Islamophobia

Islamophobia

• The streets belong to us: Tommy Robinson supporters outnumbered

  

  Thousands of antifascists on a united demonstration marched in London, outnumbering Tommy Robinson and his supporters, reports Julie Al-Hinai

• Counterfire's books of the year - part one

  

  We asked a few leading campaigners and performers from the left what books have inspired them over the last twelve months

• Deport, Deprive, Extradite: 21st Century State Extremism - book review

  

  Deport, Deprive, Extradite exposes the systematic racism lurking behind our supposedly liberal system of civil rights, finds Sean Ledwith

• Informer review: more Islamophobia, or a complex study of the modern-day East End underworld?

  

  Despite its virtues, the BBC's Informer still resorts to lazy Islamophobic stereotypes, argues Sofie Mason

• Stop Tommy Robinson: leaflets for National Unity Demonstration Against Fascism and Racism

  

  On 17 November, we will be out marching against racism and the fascist thug that is Tommy Robinson - we provide leaflets for you to print and distribute

• Be clear: Tommy Robinson is a violent, fascist thug

  

  Don't be fooled by Tommy Robinson's attempts to come across as a man of the people. He is the very opposite of that

• The far right, grooming gangs and racist lies

  

  New far right movements claim that Muslim men are a threat to white girls but this old racist trick should not fool us, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• Tommy Robinson and the British army: time to fight back

  

  As the far right continues to mobilise, it's crucial the left pushes them back, writes David McAllister

• Cricklewood attack: it’s not terrorism if it’s Islamophobic

  

  Media reports and the police response to the Islamophobic attack in Cricklewood shows that it's only terrorism if the perpetrators are Muslim argues Shabbir Lakha

• Sweden’s elections and the mounting far right threat in Europe

  

  The far right Sweden Democrats didn't do as well as commentators anticipated, but the fascist threat must be confronted across Europe, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• Beyond the veil: some context in the controversy over the burqa

  

  The right instrumentalise Islamophobia but use the liberal trope of universal values to cover up a variety of political contexts, argues Floyd Codlin

• Boris and the burqa: taking a cue from the EU

  

  Islamophobic dress decrees have become as much a feature of contemporary Europe as fine wines, ancient patrimony and al fresco dining, writes Susan Ram

• Boris Robinson and Tommy Johnson: two sides of the same racist coin – weekly briefing

  

  When the mainstream starts playing with fire like this it means action stations for our side, writes Lindsey German

• Far right celebrate Tommy Robinson's release from prison

  

  Tommy Robinson's release pending a retrial has been received with jubilation by the far right. Anti-racists need to be prepared to take them on, argues Steph Pike

• Call to oppose racist rally in Stockton-on-Tees

  

  Teeside People's Assembly is calling on people to support an anti-fascist counter-protest in Stockton this Saturday

• The new forces behind the fascist right

  

  A changed threat has emerged in Tommy Robinson's street movement, supported by the international populist right. John Rees looks at how we meet it

• The far right threat is real and we can't be complacent

  

  After the big Free Tommy Robinson rally in London, the entire left need to get serious about organising against the far right argues Shabbir Lakha

• They shall not pass: all out on 9th June

  

  The Democratic Football Lads Alliance is a plainly racist organisation; anti-racists need to make sure they stop them marching on 9th June argues Josh Newman

• Countering Extremism in British schools? - book review

  

  Countering Extremism, an account of the Birmingham schools ‘Trojan Horse affair’, is a devastating critique of government and media Islamophobia, finds Judy Cox

• Hundreds stand up to the FLA in Manchester

  

  The Football Lads Alliance had a rally in Manchester, but there were more anti-racist activists that mobilised against them reports Karen Buckley

• Systemic Islamophobia in Britain has deadly consequences

  

  The political mainstream's cynical use of Islamophobia leads directly to death and heartbreak, argues Maz Saleem

• What Is Islamophobia? - book review

  

  The contributions in What is Islamophobia? show it as a form of racism driven in the first instance by the state and the war on terror, finds Shabbir Lakha

• Resisting the republic of fear: protesters take on Modi

  

  Over a thousand people protested outside Downing Street last week as India's Prime Minister Modi visited Theresa May, Amrit Wilson explains why

• Republic of Islamophobia - book review

  

  Republic of Islamophobiaeffectively analyses the nature and rise of the vindictive Islamophobia that has come to grip French politics and society, finds Susan Ram

• Islamophobia: human chain response to 'punish a Muslim day'

  

  A city responds to 'Punish a Muslim Day'. Newcastle unites against Islamophobia

• From Jewdas to Skripal: media attacks on Corbyn are out of touch with reality

  

  The British media tells a partial story on racism and its claims against the Labour leader run contrary to the evidence, writes Lindsey German

• France also: a cynical attempt to divide anti-racism in the service of the government right

  

  Unite the left and anti-racist movements in a fight back against cynical right-wing disruption, argues Kevin Ovenden

• Rotherham: Islamophobia, structural racism and the far right

  

  The Rotherham 12 Defence Campaign shows how media sensationalism and dangerous political rhetoric can lead to injustice

• Institutional racism encouraged the murder of Bijan Ebrahimi

  

  The actions of the authorities showed not only gross neglect, discrimination and injustice but in fact exacerbated hostility towards Ebrahimi, writes Naz Massoumi

• The prevalence of Islamophobia: a Europe-wide phenomenon

  

  Prejudice against Muslims is high across Europe, but in Britain there are grounds for optimism thanks to a mass movement against Islamophobia

• Theresa The Appeaser: Trump tweets and Britain First

  

  Trump's tweets have dangerously promoted fascists and Theresa May's weak response exposes the nature of the special relationship with the US argues Shabbir Lakha

• Terror in Egypt, Islamophobia in Britain

  

  The media coverage of the deadly terrorist attack in Egypt that killed 305 people exposes how mainstream Islamophobia is in the UK argues Tony Dowling

• Trump: one year of waking hell

  

  Donald Trump was elected just over a year ago. In that time, he has wreaked havoc

• The truth about the Football Lads Alliance

  

  The demonstrations of the organisation are dominated by Islamophobia and far-right extremism

• Racist Trump will never be welcome here

  

  From the repeated attempts to pass the Muslim Ban to attacking NFL players, Trump is racist and is not welcome here argues Maz Saleem

• Night Thoughts - book review

  

  Night Thoughts is the subversive musings that Wallace Shawn cannot admit during the day; witty and involving, the book should be spread widely, finds Dominic Alexander

• Striking while the iron is hot is the only way to win back some of what’s been taken from working people - weekly briefing

  

  As wages continue to fall and workers rights are attacked further, McDonald's and other workers have begun to strike. Lindsey German explains why they are so important.

• Can we stop Trump tweeting his way to war? - weekly briefing

  

  Trump tweets his way to nuclear confrontation with North Korea and military action in Venezuela while fascists wreak carnage in Charlottesville

• India’s Hindu supremacist lynching epidemic: Trump, the Tories and the legacies of colonialism

  

  Hindu nationalism and Islamophobia is running rampant in India. Ananya Wilson-Bhattacharya argues its relevance in contemporary politics because of Britain's colonial history.

• Islamophobic placards have no place at Pride

  

  With Islamophobic attacks at unprecedented levels, we need unity not division

• Finsbury Park attack: Stop the War Coalition statement

  

  The atmosphere of Islamophobia in which attacks on Muslims are becoming all too familiar has been whipped up throughout the 'War on Terror'.

• Our fight against the Tories is a fight against racism

  

  The Conservatives are scapegoating Muslims, ethnic minorities and migrants to justify their unpopular policies

• The Dutch dog that didn't bark

  

  The election in the Netherlands didn‘t bear out the media‘s prediction of a right-wing surge, writes Alastair Stephens

• EU headscarf ruling ‘opens back door to prejudice’

  

  The ruling states that workplaces banning the wearing of a 'political, philosophical or religious sign' are not discriminatory

• Uniting the fight-back against Trump

  

  We must step up the fight against hatred and division, writes Shabbir Lakha

• Join the movement against Trump

  

  The rising resistance against the US president represents a huge opportunity for those on the left to make the case for a different kind of world

• Standing up to Trump

  

  Campaigners from across the country gathered together to discuss and plan for Stand up to Trump, a coalition with a plan to take on the US president

• Sound system solidarity: Bristol marches against ‘Muslim Ban’

  

  On Saturday Bristolians marched against Trump's 'Muslim Ban' and 'Theresa the Appeaser'. Owen Lloyd-Jones reports on the sound system powered demonstration

• The Pumpkinführer’s war on Muslims

  

  The Orange one’s disastrous 10 days in office, reviewed by Kara Bryan

• Starting as you mean to go on: Trump and the movement

  

  Recent protests contain the seeds of future victories but nothing is automatic, notes Lindsey German
   

• Quebec Mosque shooting: terrorist attack leaves multiple dead

  

  Six people have been killed and a number more injured in an Islamophobic attack on a local Mosque in Quebec city.

• French Elections 2017: Islamophobia, austerity and the left

  

  A thorough analysis by John Mullen of the role of austerity and Islamophobia in the upcoming French elections and what the prospects for a radical left alternative are.

• Trump's Muslim Ban, Theresa May's silence

  

  Trump's Muslim Ban is appalling and Theresa May's refusal to condemn it is outrageous. Organising against both is critical.

• The Casey Review: Islamophobia and integration

  

  The Casey report will only add to the level of hostility and suspicion that Muslims face daily argues Chris Nineham

• Jo Cox murder: terrorism and double standards

  

  Why Thomas Mair, the white supremacist terrorist who murdered Jo Cox MP, should have been prosecuted for terrorism

• Rotherham 12: victory against injustice

  

  Landmark victory as 'Rotherham 12' found not guilty, but questions need to be answered about South Yorkshire Police's failings, argues Maz Saleem

• Press regulation: we must condemn the Sun’s racist abuse

  

  Connecting terrorism with Islam, as Sun columnist Kelvin MacKenzie did, is not intellectually respectable - no matter what Ipso says

• Islamophobia: green and pleasant land in crisis

  

  A brutal attack in the heart of Middle England highlights the reality of everyday racism, reports Maz Saleem

• Playing games in the face of barbarism - the rising fascism across Europe

  

  While Owen Smith and the Labour right play political football with antisemitism, Kevin Ovenden looks at the serious rise in fascism across Europe

• Burkini ban: the Islamophobia that lies beneath the beach secularism

  

  Is France's left doing enough to challenge the new wave of state Islamophobia, asks John Mullen 

• Burkini ban: taking the anger back to the French state

  

  Friday night’s central London emergency protest shows how Islamophobia must be countered, reports Katherine Connelly 

• Burkini ban: we must oppose this blatant Islamophobia

  

  As France imposes this draconian ban, Lindsey German states why we must say no - clearly and unequivocally

• BAME rally: Jeremy Corbyn offers powerful anti-racist alternative

  

  Shabbir Lakha reports from Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour leadership campaign rally for BAME communities

• A beacon of hope in dark times

  

  Shabbir Lakha reports on the Convoy to Calais, which the French police shamefully turned back at the border

• The Orlando massacre was a homophobic act

  

  We cannot let the massacre in Orlando be used to stoke up homophobia and Islamophobia, argues Lindsey German

• Immigration, racism and class

  

  While mainstream ideology repackages its old myths and lies, Kevin Ovenden argues for a radical re-assertion of class-based anti-racism 

• Orlando: solidarity with the victims, no to Islamophobia

  

  We must not let this attack on the LGBT community divide us, write Clare Solomon and Steph Pike

• Farage: sex, lies and Islamophobia

  

  Nigel Farage's latest outburst is part of a growing sexualisation of racism, argues Lindsey German

• 'Left-wing antisemitism': anatomy of an accusation

  

  Leo Fischer argues the best response to accusations of antisemitism is to educate, organise and emphasise the continuing human rights abuses committed in Palestine

• NUS: against antisemitism and for freedom for Palestine

  

  Defending Malia Bouattia's record as an anti-racist campaigner, Shelly Asquith argues that the NUS has the right to criticse Israeli politics

• Stop the War: official statement on anti-Semitism and Palestine

  

  In response to claims of anti-Semitism within the Labour Party, Stop the War condemns the double standards applied to those who oppose Israeli oppression

• The media attacks on Malia Bouattia are sadly predicatable

  

  The media's reporting of the election of Malia Bouttia has ignored the woman and her policies

• Lindsey German speaks at Refugees Welcome demonstration

  

  Watch Lindsey German's speech from the ‪#‎RefugeesWelcome‬ demonstration in London in solidarity with those fleeing war

• Borough unites against Britain First

  

  London's East End showed solidarity with its Muslim population as Nazis tried to stir up hate, reports Chris Nineham 

• The return of an old evil

  

  The racist scapegoating of refugees recalls the darkest moments in Europe's history, writes Lindsey German

• Did you hear? Another Muslim murdered in the USA

  

  With Islamophobia rising across the world, why do the media continue to ignore the fact that #MuslimLivesMatter asks Maz Saleem?

• Sexual assault allegations exacerbate German racism

  

  Sexism and racism have to be challenged without bowing to the far right, who are using sexual assaults to attack refugees, argues Kaveh Yazdani

• Solidarity against racism at Bristol Mosque

  

  We need to understand the sources of Islamophobia and stand with Muslims when they are under attack, argues Zara Nelson

• Cameron fans the flames of Islamophobia

  

  David Cameron's attacks on Muslim women come within the context of rising Islamophobia across the world, writes Lindsey German

• Insulting Muslims won't help integration

  

  David Cameron has further stigmatised the Muslim community - suggesting that those who do not learn English may have to leave the country - Rabina Khan responds

• Le Pen's defeat offers only cold comfort

  

  Defeat without having to face a decent opposition may be more useful than success for the continued growth of Le Pen's Front National, argues Alistair Stephens

• Marine Le Pen: the demon child of war and austerity

  

  Not since the 1930s has a far right, indeed a fascist party done so well in an election in Western Europe, writes Alastair Stephens

• Preventing Prevent: Students are not suspects

  

  Students need to unite against the Prevent strategy, which is only meant to spread division, argues Shelly Asquith

• Paris attacks: fight the racist backlash

  

  In the wake of the atrocities in the French capital, building an anti-war movement is more necessary than ever, writes Kevin Ovenden

• Who is Charlie?

  

  Emmanuel Todd’s Who is Charlie? reveals connections between Islamophobia and moves to the right in France, finds Lindsey German

• No talking in class: Prevent in schools

  

  Nick O'Brien on how the Prevent strategy has already started to make our schools places where students are afraid to discuss important and topical issues

• The establishment campaign against Cage - smeared for defending human rights

  

  The attack on Cage is part of the more general assault on politically active Muslims and an attempt to push Muslim organisations to the margins of public life

• Cameron speech: demonising Muslims, escalating war

  

  It's no surprise that David Cameron's five year plan to deal with Islamic extremism at home pins all the blame on the Muslim community

• Cameron's response to radicalism: we need cooperation not McCarthyism says Rabina Khan

  

  The government must accept that military intervention in foreign lands is not part of the solution

• Cameron turns up the war rhetoric at home and abroad

  

  Cameron plans to extend UK involvement in the wars raging in Iraq and Syria, while mounting an hysterical attack on British Muslims

• David Cameron is making political capital out of carnage

  

  David Cameron describes the threat of terrorism in Britain as an ‘existential threat’. This is preposterous, and he knows it

• Counter-extremism or full spectrum idiocy?

  

  The government’s ‘counter-extremism’ crackdown won't reduce the threat, and is more likely to increase marginalization of British Muslims and the alienation that groups like Isis attempt to feed on argues Matt Carr

• David Cameron: scapegoating Muslims to hide failure at home and abroad

  

  Western governments try to justify their failure to secure the Middle East militarily by blaming the Muslim community as a whole

• The smear campaign against Rabina Khan

  

  Charlotte Gerada writes on the smear campaign against Rabina Khan that the media won't discuss

• The force may be with you

  

  Theresa May’s proposed new anti-terror laws further demonise Muslims and threaten the rights of everyone who opposes the government argues Elly Badcock

• Video: CAGE take on the Charity Commission

  

  Human Rights advocacy group CAGE are to take the Charity Commission to court for unlawful use of powers against them. CAGE spokesperson, Cerie Bullivant joins presenter John Rees in the studio

• Will another electoral coup take place in Tower Hamlets?

  

  With the Tower Hamlets mayoral election round the corner, Dilly Hussain questions whether another ‘coup’ awaits Lutfur Rahman’s successor

• When is a minority not a minority? When they're Bangladeshis living in Tower Hamlets

  

  Judge Mawrey's comments offer a disturbing insight into the mindset with which he approached the Lutfur Rahman case and which prevails amongst Britain's ruling elite

• Video: Defend Democracy in Tower Hamlets | 30 April 2015

  

  Speeches from the public rally in Tower Hamlets called in support of former mayor Lutfur Rahman who was deposed after a controversial rulling by the Election Commissioner

• Tower Hamlets: the real electoral fraud is about to begin

  

  John Rees on the outrageous dismissal of Tower Hamlet's first elected Muslim Mayor

• Working together, winning together

  

  Tony Dowling reports from this week's NUT conference

• May's extremism - targeting Muslims in the name of 'British values'

  

  Attacked for their faith, their dress, their schools, their university societies and their politics, UK Muslims are scapegoated on a daily basis

• Muslim opinion and the myth of 'tacit support' for terrorism

  

  Attempts to smear the entire Muslim population on the basis of dubious opinion polls should be seen for what they are – unfounded and dangerous bigotry

• Confronting Islamophobia – why everyone should demonstrate against racism on Saturday

  

  Islamophobia has become an institutional norm - we need to stand shoulder to shoulder with Muslim communites and oppose military interventions and wars argues Chris Nineham

• Democracy threatened by 'counter extremism'

  

  The government's new 'counter extremism' strategy is an attack on the very democratic values it claims to defend argues Tower Hamlets Deputy Mayor Oliur Rahman

• Ten reasons to stand up to Islamophobia and the 'war on terror'

  

  As anti-Muslim racism spreads and intensifies, here's ten reasons why we must stand up to Islamophobia and break the cycle of endless war

• Love Newcastle, Hate Racism: 6 observations on the Newcastle Unites demonstration

  

  Pegida's attempt to launch an anti-muslim movement in the UK by holding a protest in Newcastle was massively outnumbered by a counter-mobilisation by Newcastle Unites. Alex Snowdon reflects on the lessons

• No to Islamophobia: Newcastle unites to oppose Pegida

  

  German group Pegida is set to hold its first UK demonstration on Saturday, but will face concerted opposition. Alex Snowdon explains

• 'Blame the Muslims' - Islamophobia is fuelled by the elite

  

  Muslims are caught in a 'clash of civilisations' narrative in which they are seen as backward while Western civilisation is portrayed as the saviour

• Debunking the 'clash of civilisations'

  

  We need to refute the idea that we're living through a 'Clash of Civilisations' between the West and Islam - it's dangerous bunkum argues Chris Bambery

• Lutfur Rahman Election Petition is an insult to democracy

  

  An 'Election Petition' - a legal challenge to Lutfur Rahman's mayoral election victory - begins this week. Sean Rillo Raczka explains why it's an attack on democracy

• The crisis of British politics

  

  A resolution on the crisis of British politics passed at Counterfire National Conference 2015. Submitted by the Steering Committee

• Charlie Hebdo: 5 problems with the Media picture

  

  Everyone agrees the Muslim community must make amends for Charlie Hebdo, right? Well, no, not really. Here’s five facts the media tends to overlook.

• Danièle Obono: the French left after the Charlie Hebdo attacks

  

  Danièle Obono, a leading member of the French Left, speaks about the impact of the recent attacks and the dangers of Islamophobia

• Graphic: large increase in anti-Muslim hate crime in London

  

  Figures obtained by a Freedom of Information request to the Metropolitan Police show a 60% increase in the monthly average compared to period prior to Lee Rigby murder

• The Government is blaming Muslims and attacking civil liberties

  

  Opposition to war, Islamophobia and attacks on civil liberties are all connected, says Lindsey German, and we have to campaign against all three

• 15 recommended articles on the aftermath of the Paris attacks

  

  Alex Snowdon compiles a selection of commentary and analysis about the contentious issues arising from the recent attacks in Paris

• 'Charlie Hebdo, not racist? If you say so…' Former employee lambasts magazine's racist trajectory

  

  Written by Olivier Cyran and originally published in December 2013 as 'Charlie Hebdo, not racist? If you say so…' this article attacks the magazine's 'crude racism'. Translated by Daphne Lawless

• BBC Panorama: establishment islamophobia at its worst

  

  Not for the first time, the BBC's Panorama has been an outrider for the Islamophobia that is now so ingrained in the British establishment argues Chris Nineham

• Charlie Hebdo murders: what's missing from the media narrative?

  

  If you read the western media reporting on the Paris attack, says Lindsey German, it is as if the wars waged by the western powers in Muslim countries aren't happening

• The limits of liberalism

  

  Liberal responses to the Paris killings are fuelling a cycle from which both the right and the terrorists will gain, argues John Rees

• Paris massacre: backlash and blowback

  

  The latest attack will lead to a greater backlash and greater levels of Islamophobia. But it is not Muslims who are the problem but the foreign policies that have helped create terrorism

• Why the double standards on terrorism?

  

  There’s a double standard where Islamist terror is met with hysteria, while far-right terror is met with indifference, writes Lindsey German

• A graphic account of terrorism

  

  John Rees takes a look behind the propaganda at the facts about terrorism

• The British establishment: demonising Muslims, attacking civil liberties

  

  Lindsey German: Muslims in Britain could be forgiven for thinking that even when they do the right thing, it’s wrong

• A history of struggle: race and class in the East End

  

  Kevin Ovenden looks at the history of race and class in London's East End and the current battle to beat back the Tory attack on Tower Hamlets

• Lutfur Rahman: 'not under attack for what he's done wrong, but for what he's done right'

  

  The community turned out to defend Lutfur Rahman and democracy at a packed multilingual meeting in the borough of Tower Hamlets on Wednesday night

• Canada: after Ottawa shooting, dissent is more critical than ever

  

  Since Wednesday’s shooting, the notion that 'Canada will never be the same again' has picked up steam. This cliche carries with it potentially dangerous implications argues Derrick O'Keefe

• Hate preacher: Theresa May and the demonisation of British Muslims

  

  Theresa May’s address to the Conservative Party conference typified this government’s Islamophobia says Conan Doyle

• Blaming the muslims: blowback and islamophobia

  

  Lindsey German: Muslims have been subjected to racist accusations and demands that they desist from extremism - but most Muslims in this country do not support Isis or anything like it

• Talha Ahsan: a celebration of survival

  

  A welcome home rally in front of the Home Office celebrated Talha Ahsan's recent release, reports Peter Stäuber

• Rally: Now it is time to say #WelcomeHomeTalha - 17 August

  

  A rally to celebrate the homecoming of Talha Ahsan and the resilience of his family-led campaign and the ongoing struggle against unjust extradition laws

• Talha Ahsan: justice, jihad and the war on terror

  

  Talha Ahsan is to be released and returned to the UK after a US judge ruled that 'Jihad' does not mean terrorism reports Peter Stauber

• Talha Ahsan: disabled British citizen jailed without trial may be extradited to US

  

  Talha Ahsan is a disabled British citizen who has been jailed for 12 years without trial and faces extradition to the US and possible life imprisonment in solitary confinement

• Tariq Ramadan: what makes the French left's approach to Islam different?

  

  Tariq Ramadan and John Rees discuss the attitude of the French left to islam

• Child abuse: Jack Straw’s racism won’t help vulnerable kids

  

  Jack Straw’s comments scapegoat the Pakistani community for the actions of two sexual predators who preyed on vulnerable children.