the crowd-
the Rohingya crisis. In a letter addressed to
funder. He also wrote: “I couldn’t understand
Suu Kyi, Tutu said it was not fitting for a sym-
why people were donating in what seemed like
bol of righteousness such as Suu Kyi to lead
weird amounts to the cause. There are sums
a country where this kind of atrocity occurred.
of 18, 36, 72.00 dollars etc. then I figured out
Tutu said: “My dear sister, if the political price of
after clicking on the names Avi, Cohen, Gold-
your ascension to the highest office in Myanmar
stein, Rubin, Fisher.” Jews donated in multiples
is your silence, the price is surely too steep….A
of 18 as a form of what was called as ‘Chai’. It
country that is not at peace with itself, that fails
wished for the recipient’s long life.172
to acknowledge and protect the dignity and
Support on Rohingya Muslims also come worth of all its people, is not a free country.”
from Tibet leading monk. Speaking to the me- Suu Kyi, who was awarded the Nobel peace
dia, the Dalai Lama said that the suffering of prize in 1991, had been criticized for her lack-
Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myan- luster response to the ongoing crisis.174
mar would have inspired Buddha to help. The
In the U.S., a show of unity was expressed
world’s most well-known Buddhist icon said
between the Catholic and Muslim communities
the plight of the minor-
ity group made him
very sad, as more than
300,000 Rohingya had
fled into Bangladesh fol-
lowing a security clamp-
down by the Burmese
armed forces, prompted
by Rohingya militant at-
tacks on military posts
in August. The Tibetan
Buddhist spiritual lead-
in January 2018 when they broke bread and the occasion, Catholics and Muslims enjoyed
prayed in the parish hall at St. Margaret Mary a hearty chicken meal and mounds of dessert
Catholic Church in Chino. The two faith groups while discussing faith and every day events.175
joined hands in a prayer circle around the pe-
In the U.S., female faith leaders in East
rimeter of the hall and sang the hymn version of
Central Illinois came together in February 2018
the Prayer of St. Francis. Holding a rosary, Pas-
to call for courage in the face of any form of
tor Michael Miller opened the event by welcom-
violence, hatred, racism, intolerance and social
ing Muslims from the Baitul Hameed Mosque
injustice through a declaration, committed the
in Chino and asking them to conduct their eve-
31 members to “challenge the resurgence of
ning prayers on rugs laid out in the parish hall.
groups ... who are promoting dangerous, white-
Fr. Miller said: “We are happy to host a dinner
supremacist, far-right ideologies.” It also cited
to honor you and your work here in building up
a statement by the Charlottesville Clergy Col-
a more just and merciful Chino and California
lective in Virginia that called for unity and justice
Inland Empire,” while Imam Irshad Malhi chant-
in the wake of the Unite the Right rally in August
ed verses of the Koran while men and women
2017 that turned violent, leaving one woman
prostrated themselves in prayer with their fore-
dead and 38 people injured. The declaration
heads to the ground. Videos were presented by
was largely in response to recent threats and
each faith group, including ‘The Sultan and the
instances of harassment made to members
Saint’ showing a dramatic meeting between St.
of the University of Illinois community by far-
Francis of Assisi and Sultan Malik al-Kamil. At
right groups. The group leader, Cindy Shep-
Chapter 3 113
herd said the past year had troubled her and Also in the U.S., a few hundred people
the rest of the faith community, as discussions marched down Madison Avenue in September
on faith and politics became more conten- 2017 for the 32nd Annual Muslim Day Parade.
Chapter 3
tious and opinions more polarized. She men- For the first time in its history, a rabbi served
tioned that threats and harassment by far-right as the honorary grand marshal at the parade.
groups had abounded since President Donald Imam Shamsi Ali, President of the Muslim Foun-
Trump’s election in 2016, as she remarked as dation of America—the group that organizes
“The times that reflect a spirit of intolerance.”176 the annual event, invited Rabbi Marc Schneier
in order to send a message of unity. Imam Ali
Meanwhile, a unique movement had brought
said that he and Rabbi Schneier, who was the
two different communities together, as Muslims
President of the Foundation for Ethnic Under-
and Latinos broke bread in Sacramento to pro-
standing, had had a long working relationship
mote love and unity in a time where people from
speaking against religious persecution, specifi-
both sides feel like targets. “Taco Trucks at Ev-
cally against Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism.
ery Mosque” made a stop at the Salam Islamic
Rabbi Schneier’s presence at the parade re-
Center in January 2018 to serve halal tacos in
flected the theme of the 32nd Annual Muslim
an effort to encourage Muslims and Latinos to
Day Parade: Building Bridges. Imam Ali urged
embrace their identities. A participant from the
for communities of different faiths to connect
crowd said: “When we’re fighting justice we
and help fight each other’s battle. At the year’s
need to for all of our rights, especially our civil
parade, the Muslim community was fighting for
rights. We are fighting hate one halal taco at a
the rights of a specific people: the Rohingya
time, tacos being the symbol of love and the
Muslims in Myanmar. Participants carried signs
symbol of service to our community.”177
that read “We Are All Rohingya” and “Stop
At different place, three religious leaders in Genocide,” some of which contained graphic
North Texas—a priest, an imam, and a rab- images of murdered Rohingya children. As the
bi—proved it was possible to come together Muslim community walked to express their soli-
in times of division. The Rev. Dr. Chris Gi- darity with the Rohingya people in Myanmar,
rata, Imam Omar Suleiman, and Rabbi David individuals from other religious groups walked
Stern gathered at Saint Michael and All Angels to express their solidarity with the Muslim com-
Church in Dallas to discuss where their respec- munity. The presence of the Jewish commu-
tive faiths diverge, and where they unite. The nity at the parade extended beyond Rabbi
panel discussion, presented by the Women of Schneier’s role as a grand marshal. Different
Saint Michael and moderated by the Rev. Amy Jewish organizations marched alongside Mus-
Heller, drew in people of all backgrounds. The lim men and women. One of these groups was
three panelists, who talked like old pals, helped Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (CBST). Its
facilitate a light-hearted environment. The soli- representative explained that the synagogue’s
darity shown by the priest, imam, and rabbi en- participation was an outgrowth of a relationship
lightened and inspired many of the hundreds with the mosque that developed after the No-
of people gathered at the church.178 vember, 2016 presidential election. She said:
“We wanted them to feel like they were not respect each other. If we never offend other
alone. We feel that Muslims are an important people, then we will be respected.” Across
part of our community, an important part of our the street, Mr Adriaan Pitoy who was a pas-
country. We refuse to let the administration in tor at St Paul’s Church, said with similar tone:
Washington change those realities.”179 “Our relationship is just one of many steps we
take. We also go to other mosques to promote
In Indonesia¸ there exists an amaz-
dialogue. Our relationship with our friends next
ing instance of interfaith harmony. On a tree-
door is normal.” For the two houses of worship,
lined side street in the Indonesian capital sits a
normal means sharing parking spaces during
colonial-era Protestant church with an antique
busier services: Friday Prayer for the mosque,
pipe organ built into a large wall behind the al-
Sunday Mass for the church. They also hosted
tar. Across the street is a modern, 100,000sq ft
interfaith dialogue sessions, and even volley-
mosque with towering arches at its entrances
ball tournaments. During Ramadan, the Muslim
and a cavernous prayer area laid wall-to-wall
holy fasting month, the staff at St Paul’s, some
with red carpet. Despite their different faiths,
of whom were Muslim, carried boxes of food
the two houses of worship were friendly, help-
to the mosque for worshippers there to break
ful neighbours — and an example of pluralism
their fast. This type of religious harmony among
in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority
neighbouring houses of worship was evident
nation at a time of heightened fears over reli-
not just in Jakarta, but across the Indonesian
gious intolerance. Mr Nur Alam, the imam at the
archipelago. About 90 per cent of Indonesia’s
Sunda Kelapa Grand Mosque, he said: “We
Chapter 3 115
Chapter 3
260 million people were identified as Muslim, distinguished guests to St Mary’s and pleased
but the country also had Christian, Hindu, Bud- that they can join us in celebrating our contin-
dhist and Confucian populations.180 ued commitment to promoting interfaith dia-
logue in the UK and ensuring that our university
In the U.K., Cardinal Vincent Nichols and
provides the most welcoming environment for
two leading Muslim clerics joined together to
students of all faiths.”181
launch a new Muslim Certificate in Religious
Studies at St Mary’s University, Twickenham. In the U.K., Britain’s Prince Charles
On the site of a notable address delivered by spent hour discussing interfaith issues with
Pope Benedict on faith relations in 2010, the over 30 religious leaders, students and youth
religious leaders opened a new interfaith prayer volunteers in Singapore. Together with Minis-
room and announce the launch of the certificate ter-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim,
as the newest product of their long-standing he attended a dialogue at the Harmony Centre
dialogue. The new certificate aimed to support in Bishan, where he heard ideas on promot-
the religious literacy of teachers and enhance ing religious harmony, ranging from ensuring
the contribution that religion could make to the there were no religious enclaves to organising
formation of British values as referenced in the school visits to different places of worship. He
Professional Standards for Qualified Teacher was also shown translations of the Quran and
Status. Speaking about the launch, Cardinal books on interfaith efforts while on a tour of the
Vincent Nichols, Chancellor of St Mary’s Uni- Harmony Centre.182
versity, said: “I am delighted to welcome our
Chapter 4 117
4. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Chapter 4
Observing events, media news, discourses, public feelings,
and incidents on Islamophobia occurring during the latest Chapter
10-months period, the Islamophobia Observatory draws con-
clusions as pointed at the following pages.
After almost 4 (four) years of its constant worrisome-level, Islamophobia has now
shown a declining pattern, indicated by the number of incident which was much
1 lower if being compared to those in the previous years, during which the U.S. and
Europe were always at the top of the Hotspot List—but were now moving towards
significant improvement.
Trump phenomenon had served as a double-edge sword to the Islamophobia in

the U.S. due to bolstered anti-Islam sentiments, but at the same time Mr. Trump’s
2
xenophobic narratives were then responded by a wide-scale mobilization of support
towards Muslims living in the country.
Six months after the U.S. election passed, many Americans reached out to their
Muslim neighbors, and interfaith solidarity in the U.S. was then becoming stronger
3
than ever, by virtue of which the Islamophobia trend in the country was declining
despite the continued suspicion towards Islamic belief and motives.
Meanwhile President Trump himself seemed to soften his tone on Islam—since

he delivered a moderate speech on Islam designed to reset his relationship with
4 the Muslim world, sitting among 55 Muslim world leaders in Saudi Arabia. President
Trump’s speech distanced him from the divisive anti-Muslim rhetoric he employed
to appeal to voters during his election campaign.
There has been a growing resistance to the Far-rights movement along with a
widespread awareness among the public Americans that the ‘Alt-right’ was nothing
more than an ‘euphemism’ for the white nationalism—a movement whose only ‘po-
5 litical’ agenda is spreading hate, fake news, bigotry, racism, sexism, xenophobia,
misogyny and intolerance. The Alt-right in the US today was even considered as an
umbrella term that encompasses Neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nation,
and other hate groups who overtly and proudly seek war among races.
Chapter 4 119
The right-wing parties continued to gain electoral dominance in Europe following

the recent victory of Germany right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)– now is
Chapter 4
6
the third largest party in the country. The same trend had been on-going in France,
Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark.
Hijab legal standing in Europe suffered another blow after the European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Belgium’s ban on face veils was lawful under the
convention rules while it was declared as “necessary in a democratic society.” This
7
was potential to add numbers to countries that had outlawed veil, headscarf, hijab,
niqab, and burqa i.e. France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy, Swit-
zerland, Denmark, Bulgaria, Latvia, Estonia, Albania, Austria, and Norway.
In Europe, the bleak picture of Islamophobia was seen in intense campaigns

waged by populist-right wing parties amidst ongoing elections; while in the U.S.
8 Islamophobia were mostly reflected through xenophobic government policies and
incidents in the form of racist graffiti, pig carcass dumping, threatening mail, Holy
Quran defacing, physical assaults, and verbal insults on Muslim individuals.
Positive statements by religious leaders in support to Rohingya people in Myan-

mar i.e. Pope Francis, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and the Dalai Lama had been proven
9 effective for addressing Islamophobia as well as other crucial issues in the country,
including to push the de facto leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, to take an
ugent action to help the persecuting Rohingya.
British Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Cana-
dian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Pope
10
Francis of Vatican, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and the Dalai Lama were among World
Leaders who constantly showing ‘friendly’ gestures towards Islam and Muslims.
Islamophobia is a complex issue, and there are major ob-

stacles that may impede us from having an effective strat-
egy to combat the phenomena. Therefore, a series of prac-
tical recommendations is offered, in hopes they might help
Member States and other stakeholders inform their poli-
cies or take necessary measures:
1. Emphasize fundamental human rights 8. In Muslim societies and countries, inter-

and freedoms in combating Islamophobia. nally address issues and factors that contribute
to negative images of Islam and Muslims, and
2. Use existing U.N. treaties on religious
emphasize the importance of proper Islamic
freedoms, freedom of expression, prohibition
education for young children to avoid igno-
of racial discrimination, etc. as tools to combat
rance of religion among the new generation.
Islamophobia.
9. Create initiatives toward developing a
3. Ensure progress on the existing inter-
healthy national/religious identity to increase
national consensus in the form of the Action
young Muslims’ contribution to the wider com-
Plan of U.N. Human Rights Council Resolution
munity without denying their religion.
16/18.
10. Engage with civil society and young
4. Encourage governments to revive the
people in implementing government programs
United Nations Alliance of Civilizations initiative,
and actions to address religion and discrimina-
giving special attention to the Muslim-Western
tion.
divide fueling Islamophobia.
11. Engage in a constructive and mean-
5. Adopt integrated rather than geographi-
ingful dialogue (interreligious, intercultural, and
cal approaches in countering Islamophobia.
inter-civilizational) toward cohesive and harmo-
6. Establish strong links among groups nious societies.
who fight religion-based discrimination, includ-
12. Create more space to facilitate social
ing Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and Chris-
interaction between Muslims and non-Muslims.
tian-phobia, while creating alliances with other
groups that have been marginalized and dehu- 13. Work toward changing the hearts and
manized on the basis of racism and xenopho- minds of non-Muslim Westerners to believe
bia. that immigrants are not necessarily a threat to
their values and principles.
7. Create centers for the study of Islam in
Western societies—similar to the few that al- 14. In Muslim countries and communities,
ready exist at Georgetown and Harvard univer- work more for displaying to the world what
sities. Muslims are, rather than simply denying what
the extremists have been saying or doing.
Chapter 4 121
15. Challenge the ongoing myth of “Islam- at community and grassroots levels.
ization” of the West as nurtured by xenopho-
24.
Establish Islamophobia Centers in
bic, populist parties who have been on the rise
Member Countries while to strengthen the al-
Chapter 4
across Europe and elsewhere.
ready-existing centers in some Member States,
16. Encourage legal and civic advocacy to as well as in the OIC General Secretariat.
oppose normalization of Islamophobia in main-
25. Provide supports to the Islamophobia
stream political and media discourses, particu-
Observatory by allocating necessary resources
larly in Europe and the U.S.
to allow the Observatory establishing network
17. Work to counter media reports that with other hate speech monitoring and report-
propagate stereotypes and stigmatize Muslim ing mechanisms around the world.
populations.
26. Create partnerships with non-Muslim
18. Campaign towards raising awareness institutions and individuals to implement con-
on the danger of Islamophobia as well as to- crete actions i.e. policies, development, relief,
wards promoting the positive images of Islam. etc.
19. Give attention to the problems of the 27. Appoint a special envoy to conduct
European Muslims, i.e. by taking the necessary OIC’s engagement with international and re-
action to operationalize the Contact Group on gional organizations and civil societies.
Muslim Minorities in Europe.
28. Disseminate the Islamophobia Report
20. Initiate global Muslim diaspora projects among Muslim population, diaspora, Member
while collecting information about Muslim com- states as well as Non-Member States, widely.
munities in the West.
29. Maximize the roles of OIC Offices
21. Increase the role of religious and com- abroad by giving them assignment to deal with
munity leaders to curb tendencies of extrem- Islamophobia-related issues as well as by giv-
ism by promoting the ideals of tolerance, ing them more space to informally working with
moderation, mutual respect and peaceful co- local Muslim communities to address the issue
existence. Islamophobia at community level.
22. To encourage inter-faith and inter-reli- 30. Provide more support, politically and fi-
gion dialogues within the OIC Member States nancially, to initiatives/projects against Islamo-
to raise awareness about religious interpreta- phobia by relevant OIC Institutions.
tions and beliefs, and open space for further
31. Keep the issue of Islamophobia as an
discussion about Islam and faith.
international concern and thus remains on the
23. Collaborate with Non-Governmental Or- agenda of UN’s Human Rights Council and
ganizations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organiza- General Assembly.
tions (CSOs) who have been working actively
ANNEXES
Islamophobic Incidents
Chapter 4 123
I. Incidents Related to Mosques:
Chapter 4
Australia: Islamophobia In Australia:
Pig’s Head Outside Muslim College In
Brisbane, CCTV Footage Captures ‘Hate
Crime — Queensland Police Service had launched
an investigation after a severed pig’s head was found
in front of an Islamic school in Brisbane. The pig’s
head was found inside a backpack with a swastika
in front of the Islamic college which was owned by
Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, based in Sydney. The authorities were par-
ticularly worried because the people been targeted in the apparent hate crime were
young children, as the school consisted of over a thousand pupils, the youngest of
5-year-olds. Two men who were believed to be responsible for this act were captured
on school cameras.
See: Inquisitr News’ entry, in: https://www.inquisitr.com/4376914/islamophobia-in-australia-pigs-

head-outside-muslim-college-in-brisbane-cctv-footage-captures-hate-crime/, retrieved on 20.7.2017
U.S.: Murfreesboro mosque defaced with graffiti, bacon— The Is-

lamic Center of Murfreesboro was vandalized in July with green graffiti messages with
expletives were spray-painted in three places on the exterior of the mosque. One of the
messages was on one of the side doors, another was sprayed on the back side, and an-
other was scrawled across the basketball court behind the main building. Messages were
also spelled out with slices of bacon, and bacon was wrapped around one of the exterior
doors. Islamic Center of Murfreesboro had been the center of controversy for nearly a
decade. In 2010, the center experienced vandalism to two signs announcing the property
as being the future home of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro. The first time a tagger
spray-painted “Not Welcome” on the first sign in January 2010 before the ICM requested
a site plan approval from Rutherford County Regional Planning Commission. After plan-
ners unanimously voted in favor of the mosque plans on May 2010, a vandal cut in half
the second sign in June 2010. In August 2010, federal agents were called to the ICM after
a coward poured flammable liquid on four pieces of construction equipment and ignited
them at the site. The case was ruled an arson. Also, at least $4,000 in cash donations
were stolen from the ICM on July 2016, after the mosque’s celebration of Eid al-Fitr.
See: USA Today News’ entry, in: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/07/10/mur-
freesboro-mosque-defaced-graffiti-bacon/466122001/, retrieved on 11.7.2017
U.S.: Image of Jesus

Left outside Mosque to
Insult Muslims— A large
painting of Jesus was left out-
side a mosque in Long Island
in what police were investigat-
ing as a bias incident.
The Hillside Islamic Center

in North New Hyde Park said
an employee discovered the
picture on a fence outside the
mosque.
Mosque president Abdul Aziz Bhuyian told that surveillance from the building showed
a man had cycled up to the mosque and hung the picture outside.
See: Newsweek News’ entry, in: http://www.newsweek.com/image-jesus-left-outside-

mosque-insult-muslims-634608, retrieved on 11.7.2017
Canada: Muslim cemetery fallout

deepens as Quebec mosque reveals it
received hate package— A package express-
ing hate towards a Muslim cemetery project was de-
livered in July to the Quebec City mosque where six
men were shot dead in January. Quebec City police
said they had stepped up security around the Centre
Culturel Islamique de Quebec and were taking the
matter seriously. The package arrived two days be-
fore a referendum on the proposed cemetery was
held in nearby Saint-Apollinaire, but the mosque did
not immediately report it to avoid influencing the vote.
Voters rejected a zoning change that would have al-
lowed the burial ground project to move forward by 19 votes to 16. A month before, a
pig’s head was left at the entrance of the same mosque during Ramadan.
See: The Globe and Mail News’ entry, in: https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/hateful-package-sent-to-quebec-

city-mosque-before-muslim-cemetery-vote/article35729286/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&, retrieved on 20.7.2017
Chapter 4 125
U.K.: Muslims
targeted in pig’s
Chapter 4
head incident—
Police in Newtownards
were investigating two
incidents targeting
Muslims in the town,
that a pig’s head had
been placed on a
doorstep and graf-
fiti painted on a wall
of a building which is
a venue used by the Muslim community. Later on the same night, graffiti had been
painted on a wall in the Castle Street area, and was made reference to Muslims. Both
incidents were treated as hate crimes.
See: Newsletter.co.uk News’ entry, in: http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/muslims-target-

ed-in-pig-s-head-incident-1-8119740, retrieved on 25.8.2017
U.K.: Manchester Didsbury

Mosque panic after a ‘threat-
ening letter containing white
powder’ was delivered— Wor-
shippers fled Didsbury Mosque and
Islamic Centre after staff received in
November 2017, a threatening letter con-
taining white powder. Dozens of young
children were attending morning classes
at the Islamic school when staff discovered the hand-delivered note, which reportedly
included an image of a skull and crossbones. The spokesman for Didsbury Mosque
told media that the white substance was later identified as baking powder. He said it
was the latest in a string of attacks aimed at the mosque, after a box of pork meat was
delivered two weeks before. Officers put a cordon around the building and firefighters
in protective suits were pictured at the scene as they worked to assess the powder.
See: The Sun News’ entry, in: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4843056/manchester-dids-

bury-mosque-suspicious-white-powder-letter/, retrieved on 7.11.2017
U.K.: Bradford Muslims receive acid attack threat— Muslim resi-

dents in a city in northwestern England received letters containing threats of acid at-
tacks, amid the rising rate of hate crimes in the UK, particularly after terrorist attacks in
London and Manchester. West Yorkshire police was taking the threats in Bradford seri-
ously and increased surveillance in the predominantly-Muslim city. A police spokesper-
son said. “A thorough investigation has been launched and officers are working with
the local community and partners to identify and prosecute those responsible for this
despicable crime.” The British counter-terrorism police had also been conducting an
investigation into a separate campaign
of hate mail and suspicious packages
sent to mosques in the United Kingdom
and the United States. The letters con-
tained offensive material and threats,
saying the sender would be visiting the
mosques.
See: PressTV News’ entry, in: http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/08/30/533400/Muslims-

Bradford-hate-crimes-acid-attacks, retrieved on 1.9.2017
Canada: Can-
ada continues
to be shaken by
intensified anti-
Muslim attacks—
Six months after a
deadly shooting at a
Quebec City mosque,
its president’s car was
deliberately set on fire.
These incidents come
as nationalist or right-wing extremists in the Canadian province had become more
vocal against immigration and Muslim community. The fire was set on 6 August and
police was investigating. The Canadian statistical agency found that there was a 60
percent increase of reported hate crimes against Muslims in Canada since 2014.
See: Daily Sabah News’ entry, in: https://www.dailysabah.com/americas/2017/09/01/cana-

da-continues-to-be-shaken-by-intensified-anti-muslim-attacks, retrieved on 1.9.2017
Chapter 4 127
Chapter 4
U.K.: Pig’s head impaled on railings outside mosque— A pig’s
head was left on spiked railings outside a mosque just days before the festival of Eid,
and police launched an investigation. Greater Manchester Police said they were treat-
ing the incident as a hate crime.
See: The Times News’ entry, in: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/pig-s-head-impaled-on-
railings-outside-mosque-xg2pnq5k8, retrieved on 1.9.2017
Australia: Anger as
vandals attack Perth
mosque site –Anti-Mus-
lim graffiti appeared at the
city’s Jeanfield Road on land
earmarked place of worship.
The development was at
the centre of a political row,
when the far right Scottish
Defence League organized
a protest in the city centre.
The far-right group claimed it was rallying against concerns about limited parking near
the mosque. At the gathering, SDL members were vastly outnumbered by counter-pro-
testers, including members of anti-fascist groups from around Scotland. Police Scot-
land is investigating the “No Muslims” graffiti and urged any witnesses to get in touch.
In: https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/perth-kinross/511330/anger-vandals-at-
tack-perth-mosque-site/, retrieved on 22.9.2017
Germany: Pig’s head thrown at Turkish mosque site in Germa-

ny— Muslim community near Frankfurt found a severed pig’s head at a construction
site where a mosque is being built. Police spokesman said the incident was the latest in
a series of provocations by residents opposed to the construction of the mosque, which
is being overseen by the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB). Mosques
in Germany were occasionally subject to attacks that range from Molotov cocktails to
pig’s heads. Turkish-Germans, who
comprised one of the largest minor-
ities in the country with more than
3 million people, had been frequent
targets of bigoted attacks in the
formerly Nazi-ruled Germany. The
trend of attacks targeting mosques
re-emerged in recent years with the
rise of the far right in the country.
See: Daily Sabah News’ entry, in: https://www.dailysabah.com/europe/2017/10/26/pigs-

head-thrown-at-turkish-mosque-site-in-germany, retrieved on 27.10.2017
U.K.: Disgust as Swastika

and anti-Islam slurs sprayed
on Newcastle walls— A New-
castle councillor warned that religious
hatred was on the rise as Nazi symbols
were found daubed in a Newcastle
street. Vile graffiti, which read “f***
Muslims”, next to a Swastika symbol,
was discovered on a street in Sandy-
ford, east of the city centre. Councillor
said the disgusting image was flagged
up to him by concerned residents. It was an extreme symptom of the Islamophobia
and anti-Semitism which had increased over recent years. Many people had been tar-
geted as a result of their religion, some of whom were too afraid to tell the police. Police
were investigating the incident, while the obscenities were set to be cleaned away.
In: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/disgust-swastika-anti-islam-
slurs-13868859, retrieved on 8.11.2017
Chapter 4 129
U.S.: Police seek man they believe desecrated 2 Brooklyn

mosques— A community came together in November 2017 in a show of solidarity,
Chapter 4
after a Brooklyn mosque was desecrated. Police said the same man desecrated anoth-
er mosque on the same day. A hammier-wielding man was seen on video breaking a
door of the Beit El-Maqdis Islam-
ic Center in Sunset Park, smash-
ing five windows, and damaging
a security camera. The attack oc-
curred at a little before 5:30 p.m.
Saturday. Police said the man ran
off on 62nd St. Police believed
the same man used the hammer
30 minutes later to vandalize a
second Brooklyn mosque on 8th
Ave. near 60th St.
See: NY1 News’ entry, in: http://www.ny1.com/news/2017/11/13/brooklyn-mosque-vandal-

ized.html, retrieved on14.11.2017
Netherlands: Mosque At-

tacked With Pig’s Blood By
Far Right Anti-Islam Group
Pegida— Members of a far-right, anti-
Islam group attempted to prevent the
construction of a mosque in the Neth-
erlands by dumping pig’s blood on the
site. Dressed as a priest, a member of
the extremist group Pegida planted a
wooden cross on the site of a new mosque in the Dutch municipality, and then pro-
ceeded to rub the cross with pig’s blood, as reported by media. This most recent crime
was captured on video and spread across social media. Pegida is a far-right group
that emerged in 2014 in the poorest region of East Germany in response to the govern-
ment’s open-door policy toward Muslim refugees. Shortly thereafter, the group opened
chapters in the Netherlands and staged protests in Amsterdam and The Hague.
See: Newsweek News’ entry, in: http://www.newsweek.com/far-right-anti-islam-pegida-

mosque-netherlands-pigs-blood-europe-hate-crimes-711435, retrieved on 15.11.2017
Poland: A mosque attack in warsaw was the latest sign of

growing Islamophobia in Poland— On 26 November 2017, vandals attacked
a Muslim cultural center and mosque in the Polish capital of Warsaw, smashing a
dozen of its windows.
Far from being an
isolated incident, the
attack came amid
growing anti-Muslim
sentiment in Poland,
where the government
had refused to admit
refugees and asylum-
seekers and far-right
extremism appeared
to be on the rise.
See: WPR News’ entry, in: https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/23740/a-mosque-

attack-in-warsaw-was-the-latest-sign-of-growing-islamophobia-in-poland, retrieved on 5.12.2017
Sweden: Stockholm mosque hit with Nazi graffiti— Unknown van-

dals spray-painted swastikas on the facade of a central Stockholm mosque in January
2018. The Nazi graffiti was seen scrawled across the front doors of the Södermalm
mosque in light blue paint in photos the mosque posted to Facebook. The mosque’s
imam, Mahmoud Khalfi, said that the vandalism was extensive. According to him, the
mosque was targeted by vandals 22 times during 2017. The mosque had been hit
with Nazi-specific vandalism twice before, with the first incident occurring in 2014. He
told Media that the mosque had repeatedly re-
quested permission to install security cameras
but that the request was denied over privacy
concerns. Sweden had seen a surge in neo-
Nazi activity in recent years including a number
of headline-grabbing demonstrations by Nazi
supporters in Swedish cities including Stock-
holm and repeated demos in Gothenburg.
See: The Local News’ entry, in: https://www.thelocal.se/20180120/stockholm-mosque-hit-

with-nazi-graffiti, retrieved on 21.1.2018
Chapter 4 131
Canada: Police probe hate posters on Bells Corners mosque—

Police said they were called in to investigate “white power” posters discovered in Janu-
Chapter 4
ary at an Old Richmond Road mosque. Witnesses described the posters as containing
racist slogans and portraits of Adolf Hitler. The mosque was located at Seyton Drive,
near the spot where 17-year-old Nick Hickey was struck and killed two weeks before. A
week later, shots were fired
a block away. The incident
followed a weekend of na-
tional memorials commem-
orating the one-year anni-
versary of the Quebec City
mosque shooting where six
men were killed, and more
than a dozen wounded by a
lone gunman.
See: Ottawa Citizen News’ entry, in: http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/police-

probe-graffiti-at-bells-corners-mosque, retrieved on 31.1.2018
Nether-
lands: Mosque
vandalized in
Netherlands—
A mosque in the
Dutch port city of
The Hague was
vandalized and so
far, no group had
claimed respon-
sibility for the act
of vandalism, in which a Turkish flag was crosed with red paint with slogans against
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also written on it. Europe had recently expe-
rienced a growing number of radical protests and violence from PYD/PKK supporters
since the group launched a campaign to protest Turkey’s operation in Syria.
See: AA News’ entry, in: http://aa.com.tr/en/europe/mosque-vandalized-in-nether-

lands/1053443, retrieved on 4.2.2018
U.S.: Of-
ficials: ‘F***
God & Allah’
written on
Va. mosque;
CAIR wants
hate crime
investiga-
tion— The
Council on
American-Is-
lamic Relations
was asking for a hate crime investigation after the words “F*** God & Allah” were found
written on a Virginia mosque. The incident of vandalism happened on the wall of the
Prince Edward County Islamic Center in Farmville on 28 September 2017.
See: WJLA News’ entry, in: http://wjla.com/news/local/officials-fk-god-allah-written-on-va-

mosque-cair-wants-hate-crime-investigation, retrieved on 15.2.2018
Sweden: Police investigate Swedish mosque bomb attack as

hate crime — Police were investigating an attack on a mosque with a homemade
bomb as a hate crime. The attack on the Islamic Cultural Center in Saffle, left ball-bearings
lodged in the walls of the center’s prayer room. Media reported that police had completed
a preliminary in-
vestigation and
were treating the
attack as a hate
crime. Sweden is
a strong draw for
many migrants
and an estimated
100,000 ethnic
Turks live in the
Nordic country.
See: MuslimNews News’ entry, in: http://muslimnews.co.uk/news/islamophobia/sweden-police-investigate-swed-

ish-mosque-bomb-attack-hate-crime/, retrieved on 28.12.2017
Chapter 4 133
II. Political and Social Campaigns against Islam and

Muslims
Chapter 4
South Korea: Korean comedy-drama sparks uproar for ‘disre-
specting Islam’— Korean comedy-drama Man had misused Islamic values and
portraying a false image of Muslims in its scenes. The drama, which was broadcasted
on MBC TV since July 19, told the story of Jang Dal-goo who traveled to a fictional
country in the Middle East, gets rich, received a title and then became a citizen under
the name of Saeed Fahd Ali. He later returned to Korea to reunite with his long-lost
daughter and her husband.
The actor appeared as a stereotypical Arab man by wearing thawb, headscarf and
black robe. In one scene, Saeed Fahd Ali was greeted by women wearing revealing
swimsuits and donning hijab near a swimming pool. There was also a scene in which
Saeed Fahd Ali drank wine for breakfast. Also, in one of the drama’s promotional post-
ers, Saeed Fahd Ali posed in front of an open book that looks like a Quran, with his foot
raised beside the book.
See: The Jakarta Post News’ entry, in: http://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2017/07/23/kore-
an-comedy-drama-sparks-uproar-for-disrespecting-islam.html, retrieved on 24.7.2017
U.S.: Guest pastor speaks out against Islam; protesters gath-

er— Shahram Hadian, an Iranian-born pastor who converted from Islam to Christianity
in 1999, strove to drive home his point against Islam with statistics and scripture while
protesters stood in silence outside. His event at the DoubleTree Inn in Missoula, “Un-
veiling the True Face of Islam: A Wake up Call for the World,” brought about 90 people
to the conference room. The event was sponsored by the Lake County chapter of
American Congress of Truth for Ameri-
ca. ACT for America formed in 2007, a
hate group organization established on
the pretext of promoting national secu-
rity and defeating terrorism. Shouts of
“Amen!” filled the room as Hadian out-
lined his views on the dangers of Islam.
In: http://mtstandard.com/news/local/guest-pastor-speaks-out-against-islam-protesters-gather/ar-
ticle_cbd4bafd-2b80-5660-9ed8-32574b02e941.html, retrieved on 13.10.2016
U.K.: Someone dressed their kid as a ‘Mosque’ for halloween

and the rest kinda freaked out— A 7-year-old kid attended his school Hal-
loween party dressed as a ‘mosque’ and created a lot of trouble. The child, who at-
tended school at St. Philip Neri’s Primary School in Rochdale had to leave soon after
the party started. As the kid entered, a lot of parents felt outraged and disturbed with the
costume. They then asked school teachers to intervene in the matter and handle it. De-
spite that, some of the parents be-
gan smashing the dome with toffee
apples. Parent told media that she
had felt compelled to act in order
to defend her “British values”. She
said: “I’m not a racialist but I don’t
see why he couldn’t have come
dressed as a British building, like a
pub or a MacDonald’s.”
See: India Times News’ entry, in: https://www.indiatimes.com/news/world/someone-dressed-their-

kid-as-a-mosque-for-halloween-and-the-rest-kinda-freaked-out-332473.html, retrieved on 28.10.2017
India: Video emerges of minister’s anti-Islam remarks— A video

was tweeted on controversial BJP leader and minister Anantkumar Hegde’s hate speech
against Islam at a party rally in 2016. The video showed Hegde saying, “As long as there
is Islam in the world, there will be terrorism. Until we uproot Islam, we can’t remove ter-
rorism.” Hegde also
said, “If there is op-
portunity in the media
– write exactly this.
Telecast exactly this.
Islam is a bomb for
world peace. There
will be no peace in
the world as long as
Islam is there.”
See: Kashmir Narrator News’ entry, in: http://kashmirnarrator.com/video-emerges-minis-

ters-anti-islam-remarks/, retrieved on 9.12.2017
Chapter 4 135
III. Intolerance against Islam and its Sacred Sym-

bols
Chapter 4
Canada: Police investigate stickers depicting Prophet Muham-
mad in Toronto apartment building— An Islamophobic stickers were found
in October 2017 around an apartment building in Flemingdon Park. The stickers de-
picted the Prophet
Muhammad, be-
side the cartoon
representation are
the words: “Femi-
nism is cancer”
and “wage gap is a
myth.” Toronto po-
lice was investigat-
ing the incident.
See: CBCNews News’ entry, in: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/flemingdon-park-

islamaphobia-police-1.4349393, retrieved on 13.10.2017
Germany: Mosque must stop loud-

speaker call to prayer because it violates
Christian’s religious rights, court rules— A
mosque in northwest Germany might no longer broad-
cast its Friday midday call to prayer by loudspeaker after
a local court upheld a challenge by a couple who live
half a mile away. The local Christian couple, in the town
of Oer-Erkenschwick, had argued that the call to prayers violated their own religious
rights. Anti-Muslim sentiment and support for anti-immigration policies were growing in
many parts of Germany after the influx of well over a million migrants from Iraq, Syria and
other mostly Muslim countries, beginning in 2015. The court ruled that the town had not
assessed the local Muslim community’s request properly in 2013, but a court spokes-
man said that this did not prevent the mosque making a new application.
See: The Sun News’ entry, in: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5488926/mosque-must-stop-its-loudspeaker-

call-to-prayer-broadcast-because-it-violates-christians-religious-rights-court-rules/, retrieved on 3.2.2018
US: Man breaks into Arizona

mosque, desecrates copies of
Quran— A man broke into an Arizona
mosque in march 2017 and desecrated
copies of the Quran. The suspect entered
the mosque and ripped copies of the
Quran before throwing them on the floor.
The center wrote: “He ripped copies of the
Qur’an and threw them around the prayer room before leaving the building. Thankfully
no one was hurt. The Tucson Police Department are looking for him.” Surveillance foot-
age circulated by the center showed the suspect wearing a red University of Arizona
T-shirt and a baseball cap. The vandalism came on the heels of a spate of threats
directed at Jewish Community Centers across the country. A month before, a group of
Muslim activists started a crowdfunding campaign to help repair a vandalized Jewish
cemetery near St. Louis, Missouri, raised more than $161,000.
In: http://www.wjbdradio.com/national-news/2017/03/15/man-breaks-into-arizona-mosque-
desecrates-copies-of-quran, retrieved on16.3.2017
IV. Discrimination against Muslim Individuals and Com-

munities
France: Muslim woman wearing burkini kicked out of pool in France, told to pay
cleaning fees— A Muslim woman wearing a Burkini who went to a community pool in
Marseille, France was told to leave the pool and paid fees to clean the facilities. The
woman, identified as Fadila, reportedly went to the pool with her family on 21 July, and
while she was swimming, pool officials told everyone to leave it and asked Fadila’s
husband to stop his wife from swimming, claiming that her swimsuit was not hygienic.
The official also told the Muslim family that they would have to pay €490 for emptying
and cleaning the pool, but the latter refused to do so. The Muslim woman told French
non-governmental organization United Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) that she
was extremely disappointed about what happened.
France and Belgium had both banned Burqa and Niqab in public, while French
beach resorts sparked international controversy recently with local bans on the full-
body Burkini swimsuit. In 2016, Cannes became the first city to outlaw Burkinis and
other French resorts brought similar measures. However, the country’s highest admin-
istrative court overturned the ban for violating fundamental freedoms.
See: Daily Sabah News’ entry, in: https://www.dailysabah.com/islamophobia/2017/08/07/muslim-
woman-wearing-burkini-kicked-out-of-pool-in-france-told-to-pay-cleaning-fees, retrieved on 8.8.2017
Chapter 4 137
France: Muslim woman wearing burkini kicked out of pool in

France, told to pay cleaning fees— A Muslim woman wearing a Burkini who
went to a community pool in Marseille, France was told to leave the pool and paid fees
Chapter 4
to clean the facilities. The woman, identified as Fadila, reportedly went to the pool with
her family on 21 July, and while she was swimming, pool officials told everyone to leave
it and asked Fadila’s husband to stop his wife from swimming, claiming that her swim-
suit was not hygienic. The official also told the Muslim family that they would have to pay
€490 for emptying and cleaning the pool, but the latter refused to do so.
The Muslim woman told French non-governmental organization United Against Is-
lamophobia in France (CCIF) that she was extremely disappointed about what hap-
pened. France and Belgium had both banned Burqa and Niqab in public, while French
beach resorts sparked international controversy recently with local bans on the full-
body Burkini swimsuit.
In 2016, Cannes became the first city to outlaw Burkinis and other French resorts
brought similar measures. However, the country’s highest administrative court over-
turned the ban for violating fundamental freedoms.
See: Daily Sabah News’ entry, in: https://www.dailysabah.com/islamophobia/2017/08/07/muslim-
woman-wearing-burkini-kicked-out-of-pool-in-france-told-to-pay-cleaning-fees, retrieved on 8.8.2017
U.K.: UK restaurant refuses service to actress Nadia Jamil, fa-

ther due to ‘his beard’— An Italian restaurant in Cambridge, UK had refused
service of Pakistani actress and philanthropist Nadia Jamil and her father. Nadia took to
the micro blogging site Twitter to express her shock and outrage at the incident which
she attributed to blatant racism.
She wrote that Italian restaurant in Main Market Square refused service to her father
and her. Pointing out the fact that her father had a beard and she was brown, she
claimed that it was a racist refusal of service.
However, the restaurant denied Jamil’s claims of refusal of service on the basis of
religious prejudice and racial profiling.
The Twitter handle of the restaurant denied there was any directive from manage-
ment to deny people entry based on their race.
Enraged by the restaurant’s lack of remorse, Jamil further clarified how she was re-
fused service and then asked to leave.
See: Kashmir Narrator News’ entry, in: http://kashmirnarrator.com/video-emerges-minis-
ters-anti-islam-remarks/, retrieved on 9.12.2017
U.K.: Racist woman caught on

camera leaning out of car window
to scream offensive slurs at group of
Muslims— A woman was caught on camera
leaning out of a car window to launch an offen-
sive tirade at a group of Muslims walking along
the street. The video showed the woman in the
passenger seat of a small red car, screaming
foul-mouthed racist abuse at the Asian men.
The woman yells: “F*** off you British, f******
P***.” She then screamed: “F****** black
b*******” and encourages the men to film her
rant, which took place outside Dewsbury Cem-
etery. The woman was seen leaning out of a car
window, shouted foul-mouthed abuse at the group of Muslim men.
See: Mirror.co.uk News’ entry, in: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/racist-woman-

caught-camera-leaning-11098904, retrieved on 3.9.2017
France: Tensions as Paris suburb tries to stop Muslim street

prayers— Tensions erupted as French officials and residents of a Paris suburb tried
to block Muslims from praying in the street — a dispute that reflected nationwide prob-
lems with mosque shortages. No one was hurt in the skirmishes in Clichy-la-Garenne,
but both sides appeared to be digging in their heels in the dispute over prayer space
in the town. Carrying a large banner reading “Stop Illegal Street Prayers,” Mayor Remi
Muzeau led more than 100 demonstrators in November in a show of force to dissuade
Muslims from praying on the town’s market square. Worshippers had been praying
there every Friday for months to protest the closure of a prayer room. A few dozen wor-
shippers tried to pray anyway but retreated to a less visible spot, seeking to avoid con-
frontation with the protesters. But the demonstrators squeezed them toward a wooden
wall. As worshippers chanted “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great” the larger group
of demonstrators loudly sang the French national anthem. Some held French flags and
a crucifix aloft.
Amid pushing and shoving, a banner the worshippers were carrying reading “United
for a Grand Mosque of Clichy” was torn down. Police with shields then formed a human
barricade between the groups and Muslims eventually unrolled their rugs on the pave-
ment, took off their shoes and held their prayers.
See: Los Angeles Times News’ entry, in: http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-france-mus-
lims-street-prayer-20171110-story.html, retrieved on 11.11.2017
Chapter 4 139
U.K.: Is-
lamophobia?
Muslim girl
Chapter 4
asked to re-
move hijab at
London Mc-
Donald’s— In
a shocking inci-
dent, a staff at a
London McDon-
ald’s asked a
19-year old Mus-
lim student to re-
move her hijab or
leave the restaurant. The victim captured the incident in a video, where the guard could
be heard telling her: “It’s only a matter of taking it off.” She was heard responding.”I
wear this for religious reasons and I’m not ashamed of it.”
See: NewsBytes News’ entry, in: https://www.newsbytesapp.com/timeline/World/13478/69517/
mcdonald-s-under-fire-for-mistreating-muslim-customer, retrieved on 4.12.2017
UK: Britain First follower vowed to kill Muslim in Finsbury Park

attack— A supporter of the far-right group Britain First who said he was going to
“kill a Muslim” before driving a van at the manager of an Indian restaurant had avoided
prosecution for attempted murder. Marek Zakrocki was convicted of dangerous driv-
ing after shouting “white power” and giving a Nazi salute before narrowly missing his
target. Zakrocki was carry-
ing a knife and a Nazi coin
when he was arrested in
Harrow, north London, in
June 2017, four days after
a terrorist attack near Fins-
bury Park mosque left one
Muslim worshipper dead.
In his house police officers
found leaflets and newspa-
pers promoting Britain First.
See: The Times News’ entry, in: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/britain-first-fol-
lower-vowed-to-kill-muslim-in-finsbury-park-attack-wtp8zj2sl, retrieved on 6.12.2017
V. Incidents Related to Hijab
Austria: Muslim woman harassed for

wearing burqa in Vienna— At a Vienna met-
ro station, two women aged 41 and 26 harassed a
young Muslim girl on the grounds that she had vio-
lated the burqa ban law, effective 1 October 2017,
as reported by Austrian media, and Police were
called to the scene as confrontation became physi-
cal. Police spokesman said in a statement to the
press that the covered woman did not resist the po-
lice and uncovered her face for identification. The police kept record of the woman as
her refusal to comply with the law resulted in a public argument. According to the new
law, those who do not comply with the burqa ban could be taken to police stations for
identification. Those who refused to uncover their faces could be fined up to 150 euros.
The ban was approved by Austrian parliament in May 2017. The outlawing of the burqa
or other clothing concealing the face follows similar moves in other European Union
countries, starting with France in 2011.
See: Daily Sabah News’ entry, in: https://www.dailysabah.com/europe/2017/10/06/muslim-
woman-harassed-for-wearing-burqa-in-vienna, retrieved on 7.10.2017
India: Muslim woman in India forced by cops to take off burqa

at UP CM’s rally— In a video, three female police officers talked to the woman after
which she takes off the burqa. Then, a male police officer arrived there and took away
the burqa with him. In
another clipping, the
woman, when ap-
proached by some
journalists, said, “Koi
baat nahi, chhoriye
(It doesn’t matter, let
it go).” The video has
drawn the ire of social
media users.
See: Pakistan Kakhuda Hafiz News’ entry, in: https://www.pakistankakhudahafiz.com/mus-

lim-woman-india-forced-cops-take-off-burqa-cms-rally/, retrieved on 22.11.2017
Chapter 4 141
Australia: Far-right racists movie Muslims in hijabs at Geelong

park— Far-right racists stalked and secretly filmed Muslim women before posting the
Chapter 4
footage online and branding them ‘garbage bags‘ because they wore hijabs.
The video was posted on their closed Infidel Brotherhood Victoria page showing
groups of people enjoying a picnic on the waterfront at Geelong, Australia, while a
group member had written: ‘Exterminate.‘
The threatening social media posts had been referred to the National Security Hot-
line.
See: Kaplan Herald News’ entry, in: https://kaplanherald.com/, retrieved on 6.1.2018
U.K.: Muslim woman wearing headscarf ‘spat on and abused by

racist thug’ in London chip shop— A woman wearing a hijab was assaulted
and spat at by a racist thug in London. Nahella Ashraf from Manchester was attending
a business conference in the capital city when she was allegedly approached and at-
tacked by a stranger. She was on her lunch break at a nearby fish and chip shop with
colleagues when a man grabbed her by the arm and tried to throw her out telling her
she shouldn’t be there. While one of her companions and a staff member tried to push
the man out of the way asking him what his problem was, the man apparently replied:
“People like her, they kill.” As the man was escorted out, he allegedly spat in Nahella’s
face. Police were investigating the alleged assault which happened in Hammermith.
In: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2613093/muslim-woman-wearing-headscarf-spat-on-
and-abused-by-racist-thug-in-london-chip-shop/, retrieved on 15.1.2018
Germany: Woman in burqa attacked, abused in Berlin— German

police said a Muslim woman wearing a veil covering her entire face and body was at-
tacked and verbally abused inside a Berlin store.
A woman insulted the victim and ripped the veil of the burqa from her head. The at-
tacker then followed the victim out of the store and continued shouting anti-foreigner
abuse at her before being detained by police.
Last year the German Parliament approved a government proposal to ban the wear-
ing of all veils that fully cover the face by public employees in schools, courts and other
institutions.
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abused-berlin-1537900, retrieved on 22.2.2018
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10
Islamic Cooperation to the United Nations, New York.

incidents against California Muslims on the rise”, in:
2
Excerpt from the report and analysis provided by http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/immigra-
The Permanent Observer Mission of the Organization of tion/sd-me-cair-california-20170901-story.html, re-
Islamic Cooperation to the European Union, Brussels. trieved on 3.10.2017
3
Excerpt from the report and analysis provided by : Circa News’ entry “92% of US Muslims are proud to
11
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muslims-survey-pew-research-center-finds-92-percent-
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Excerpt from the report and analysis provided by
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12
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5
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14
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Chapter 4 143
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11th Annual Report On Islamophobia English

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ELEVENTH OIC OBSERVATORY

July 2017 – April 2018

Dhaka, People’s Republic of Bangladesh

1. TRENDS BRINGING SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS ON THE DECLINE OF ISLAMOPHOBIA, INTOL-

1.2. Multilateral consensus and unilateral settlement of ‘Immigrant Issue’ in Europe 15

1.3. Defeat of far-rights political parties at the European elections 20

1.4. The growing trend of inter-faith Dialogue in Europe and in the US 24

2.1. Islamophobia in the U.S. and Canada 29

2.1. 1. Polls and Reports on Islamophobia in the U.S. and Canada 29

2.1. 4. Far Rights and populism in the U.S. and Canada 42

2.2. Islamophobia in Europe 47

2.2. 1. Polls and Reports on Islamophobia in Europe 47

2.2. 2. Islamophobic Discourses and Campaigns in Europe 54

2.3. Islamophobia in the Rest of the World 63

2.4. Other Islamophobic Trends 78

3. SOME POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS 83

3.2. Court Decisions and Trials against Islamophobes 86

4. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 117

ANNEXES: ISLAMOPHOBIC INCIDENTS 122

I. Incidents Related to Mosques 123

III. Intolerance against Islam and its Sacred Symbols 135

IV. Discrimination against Muslim Individuals and Communities 136

V. Incidents Related to Hijab (Veil) 140

Dr. Yousef A. Al-Othaimeen

Submitted to the Council of Foreign Min- Also significant, the anti-Islamophobia

1. TRENDS BRINGING SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS ON THE

1.1. The failure of racist policy in the US and the break-

1.2. Multilateral consensus and unilateral settlement

The rhetoric about immigration/refugee in-

prove the return capacity of illegal migrants in

Bilateral actions were also carried out, in

1.3. Defeat of far-rights political parties at the Euro-

1.4. The growing trend of inter-faith Dialogue in Europe

The first high-level meeting, which took

2.1. Islamophobia in the USA and Canada

Trump phenomenon had served as a dou- with the election’s cycles.

by nearly seven-in-ten adults in the general being a Mus-

2.1.2. Islamophobic Discourses and Campaigns in the

tic Canada. He told Media he opposed Islam

- “Islam, Sharia, and the Quran are the

2.1.3. Surveillance against Islam and Muslims in the U.S.

2.1.4. Far-Rights and populism in the U.S.

Donald Trump had been widely seen as an cans.

porters. For instance, a council member in

2.2. Islamophobia in Europe

5 November 2016, despite a drop in the num-

2.2.2. Islamophobic Discourses and Campaigns

- “F***ing stupid Muslim” - Judge was quoted saying: “Comments like

Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany An under-construction mosque in south-

mumbled “f***ing Muslims” several times. He weekend by a far-right activist, Mr Berlusconi

2.3. Islamophobia in the Rest of the World

cure by permission from local administrators, Rohingya from participating in congregational

• Lack of religious freedom: Muslim Ro-

military base in the western state of Rakhine,

2.4. Other Islamophobic Trends

2.4.1. Islamophobic Gestures and Policies against Veil,

other mask in public places such as the street,

What was happening in France in 2010 was

24 September 2003—Germany’s federal