[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating about Islam and reflects a wide variety of opinions and approaches. It does not reflect the views of the Critical Currents in Islam page or of Jadaliyya.]

Politics  

Haunted by 2000 and 2016, Muslim American voters eye opportunities in 2020 (7 August 2020) 

While Muslim Americans are not a significant number statistically, their population centers are in many swing states. This election year the Joe Biden campaign is seeking the Muslim vote, but if they continue to count on fear of President Donald Trump instead of policy promises to get it, they will not likely not get enough Muslim votes to make a difference. 

Poor and Desperate, Pakistani Hindus Accept Islam to Get By (4 August 2020)

Treated as second-class citizens, the Hindus of Pakistan are often systematically discriminated against in every walk of life. While minorities have long been drawn to convert in order to join the majority and escape discrimination and sectarian violence, Hindu community leaders say that the recent uptick in conversions has also been motivated by newfound economic pressures. 

Athens Muslims fear Greece will delay mosque opening as Hagia Sophia retaliation (6 August 2020) 

After Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque reopened for worship, Muslims in Athens fear their own official place of worship, delayed for over a decade, will be held back again.

Islamic State group claims deadly attack on Afghanistan prison (3 August 2020)

At least twenty-nine people were killed in an attack on a prison in Jalalabad. The Islamic State group (IS) claimed the attack in which car bombs were used and around three hundred inmates escaped. 

Whither the Arab and the Muslim World (15 August 2020)

The agreement to establish diplomatic relations between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel, the Saudi-Pakistani tensions over Kashmir and multiple feuds among the Gulf states and between Turkey, the Saudi kingdom and the Emirates erode the notion that the Arab and Islamic world share common geopolitical interests on the basis of ethnicity or religion and embrace kinship solidarity. 

‘Slap in the face’: Muslims decry Bloomberg’s upcoming appearance at Democratic convention (19 August 2020)

Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg oversaw a surveillance program targeting the city’s Muslim community for over a decade. This week, Muslim-American activists are condemning Bloomberg’s scheduled appearance at the Democratic National Convention at a time when Democrats are trying to unify their party around Joe Biden, in order to dismantle Trump’s policies such as the “Muslim ban.”  

We Need More American Muslims in Public Life (21 August 2020) 

Despite relatively small numbers, American Muslims form an extraordinary diverse community. Yet, this has not translated into adequate representation at foreign and domestic policy levels. 

 Indian Muslims and jihadist failures: Past and future (21 August 2020) 

Over five years after ISIS declared itself a caliphate and al-Qa‘ida announced a South Asian branch, the Indian Jihadist landscape has not progressed in a major way. This article explores the reasons for the lack of Jihadist terrorism in India. 

Why the West seeks to vilify political Islam (22 August 2020)  

Initially published in 2016, Understanding Political Islam by Francois Burgat offers an analysis of political Islam that is not tainted by western prejudices, ideologies, abstractions and orientalist fantasies. Focusing on the definition of “Islamism,” Burgat argues that it is the continuation of the South’s long process of self-emancipation from the North. As such, it threatens western imperialist domination, influence and control.

Influential Muslim scholar Hamza Yusuf criticized for backing UAE-Israel deal (21 August 2020)

Hamza Yusuf, a prominent Muslim scholar based in the United States, is facing criticism after publicly endorsing the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) decision to normalize ties with Israel. 

To beat Trump, the ‘good Muslim bad Muslim’ messaging has to end (21 August 2020) 

Muslims are a key voting bloc on a local level and growing clout on state level. In this upcoming presidential election, Muslims make up a key constituency in various swing states that Democrats will need to win. Instead of tokenizing of alienating Muslim voices, the Biden campaign needs to engage substantially with Muslim leaders in America and build a campaign that actually represents the big tent it claims to host. 

Turkey’s Erdogan orders historic church to be turned into mosque for Muslim prayers (23 August 2020) 

About a month after reconverting Istanbul’s landmark Hagia Sophia into a mosque, Turkey’s Erdogan has now ordered another ancient Orthodox church to be converted into a mosque. Istanbul’s medieval Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora, also known as the Kariye Museum, is to be handed over to Turkey’s religious authorities for its conversion to become a mosque. 

Changes in the Muslim world (23 August 2020) 

Recent developments in the Middle East demonstrate that the Gulf states, and especially Saudi Arabia, have already made some difficult decisions linked to their geostrategic realignment which could entail their desertion of the custodianship of the ummah. 

How China uses Muslim press trips to counter claims of Uighur abuse (23 August 2020)   

In recent years, Beijing has reached out to the Muslim world, bringing more than thirty journalists from Islamic countries to Xinjiang in a bid to refute Western headlines claiming human rights abuses. 

Biden camp apologizes to Muslim Democrats after condemning Linda Sarsour (25 August 2020)  

The Joe Biden campaign appears to be publicly condemning anti-Israel activists while privately pandering to them. After condemning the Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour, team Biden quickly went into damage control to shore-up support with Muslim-American Democrats in a private phone call. 

Radical Muslims Wage War for Control of Nigeria, Christians Suffering ‘Massive Attacks’ (26 August 2020) 

After losing ground in Syria and Iraq, the top general of US Special Operations Command in Africa is warning that al-Qa‘ida, ISIS and other Islamist terror groups have set their sights on Nigeria. Militant Muslims are waging an insurgency to overthrow the government and get rid of its Christian population.

American Muslim groups rally thousands to get political on National Muslim Voter Registration Day (28 August 2020) 

American Muslim activists across the country are rallying their communities to participate in National Muslim Voter Registration Day to impact the 2020 presidential election. MPower change, together with grassroots organizations, launched the #MyMuslimVote campaign to promote a nationwide virtual registration drive. 

UK Muslim charities face ‘serious mismanagement’ inquiries (28 August 2020)  

Britain’s Muslim charity sector is in systemic crisis with leading organizations under scrutiny by regulators over governance and accounting issues. Human Appeal, a charity based in Manchester, is under a statutory investigation by the Charity Commission after upheaval in its management team and changes to its accounting practices. A statutory investigation is the most serious step the Charity Commission can take against a British-registered entity.  

Muslim group asks for a probe into potential voter suppression in New York town (31 August 2020) 

Arabs and Muslims in a small town in upstate New York may have been targeted during June’s primary elections, as hundreds of absentee ballots that were disqualified belong to people with Middle Eastern-sounding names. 

COVID-19  

In the latest sign of COVID-19 related racism, Muslims are being blamed for England’s coronavirus outbreaks (6 August 2020) 

Coronavirus conspiracy theorists have spread baseless rumours online frequently targeting minorities. In England, the latest wave of vitriol criticizes Muslims, blaming them for spreading COVID-19. 

 ‘Sinicization’ of Islam intensifies Amid the Pandemic (7 August 2020) 

The coronavirus outbreak did not prevent China’s president Xi Jinping from pushing forward his policy to “sinicize” Islam. Numerous domes and star-and-crescent symbols were removed from mosques in the Northwestern province of Gansu amid the pandemic. In late March, Islamic symbols were removed from seventeen mosques.  

‘We must act now’: UK Muslims bear brunt of COVID-19 amid government complacency (16 August 2020)

An Office for National Statistics report into COVID-19 mortalities by religious group recently revealed that the highest death toll was in the Muslim community. The report has at various stages drawn fierce criticism from Muslim community leaders. 

For Muslim Women in Niqab, the Pandemic has Brought a New Level of Acceptance (21 August 2020)  

For Muslim women accustomed to being the only people in their communities wearing face coverings, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought an unexpected, welcome change. The niqab now stands out far less and women who embrace it may have reason to hope that it will continue to be more accepted even when the pandemic is over.

Arts and Popular Culture

How Hollywood Can Better Represent Muslim Characters and Storylines (7 August 2020) 

For self-identifying Muslims, there was something to finally cheer during the Emmy Awards when Ramy Youssef (Ramy), Mahershala Ali (Ramy) and Yahya Abdul Mateen II (Watchmen) were nominated in major categories. These nominations are a breath of fresh air since racism and vilification have been perpetuated by Hollywood’s long history of portraying Muslims and other minority groups as sub-human figures. 

One of the most important sites in Muslim-American history still stands in Cedar Rapids (6 August 2020) 

The Mother Mosque of American in Cedar Rapids was the first building designed and constructed specifically as a house of worship for Muslim Americans. In 1996, building was added to the National Register of Historic Places and it represented a vital starting point for the development of Islam as an established religion within the United States.

Book by NU-Q Professor focuses on Islam in Africa (7 August 2020) 

A new book by Dr Zachary Wright explores eighteenth-century Islamic scholarship in North Africa with a special focus on the founding of Africa’s largest Sufi order: the Tijaniyya. Entitled Realizing Islam: The Tijaniyya in North Africa and the Eighteenth-Century Muslim World, the book argues that Muslim scholars from India to West Africa shared in intellectual debates and exchanges, collectively motivated by the desire to verify the foundations of law, theology, and mysticism. But local contexts dictated that Islamic revivalist thinkers went about this project of verification in divergent ways.

Kazakh philosopher who connected Islamic philosophy with West more relevant than ever before (5 August 2020)

An article on al-Farabi, who lived in Damascus and Baghdad also lived in Alexandria, spoke Greek and translated ancient Greek texts, and was well familiar with both Christian theology and the Greek and Latin thought of the ancient world.

Ertuğrul: how an epic TV series became the 'Muslim Game of Thrones' (12 August, 2020)  

Ertuğrul, a popular Turkish drama series has been widely dubbed the “Muslim Game of Thrones.” Its positive depiction of Islamic rituals and scripting has helped it appeal globally to the Muslim diaspora. Despite its widespread popularity, the show has become entangled in a culture war between religious conservatives and secular critics. In Egypt, scholars have also cautioned against the dangers of Turkish soft power cultivated by such epic dramas.

Minority Off-Screen, Minority On-Screen: The Missing Muslim Voice in ‘Indian Matchmaking’ (14 August 2020)  

Despite the valid criticisms of Indian Matchmaking as being “outdated” and “orientalist,” few have managed to call the show out for its non-inclusiveness. The glaring absence of Indian Muslims sits well with the obliteration of Muslim voices from the collective imagination, being acted out with renewed vigor in recent times. Plagued by stereotypes and cast in frustratingly similar moulds, on-screen representations of Muslims have seldom managed to break free from the off-screen propaganda against them. 

Political Thought in Contemporary Shi’a Islam: Muhammad Mahdi Shams al-Din (16 August 2020)  

Dr Farah Kawtharani’s new book not only explores a notable counter-thesis to Khomeini’s absolutist Wilayat al-Faqih theory, but also ideas on civil government and the prospects for Shi’a in particular living as minorities within a multi-confessional society of a modern nation-state. 

'It's Not Religion': In 'The Runaways,' Bhutto Examines The Lure Of Extremism (17 August 2020) 

In The Runaways, a new book by Fatima Bhutto, the author explores the forces that compel young people to give up everything to join violent extremist movements. In The Runaways, Bhuttoposits that it is not religion that drives her characters into extremist movements. Rather, it is humiliation, poverty, rejection, heartbreak, loneliness, and alienation. 

Meet the Man behind Muslim Manga, Hamed Nouri (13 August 2020) 

In this interview with Hamed Nouri, the founder of Muslim Manga (@muslimmanga), Nouri explains how he uses Japanese-style comics to tackle stereotypes about Islam, and how he creates relatable content for Muslim readers.

What We Are Reading Today: Islam in Pakistan; A History by Muhammad Qassim Zaman (18 August 2020) 

Dr Muhammad Qassim Zaman’s new book about Islam in Pakistan is the first comprehensive book to explore Islam’s evolution in the region from the British colonial era to the present day. 

Looted landmarks: How Notre-Dame, Big Ben and St Mark’s were stolen from the East (13 August 2020)   

Stealing from the Saracens, a new book by Middle East expert Diane Darke traces the roots of Europe’s major buildings back to their Middle Eastern predecessors. Darke’s book reveals how monuments idealised by right-wing nationalist groups as bearers of a “pure” European identity have their origins in the very culture of which they are so suspicious. 

Hagia Sophia has been converted back into a mosque, but the veiling of its figural icons is not a Muslim tradition (18 August 2020)

In the rush to reassert Hagia Sophia’s Islamic past, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his associates have inadvertently, and superficially emulated certain Orthodox Christian practices. Images of Mary and Christ were often ritually veiled and unveiled in Byzantium, while later Ottoman Muslim rulers did not engage in such practices. 

After 90 years, Bangkok’s ‘Muslim restaurant’ To Serve Its Last Mutton Briyani (24 August 2020) 

A legendary halal restaurant in Bangkok’s old quarter will shut down next week after nearly a century. Unambiguously named Muslim restaurant on Chaoren Krung road, the restaurant announced that it will cease operations due to years of losses caused by rising rent prices. The pandemic was the final straw after the restaurant was forced to close for months and saw tourism evaporate.

Kanye West accused of ‘disrespecting Islam’ with name of new Yezee Boosts (24 August 2020) 

Kanye West has been accused of “disrespecting Islam” with the names of his new Yeezy Boosts. Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Israfil and Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Asriel are named after the Islamic angels of music (Israfil) and death (Asriel). Critics have taken to social media to denounce the rapper for making a “mockery out of Islam.” 

Halal Fresh: UK start-up fills recipe box gap for Muslim communities (26 August 2020)  

London-based Saima Duhare recipe-box start-up Halal Fresh is filling a gap in the market by delivering Halal Monitoring Committee (HMC) certified recipe boxes to the Muslim community. At just eighteen months old, this “one-woman band” business is thriving.

Under Armour releases a sports hijab for Muslim athletes (27 August 2020) 

With the launch of its first sports hijab, American sport company Under Armour has taken significant steps to make the fitness industry more inclusive. 

Muslim matchmaking app sees spike in downloads during pandemic (30 August 2020)  

Muslim matchmaking apps like Minder and Muzmatch have been growing in popularity for the past several years. But the pandemic saw an even bigger spike in downloads and usage. 

Religious Thought and Practice

What is Islam’s appeal to Māori (19 August 2020) 

Conversion to Islam has been on the rise in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Particularly among the Māori, there has been great interest in the religion, with the Qur’an translated into Te Reo Māori (2008) and Māori Muslims organizing halal hāngī and “Matariki at the Mosque” events. This article discusses the reasons for this phenomenon and analyzes how conversion affects New Zealanders’ identity and belonging.

Spirit or reason? Muslim public intellectuals in the German and European far right (17 August 2020) 

Over the past two decades, a number of conservative and far-right white Europeans have turned towards Islam. At the same time, a significant number of born Muslims have joined the European far right, a movement that as a bloc campaigns against the Islamisation of Europe. This article explains how and why Islam is a key function of the far right’s self-vision. 

How Islam came to dominate Indonesia (25 August 2020)

Unlike other parts of the world, Islam spread in Southeast Asia without a major conquest. Focusing on economic, cultural and social factors, this article explains how Indonesia became the world’s largest Muslim country.  

ImamConnect- an “Uber for Imams” - the world’s first online Muslim services platform (26 August 2020) 

ImamConnect is the world’s first online platform for Muslim services. The platform comprises of a global community of vetted service providers of Muslim life needs, including pre-marital counseling, marriage ceremonies, Islamic studies, and more. 

Ashoura: Why Muslims Mourn and Fast in Muharram (28 August 2020) 

Ashoura is marked on the tenth day of Muharram, the first month of the Muslim calendar. It marks the day Noah (Nuh) left the Ark and the day Moses (Musa) was saved by God from the Pharaoh of Egypt. However, for the Shi’a, Ashoura is also a major religious event to commemorate the martyrdom of Husayn Ibn Ali al-Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammad who died in the battle of Karbala in 680 AD. 

Women, Gender, and Sexuality

Queer Muslims are Carving Out Their Space on TikTok (5 August 2020)  

TikTok videos posted under hashtags #QueerMuslim and #LGBTMuslim offer a range of lived Muslim experiences. Despite the backlash, queer Muslim TikTokers continue to post and claim their space online. This interview series with several queer Muslim TikTokers focuses on their experiences on the platform. 

A Dutiful Boy Is a Moving Memoir about Growing Up Gay and Muslim (17 August 2020) 

In this interview with Mohsin Zaidi, a criminal barrister and debut author of A Dutiful Boy: A Memoir of a Gay Muslim’s Journey to Acceptance, Zaidi speaks about the motivations for writing his book and the challenges faced by queer Muslims today. 

Photographing the Muslim trans community of Yogyakarta (17 August 2020) 

Learning about Indonesia’s only Islamic school for transgender people in Yogyakarta, Fujio Emura decided to create a photo series. In this interview with i-D, Emura speaks about the specific challenges faced by these women, as well as his efforts to fundraise for the Islamic school during the pandemic.

English soccer’s first female Muslim referee, a former Somalian refugee, says she aims to one day officiate in the Premier League (17 August 2020)  

Jawahir Roble, English soccer’s first ever female Muslim referee, has set her sights to officiate in the Premier League.

A Feminism Check with ‘It’s Not About the Burqa’ (24 August 2020) 

Edited by Mariam Khan, “Its Not About the Burqa” is a compilation of essays written by seventeen Muslim women living in the West. As the terms “feminism” and “Islamophobia” clash together, the essays reveal how Muslim feminists are constantly caught between radical Islamists and race supremacists.   

Noor Inayat Khan: Muslim war hero who became an ‘unlikely spy’ for Britian in WWII to be honored with blue plaque (28 August 2020) 

Noor Inayat Khan, a Muslim woman who became an “unlikely spy” for Britain when she was dropped into occupied France during the Second World War has been honoured with a blue plaque at the site of her family home in London.

Ayşe Hümeyra Ökten: Pioneer of modern Muslim women (4 September 2020)

Ayşe Hümeyra Ökten was born in October 1925 in Istanbul's Fatih district. She graduated from the Cerrahpaşa School of Medicine in 1949 with high honors and was the first female medical doctor assigned by the Turkish Red Crescent for the hajj worship. She first traveled to Mecca and Medina as part of this duty in 1953. This marked a milestone in her life since she decided to settle in Medina for the rest of her life.

BLM, Race Relations, and Police Brutality

Why do Muslim American organizations still support the police? (13 August 2020)  

Conversations within much of the non-Black Muslim community in the United States continue to reflect an overreliance and deferential attitude towards the police. Leaders of multiple American Muslim institutions appear more concerned with protecting their delicate relationships with law enforcement than allying with subjugated communities protesting state violence.

Where Do I Fit In As a Black British Muslim Woman? (17 August 2020) 

Dahaba Ali Hussein reflects on her identity as a Black British Muslim woman, and recounts her experiences with Islamophobia and anti-blackness.

Ramy Youssef on highlighting anti-Blackness: ‘The conversation about race in America is very binary (17 August 2020) 

In this interview with Ramy Youssef, creator of the critically acclaimed Hulu series Ramy, Youssef speaks about anti-Blackness within Muslim communities and the lack of Black Muslim representation in Muslim narratives.

The hidden racism of the Muslim marriage market (21 August 2020) 

In this opinion piece, lawyer Nailah Dean recounts the unique challenges she faces in her dating life as an Afro-Latin American born to convert parents. Dean speaks of her experiences, learning that she was often not included in the pool of potential spouses because she was not of the desired ethnic background. 

Climate Change

Islam and eco-theology: The future of environmentalism (5 August 2020) 

Although Arab countries were investing in the promotion of eco-theology, the current coronavirus pandemic has created twin financial and health crises that have forced Arab governments to neglect environmental protection. However, COVID-19 is thriving in the Middle East because of environmental problems such as air pollution and water scarcity. In the post-pandemic era, the relationship between Islam and environmentalism will become crucial.

What does Islam say about climate change and climate action? (12 August 2020) 

Many Muslim countries are reluctant to impose Western concepts of environmentalism, or to concede to countries which have already gone through industrialization without having to address pollution or curb emissions. Instead of imposing environmental colonization, a movement of “Islamic environmentalism” based on Islamic tradition is more effective to address environmental concerns in Muslim countries 

Islamophobia 

Muslim ICE Detainees Reportedly Fed Pork, Told by Chaplain: ‘It Is What It Is’ (19 August 2020) 

Muslim detainees at the Krome Service Processing Center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Miami were reportedly given the choice of pre-packaged pork-based meals or expired halal meals at least two to three times a week. 

Toronto Muslims want mosque attacks investigated as hate related (20 August 2020) 

Masjid Toronto, a mosque which is part of the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) has been attacked by vandals numerous times in the past three months. In addition to broken windows, racist graffiti has been scrawled on the windows and walls. 

A Norfolk Navy chaplain wrote a book calling Islam ‘evil.’ He says its been taken out of context (21 August 2020) 

Brain Waite, an Oklahoma pastor who previously served as a navy chaplain wrote a largely plagiarized book in which he denounced Islam as “evil” and compared it to Nazism. Although the book later led Waite to be dismissed from the staff of the Graduate Theological Foundation, it did not derail his military career.

After the Christchuch shootings, New Zealand promised change. But Muslims there still don’t feel safe (24 August 2020)  

After a right-wing terrorist live-streamed the massacre of fifty-one people at two Christchuch mosques, New Zealand’s leaders promised the country would change. Within four weeks, new gun reforms were passed and within two months, a global campaign was launched to stop terrorism spreading on social media. However, an official inquiry into the attacks still remains undelivered eighteen months later, and some say that the underlying Islamophobia has not been addressed.

Non-Muslims who live close to Muslims are less likely to be Islamophobic, study shows (27 August 2020) 

The most recent Islamophobia in Australia report shows Muslims continue to be the targets of hostility and violence. According to the report, Australians typically know very little about Muslims and their faith. Consequently, Australians tend to look over the diversity within Muslim communities and view Muslims as a monolithic backward, gender-oppressive and violent group. However, surveys have shown that non-Muslims living in Muslim areas were less likely to be Islamophobic.  

New Footage Shows Pheonix Police Mocking Muslim Man’s Faith As They Kneel On Neck, Killing Him (26 August 2020) 

New body-camera footage revealed Phoenix police insulted Muhammad Muhaymin Jr.’s faith while he pleaded for help before his death. Muhaymin could be heard multiple times pleading with officers that he could not breathe. The footage depicts multiple officers pining Muhaymin to the ground with at least one placing their knees on his neck and back.  

Why are British Muslims being falsely blamed for the spread of COVID-19? (27 August 2020) 

Leading activists in the United Kingdom are saying that rising coronavirus levels in Britain are being falsely attributed to the Muslim community. Far-right factions have used the virus to sow racial and religious division within society by blaming ethnic minorities for its spread. 

UK news coverage of terrorism puts ‘disproportionate focus on Muslims’ (26 August 2020)  

According to a report by the Muslim Council of Britain’s Centre for Media Monitoring, more than half of UK news stories over the past five years mentioning terrorist, terrorism, or terror also make references to Muslims or Islam. That is almost nine times more than the amount compared to perpetrators who identified as “far-right,” “neo-Nazi” or “white supremacist.”

Facebook executive who shared anti-Muslim post apologises: Report  (27 August 2020) 

Ankhi Das, a Facebook India executive has apologized to Muslim staff for sharing a post that dubbed the Muslims in India as “a degenerate community.” Facebook is under fire after The Wall Street Journal reported that Das refused to apply the company’s hate speech policies to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politicians and other “Hindu nationalist individuals and groups.” 

China reportedly secretly built hundreds of prison camps to hold minority Muslims (27 August 2020)   

China has secretly constructed new prisons and internment camps over the past several years as the Communist Party-ruled country ramps up its mass detention campaign against Muslim minorities.

India’s police ‘complicit’ in anti-Muslim riots, alleges Amnesty (28 August 2020) 

According to an investigation by Amnesty International India, Delhi police were “complicit and an active participant” in the February violence in which fifty-three people were killed. The violence broke out after weeks-long peaceful sit-in protests by Muslims in northeast Delhi against a controversial new citizenship law were targeted by Hindu nationalist mobs. 

From Tourists to Terrorists: How Foreign Muslims Were Vilified and Arrested in India (28 August 2020)  

In the last week, three Indian courts have criticised the Indian government and media for vilifying members of the Tablighi Jamaat. The courts ruled that since the government was unable to handle the COVID-19 crisis, it made the organization a scapegoat, branding its members as “super carriers.” 

Being Muslim means I’m forced to apologise for terrorist attacks that had nothing to do with me (28 August 2020)  

After terror attacks happen, especially in the West, it seems that the media makes everyone else “us,” and all Muslims become the “other.” This media bias perpetuates and stigmatizes and negatively impacts all Muslims. It insinuates that Muslims and terrorism are intertwined and that the motivator behind a terror attack is always Islam.  

Norway: Clashes break out in anti-Islam rally (29 August 2020)

Clashes broke out at an anti-Islam rally in the Norwegian capital of Oslo, prompting authorities to end the event early. Organized by the group Stop Islamization of Norway (SIAN) took place near the parliament building. The event came to head when a female member of SIAN ripped pages from the Qur’an and spat on them. 

Scores injured as police break up Muslim march in Kashmir (29 August 2020)  

Government forces fired shotgun pellets and tear gas to disperse hundreds of Shi’i Muslims participating in a traditional religious process in the Indian-controlled Kashmir. 

Riot in Sweden after anti-Muslim Danish leader banned (30 August 2020) 

At least ten people were arrested and several police officers injured during clashes in southern Sweden after an anti-Muslim Danish politician was blocked from attending a Qur’an burning rally.

How Facebook threatens vulnerable Muslim communities (30 August 2020) 

A recent investigation by The Wall Street Journal has revealed that when it comes to the safety and wellbeing of vulnerable Muslim minorities, Facebook not only put the profits and politics before social and moral responsibility, but also before its stated user policies.

Restrictions on Muslim call to prayer in South Africa spark outrage (31 August 2020) 

Two orders in South Africa restricting the Muslim call to prayer have led to outrage amongst Muslims.