In a first, a Pakistan back UN resolution saw over half the members of the New York headquarter body not voting for. The resolution "Promotion of interreligious &amp; intercultural dialogue", saw 52 abstentions, and 51 countries not voting for. This makes 104 members of the UN, out of 193 strength not supporting the resolution.

Most of the countries, who did not vote were from Africa and small island countries, many of whom did not wish to be identified by going for abstentions. While the resolution co-sponsored by Pakistan-Philippines was adopted by 90 countries in favour, it divided the world body.

The abstentions were majorly from the European Union and the west over a straitjacketed view of ongoing freedom of expression versus religion debate. EU saw the resolution, while barely taking a stance on freedom of expression, focused on "religious symbols".

India had its own concerns, specifically on the Kartarpur Sahib corridor, with New Delhi highlighting how Islamabad has transferred the administration of the Gurudwara to a non-Sikh body. It said, "We have protested against this very strongly with the Pakistani side since this runs against the spirit of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor as also the religious sentiments of the Sikh community at large."

India also raised concerns over Indic religions--Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism being discriminated when it comes to persecution against them vis a vis Abrahamic religion, and the stance was well received by many countries.

Pakistani mission to United Nation said the resolution is part of "diplomatic campaign to raise awareness about Islamophobia, anti-Muslim hatred &amp; defamation of religious personalities &amp; symbols", something that is seen as one-sided and coming from a country with a poor track record on safekeeping its own minorities.&nbsp;

In the last 15 years, the resolution on "culture of peace" has always been adopted without a vote and adopted with a consensus. Pakistan is now keen that United Nations declares an “International Day to Combat Islamophobia”, an action that focuses on one religion and expectedly in the future will be used to slam India.

With the resolution being taken, the UN's role has also come under scrutiny. The resolution said it, "welcomes efforts undertaken by the high representative for the United Nations Alliance of civilizations...and takes note of his recent "call for mutual respect". This irked the EU and was seen a something that went against France and the right to expression.&nbsp;

High representative for the United Nations Alliance of civilizations Miguel Ángel Moratinos in October issued a statement "call for mutual respect", saying, "Insulting religions and sacred religious symbols provokes hatred and violent extremism leading to polarization..." and "freedom of expression should be exercised in a way that fully respects the religious beliefs".&nbsp;

The statement was issued in the aftermath of terror attacks in form of knife attacks in France over the depiction of Prophet Mohammed, which is forbidden in Islam.

In fact, India in its statement at UN when the resolution was being taken up and pointed out, “The United Nations is not a body which should take sides when it comes to religion. If we are indeed selective, we will only end up proving Samuel Huntington’s “clash of civilizations”. What we are trying to build here is an “alliance of civilizations” not set up a clash. I call on the UN Alliance of Civilization to act likewise and speak for all, not just a select few."

In a first, a Pakistan back UN resolution saw over half the members of the New York headquarter body not voting for. The resolution "Promotion of interreligious & intercultural dialogue", saw 52 abstentions, and 51 countries not voting for.

In a first, a Pakistan back UN resolution saw over half the members of the New York headquarter body not voting for. The resolution "Promotion of interreligious & intercultural dialogue", saw 52 abstentions, and 51 countries not voting for. This makes 104 members of the UN, out of 193 strength not supporting the resolution. Most of the countries, who did not vote were from Africa and small island countries, many of whom did not wish to be identified by going for abstentions. While the resolution co-sponsored by Pakistan-Philippines was adopted by 90 countries in favour, it divided the world body. The abstentions were majorly from the European Union and the west over a straitjacketed view of ongoing freedom of expression versus religion debate. EU saw the resolution, while barely taking a stance on freedom of expression, focused on "religious symbols". India had its own concerns, specifically on the Kartarpur Sahib corridor, with New Delhi highlighting how Islamabad has transferred the administration of the Gurudwara to a non-Sikh body. It said, "We have protested against this very strongly with the Pakistani side since this runs against the spirit of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor as also the religious sentiments of the Sikh community at large." India also raised concerns over Indic religions--Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism being discriminated when it comes to persecution against them vis a vis Abrahamic religion, and the stance was well received by many countries. Pakistani mission to United Nation said the resolution is part of "diplomatic campaign to raise awareness about Islamophobia, anti-Muslim hatred & defamation of religious personalities & symbols", something that is seen as one-sided and coming from a country with a poor track record on safekeeping its own minorities. In the last 15 years, the resolution on "culture of peace" has always been adopted without a vote and adopted with a consensus. Pakistan is now keen that United Nations declares an “International Day to Combat Islamophobia”, an action that focuses on one religion and expectedly in the future will be used to slam India. With the resolution being taken, the UN's role has also come under scrutiny. The resolution said it, "welcomes efforts undertaken by the high representative for the United Nations Alliance of civilizations...and takes note of his recent "call for mutual respect". This irked the EU and was seen a something that went against France and the right to expression. High representative for the United Nations Alliance of civilizations Miguel Ángel Moratinos in October issued a statement "call for mutual respect", saying, "Insulting religions and sacred religious symbols provokes hatred and violent extremism leading to polarization..." and "freedom of expression should be exercised in a way that fully respects the religious beliefs". The statement was issued in the aftermath of terror attacks in form of knife attacks in France over the depiction of Prophet Mohammed, which is forbidden in Islam. In fact, India in its statement at UN when the resolution was being taken up and pointed out, “The United Nations is not a body which should take sides when it comes to religion. If we are indeed selective, we will only end up proving Samuel Huntington’s “clash of civilizations”. What we are trying to build here is an “alliance of civilizations” not set up a clash. I call on the UN Alliance of Civilization to act likewise and speak for all, not just a select few."

Major embarrassment for Pakistan at UN: Over 100 countries decline to extend support to resolution backed by it

Pakistan faces another rejection. Over 100 nations at UN declined to support the Pakistan resolution. Pakistan's resolution on Islamophobia get's rejected due to its poor track record of safeguarding minorities.

Pakistan resolution on Islamophobia gets rejected by 100 Nations

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday wrote to the leaders of Muslim countries calling on them to act together against Islamophobia, as anger grows over France’s defence of the right to mock religion.

Muslims across the world have reacted furiously to French President Emmanuel Macron's defence of free speech after a French school teacher who had shown his pupils cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed was killed.

Khan accused European countries of ridiculing the prophet, allowing discrimination against Muslims and refusing to let Muslim women wear conservative clothing.&nbsp;

"The recent statements at the leadership level and incidents of desecration of the Holy Koran are a reflection of the increase in Islamophobia that is spreading in European countries," the letter said, days after Khan accused Macron of attacking Islam.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-issues-new-travel-advisory-339222">Pakistan issues new travel advisory</a> 
 
In a speech in Lahore on Wednesday, Khan added that the lives of Muslims have been made difficult in France, and Western countries should consider the sensitivities of devotees.

Caricatures of Mohammed are forbidden by Islam and blasphemy is an explosive issue in ultra-conservative Pakistan, where anyone deemed to have insulted Islam or Islamic figures can face the death penalty.

Macron's comments have triggered protests and a call to boycott French goods in some Muslim-majority countries.&nbsp;

Small and scattered protests have taken place across Pakistan this week, including in the port city of Karachi on Wednesday.&nbsp;

Khan's office earlier wrote a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking the social media giant to take down Islamophobic content.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday wrote to the leaders of Muslim countries calling on them to act together against Islamophobia, as anger grows over France’s defence of the right to mock religion.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday wrote to the leaders of Muslim countries calling on them to act together against Islamophobia, as anger grows over France’s defence of the right to mock religion. Muslims across the world have reacted furiously to French President Emmanuel Macron's defence of free speech after a French school teacher who had shown his pupils cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed was killed. Khan accused European countries of ridiculing the prophet, allowing discrimination against Muslims and refusing to let Muslim women wear conservative clothing. "The recent statements at the leadership level and incidents of desecration of the Holy Koran are a reflection of the increase in Islamophobia that is spreading in European countries," the letter said, days after Khan accused Macron of attacking Islam. Also Read | Pakistan issues new travel advisory In a speech in Lahore on Wednesday, Khan added that the lives of Muslims have been made difficult in France, and Western countries should consider the sensitivities of devotees. Caricatures of Mohammed are forbidden by Islam and blasphemy is an explosive issue in ultra-conservative Pakistan, where anyone deemed to have insulted Islam or Islamic figures can face the death penalty. Macron's comments have triggered protests and a call to boycott French goods in some Muslim-majority countries. Small and scattered protests have taken place across Pakistan this week, including in the port city of Karachi on Wednesday. Khan's office earlier wrote a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking the social media giant to take down Islamophobic content.

Imran Khan calls for collective Muslim action against Islamophobia

#BoycottFrenchGoods is trending across West Asia. Protests over the Prophet's cartoons and Macron's remarks are growing across the Arab world. Ghadi Francis tells us what this will mean for the French President. For more such stories, keep watching the West Asia post with Ghadi Francis every Friday at 8:30 PM IST, only on WION

The West Asia Post | #BoycottFrenchGoods trends across West Asia

The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan has penned a letter to the leaders of Muslim states. Khan is attempting to collectivise leaders against “Islamophobia” in non-Muslim countries, especially in the West in the aftermath of France beheading.&nbsp;

On Twitter, Khan said that the “Islamophobia” had caused concern among Muslims all over the world.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/south-asia/pakistan-pm-imran-khan-condemns-attack-on-madrassa-vows-to-bring-perpetrators-to-justice-338226" hreflang="en">Pakistan PM Imran Khan condemns attack on Madrassa, vows to bring perpetrators to justice</a>

Addressing the letter to “Leaders of the Muslim States”, Imran Khan wrote “Today, we are confronting a growing concern and restlessness amongst our Ummah as they see the rising tide of Islamophobia and attacks, through ridicule and mockery on our beloved Prophet PBUH in the Western world, especially Europe”.

Khan referred to the closure of mosques in Europe, and claimed that “Muslim women are being denied their right to wear clothing of their choice in the public domain”.

The Pakistan PM also claimed that Muslims living in these countries face continuous discrimination. Attempting to label European countries as ignorant, Khan added that such discrimination arises from “lack of understanding of the intrinsic deep passion, love and devotion Muslims all over the world have for their Prophet”.

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My letter to leaders of Muslim states to act collectively to counter the growing Islamophobia in non-Muslim states esp Western states causing increasing concern amongst Muslims the world over. <a href="https://t.co/OFuaKGu2c1">pic.twitter.com/OFuaKGu2c1</a>
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1321401079947558915?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Even though he did not directly mention the beheading of the French teacher, who had shown caricatures of Prophet Mohammad in his class, and had even urged Muslims to leave the class while he did the same in a bid to avoid hurting sentiments, Khan referred to recent events as a series of “actions and reactions”.

He urged the Muslim leaders to “take the lead in breaking this cycle of hate and extremism, which nurtures violence and even death”. He also requested them to reach out to Western countries, referring to them as “the other”, in a bid to end cycles of “violence bred of ignorance and hate”.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/after-imran-khan-recep-erdogan-doubles-down-in-backlash-against-macrons-islam-comments-337912" hreflang="en">After Imran Khan, Recep Erdogan doubles down in backlash against Macron's Islam comments</a>

Saying that value systems differ for various social, religious, and ethnic groups, Khan referred to the Holocaust, while adding that he “understands” why European countries criminalise criticism of the mass persecution of Jews under Hitler.

Referring to the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir as the “illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir”, Khan claimed how Muslims had been persecuted across the globe, while also giving examples of Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

President Macron's&nbsp;decision to defend&nbsp;cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad&nbsp;has led to protests across the world even as Turkey President Erdogan said Macron needed "mental checks."

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan accused Macron of "attacking Islam". He tweeted that the French leader "could have put healing touch &amp; denied space to extremists rather than creating further polarisation &amp; marginalisation that inevitably leads to radicalisation."

Macron had described Islam as a religion "in crisis" worldwide and said the government would present a bill in December to strengthen a 1905 law that officially separated church and state in France.

The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan has penned a letter to the leaders of Muslim states. Khan is attempting to collectivise leaders against “Islamophobia” in non-Muslim countries, especially in the West in the aftermath of France beheading.

The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan has penned a letter to the leaders of Muslim states. Khan is attempting to collectivise leaders against “Islamophobia” in non-Muslim countries, especially in the West in the aftermath of France beheading. On Twitter, Khan said that the “Islamophobia” had caused concern among Muslims all over the world. Also read: Pakistan PM Imran Khan condemns attack on Madrassa, vows to bring perpetrators to justice Addressing the letter to “Leaders of the Muslim States”, Imran Khan wrote “Today, we are confronting a growing concern and restlessness amongst our Ummah as they see the rising tide of Islamophobia and attacks, through ridicule and mockery on our beloved Prophet PBUH in the Western world, especially Europe”. Khan referred to the closure of mosques in Europe, and claimed that “Muslim women are being denied their right to wear clothing of their choice in the public domain”. The Pakistan PM also claimed that Muslims living in these countries face continuous discrimination. Attempting to label European countries as ignorant, Khan added that such discrimination arises from “lack of understanding of the intrinsic deep passion, love and devotion Muslims all over the world have for their Prophet”. My letter to leaders of Muslim states to act collectively to counter the growing Islamophobia in non-Muslim states esp Western states causing increasing concern amongst Muslims the world over. pic.twitter.com/OFuaKGu2c1 — Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 28, 2020 × Even though he did not directly mention the beheading of the French teacher, who had shown caricatures of Prophet Mohammad in his class, and had even urged Muslims to leave the class while he did the same in a bid to avoid hurting sentiments, Khan referred to recent events as a series of “actions and reactions”. He urged the Muslim leaders to “take the lead in breaking this cycle of hate and extremism, which nurtures violence and even death”. He also requested them to reach out to Western countries, referring to them as “the other”, in a bid to end cycles of “violence bred of ignorance and hate”. Also read: After Imran Khan, Recep Erdogan doubles down in backlash against Macron's Islam comments Saying that value systems differ for various social, religious, and ethnic groups, Khan referred to the Holocaust, while adding that he “understands” why European countries criminalise criticism of the mass persecution of Jews under Hitler. Referring to the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir as the “illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir”, Khan claimed how Muslims had been persecuted across the globe, while also giving examples of Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. President Macron's decision to defend cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad has led to protests across the world even as Turkey President Erdogan said Macron needed "mental checks." Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan accused Macron of "attacking Islam". He tweeted that the French leader "could have put healing touch & denied space to extremists rather than creating further polarisation & marginalisation that inevitably leads to radicalisation." Macron had described Islam as a religion "in crisis" worldwide and said the government would present a bill in December to strengthen a 1905 law that officially separated church and state in France.

Pak PM Imran Khan pens letter to Muslim leaders to counter 'Islamophobia' after France beheading

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan called on Facebook to ban Islamophobic content on its platform, warning of a spike in radicalisation amongst Muslims, hours after he hit out at the French president for "attacking Islam".

Khan, in an open letter posted on Twitter on Sunday, said: "growing Islamophobia" was encouraging extremism and violence worldwide, especially through social media platforms such as Facebook.

"I would ask you to place a similar ban on Islamophobia and hate against Islam for Facebook that you have put in place for the Holocaust," Khan said.

This month, Facebook said it was updating its hate speech policy to ban content that denied or distorted the Holocaust.

"One cannot send a message that while hate messages against some are unacceptable, these are acceptable against others," Khan said, adding such a stance was "reflective of prejudice and bias that will encourage further radicalisation".

In response, a Facebook spokeswoman told Reuters the company opposed all forms of hate and did not allow attacks based on race, ethnicity, national origin or religion.

"We'll remove this hate speech as soon as we become aware of it," the spokeswoman said in a statement, adding that Facebook had "more work to do".

Facebook's last transparency report for the six months to December 2019, showed that Pakistan was the source of the second-highest number of requests to curb content after Russia.

A source with direct knowledge of the issue at Facebook told Reuters that the most requests for the removal of content relating to Islam came from Pakistan, exceeding other Muslim-majority countries.

Facebook traditionally complies, as not doing so would be to break Pakistan's laws, the source said, adding that authorities would often send dozens of links at a time and demand they be taken down.

'ATTACKING ISLAM'

In his letter, Khan also referred to the situation in France, where, he said, Islam was being associated with terrorism.

Earlier on Sunday, Khan said French President Emmanuel Macron had "attacked Islam" by encouraging the display of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad.

Khan's comments came after Macron paid tribute to a French history teacher beheaded by an Islamist radical who wanted to avenge the use of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad in a class on freedom of expression.

Khan's comments follow a similar broadside against Macron by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, after which France recalled its ambassador to Turkey.

Pakistan and Turkey share strong ties, while Khan and Erdogan have developed a close relationship - particularly on the topic of Islamophobia.

Khan's letter to Facebook and comments on Macron come as he faces pressure from a newly formed coalition of opposition parties seeking to oust him.

The cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, first published in 2005 by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, have long been a sensitive topic among Muslims, stirring protests in Pakistan and elsewhere.

Tens of thousands of people protested in Pakistan last month when the cartoons were republished by the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.

Khan's government has subjected a number of social media apps to intense scrutiny and banned some for content authorities deemed obscene or immoral.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan called on Facebook to ban Islamophobic content on its platform, warning of a spike in radicalisation amongst Muslims, hours after he hit out at the French president for "attacking Islam".

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan called on Facebook to ban Islamophobic content on its platform, warning of a spike in radicalisation amongst Muslims, hours after he hit out at the French president for "attacking Islam". Khan, in an open letter posted on Twitter on Sunday, said: "growing Islamophobia" was encouraging extremism and violence worldwide, especially through social media platforms such as Facebook. "I would ask you to place a similar ban on Islamophobia and hate against Islam for Facebook that you have put in place for the Holocaust," Khan said. This month, Facebook said it was updating its hate speech policy to ban content that denied or distorted the Holocaust. "One cannot send a message that while hate messages against some are unacceptable, these are acceptable against others," Khan said, adding such a stance was "reflective of prejudice and bias that will encourage further radicalisation". In response, a Facebook spokeswoman told Reuters the company opposed all forms of hate and did not allow attacks based on race, ethnicity, national origin or religion. "We'll remove this hate speech as soon as we become aware of it," the spokeswoman said in a statement, adding that Facebook had "more work to do". Facebook's last transparency report for the six months to December 2019, showed that Pakistan was the source of the second-highest number of requests to curb content after Russia. A source with direct knowledge of the issue at Facebook told Reuters that the most requests for the removal of content relating to Islam came from Pakistan, exceeding other Muslim-majority countries. Facebook traditionally complies, as not doing so would be to break Pakistan's laws, the source said, adding that authorities would often send dozens of links at a time and demand they be taken down. 'ATTACKING ISLAM' In his letter, Khan also referred to the situation in France, where, he said, Islam was being associated with terrorism. Earlier on Sunday, Khan said French President Emmanuel Macron had "attacked Islam" by encouraging the display of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad. Khan's comments came after Macron paid tribute to a French history teacher beheaded by an Islamist radical who wanted to avenge the use of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad in a class on freedom of expression. Khan's comments follow a similar broadside against Macron by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, after which France recalled its ambassador to Turkey. Pakistan and Turkey share strong ties, while Khan and Erdogan have developed a close relationship - particularly on the topic of Islamophobia. Khan's letter to Facebook and comments on Macron come as he faces pressure from a newly formed coalition of opposition parties seeking to oust him. The cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, first published in 2005 by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, have long been a sensitive topic among Muslims, stirring protests in Pakistan and elsewhere. Tens of thousands of people protested in Pakistan last month when the cartoons were republished by the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. Khan's government has subjected a number of social media apps to intense scrutiny and banned some for content authorities deemed obscene or immoral.

Imran Khan writes to Facebook CEO seeking ban on islamophobic content 

The gunman behind New Zealand's Christchurch mosque shootings sacked his lawyers Monday and opted to represent himself, raising fears he would use a sentencing hearing next month to promote his white-supremacist views. 
 
Australian national Brenton Tarrant will be sentenced on August 24 on 51 murder convictions, 40 of attempted murder and one of terrorism arising from last year's massacre, the worst mass shooting in New Zealand's modern history. 
 
He has pleaded guilty to the charges.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="/world/christchurch-shootings-shooter-pleads-guilty-to-killing-51-people-in-mosque-attack-288599" hreflang="en">Christchurch shootings: Shooter pleads guilty to killing 51 people in mosque attack</a> 
 
At a pre-sentencing hearing on Monday, High Court judge Cameron Mander allowed Tarrant's lawyers, Shane Tait and Jonathan Hudson, to withdraw from proceedings at the request of their client. 
 
However, the judge ordered "standby counsel" to be available next month in case Tarrant -- who appeared in the Christchurch court via video link from an Auckland prison -- changes his mind. 
 
New Zealand Muslim Association president Ikhlaq Kashkari questioned Tarrant's motives, saying victims could be re-traumatised if the gunman were allowed to spout far-right rhetoric from the dock. 
 
"My first concern when I read this was 'Oh my God, what's this guy up to, is he going to use this as a platform to promote his views and thoughts?'," he told AFP. 
 
"A lot of people are still going through trauma and this was seen as one of those events that would give them closure. I hope it's not going to be something that will trigger more pain instead."

'He wants attention' 
In March 2019, Tarrant gunned down Muslim worshippers during Friday prayers at two Christchurch mosques, live-streaming the killings as he went. 
 
His victims included children, women and the elderly. 
 
The former gym instructor unexpectedly reversed his not-guilty plea in March this year, removing the need for a lengthy trial.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="/world/australia-blocks-websites-hosting-christchurch-attack-videos-248564" hreflang="en">Australia blocks websites hosting Christchurch attack videos</a> 
 
The terror and murder charges all carry life sentences, setting a minimum non-parole period of 17 years while also giving the judge power to imprison without the possibility of release. New Zealand does not have the death penalty. 
 
Survivors and the families of victims will be present during the three-day sentencing hearing and Islamic Women's Council of New Zealand spokeswoman Anjum Rahman said many would not want to hear from Tarrant. 
 
While she did not want to speculate on Tarrant's motive for representing himself, she said: "He has shown in the past that he likes to get attention and he wants attention. 
 
"I feel this is all part of that mindset."

The gunman behind New Zealand's Christchurch mosque shootings sacked his lawyers Monday and opted to represent himself, raising fears he would use a sentencing hearing next month to promote his white-supremacist views.

The gunman behind New Zealand's Christchurch mosque shootings sacked his lawyers Monday and opted to represent himself, raising fears he would use a sentencing hearing next month to promote his white-supremacist views. Australian national Brenton Tarrant will be sentenced on August 24 on 51 murder convictions, 40 of attempted murder and one of terrorism arising from last year's massacre, the worst mass shooting in New Zealand's modern history. He has pleaded guilty to the charges. Also read: Christchurch shootings: Shooter pleads guilty to killing 51 people in mosque attack At a pre-sentencing hearing on Monday, High Court judge Cameron Mander allowed Tarrant's lawyers, Shane Tait and Jonathan Hudson, to withdraw from proceedings at the request of their client. However, the judge ordered "standby counsel" to be available next month in case Tarrant -- who appeared in the Christchurch court via video link from an Auckland prison -- changes his mind. New Zealand Muslim Association president Ikhlaq Kashkari questioned Tarrant's motives, saying victims could be re-traumatised if the gunman were allowed to spout far-right rhetoric from the dock. "My first concern when I read this was 'Oh my God, what's this guy up to, is he going to use this as a platform to promote his views and thoughts?'," he told AFP. "A lot of people are still going through trauma and this was seen as one of those events that would give them closure. I hope it's not going to be something that will trigger more pain instead." 'He wants attention' In March 2019, Tarrant gunned down Muslim worshippers during Friday prayers at two Christchurch mosques, live-streaming the killings as he went. His victims included children, women and the elderly. The former gym instructor unexpectedly reversed his not-guilty plea in March this year, removing the need for a lengthy trial. Also read: Australia blocks websites hosting Christchurch attack videos The terror and murder charges all carry life sentences, setting a minimum non-parole period of 17 years while also giving the judge power to imprison without the possibility of release. New Zealand does not have the death penalty. Survivors and the families of victims will be present during the three-day sentencing hearing and Islamic Women's Council of New Zealand spokeswoman Anjum Rahman said many would not want to hear from Tarrant. While she did not want to speculate on Tarrant's motive for representing himself, she said: "He has shown in the past that he likes to get attention and he wants attention. "I feel this is all part of that mindset."

New Zealand mosque shooter to represent himself at sentencing

Maldives has thwarted Pakistan's attempt to single out India at a virtual meet of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Islamophobia highlighting the country's democratic credentials and multicultural society.

Speaking at the OIC United Nations envoys virtual meet, Maldives Permanent Representative in New York Ambassador Thilmeeza Hussain said, "Targetting a specific country will be like side stepping the real issue. In this light, let me state that singling out India, the largest democracy in the world and a multi-cultural society and home to over 200 million Muslims, alleging Islamophobia would be factually incorrect."

During the meeting Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN Munir Akram had said India is actively promoting Islamophobic.

Thilmeeza explained, "It would be detrimental to the religious harmony in the South Asian region. Islam has existed in India for centuries and it is the second-largest religion in India, with 14.2 per cent&nbsp;of the country's population. Isolated statements by motivated people and disinformation campaigns on social media should not be construed as representative of the feelings of 1.3 billion."

"Maldives cannot support any action within the OIC, that singles-out or targets India,"&nbsp;Thilmeeza added.

In the past few years, ties between India and Maldives have gone from strength to strength. New Delhi has reached out to Male during the current ongoing COVID-19 crisis while the Maldives has reaffirmed "India first" policy many times.

Maldives has thwarted Pakistan's attempt to single out India at a virtual meet of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Islamophobia highlighting the country's democratic credentials and multicultural society.

Maldives has thwarted Pakistan's attempt to single out India at a virtual meet of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Islamophobia highlighting the country's democratic credentials and multicultural society. Speaking at the OIC United Nations envoys virtual meet, Maldives Permanent Representative in New York Ambassador Thilmeeza Hussain said, "Targetting a specific country will be like side stepping the real issue. In this light, let me state that singling out India, the largest democracy in the world and a multi-cultural society and home to over 200 million Muslims, alleging Islamophobia would be factually incorrect." During the meeting Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN Munir Akram had said India is actively promoting Islamophobic. Thilmeeza explained, "It would be detrimental to the religious harmony in the South Asian region. Islam has existed in India for centuries and it is the second-largest religion in India, with 14.2 per cent of the country's population. Isolated statements by motivated people and disinformation campaigns on social media should not be construed as representative of the feelings of 1.3 billion." "Maldives cannot support any action within the OIC, that singles-out or targets India," Thilmeeza added. In the past few years, ties between India and Maldives have gone from strength to strength. New Delhi has reached out to Male during the current ongoing COVID-19 crisis while the Maldives has reaffirmed "India first" policy many times.

Maldives thwarts Pak attempts to single out India on Islamophobia at OIC

French President Emmanuel Macron defended a 16-year-old teenager who faced death threats after she criticised Islam during an Instagram live.

Defending Mila, Macron said, "We have forgotten that Mila is an adolescent," local media reported.

"We owe her protection at school, in her daily life and when she moves around. The state has assumed its responsibilities."

The president's intervention came after 16-year-old Mila criticised the Islam religion during an Instagram live which triggered a polarising debate over free speech and blasphemy in the country.

"A guy was hitting on me heavily during the live, telling me 'you're beautiful, you're hot, what age are you?" Mila recounted the events during an interview with a local television channel.

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Mila est notre invitée dans <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Quotidien?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Quotidien</a> pour sa seule et unique interview. <a href="https://t.co/cZ1VqObHrR">pic.twitter.com/cZ1VqObHrR</a>
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After speaking about her sexuality while refusing the guy, a Muslim commenter posted homophobic comments and called Mila a "dirty lesbian".

The French teenager then started ranting against Islam as she said that it is "a sh***y religion" and used lewd language to further criticise the Quran, a holy book of Islam.

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Je pense qu’elle se rend pas compte de ce qu’elle dit et de l’ampleur que ça peut prendre <a href="https://t.co/K5kruoi7FQ">pic.twitter.com/K5kruoi7FQ</a>
— مالاك🇲🇦 (@malak_288_) <a href="https://twitter.com/malak_288_/status/1218536816422334465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
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In response, some people sent her death threats, and shared her personal information online, including her school name.

The teen's outburst prompted fury but also drew support in France, where there are no laws against blasphemy.

After the criticism, Mila and her family were put under police protection. The government has also changed her school earlier this month.

However, &nbsp;Mila has apologised to those people who may have been "hurt" by her remarks but insisted she had every right to speak out.

"I never wanted to target human beings. I wanted to blaspheme. I wanted to speak about a religion and say what I think," she said.

The government has largely distanced itself from remarks by Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet who declared the death threats received by Mila were "unacceptable in a democracy" but added her remarks about Islam were "clearly an infringement on freedom of conscience".

The controversy has come just over five years after a group of French cartoonists from the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo were gunned down by jihadist gunmen after poking fun at the Prophet Mohammed.

(With inputs from agencies)

French President Emmanuel Macron defended a 16-year-old teenager who faced death threats after she criticised Islam during an Instagram live. Defending Mila, Macron said, "We have forgotten that Mila is an adolescent," local media reported.

French President Emmanuel Macron defended a 16-year-old teenager who faced death threats after she criticised Islam during an Instagram live. Defending Mila, Macron said, "We have forgotten that Mila is an adolescent," local media reported. "We owe her protection at school, in her daily life and when she moves around. The state has assumed its responsibilities." The president's intervention came after 16-year-old Mila criticised the Islam religion during an Instagram live which triggered a polarising debate over free speech and blasphemy in the country. "A guy was hitting on me heavily during the live, telling me 'you're beautiful, you're hot, what age are you?" Mila recounted the events during an interview with a local television channel. Mila est notre invitée dans #Quotidien pour sa seule et unique interview. pic.twitter.com/cZ1VqObHrR — Quotidien (@Qofficiel) February 3, 2020 × After speaking about her sexuality while refusing the guy, a Muslim commenter posted homophobic comments and called Mila a "dirty lesbian". The French teenager then started ranting against Islam as she said that it is "a sh***y religion" and used lewd language to further criticise the Quran, a holy book of Islam. Je pense qu’elle se rend pas compte de ce qu’elle dit et de l’ampleur que ça peut prendre pic.twitter.com/K5kruoi7FQ — مالاك🇲🇦 (@malak_288_) January 18, 2020 × In response, some people sent her death threats, and shared her personal information online, including her school name. The teen's outburst prompted fury but also drew support in France, where there are no laws against blasphemy. After the criticism, Mila and her family were put under police protection. The government has also changed her school earlier this month. However, Mila has apologised to those people who may have been "hurt" by her remarks but insisted she had every right to speak out. "I never wanted to target human beings. I wanted to blaspheme. I wanted to speak about a religion and say what I think," she said. The government has largely distanced itself from remarks by Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet who declared the death threats received by Mila were "unacceptable in a democracy" but added her remarks about Islam were "clearly an infringement on freedom of conscience". The controversy has come just over five years after a group of French cartoonists from the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo were gunned down by jihadist gunmen after poking fun at the Prophet Mohammed. (With inputs from agencies)

'We've forgotten that Mila is adolescent': French President defends teen threatened over anti-Islam rant

The eastern German city of Dresden has declared a "Nazi emergency" as officials warned of a rise in far-right support and violence.

The city is the birthplace of the Islamophobic Pegida movement, which holds weekly rallies here, while the anti-immigration Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) party won 28 per cent in September regional elections.&nbsp;

Dresden's city council on Wednesday backed a resolution against far-right extremism with the title "Nazinotstand?", or "Nazi emergency?".

It was brought by Max Aschenbach, a local councillor for left-leaning satirical party Die Partei, who told the DPA news agency that "this city has a Nazi problem".

The resolution said the city was "worried that anti-democratic, anti-pluralist, discriminatory and far-right positions which include violence" were on the rise in Dresden.

It called for a "strengthening of democratic culture", making a priority of "the protection of minorities, human rights and victims of extreme-right violence".

The motion also stressed the importance to fight "anti-Semitism, racism and Islamophobia".

The resolution was approved by 39 council member votes against 29.

It was backed by the left and liberal parties but rejected not only by the AfD members but also by centre-right Christian Democrats who said it should not have targeted right-wing extremism only.

"The title is clearly pointed," said Thomas Loeser, a council member for the Green party.

"But we, as the city community, clearly declare our support for those who oppose racism and anti-Semitism, and expect everybody else to do the same," he said.

The eastern German city of Dresden has declared a "Nazi emergency" as officials warned of a rise in far-right support and violence. The city is the birthplace of the Islamophobic Pegida movement, which holds weekly rallies here, while the anti-immigration Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) party won 28 per cent in September regional elections.

The eastern German city of Dresden has declared a "Nazi emergency" as officials warned of a rise in far-right support and violence. The city is the birthplace of the Islamophobic Pegida movement, which holds weekly rallies here, while the anti-immigration Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) party won 28 per cent in September regional elections. Dresden's city council on Wednesday backed a resolution against far-right extremism with the title "Nazinotstand?", or "Nazi emergency?". It was brought by Max Aschenbach, a local councillor for left-leaning satirical party Die Partei, who told the DPA news agency that "this city has a Nazi problem". The resolution said the city was "worried that anti-democratic, anti-pluralist, discriminatory and far-right positions which include violence" were on the rise in Dresden. It called for a "strengthening of democratic culture", making a priority of "the protection of minorities, human rights and victims of extreme-right violence". The motion also stressed the importance to fight "anti-Semitism, racism and Islamophobia". The resolution was approved by 39 council member votes against 29. It was backed by the left and liberal parties but rejected not only by the AfD members but also by centre-right Christian Democrats who said it should not have targeted right-wing extremism only. "The title is clearly pointed," said Thomas Loeser, a council member for the Green party. "But we, as the city community, clearly declare our support for those who oppose racism and anti-Semitism, and expect everybody else to do the same," he said.

German city declares 'Nazi emergency' as far-right violence rise

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that Pakistan, Turkey and Malaysia will jointly launch an English language channel 'dedicated to confronting the challenges posed by Islamophobia'.

In a tweet, Khan said that the decision was taken during his meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in New York.

"President Erdogan, PM Mahatir and I had a meeting today in which we decided our 3 countries would jointly start an English language channel dedicated to confronting the challenges posed by Islamophobia and setting the record straight on our great religion - Islam", Khan tweeted.

He also added that the channel would correct the misperceptions which bring people together against Muslims.

Further, Khan said, "Issue of blasphemy would be properly contextualized; series and films would be produced on Muslim history to educate/inform our own people and the world; Muslims would be given a dedicated media presence.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that Pakistan, Turkey and Malaysia will jointly launch an English language channel 'dedicated to confronting the challenges posed by Islamophobia'.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that Pakistan, Turkey and Malaysia will jointly launch an English language channel 'dedicated to confronting the challenges posed by Islamophobia'. In a tweet, Khan said that the decision was taken during his meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in New York. "President Erdogan, PM Mahatir and I had a meeting today in which we decided our 3 countries would jointly start an English language channel dedicated to confronting the challenges posed by Islamophobia and setting the record straight on our great religion - Islam", Khan tweeted. He also added that the channel would correct the misperceptions which bring people together against Muslims. Further, Khan said, "Issue of blasphemy would be properly contextualized; series and films would be produced on Muslim history to educate/inform our own people and the world; Muslims would be given a dedicated media presence.

Pakistan, Turkey, Malaysia to jointly launch English channel for confronting 'Islamophobia'

Imran Khan Blames Islamophobia For Pakistan's Isolation. Imran Khan Blames Islamophobia For Pakistan's Isolation And Promotes Tourism At The SCO Summit? Did Imran Khan 'Deliberately' Forget Pakistan's Dodgy Record On Terrorism? And Why Is Diverting The Attention From Terrorism? Is Naya Pakistan Full Of Same Old Lies?

Gravitas: Naya Pakistan, Same Old Lies

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/congress-manifesto-some-ideas-positively-dangerous-says-bjp-207472">Lok Sabha polls 2019: Congress releases manifesto, BJP says some of its ideas 'positively dangerous'</a>

The BJP said Tuesday that some of the ideas in the Congress manifesto were "positively dangerous".&nbsp;

The pushback — the Congress manifesto had been released earlier on Tuesday — was launched by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who said the ideas were "an agenda for the Balkanisation of India".&nbsp;

Jaitley was by and large referring to what the Congress manifesto has said about Kashmir.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/avoiding-temptation-rbi-likely-to-cut-key-rate-by-just-25-basis-points-207455">Reserve Bank of India likely to cut interest rate by 0.25%: Analysts</a>

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to cut its policy interest rate by 25 basis points on Thursday, despite some analysts believing the country's weakening economic growth and subdued inflation outlook warrant a larger reduction.

 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/what-exactly-does-the-congress-manifesto-promise-207487">What exactly does the Congress manifesto say?&nbsp;</a>

The Congress released its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday, and the BJP was quick to say some of the ideas in it were "positively dangerous".&nbsp;

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley went so far as to say some of the ideas in the manifesto were "an agenda for the Balkanisation of India". But what else does the 55-page long Congress manifesto called "Hum Nibhayenge" or "We Will Deliver" say?&nbsp;

&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/un-chief-antonio-guterres-warns-against-rising-anti-muslim-hatred-207514">UN chief Antonio Guterres warns against rising anti-Muslim hatred</a>

UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday against growing hatred of Muslims, less than a month after a deadly attack on mosques in New Zealand killed at least 50 people.

 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-lawmakers-to-try-to-force-pm-may-to-seek-further-brexit-delay-207516">British MPs to try to force PM May to ask for another Brexit delay</a>

A group of British lawmakers said on Tuesday they would try to pass a law which would force Prime Minister Theresa May to seek a delay to Britain's departure from the European Union and thus prevent a chaotic no-deal Brexit on April 12.

Lok Sabha polls 2019: Congress releases manifesto, BJP says some of its ideas 'positively dangerous' The BJP said Tuesday that some of the ideas in the Congress manifesto were "positively dangerous".

Lok Sabha polls 2019: Congress releases manifesto, BJP says some of its ideas 'positively dangerous' The BJP said Tuesday that some of the ideas in the Congress manifesto were "positively dangerous". The pushback — the Congress manifesto had been released earlier on Tuesday — was launched by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who said the ideas were "an agenda for the Balkanisation of India". Jaitley was by and large referring to what the Congress manifesto has said about Kashmir. Reserve Bank of India likely to cut interest rate by 0.25%: Analysts The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to cut its policy interest rate by 25 basis points on Thursday, despite some analysts believing the country's weakening economic growth and subdued inflation outlook warrant a larger reduction. What exactly does the Congress manifesto say? The Congress released its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday, and the BJP was quick to say some of the ideas in it were "positively dangerous". Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley went so far as to say some of the ideas in the manifesto were "an agenda for the Balkanisation of India". But what else does the 55-page long Congress manifesto called "Hum Nibhayenge" or "We Will Deliver" say? UN chief Antonio Guterres warns against rising anti-Muslim hatred UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday against growing hatred of Muslims, less than a month after a deadly attack on mosques in New Zealand killed at least 50 people. British MPs to try to force PM May to ask for another Brexit delay A group of British lawmakers said on Tuesday they would try to pass a law which would force Prime Minister Theresa May to seek a delay to Britain's departure from the European Union and thus prevent a chaotic no-deal Brexit on April 12.

News brief: Big stories of the day

UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday against growing hatred of Muslims, less than a month after a deadly attack on mosques in New Zealand killed at least 50 people.

His remarks came during a speech at Egypt's Al-Azhar, the Sunni Muslim world's foremost religious institution, where he met Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb.&nbsp;

"Around the world, we are seeing ever-rising anti-Muslim hatred, anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia," the UN secretary general said.&nbsp;

He cited the March 15 New Zealand mosque attacks by a white supremacist as well as a 2018 synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh that killed 11 people and is believed to be the deadliest against Jews in US history.&nbsp;

Guterres warned of a surge in hate speech he said was "entering the mainstream, spreading like wildfire through social media".&nbsp;

"We see it spreading in liberal democracies and as well as in authoritarian states."

Guterres is on a two-day trip to Egypt, Following his visit to Al-Azhar, he was scheduled to meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.&nbsp;

On Sunday, he attended an Arab League summit in Tunisia.&nbsp;

UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday against growing hatred of Muslims, less than a month after a deadly attack on mosques in New Zealand killed at least 50 people.

UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday against growing hatred of Muslims, less than a month after a deadly attack on mosques in New Zealand killed at least 50 people. His remarks came during a speech at Egypt's Al-Azhar, the Sunni Muslim world's foremost religious institution, where he met Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb. "Around the world, we are seeing ever-rising anti-Muslim hatred, anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia," the UN secretary general said. He cited the March 15 New Zealand mosque attacks by a white supremacist as well as a 2018 synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh that killed 11 people and is believed to be the deadliest against Jews in US history. Guterres warned of a surge in hate speech he said was "entering the mainstream, spreading like wildfire through social media". "We see it spreading in liberal democracies and as well as in authoritarian states." Guterres is on a two-day trip to Egypt, Following his visit to Al-Azhar, he was scheduled to meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. On Sunday, he attended an Arab League summit in Tunisia.

UN chief Antonio Guterres warns against rising anti-Muslim hatred

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's eldest, Yair, has tweeted that Facebook blocked his page for 24 hours over apparent anti-Muslim posts and called the leading social network a "dictatorship".

In a message posted Thursday on his Facebook page after deadly Palestinian attacks, Yair Netanyahu had called for "all Muslims (to) leave" Israel.

"Do you know where there are no attacks? In Iceland and in Japan where coincidentally there are no Muslims," the prime minister's son wrote.

In another post, he wrote that there were only two possible solutions for peace, either "all Jews leave (Israel) or all Muslims leave". 
"I prefer the second option," he added.

His comments came after two soldiers were shot dead on Thursday at a central West Bank bus station near a settlement.

On the same day, a baby prematurely delivered after his mother was shot and wounded in a separate attack nearby on December 9 also died.

Facebook deleted Yair Netanyahu's posts, prompting him to take to Twitter to criticise the social networking giant, calling it a "dictatorship of thought".

Critics of the prime minister have often attacked Yair as a grown man living in the premier's residence despite having no official role and benefitting from a bodyguard, a driver and other perks.

They say the parents of the 27-year-old are grooming him for future political power in an attempt to establish a ruling dynasty.&nbsp;

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's eldest, Yair, has tweeted that Facebook blocked his page for 24 hours over apparent anti-Muslim posts and called the leading social network a "dictatorship".

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's eldest, Yair, has tweeted that Facebook blocked his page for 24 hours over apparent anti-Muslim posts and called the leading social network a "dictatorship". In a message posted Thursday on his Facebook page after deadly Palestinian attacks, Yair Netanyahu had called for "all Muslims (to) leave" Israel. "Do you know where there are no attacks? In Iceland and in Japan where coincidentally there are no Muslims," the prime minister's son wrote. In another post, he wrote that there were only two possible solutions for peace, either "all Jews leave (Israel) or all Muslims leave". "I prefer the second option," he added. His comments came after two soldiers were shot dead on Thursday at a central West Bank bus station near a settlement. On the same day, a baby prematurely delivered after his mother was shot and wounded in a separate attack nearby on December 9 also died. Facebook deleted Yair Netanyahu's posts, prompting him to take to Twitter to criticise the social networking giant, calling it a "dictatorship of thought". Critics of the prime minister have often attacked Yair as a grown man living in the premier's residence despite having no official role and benefitting from a bodyguard, a driver and other perks. They say the parents of the 27-year-old are grooming him for future political power in an attempt to establish a ruling dynasty.

Facebook temporarily banned Israel PM's son Yair Netanyahu for anti-Muslim posts

Celebrity Indian chef Atul Kochhar has gotten himself embroiled in a raging controversy due to his offensive tweet on Islam.&nbsp; 
 
Kochhar has been drawing a lot of criticism over his tweet to Priyank Chopra over her controversial show Quantico. Priyanka had issued an apology last week over an episode of her show that had shown 'Indian Nationalists' as a terrorist. In reply to Chopra's apology, Kochhar wrote, "It's sad to see that you have not respected the sentiments of Hindus who have been terrorised by Islam over 2000 years. Shame on you.(Sic)"

<img alt="atul kochhar.jpg" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" height="430" src="http://images.wionews.com/iniline-images/atul%20kochhar.jpg" width="770" /> 
 
The tweet instantly drew in attention for its derogatory tone and Kochhar was called out for it. While Kochhar did issue an apology soon after, the Internet wasn't yet ready to forgive him. 
 
Now the JW Marriott, Dubai has issued a statement stating that they have decided to end their agreement with him for one of their restaurants called Rang Mahal.&nbsp; 
 
"Following the recent comments made by Chef Atul Kochhar, we have taken the decision to end our agreement with him for Rang Mahal. With the termination of our agreement, Chef Atul will no longer be associated with the restaurant," Bill Keffer, general manager of JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai, reportedly told Gulf News Tabloid in an e-mail. 
 
The tweet has been taken down by Kochhar and he issued an apology on 11th June saying, "There is no justification for my tweet, a major error made in the heat of the moment on Sunday. &nbsp;I fully recognise my inaccuracies that Islam was founded around 1,400 years ago and I sincerely apologise. &nbsp;I am not Islamophobic, I deeply regret my comments that have offended many."&nbsp;

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<a href="https://t.co/KRBFr44n0y">pic.twitter.com/KRBFr44n0y</a>
— Atul Kochhar (@atulkochhar) <a href="https://twitter.com/atulkochhar/status/1006587584179564544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
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There is no justification for my tweet, a major error made in the heat of the moment on Sunday. I fully recognise my inaccuracies that Islam was founded around 1,400 years ago and I sincerely apologise. I am not Islamophobic, I deeply regret my comments that have offended many.
— Atul Kochhar (@atulkochhar) <a href="https://twitter.com/atulkochhar/status/1006099306590474240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2018</a></blockquote>
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While his ardent supporters and followers feel that he should not be attacked since he has apologised, others feel Kochhar was compelled to issue an apology due to his association with the five-star hotel in Dubai. Many have also threatened Kochhar that they would not be visiting&nbsp;his London restaurant 'The Benaras' following his anti-Islam tweet.

The celebrity chef drew severe criticism for tweeting in reply to Priyanka Chopra's apology tweet.

Celebrity Indian chef Atul Kochhar has gotten himself embroiled in a raging controversy due to his offensive tweet on Islam. Kochhar has been drawing a lot of criticism over his tweet to Priyank Chopra over her controversial show Quantico. Priyanka had issued an apology last week over an episode of her show that had shown 'Indian Nationalists' as a terrorist. In reply to Chopra's apology, Kochhar wrote, "It's sad to see that you have not respected the sentiments of Hindus who have been terrorised by Islam over 2000 years. Shame on you.(Sic)" The tweet instantly drew in attention for its derogatory tone and Kochhar was called out for it. While Kochhar did issue an apology soon after, the Internet wasn't yet ready to forgive him. Now the JW Marriott, Dubai has issued a statement stating that they have decided to end their agreement with him for one of their restaurants called Rang Mahal. "Following the recent comments made by Chef Atul Kochhar, we have taken the decision to end our agreement with him for Rang Mahal. With the termination of our agreement, Chef Atul will no longer be associated with the restaurant," Bill Keffer, general manager of JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai, reportedly told Gulf News Tabloid in an e-mail. The tweet has been taken down by Kochhar and he issued an apology on 11th June saying, "There is no justification for my tweet, a major error made in the heat of the moment on Sunday. I fully recognise my inaccuracies that Islam was founded around 1,400 years ago and I sincerely apologise. I am not Islamophobic, I deeply regret my comments that have offended many." pic.twitter.com/KRBFr44n0y — Atul Kochhar (@atulkochhar) June 12, 2018 × There is no justification for my tweet, a major error made in the heat of the moment on Sunday. I fully recognise my inaccuracies that Islam was founded around 1,400 years ago and I sincerely apologise. I am not Islamophobic, I deeply regret my comments that have offended many. — Atul Kochhar (@atulkochhar) June 11, 2018 × While his ardent supporters and followers feel that he should not be attacked since he has apologised, others feel Kochhar was compelled to issue an apology due to his association with the five-star hotel in Dubai. Many have also threatened Kochhar that they would not be visiting his London restaurant 'The Benaras' following his anti-Islam tweet.

Celebrity chef Atul Kochhar loses job at JW Marriott Dubai after his anti-Islam tweet draws criticism

By Roberta K. Timothy*

The recent news of Tina Fontaine’s trial and the acquittal of Gerald Stanley, a white farmer accused of killing a young Indigenous man, Colten Boushie, of the Red Pheasant First Nation are examples of the Canadian legal system’s commitment to the Indian Act and colonial dominance.

This ongoing colonial dominance has a transgenerational trauma impact on the health of Indigenous and colonized peoples.

Two recent examples that indicate the kind of violence that Black people experience: A school that allowed police to shackle a Black six-year old girl’s wrists and ankles a children’s aid system that put a child refugee from Somalia into foster care yet never applied for his Canadian citizenship, so years later he received deportation orders to a country where he does not speak the language.

The impact of this colonialism and anti-Black racism on the health of Black and Indigenous peoples is elongated and insidious. We navigate systems, structures and communities that perpetuate abhorrence towards us in all aspects of our lives.

Experiencing and fighting such systems for justice for our children, ourselves and our community members has devastating effects on our health.

As a health and human rights researcher, therapist and professor who has explored the deep implications of racism, I would like to share some insights into the impacts of racism on our health.

My hope is that by doing so I create dialogue and encourage communities to continue to voice their experiences of violence and racism — in order to demand changes and ultimately create more supports.

Violence is a continuum

Health indicator statistics of Indigenous communities report increasing disparities between Indigenous and settler populations. Systemic racism affects Indigenous population’s health in various ways, this includes limited healthy food choices, inadequate living conditions and substandard health care. The infant mortality rate within Indigenous communities is almost 12 times that of settler communities.

The statistics, usually presented by state authorities, come without context or consideration to the broad range of causes — one of which is the continued exposure to state violence on a daily basis.&nbsp

We have anecdotal evidence: We see loved ones, friends, ourselves and respected community leaders struggle with the emotional and physiological impacts of racism on a daily basis. While anti-Black racism’s effect on the health of Black communities is documented, studies from the U.S. are more illustrative.

In one U.S. study, researchers studied 1,574 Baltimore residents of which 20 per cent reported that they had been racially discriminated against “a lot.” This same group had higher systolic blood pressure than those who perceived they had been discriminated against very little. Additionally, over a five-year period the group that felt they had been discriminated against “a lot” had higher declines in kidney function.

In a 1997 to 2003 study on racial discrimination and breast cancer in U.S. Black women, researchers found that perceived experiences of racism resulted in increased incidents of breast cancer, especially among young Black women. In 2011, a pivotal study on the impact of racism on health scholars linked lifetime experiences of discrimination to higher prevalence of hypertension in African Americans.

Biases in research

These are just a few examples of some studies being done on the impact of racism on health. However, most studies have been conducted in the U.S., the U.K., New Zealand and Australia. Canada does not yet collect race-based health or experiences of racism on health data through any formal mechanism. This poses a problem when scholars are asked to produce “scientific data” to prove that racism impacts health inequities and disparities. How do you provide “statistically significant evidence” on the impact of anti-Black racism when systemic issues limits your access to collecting this same data? My future research proposes to support the collection of increased health data on the impact of anti-Black racism in Canada and globally.

In Black communities no one is immune from racism — from our unborn to our school age children to our elderly. Consciously and unconsciously our health becomes obstructed.

The impact on health intensifies for those in Black communities who are women, working class, lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans (LGBT), dis(abled), refugees or newcomers. Here, the combination of oppressions creates additional stress on mental and physical health and well-being. I call this intersectional violence.

For example, the massacre of Muslims in a Québec mosque and anti-Islam policies continue to further impact the health of marginalized, often surveilled communities. Two victims of the Québec massacre were Black. This fact is hardly mentioned. This is an example of anti-Black racism within communities of colour.

Health impacts from anti-Black racism and anti-Indigeneity are often dismissed or kept silent by health scholars and health-care workers. The findings challenge the illegitimacy of systems of dominance and question the humaneness and accountability of colonial power. As such, research on the health impact of anti-Black racism is underfunded and under researched.

The “realness” of health impacts related to racism interrupts narratives of the “disadvantaged,” the “poor,” the “lazy” and the “needy.” Such stereotypes re-victimize and further aggregate health inequities. Yet understanding racism as a determinant of health is important to understanding economic and social barriers to success.

When we fail to address the real impact of racism on Black communities’ health, we not only lose our community members to often preventable disease, illness, institutionalization and ultimately death, we also lose our opportunity for redress and to energetically participate in transnational anti-oppression movements.&nbsp

Health impacts

Experiencing racism throughout our lifespan can overwhelm our health functionality. Repetitive acts of untreated trauma and violence lead to debilitating health issues.

The impact of anti-Black racism within our educational system is well documented by our lived experiences and “unexplained” drop-out rates. The effect of prolonged injustice from junior kindergarten through to post-secondary education, can lead to exacerbated health conditions.

The under-recruiting and under-hiring of African/Black and Indigenous peoples in medicine, psychology, education, health and in academia directly affects the impact of racism on these same communities.

Adversely, the over-hiring of African/Black community members as personal support workers, health aids and child care workers with little opportunity to move into positions of power in these fields directly establishes a division between the “helper” and “the helped,” resembling enslavement roles where Africans served whites while living in conditions that gravely impacted their own health.

The impact of the over-representation of our children in state care on the health of Black families due to separation and transgenerational trauma is never measured.

As our children and elders endure acts of violence during vulnerable times in their lives, without protection or support, their grief response becomes hidden or dissociated. This leads to challenges in seeking and receiving health care which increases despairing health results.

The myth that Black people do not seek mental health therapy comes from a falsified notion of “super resiliency” instead of the reality of under-funded and purposely delayed services that prevent health and wellness in our communities. This leads to many community members suffering and seeking services in silence and isolation.

The burden on Black and colonized folks’ bodies, minds, spirits, health and wellness is all-encompassing.&nbsp

Possibilities for change

Having a provincial anti-racism directorate and local Toronto anti-Black racism action plan indicates a way forward. Much activism over many years resulted in these strategies getting put into action.

The directorate’s effectiveness will be measured in its implementation, the diversity of its members and its power to eliminate health disparities and address the health impacts of racism and violence on the daily lives of Black, Indigenous and racialized peoples.

Research funding needs to be increased. Universities need to hire scholars from communities who are directly impacted by racism and whose work address these health inequities — to support communities impacted by these same injustices.

What if the Afrocentric Alternative school, the only one in Canada, was well resourced and supported as a health strategy to combat the early stigmatization and violence experienced by school-aged Black children?

What if, in the case of the killing of the late Colten Boushie, the jury was not all white?

What if we looked to Black Live Matters as a public health racial justice movement trying to prevent further health atrocities?

What if we collected health data on the impact of racism - using both informal and formal research methods - empowered, developed and implemented by Black and colonized communities to create health equity programs and strategies to address our health disparities?&nbsp

*Roberta K. Timothy is an Assistant Lecturer at Global Health, Ethics and Human Rights School of Health, York University.&nbsp

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Witnessing and hearing stories about racism can impact your health. The feelings evoked can make you ill if not processed

By Roberta K. Timothy* The recent news of Tina Fontaine’s trial and the acquittal of Gerald Stanley, a white farmer accused of killing a young Indigenous man, Colten Boushie, of the Red Pheasant First Nation are examples of the Canadian legal system’s commitment to the Indian Act and colonial dominance. This ongoing colonial dominance has a transgenerational trauma impact on the health of Indigenous and colonized peoples. Two recent examples that indicate the kind of violence that Black people experience: A school that allowed police to shackle a Black six-year old girl’s wrists and ankles a children’s aid system that put a child refugee from Somalia into foster care yet never applied for his Canadian citizenship, so years later he received deportation orders to a country where he does not speak the language. The impact of this colonialism and anti-Black racism on the health of Black and Indigenous peoples is elongated and insidious. We navigate systems, structures and communities that perpetuate abhorrence towards us in all aspects of our lives. Experiencing and fighting such systems for justice for our children, ourselves and our community members has devastating effects on our health. As a health and human rights researcher, therapist and professor who has explored the deep implications of racism, I would like to share some insights into the impacts of racism on our health. My hope is that by doing so I create dialogue and encourage communities to continue to voice their experiences of violence and racism — in order to demand changes and ultimately create more supports. Violence is a continuum Health indicator statistics of Indigenous communities report increasing disparities between Indigenous and settler populations. Systemic racism affects Indigenous population’s health in various ways, this includes limited healthy food choices, inadequate living conditions and substandard health care. The infant mortality rate within Indigenous communities is almost 12 times that of settler communities. The statistics, usually presented by state authorities, come without context or consideration to the broad range of causes — one of which is the continued exposure to state violence on a daily basis. We have anecdotal evidence: We see loved ones, friends, ourselves and respected community leaders struggle with the emotional and physiological impacts of racism on a daily basis. While anti-Black racism’s effect on the health of Black communities is documented, studies from the U.S. are more illustrative. In one U.S. study, researchers studied 1,574 Baltimore residents of which 20 per cent reported that they had been racially discriminated against “a lot.” This same group had higher systolic blood pressure than those who perceived they had been discriminated against very little. Additionally, over a five-year period the group that felt they had been discriminated against “a lot” had higher declines in kidney function. In a 1997 to 2003 study on racial discrimination and breast cancer in U.S. Black women, researchers found that perceived experiences of racism resulted in increased incidents of breast cancer, especially among young Black women. In 2011, a pivotal study on the impact of racism on health scholars linked lifetime experiences of discrimination to higher prevalence of hypertension in African Americans. Biases in research These are just a few examples of some studies being done on the impact of racism on health. However, most studies have been conducted in the U.S., the U.K., New Zealand and Australia. Canada does not yet collect race-based health or experiences of racism on health data through any formal mechanism. This poses a problem when scholars are asked to produce “scientific data” to prove that racism impacts health inequities and disparities. How do you provide “statistically significant evidence” on the impact of anti-Black racism when systemic issues limits your access to collecting this same data? My future research proposes to support the collection of increased health data on the impact of anti-Black racism in Canada and globally. In Black communities no one is immune from racism — from our unborn to our school age children to our elderly. Consciously and unconsciously our health becomes obstructed. The impact on health intensifies for those in Black communities who are women, working class, lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans (LGBT), dis(abled), refugees or newcomers. Here, the combination of oppressions creates additional stress on mental and physical health and well-being. I call this intersectional violence. For example, the massacre of Muslims in a Québec mosque and anti-Islam policies continue to further impact the health of marginalized, often surveilled communities. Two victims of the Québec massacre were Black. This fact is hardly mentioned. This is an example of anti-Black racism within communities of colour. Health impacts from anti-Black racism and anti-Indigeneity are often dismissed or kept silent by health scholars and health-care workers. The findings challenge the illegitimacy of systems of dominance and question the humaneness and accountability of colonial power. As such, research on the health impact of anti-Black racism is underfunded and under researched. The “realness” of health impacts related to racism interrupts narratives of the “disadvantaged,” the “poor,” the “lazy” and the “needy.” Such stereotypes re-victimize and further aggregate health inequities. Yet understanding racism as a determinant of health is important to understanding economic and social barriers to success. When we fail to address the real impact of racism on Black communities’ health, we not only lose our community members to often preventable disease, illness, institutionalization and ultimately death, we also lose our opportunity for redress and to energetically participate in transnational anti-oppression movements. Health impacts Experiencing racism throughout our lifespan can overwhelm our health functionality. Repetitive acts of untreated trauma and violence lead to debilitating health issues. The impact of anti-Black racism within our educational system is well documented by our lived experiences and “unexplained” drop-out rates. The effect of prolonged injustice from junior kindergarten through to post-secondary education, can lead to exacerbated health conditions. The under-recruiting and under-hiring of African/Black and Indigenous peoples in medicine, psychology, education, health and in academia directly affects the impact of racism on these same communities. Adversely, the over-hiring of African/Black community members as personal support workers, health aids and child care workers with little opportunity to move into positions of power in these fields directly establishes a division between the “helper” and “the helped,” resembling enslavement roles where Africans served whites while living in conditions that gravely impacted their own health. The impact of the over-representation of our children in state care on the health of Black families due to separation and transgenerational trauma is never measured. As our children and elders endure acts of violence during vulnerable times in their lives, without protection or support, their grief response becomes hidden or dissociated. This leads to challenges in seeking and receiving health care which increases despairing health results. The myth that Black people do not seek mental health therapy comes from a falsified notion of “super resiliency” instead of the reality of under-funded and purposely delayed services that prevent health and wellness in our communities. This leads to many community members suffering and seeking services in silence and isolation. The burden on Black and colonized folks’ bodies, minds, spirits, health and wellness is all-encompassing. Possibilities for change Having a provincial anti-racism directorate and local Toronto anti-Black racism action plan indicates a way forward. Much activism over many years resulted in these strategies getting put into action. The directorate’s effectiveness will be measured in its implementation, the diversity of its members and its power to eliminate health disparities and address the health impacts of racism and violence on the daily lives of Black, Indigenous and racialized peoples. Research funding needs to be increased. Universities need to hire scholars from communities who are directly impacted by racism and whose work address these health inequities — to support communities impacted by these same injustices. What if the Afrocentric Alternative school, the only one in Canada, was well resourced and supported as a health strategy to combat the early stigmatization and violence experienced by school-aged Black children? What if, in the case of the killing of the late Colten Boushie, the jury was not all white? What if we looked to Black Live Matters as a public health racial justice movement trying to prevent further health atrocities? What if we collected health data on the impact of racism - using both informal and formal research methods - empowered, developed and implemented by Black and colonized communities to create health equity programs and strategies to address our health disparities? *Roberta K. Timothy is an Assistant Lecturer at Global Health, Ethics and Human Rights School of Health, York University. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Racism impacts your health

By Roberta K. Timothy*

The recent news of Tina Fontaine&rsquo;s trial and the acquittal of Gerald Stanley, a white farmer accused of killing a young Indigenous man, Colten Boushie, of the Red Pheasant First Nation are examples of the Canadian legal system&rsquo;s commitment to the Indian Act and colonial dominance.

This ongoing colonial dominance has a transgenerational trauma impact on the health of Indigenous and colonized peoples.

Two recent examples that indicate the kind of violence that Black people experience: A school that allowed police to shackle a Black six-year old girl&rsquo;s wrists and ankles; a children&rsquo;s aid system that put a child refugee from Somalia into foster care yet never applied for his Canadian citizenship, so years later he received deportation orders to a country where he does not speak the language.

The impact of this colonialism and anti-Black racism on the health of Black and Indigenous peoples is elongated and insidious. We navigate systems, structures and communities that perpetuate abhorrence towards us in all aspects of our lives.

Experiencing and fighting such systems for justice for our children, ourselves and our community members has devastating effects on our health.

As a health and human rights researcher, therapist and professor who has explored the deep implications of racism, I would like to share some insights into the impacts of racism on our health.

My hope is that by doing so I create dialogue and encourage communities to continue to voice their experiences of violence and racism &mdash; in order to demand changes and ultimately create more supports.

Violence is a continuum

Health indicator statistics of Indigenous communities report increasing disparities between Indigenous and settler populations. Systemic racism affects Indigenous population&rsquo;s health in various ways, this includes limited healthy food choices, inadequate living conditions and substandard health care. The infant mortality rate within Indigenous communities is almost 12 times that of settler communities.

The statistics, usually presented by state authorities, come without context or consideration to the broad range of causes &mdash; one of which is the continued exposure to state violence on a daily basis.&nbsp;

We have anecdotal evidence: We see loved ones, friends, ourselves and respected community leaders struggle with the emotional and physiological impacts of racism on a daily basis. While anti-Black racism&rsquo;s effect on the health of Black communities is documented, studies from the U.S. are more illustrative.

In one U.S. study, researchers studied 1,574 Baltimore residents of which 20 per cent reported that they had been racially discriminated against &ldquo;a lot.&rdquo; This same group had higher systolic blood pressure than those who perceived they had been discriminated against very little. Additionally, over a five-year period the group that felt they had been discriminated against &ldquo;a lot&rdquo; had higher declines in kidney function.

In a 1997 to 2003 study on racial discrimination and breast cancer in U.S. Black women, researchers found that perceived experiences of racism resulted in increased incidents of breast cancer, especially among young Black women. In 2011, a pivotal study on the impact of racism on health scholars linked lifetime experiences of discrimination to higher prevalence of hypertension in African Americans.

Biases in research

These are just a few examples of some studies being done on the impact of racism on health. However, most studies have been conducted in the U.S., the U.K., New Zealand and Australia. Canada does not yet collect race-based health or experiences of racism on health data through any formal mechanism. This poses a problem when scholars are asked to produce &ldquo;scientific data&rdquo; to prove that racism impacts health inequities and disparities. How do you provide &ldquo;statistically significant evidence&rdquo; on the impact of anti-Black racism when systemic issues limits your access to collecting this same data? My future research proposes to support the collection of increased health data on the impact of anti-Black racism in Canada and globally.

In Black communities no one is immune from racism &mdash; from our unborn to our school age children to our elderly. Consciously and unconsciously our health becomes obstructed.

The impact on health intensifies for those in Black communities who are women, working class, lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans (LGBT), dis(abled), refugees or newcomers. Here, the combination of oppressions creates additional stress on mental and physical health and well-being. I call this intersectional violence.

For example, the massacre of Muslims in a Qu&eacute;bec mosque and anti-Islam policies continue to further impact the health of marginalized, often surveilled communities. Two victims of the Qu&eacute;bec massacre were Black. This fact is hardly mentioned. This is an example of anti-Black racism within communities of colour.

Health impacts from anti-Black racism and anti-Indigeneity are often dismissed or kept silent by health scholars and health-care workers. The findings challenge the illegitimacy of systems of dominance and question the humaneness and accountability of colonial power. As such, research on the health impact of anti-Black racism is underfunded and under researched.

The &ldquo;realness&rdquo; of health impacts related to racism interrupts narratives of the &ldquo;disadvantaged,&rdquo; the &ldquo;poor,&rdquo; the &ldquo;lazy&rdquo; and the &ldquo;needy.&rdquo; Such stereotypes re-victimize and further aggregate health inequities. Yet understanding racism as a determinant of health is important to understanding economic and social barriers to success.

When we fail to address the real impact of racism on Black communities&rsquo; health, we not only lose our community members to often preventable disease, illness, institutionalization and ultimately death, we also lose our opportunity for redress and to energetically participate in transnational anti-oppression movements.&nbsp;

Health impacts

Experiencing racism throughout our lifespan can overwhelm our health functionality. Repetitive acts of untreated trauma and violence lead to debilitating health issues.

The impact of anti-Black racism within our educational system is well documented by our lived experiences and &ldquo;unexplained&rdquo; drop-out rates. The effect of prolonged injustice from junior kindergarten through to post-secondary education, can lead to exacerbated health conditions.

The under-recruiting and under-hiring of African/Black and Indigenous peoples in medicine, psychology, education, health and in academia directly affects the impact of racism on these same communities.

Adversely, the over-hiring of African/Black community members as personal support workers, health aids and child care workers with little opportunity to move into positions of power in these fields directly establishes a division between the &ldquo;helper&rdquo; and &ldquo;the helped,&rdquo; resembling enslavement roles where Africans served whites while living in conditions that gravely impacted their own health.

The impact of the over-representation of our children in state care on the health of Black families due to separation and transgenerational trauma is never measured.

As our children and elders endure acts of violence during vulnerable times in their lives, without protection or support, their grief response becomes hidden or dissociated. This leads to challenges in seeking and receiving health care which increases despairing health results.

The myth that Black people do not seek mental health therapy comes from a falsified notion of &ldquo;super resiliency&rdquo; instead of the reality of under-funded and purposely delayed services that prevent health and wellness in our communities. This leads to many community members suffering and seeking services in silence and isolation.

The burden on Black and colonized folks&rsquo; bodies, minds, spirits, health and wellness is all-encompassing.&nbsp;

Possibilities for change

Having a provincial anti-racism directorate and local Toronto anti-Black racism action plan indicates a way forward. Much activism over many years resulted in these strategies getting put into action.

The directorate&rsquo;s effectiveness will be measured in its implementation, the diversity of its members and its power to eliminate health disparities and address the health impacts of racism and violence on the daily lives of Black, Indigenous and racialized peoples.

Research funding needs to be increased. Universities need to hire scholars from communities who are directly impacted by racism and whose work address these health inequities &mdash; to support communities impacted by these same injustices.

What if the Afrocentric Alternative school, the only one in Canada, was well resourced and supported as a health strategy to combat the early stigmatization and violence experienced by school-aged Black children?

What if, in the case of the killing of the late Colten Boushie, the jury was not all white?

What if we looked to Black Live Matters as a public health racial justice movement trying to prevent further health atrocities?

What if we collected health data on the impact of racism - using both informal and formal research methods - empowered, developed and implemented by Black and colonized communities to create health equity programs and strategies to address our health disparities?&nbsp;

*Roberta K. Timothy is an Assistant Lecturer at Global Health, Ethics and Human Rights School of Health, York University.&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Witnessing and hearing stories about racism can impact your health. The feelings evoked can make you ill if not processed.

By Roberta K. Timothy* The recent news of Tina Fontaine’s trial and the acquittal of Gerald Stanley, a white farmer accused of killing a young Indigenous man, Colten Boushie, of the Red Pheasant First Nation are examples of the Canadian legal system’s commitment to the Indian Act and colonial dominance. This ongoing colonial dominance has a transgenerational trauma impact on the health of Indigenous and colonized peoples. Two recent examples that indicate the kind of violence that Black people experience: A school that allowed police to shackle a Black six-year old girl’s wrists and ankles; a children’s aid system that put a child refugee from Somalia into foster care yet never applied for his Canadian citizenship, so years later he received deportation orders to a country where he does not speak the language. The impact of this colonialism and anti-Black racism on the health of Black and Indigenous peoples is elongated and insidious. We navigate systems, structures and communities that perpetuate abhorrence towards us in all aspects of our lives. Experiencing and fighting such systems for justice for our children, ourselves and our community members has devastating effects on our health. As a health and human rights researcher, therapist and professor who has explored the deep implications of racism, I would like to share some insights into the impacts of racism on our health. My hope is that by doing so I create dialogue and encourage communities to continue to voice their experiences of violence and racism — in order to demand changes and ultimately create more supports. Violence is a continuum Health indicator statistics of Indigenous communities report increasing disparities between Indigenous and settler populations. Systemic racism affects Indigenous population’s health in various ways, this includes limited healthy food choices, inadequate living conditions and substandard health care. The infant mortality rate within Indigenous communities is almost 12 times that of settler communities. The statistics, usually presented by state authorities, come without context or consideration to the broad range of causes — one of which is the continued exposure to state violence on a daily basis. We have anecdotal evidence: We see loved ones, friends, ourselves and respected community leaders struggle with the emotional and physiological impacts of racism on a daily basis. While anti-Black racism’s effect on the health of Black communities is documented, studies from the U.S. are more illustrative. In one U.S. study, researchers studied 1,574 Baltimore residents of which 20 per cent reported that they had been racially discriminated against “a lot.” This same group had higher systolic blood pressure than those who perceived they had been discriminated against very little. Additionally, over a five-year period the group that felt they had been discriminated against “a lot” had higher declines in kidney function. In a 1997 to 2003 study on racial discrimination and breast cancer in U.S. Black women, researchers found that perceived experiences of racism resulted in increased incidents of breast cancer, especially among young Black women. In 2011, a pivotal study on the impact of racism on health scholars linked lifetime experiences of discrimination to higher prevalence of hypertension in African Americans. Biases in research These are just a few examples of some studies being done on the impact of racism on health. However, most studies have been conducted in the U.S., the U.K., New Zealand and Australia. Canada does not yet collect race-based health or experiences of racism on health data through any formal mechanism. This poses a problem when scholars are asked to produce “scientific data” to prove that racism impacts health inequities and disparities. How do you provide “statistically significant evidence” on the impact of anti-Black racism when systemic issues limits your access to collecting this same data? My future research proposes to support the collection of increased health data on the impact of anti-Black racism in Canada and globally. In Black communities no one is immune from racism — from our unborn to our school age children to our elderly. Consciously and unconsciously our health becomes obstructed. The impact on health intensifies for those in Black communities who are women, working class, lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans (LGBT), dis(abled), refugees or newcomers. Here, the combination of oppressions creates additional stress on mental and physical health and well-being. I call this intersectional violence. For example, the massacre of Muslims in a Québec mosque and anti-Islam policies continue to further impact the health of marginalized, often surveilled communities. Two victims of the Québec massacre were Black. This fact is hardly mentioned. This is an example of anti-Black racism within communities of colour. Health impacts from anti-Black racism and anti-Indigeneity are often dismissed or kept silent by health scholars and health-care workers. The findings challenge the illegitimacy of systems of dominance and question the humaneness and accountability of colonial power. As such, research on the health impact of anti-Black racism is underfunded and under researched. The “realness” of health impacts related to racism interrupts narratives of the “disadvantaged,” the “poor,” the “lazy” and the “needy.” Such stereotypes re-victimize and further aggregate health inequities. Yet understanding racism as a determinant of health is important to understanding economic and social barriers to success. When we fail to address the real impact of racism on Black communities’ health, we not only lose our community members to often preventable disease, illness, institutionalization and ultimately death, we also lose our opportunity for redress and to energetically participate in transnational anti-oppression movements. Health impacts Experiencing racism throughout our lifespan can overwhelm our health functionality. Repetitive acts of untreated trauma and violence lead to debilitating health issues. The impact of anti-Black racism within our educational system is well documented by our lived experiences and “unexplained” drop-out rates. The effect of prolonged injustice from junior kindergarten through to post-secondary education, can lead to exacerbated health conditions. The under-recruiting and under-hiring of African/Black and Indigenous peoples in medicine, psychology, education, health and in academia directly affects the impact of racism on these same communities. Adversely, the over-hiring of African/Black community members as personal support workers, health aids and child care workers with little opportunity to move into positions of power in these fields directly establishes a division between the “helper” and “the helped,” resembling enslavement roles where Africans served whites while living in conditions that gravely impacted their own health. The impact of the over-representation of our children in state care on the health of Black families due to separation and transgenerational trauma is never measured. As our children and elders endure acts of violence during vulnerable times in their lives, without protection or support, their grief response becomes hidden or dissociated. This leads to challenges in seeking and receiving health care which increases despairing health results. The myth that Black people do not seek mental health therapy comes from a falsified notion of “super resiliency” instead of the reality of under-funded and purposely delayed services that prevent health and wellness in our communities. This leads to many community members suffering and seeking services in silence and isolation. The burden on Black and colonized folks’ bodies, minds, spirits, health and wellness is all-encompassing. Possibilities for change Having a provincial anti-racism directorate and local Toronto anti-Black racism action plan indicates a way forward. Much activism over many years resulted in these strategies getting put into action. The directorate’s effectiveness will be measured in its implementation, the diversity of its members and its power to eliminate health disparities and address the health impacts of racism and violence on the daily lives of Black, Indigenous and racialized peoples. Research funding needs to be increased. Universities need to hire scholars from communities who are directly impacted by racism and whose work address these health inequities — to support communities impacted by these same injustices. What if the Afrocentric Alternative school, the only one in Canada, was well resourced and supported as a health strategy to combat the early stigmatization and violence experienced by school-aged Black children? What if, in the case of the killing of the late Colten Boushie, the jury was not all white? What if we looked to Black Live Matters as a public health racial justice movement trying to prevent further health atrocities? What if we collected health data on the impact of racism - using both informal and formal research methods - empowered, developed and implemented by Black and colonized communities to create health equity programs and strategies to address our health disparities? *Roberta K. Timothy is an Assistant Lecturer at Global Health, Ethics and Human Rights School of Health, York University. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

New York is an intrepid city. One can&#39;t but fall in love with it. I for that matter was in complete awe. Having lived and worked there for years, I would marvel at the city&#39;s capacity to absorb the most myriad group of ethnic communities across the world. The heinous 9/11 attack did leave its scar on the city but failed to daunt its spirit. While rest of the US has become suspicious of foreigners in different degrees, NYC continues to live up to the unmatched standard of its own cosmopolitanism. An unusual mix of people, culture and religion.

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New York is an international symbol of freedom and democracy, and we will not be deterred. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NYCstrong?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NYCstrong</a> <a href="https://t.co/2antds3185">pic.twitter.com/2antds3185</a>
&mdash; Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYGovCuomo/status/925520087670493184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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New York&#39;s resilience is stronger than a cowardly act of terror. Thinking of the victims, their families, &amp; the responders who saved lives.
&mdash; Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) <a href="https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/925515496576962562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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No person, no group, no community own NYC. The city belongs to all New Yorkers. And who is a New Yorker? Anyone who lives there, works in the city, share the city&#39;s spirit. You don&#39;t have to be particularly white, a Jew or an American citizen to be a New Yorker. The city will embrace you. Slowly, with time, as you gain your foothold in that behemoth metropolis, if you start feeling comfortable with its peculiar ebb and flow of life, the city will suck you in. The people make New York City what it is. Not the buildings, shops, the cars or the affluence.

&quot;New York is very much like the movies&quot;, the Algerian-French couple pointed out to me as the sun set over the white desert, close to Jordan&#39;s border with Saudi Arabia. I agreed in politeness. But the city, in reality, is stranger than celluloid fiction.

In the real world, Italy may have very little to do with China; there could possibly be no overlaps between the languages, cultures, food types of the two countries but just across Mulberry Street, Little Italy and China Town co-exist. How do the residents of two blocs communicate? I have no idea. Do they fight each other? No.

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<h5>Life in the City is a rich tapestry of diverse colours, designs and motifs. And that is what makes it unique. You cannot essentialise it, reduce it, box it, or simplify it.</h5>
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This coexistence evident all over the city is not a doing of NYPD alone. Over years, the city has learned to live an eclectic life, slowing growing out of its more violent past. It respects stability but is not hankering for homogeneity. While one can decide to stick to one&#39;s culture and language, religion and dress, there is always the possibility of getting enriched by others who are very different. Different but no less.

Life in the City is a rich tapestry of diverse colours, designs and motifs. And that is what makes it unique. You cannot essentialise it, reduce it, box it, or simplify it. The City is a bundle of contradictions.

Yesterday&#39;s terrorist attack was a brutal blow to this richness of life, mauling to the ground the values the City stands for. Not only have we lost eight precious lives; we have jeopardised a spirit which is hard to find nowadays because there is so much hate, jingoism, and intolerance.

Let us for a moment not get into the number game by saying, oh, only eight died. I agree many more die in the war zones of West Asia every day. But we cannot for sake of humanity compare lives with lives. Every life lost is a loss. Let us condemn it.

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<h5>How is killing these people, most of whom are tourists and immigrants, help to maul the military might of the US?</h5>
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Also watch:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/videos/school-bus-with-children-inside-hit-in-new-york-attack-6467">School bus with children inside hit in New York attack</a>

The mindless terror that motivated the assassin appals me. No for god&#39;s sake don&#39;t try to convince me of the ideological underpinning of the act. It had none. It was not even prompted by an empathy for a cause. The terrorist decided to strike at the hub of New York&#39;s tourist destination. It is very much a civilian space too. It is a stone throw away from Wall Trade Center, Wall Street, Anne Frank Museum. Millions of commuter included me, travelled through that locality every day. How is killing these people, most of whom are tourists and immigrants, help to maul the military might of the US?

In his mindless rage, what the assassin might have missed is that such actions make the US an even more paranoid country. The current president is already hellbent to stop immigration with his exclusionary ideology that has little regard for the New York spirit. This attack will give Donald Trump one more and a very big excuse to close the doors and come down hard on other countries whose citizens he is keen on relegating to lives of eternal damnation. It is already evident from Twitter posts how hate is flowing fast and thick

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Stop letting these animals in the country!
&mdash; Jose Guitian Cicero (@omgitzjose) <a href="https://twitter.com/omgitzjose/status/925589998312751104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Start deportations, entire families. Investigate all their neighbors. 
Ppl start paying attention who TFK lives next door! +Fk protesters!!!
&mdash; ?NdRE (@cruztomahawk) <a href="https://twitter.com/cruztomahawk/status/925597499502616577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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There will be no freedom when those terrorists will kill us all??
&mdash; Bina Arington (@Baring5225) <a href="https://twitter.com/Baring5225/status/925592483777593344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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My only plea today is if you wish to fight hegemony, violence, hatred, then think carefully and resist strategically. Killing innocent lives does not help whatever cause you are fighting for, it does not defeat your mighty opponent and, the worst is, you only help to bolster jingoistic responses. More importantly, you end up killing a spirit which you may actually want to champion, at least for the sake of a more tolerant world.

This attack will give Donald Trump one more and a very big excuse to close the doors and come down hard on other countries whose citizens he is keen on relegating to lives of eternal damnation.

New York is an intrepid city. One can't but fall in love with it. I for that matter was in complete awe. Having lived and worked there for years, I would marvel at the city's capacity to absorb the most myriad group of ethnic communities across the world. The heinous 9/11 attack did leave its scar on the city but failed to daunt its spirit. While rest of the US has become suspicious of foreigners in different degrees, NYC continues to live up to the unmatched standard of its own cosmopolitanism. An unusual mix of people, culture and religion. New York is an international symbol of freedom and democracy, and we will not be deterred. #NYCstrong pic.twitter.com/2antds3185 — Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) November 1, 2017 × New York's resilience is stronger than a cowardly act of terror. Thinking of the victims, their families, & the responders who saved lives. — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) November 1, 2017 × No person, no group, no community own NYC. The city belongs to all New Yorkers. And who is a New Yorker? Anyone who lives there, works in the city, share the city's spirit. You don't have to be particularly white, a Jew or an American citizen to be a New Yorker. The city will embrace you. Slowly, with time, as you gain your foothold in that behemoth metropolis, if you start feeling comfortable with its peculiar ebb and flow of life, the city will suck you in. The people make New York City what it is. Not the buildings, shops, the cars or the affluence. "New York is very much like the movies", the Algerian-French couple pointed out to me as the sun set over the white desert, close to Jordan's border with Saudi Arabia. I agreed in politeness. But the city, in reality, is stranger than celluloid fiction. In the real world, Italy may have very little to do with China; there could possibly be no overlaps between the languages, cultures, food types of the two countries but just across Mulberry Street, Little Italy and China Town co-exist. How do the residents of two blocs communicate? I have no idea. Do they fight each other? No. Life in the City is a rich tapestry of diverse colours, designs and motifs. And that is what makes it unique. You cannot essentialise it, reduce it, box it, or simplify it. × This coexistence evident all over the city is not a doing of NYPD alone. Over years, the city has learned to live an eclectic life, slowing growing out of its more violent past. It respects stability but is not hankering for homogeneity. While one can decide to stick to one's culture and language, religion and dress, there is always the possibility of getting enriched by others who are very different. Different but no less. Life in the City is a rich tapestry of diverse colours, designs and motifs. And that is what makes it unique. You cannot essentialise it, reduce it, box it, or simplify it. The City is a bundle of contradictions. Yesterday's terrorist attack was a brutal blow to this richness of life, mauling to the ground the values the City stands for. Not only have we lost eight precious lives; we have jeopardised a spirit which is hard to find nowadays because there is so much hate, jingoism, and intolerance. Let us for a moment not get into the number game by saying, oh, only eight died. I agree many more die in the war zones of West Asia every day. But we cannot for sake of humanity compare lives with lives. Every life lost is a loss. Let us condemn it. How is killing these people, most of whom are tourists and immigrants, help to maul the military might of the US? × Also watch: School bus with children inside hit in New York attack The mindless terror that motivated the assassin appals me. No for god's sake don't try to convince me of the ideological underpinning of the act. It had none. It was not even prompted by an empathy for a cause. The terrorist decided to strike at the hub of New York's tourist destination. It is very much a civilian space too. It is a stone throw away from Wall Trade Center, Wall Street, Anne Frank Museum. Millions of commuter included me, travelled through that locality every day. How is killing these people, most of whom are tourists and immigrants, help to maul the military might of the US? In his mindless rage, what the assassin might have missed is that such actions make the US an even more paranoid country. The current president is already hellbent to stop immigration with his exclusionary ideology that has little regard for the New York spirit. This attack will give Donald Trump one more and a very big excuse to close the doors and come down hard on other countries whose citizens he is keen on relegating to lives of eternal damnation. It is already evident from Twitter posts how hate is flowing fast and thick Stop letting these animals in the country! — Jose Guitian Cicero (@omgitzjose) November 1, 2017 × Start deportations, entire families. Investigate all their neighbors. Ppl start paying attention who TFK lives next door! +Fk protesters!!! — ?NdRE (@cruztomahawk) November 1, 2017 × There will be no freedom when those terrorists will kill us all?? — Bina Arington (@Baring5225) November 1, 2017 × My only plea today is if you wish to fight hegemony, violence, hatred, then think carefully and resist strategically. Killing innocent lives does not help whatever cause you are fighting for, it does not defeat your mighty opponent and, the worst is, you only help to bolster jingoistic responses. More importantly, you end up killing a spirit which you may actually want to champion, at least for the sake of a more tolerant world.

Terror attacks on NYC will bolster jingoism in the US

Within the space of a few moments, Jagmeet Singh became one of Canada&rsquo;s most admired politicians. His cool-under-pressure reaction to being confronted by an angry heckler is just one of the reasons Singh is considered to be the favourite contender for leadership of the federal New Democratic Party.

A video of the Sept. 6 incident at Singh&rsquo;s campaign event in Brampton, Ont., went viral and has been viewed millions of times in Canada and around the world. Moments into the event, an angry white woman interrupted Singh and shouted Islamophobic and vitriolic statements at him, and physically gesticulated, demonstrating her feeling of entitlement &mdash; to space, voice and position - in relation to others at the event.

Singh seemed undeterred by the outburst. His response to her rant was <a href="https://youtu.be/j2onmR-oBIY" nofollow="" rel="">to rally his audience to help him relay his campaign message</a>. He asked his guests to chant: &ldquo;Love and courage.&rdquo;

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="445" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j2onmR-oBIY" width="754"></iframe>

What is the nature of Singh&rsquo;s call for love? His political slogan is based on a message of universal love and courage. Singh&rsquo;s message &mdash; and chant that evening &mdash; is uniquely situated among the slogans of the <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2017/09/16/the-four-candidates-who-would-lead-the-ndp.html" nofollow="" rel="">three other candidates</a>: <a href="http://www.charlieangusndp.ca/" nofollow="" rel="">Charlie Angus</a> &ldquo;Got your back,&rdquo; <a href="http://www.nikiashton2017.ca/" nofollow="" rel="">Niki Ashton</a> &ldquo;Building a movement, together,&rdquo; and <a href="http://en.guycaron.ca/" nofollow="" rel="">Guy Caron,</a> &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s Build a Progressive and Sustainable Economy.&rdquo;

The dramatic events at the Sept. 6 meeting demonstrate something about Singh, as a person and as a candidate. It also points to new undercurrents of religion and spirituality and its role &mdash; not only in Canadian politics&nbsp;but also in the leadership race for the NDP.

Singh&rsquo;s campaign and potential leadership arrive in a <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-trump-emboldening-right-wing-extremism-in-canada-82635" nofollow="" rel="">climate of increasing hatred</a>, fear and division. His call for universal love is coherent with Sikhism, which challenges the division between daily life and a devotional love that guides all thought and action. How does the language of love and courage relate to a New Democratic Party trying to find its way in a shifting political landscape?

Singh&rsquo;s outward appearance solicits questions from some Canadians &mdash; as in the case of the heckler &mdash; regarding his secular position: To what degree does Singh&rsquo;s religion relate to his policy ideas or conduct?

Canada: Judeo-Christian values?

Canadian political institutions and traditions are imbued with Judeo-Christian values and symbols. Yet the separation of church and state maintains religion does not dictate the making of policy and law. However, in the game of politics, courting ethno-racial, national and religious identified voters has become a central art of party campaign strategists.

Political parties of all persuasions have had to navigate this division in a variety of ways. In Canada, the left social democratic tradition, represented now by the NDP, has had less experience with faith-based movements and the religious identity of its leaders than their right-wing counterparts and left-leaning parties elsewhere in the world. Singh&rsquo;s leadership challenge will likely change that.

While Singh is positioned as a secular politician, his ethos, sense of justice and formation of his identity is connected to a Sikh practice. The very essence of the message of universal love and courage is embedded in a Sikh devotion, rather than a secular idea of loving all humankind. Practising Sikhism defines a way of life &mdash; one that is contemplative, meditative and committed to spiritualism and positive actions.

The Clash of Civilizations

To understand the contemporary role of religion in politics, we need to look at one of our turning points: 9/11. The attacks on New York City and the Pentagon served as a marker of the time foreign and domestic policy in <a href="https://theconversation.com/9-11-anniversary-understanding-extremist-motives-could-stop-further-violence-83773" nofollow="" rel="">North America was called upon to name Islamic terrorism as a universal enemy</a>.

Once North America and other western governments embraced <a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/1993-06-01/clash-civilizations" nofollow="" rel="">the rhetoric of a civilization divide</a>, the psyche of liberal democratic nations split apart. The already tenuous divide between the religious and secular began to rupture further.

This reinforced a binary division and <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/clash-ignorance/" nofollow="" rel="">emboldened a powerful discourse of racism and Islamophobia</a>. The basic premise is that Islam represents something universally distinct from Christian belief systems.

This <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/books/review/14yoshino.html" nofollow="" rel="">discourse of racism and difference</a> has gained strength and societal control through the election of conservative governments with moral platforms that build on fears and anxieties of susceptible citizens.

Sixteen years of corrosive discourses since 9/11 has led to: Us vs. Them, the Clash of Civilizations and racism. We are now at the point of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/quiet-canadian-ugly-american-does-racism-differ-north-of-the-border-81388" nofollow="" rel="">normalization of white supremacy</a> .&nbsp;It is no longer an oddity or a left-wing conspiracy theory to discuss the presence of fascism and neo-Nazis &mdash; these are events widely circulated in our social media feeds and featured during the evening new .

Religious discrimination in Canada

Islamophobia and racism are often understood to be twinned structures of oppression. In many ways they are, but there are complex differences between them. They disseminate and exist in different political, cultural and social taxonomies.

<a href="http://www.mediaed.org/transcripts/Edward-Said-The-Myth-of-Clash-Civilizations-Transcript.pdf" nofollow="" rel="">Islamophobia operates through systems of stereotypes</a>, often misunderstanding or misrepresenting the traditions, religious practices and customs of highly diverse ethno-national and racial communities. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/10/is-islamophobia-real-maher-harris-aslan/381411/" nofollow="" rel="">Islamophobia</a> has been manufactured in multiple ways in society through popular culture, media, policy and criminalizing targeting Islam and Muslims.

Racism is a larger systemic operation of power denigrating one race while validating or elevating another.

When the Harper Conservatives were in government, they attempted to map onto Canadian national values a form of social conservatism. This was articulated through a distinction between Canada and the &ldquo;<a href="https://theconversation.com/media-portrays-indigenous-and-muslim-youth-as-savages-and-barbarians-79153" nofollow="" rel="">barbaric cultural practices&rdquo; of others</a>.

The clear lines that were being drawn between what <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2675751009/" nofollow="" rel="">Harper referred to as &ldquo;old stock Canadians&rdquo;</a> during a 2015 federal leaders&rsquo; debate brought into discourse front and center the relationship between white supremacy and Islamophobia. It connected the dots between a normative white Christian Canadian identity that could stand against the racialized others.

Now the Conservative Party has a leader who proudly accepts the label: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AndrewScheerMP/videos/1532870230080057/" nofollow="" rel="">&ldquo;Harper with a Smile.&rdquo;</a>&ldquo; Andrew Scheer has the support of social conservatives in the Conservative Party. He has steadfastly <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/scheer-five-things-policies-1.4137120" nofollow="" rel="">supported free speech over the condemnation of Islamophobia</a> and was absent during the House of Commons vote for the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/03/23/m-103-anti-islamophobia-motion-house-passes_n_15567120.html" nofollow="" rel="">Anti-Islamophobia Motion M-103</a>, overwhelmingly passed in the House of Commons.

When losing your cool is not an option

Singh said his ability to remain cool under pressure was largely owed to his experience of being a brown, Sikh and turbaned man, growing up in the 1980s in Brampton, Ont., just northwest of Toronto.

His past experiences of religious and racist intolerance helped to fortify him against racist language and assault.

In the moment in which the racist woman yelled at him, she assumed he was a Muslim. Many wondered why Singh did not attempt to correct her misconceived perception; he is not a Muslim, but rather, a Sikh.

Suggesting such a distinction in the moment, he said, would only further the misunderstanding that somehow being Muslim means such treatment is considered justifiable. His reaction, he said, should not be to proclaim his religion. By not correcting this misconception, Singh was acting in solidarity against Islamophobia.

Sikhs have been affected throughout the post-9/11 discourses of Islamophobia, mainly because of this misunderstood identity. In the U.S., and elsewhere, there has been a <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/columnists/sikhs-have-been-living-in-fear-of-hate-crimes-since-911/article4468643/?arc404=true" nofollow="" rel="">rise in hate bias attacks against Sikhs</a>, with the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/06/us/shooting-reported-at-temple-in-wisconsin.html" nofollow="" rel="">2012 Oak Creek, Wis., shooting</a> as a visible example.

While there are those who, in the similar vein as Singh, has sought to challenge Islamophobia by standing in solidarity, there have also been many instances where Sikhs in America, the U.K. and Canada painstakingly distinguish themselves from Muslims.

However, in countless examples, when Islamophobia is experienced in the public sphere against properly identified Muslims, there has been a lack of outcry.

In Canada, the <a href="https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebec-city-mosque-shooting-what-we-know-so-far/article33826078/" nofollow="" rel="">shooting deaths in Quebec&rsquo;s Sainte-Foy&rsquo;s Mosque</a>, in which Azzedine Soufiane, Khaled Belkacemi, Aboubakar Thabthi, Abdelkrim Hassane, Mamadou Tanou Barry, and Ibrahim Barry were killed, was unmistakably an act of terrorism. Canadians across the country mourned this tragedy. And yet was it recognized as an act of terrorism against the citizens of this state?

The day-to-day effects of Islamophobia have led to many <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/hate-crimes-muslims-statscan-1.4158042" nofollow="" rel="">Muslims living with heightened experiences of fear</a> and not knowing what they might encounter on a walk to school, a day at work or even waiting for a bus.

The left social-democrats of the NDP hold steadfastly to their conception of justice, fairness and equality in a secular world. The ways in which people are encountering the public today, however, is seemingly much murkier than these stark divisions.

<img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83857/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" width="1" />The issues of racism, religious intolerance and social justice are not central issues for any federal political party. These issues, however, should no longer be viewed as separate from major policy platforms including health, welfare reform, employment, national defence, national security, aboriginal relations and education. Perhaps a political leader such as Jagmeet Singh will be able to navigate these debates with an alacrity and style we have yet to witness in the Canadian political world.

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" nofollow="" rel="">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/jagmeet-singh-battles-racism-in-canadian-politics-with-love-83857" nofollow="" rel="">original article</a>.

Singh, one of Canada?s most admired politicians, has based his political slogan on a message of universal love and courage.

Within the space of a few moments, Jagmeet Singh became one of Canada’s most admired politicians. His cool-under-pressure reaction to being confronted by an angry heckler is just one of the reasons Singh is considered to be the favourite contender for leadership of the federal New Democratic Party. A video of the Sept. 6 incident at Singh’s campaign event in Brampton, Ont., went viral and has been viewed millions of times in Canada and around the world. Moments into the event, an angry white woman interrupted Singh and shouted Islamophobic and vitriolic statements at him, and physically gesticulated, demonstrating her feeling of entitlement — to space, voice and position - in relation to others at the event. Singh seemed undeterred by the outburst. His response to her rant was to rally his audience to help him relay his campaign message. He asked his guests to chant: “Love and courage.” What is the nature of Singh’s call for love? His political slogan is based on a message of universal love and courage. Singh’s message — and chant that evening — is uniquely situated among the slogans of the three other candidates: Charlie Angus “Got your back,” Niki Ashton “Building a movement, together,” and Guy Caron, “Let’s Build a Progressive and Sustainable Economy.” The dramatic events at the Sept. 6 meeting demonstrate something about Singh, as a person and as a candidate. It also points to new undercurrents of religion and spirituality and its role — not only in Canadian politics but also in the leadership race for the NDP. Singh’s campaign and potential leadership arrive in a climate of increasing hatred, fear and division. His call for universal love is coherent with Sikhism, which challenges the division between daily life and a devotional love that guides all thought and action. How does the language of love and courage relate to a New Democratic Party trying to find its way in a shifting political landscape? Singh’s outward appearance solicits questions from some Canadians — as in the case of the heckler — regarding his secular position: To what degree does Singh’s religion relate to his policy ideas or conduct? Canada: Judeo-Christian values? Canadian political institutions and traditions are imbued with Judeo-Christian values and symbols. Yet the separation of church and state maintains religion does not dictate the making of policy and law. However, in the game of politics, courting ethno-racial, national and religious identified voters has become a central art of party campaign strategists. Political parties of all persuasions have had to navigate this division in a variety of ways. In Canada, the left social democratic tradition, represented now by the NDP, has had less experience with faith-based movements and the religious identity of its leaders than their right-wing counterparts and left-leaning parties elsewhere in the world. Singh’s leadership challenge will likely change that. While Singh is positioned as a secular politician, his ethos, sense of justice and formation of his identity is connected to a Sikh practice. The very essence of the message of universal love and courage is embedded in a Sikh devotion, rather than a secular idea of loving all humankind. Practising Sikhism defines a way of life — one that is contemplative, meditative and committed to spiritualism and positive actions. The Clash of Civilizations To understand the contemporary role of religion in politics, we need to look at one of our turning points: 9/11. The attacks on New York City and the Pentagon served as a marker of the time foreign and domestic policy in North America was called upon to name Islamic terrorism as a universal enemy. Once North America and other western governments embraced the rhetoric of a civilization divide, the psyche of liberal democratic nations split apart. The already tenuous divide between the religious and secular began to rupture further. This reinforced a binary division and emboldened a powerful discourse of racism and Islamophobia. The basic premise is that Islam represents something universally distinct from Christian belief systems. This discourse of racism and difference has gained strength and societal control through the election of conservative governments with moral platforms that build on fears and anxieties of susceptible citizens. Sixteen years of corrosive discourses since 9/11 has led to: Us vs. Them, the Clash of Civilizations and racism. We are now at the point of the normalization of white supremacy . It is no longer an oddity or a left-wing conspiracy theory to discuss the presence of fascism and neo-Nazis — these are events widely circulated in our social media feeds and featured during the evening new . Religious discrimination in Canada Islamophobia and racism are often understood to be twinned structures of oppression. In many ways they are, but there are complex differences between them. They disseminate and exist in different political, cultural and social taxonomies. Islamophobia operates through systems of stereotypes, often misunderstanding or misrepresenting the traditions, religious practices and customs of highly diverse ethno-national and racial communities. Islamophobia has been manufactured in multiple ways in society through popular culture, media, policy and criminalizing targeting Islam and Muslims. Racism is a larger systemic operation of power denigrating one race while validating or elevating another. When the Harper Conservatives were in government, they attempted to map onto Canadian national values a form of social conservatism. This was articulated through a distinction between Canada and the “barbaric cultural practices” of others. The clear lines that were being drawn between what Harper referred to as “old stock Canadians” during a 2015 federal leaders’ debate brought into discourse front and center the relationship between white supremacy and Islamophobia. It connected the dots between a normative white Christian Canadian identity that could stand against the racialized others. Now the Conservative Party has a leader who proudly accepts the label: “Harper with a Smile.”“ Andrew Scheer has the support of social conservatives in the Conservative Party. He has steadfastly supported free speech over the condemnation of Islamophobia and was absent during the House of Commons vote for the Anti-Islamophobia Motion M-103, overwhelmingly passed in the House of Commons. When losing your cool is not an option Singh said his ability to remain cool under pressure was largely owed to his experience of being a brown, Sikh and turbaned man, growing up in the 1980s in Brampton, Ont., just northwest of Toronto. His past experiences of religious and racist intolerance helped to fortify him against racist language and assault. In the moment in which the racist woman yelled at him, she assumed he was a Muslim. Many wondered why Singh did not attempt to correct her misconceived perception; he is not a Muslim, but rather, a Sikh. Suggesting such a distinction in the moment, he said, would only further the misunderstanding that somehow being Muslim means such treatment is considered justifiable. His reaction, he said, should not be to proclaim his religion. By not correcting this misconception, Singh was acting in solidarity against Islamophobia. Sikhs have been affected throughout the post-9/11 discourses of Islamophobia, mainly because of this misunderstood identity. In the U.S., and elsewhere, there has been a rise in hate bias attacks against Sikhs, with the 2012 Oak Creek, Wis., shooting as a visible example. While there are those who, in the similar vein as Singh, has sought to challenge Islamophobia by standing in solidarity, there have also been many instances where Sikhs in America, the U.K. and Canada painstakingly distinguish themselves from Muslims. However, in countless examples, when Islamophobia is experienced in the public sphere against properly identified Muslims, there has been a lack of outcry. In Canada, the shooting deaths in Quebec’s Sainte-Foy’s Mosque, in which Azzedine Soufiane, Khaled Belkacemi, Aboubakar Thabthi, Abdelkrim Hassane, Mamadou Tanou Barry, and Ibrahim Barry were killed, was unmistakably an act of terrorism. Canadians across the country mourned this tragedy. And yet was it recognized as an act of terrorism against the citizens of this state? The day-to-day effects of Islamophobia have led to many Muslims living with heightened experiences of fear and not knowing what they might encounter on a walk to school, a day at work or even waiting for a bus. The left social-democrats of the NDP hold steadfastly to their conception of justice, fairness and equality in a secular world. The ways in which people are encountering the public today, however, is seemingly much murkier than these stark divisions. The issues of racism, religious intolerance and social justice are not central issues for any federal political party. These issues, however, should no longer be viewed as separate from major policy platforms including health, welfare reform, employment, national defence, national security, aboriginal relations and education. Perhaps a political leader such as Jagmeet Singh will be able to navigate these debates with an alacrity and style we have yet to witness in the Canadian political world. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Jagmeet Singh battles racism in Canadian politics with love

The police in Fairfax, Virginia found a body they believe to be a 17-year-old girl gone missing since being abducted walking from a restaurant to her mosque this Saturday night, <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/virginia-police-arrest-suspect-in-abduction-beating-and-murder-of-17-year-old-muslim-girl/" target="_blank">Raw Story</a> reports.

<a href="http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Fairfax-County-Police-Searching-for-Missing-Teen-429249943.html">NBC Washington</a> reported that taken into custody and charged with murder&nbsp;was 22-year-old Darwin Martinez Torres, after the remains were found on Sunday afternoon in a pond.

A witness said that 17-year-old Nabra Hussein was with a group of friends heading from their mosque when they were accosted by a man in a red car, who shouted insults at them. This man stopped his car, before getting out with a baseball bat to attack Hussein. He disappeared with her.&nbsp;

The girl&#39;s friends called police and a desperate search was carried out, but she was not found.

At around 3 pm on Sunday, remains believed to be the girl&#39;s were found in a pond afer the cops saw a car driving erratically and pulled over the driver. They then took him into custody on suspicion of murder.

Police recovered a baseball bat from the area they believe is the murder weapon.

Before a positive identification of the body can take place, a medical examiner&#39;s certification will be necessary.

(WION)

A search was conducted Saturday after the girl went missing. Police found remains in a pond believed to be the girl's

The police in Fairfax, Virginia found a body they believe to be a 17-year-old girl gone missing since being abducted walking from a restaurant to her mosque this Saturday night, Raw Story reports. NBC Washington reported that taken into custody and charged with murder was 22-year-old Darwin Martinez Torres, after the remains were found on Sunday afternoon in a pond. A witness said that 17-year-old Nabra Hussein was with a group of friends heading from their mosque when they were accosted by a man in a red car, who shouted insults at them. This man stopped his car, before getting out with a baseball bat to attack Hussein. He disappeared with her. The girl's friends called police and a desperate search was carried out, but she was not found. At around 3 pm on Sunday, remains believed to be the girl's were found in a pond afer the cops saw a car driving erratically and pulled over the driver. They then took him into custody on suspicion of murder. Police recovered a baseball bat from the area they believe is the murder weapon. Before a positive identification of the body can take place, a medical examiner's certification will be necessary. (WION)

US: Man arrested in connection with abduction, murder of 17-year-old Muslim girl

Police in Sri Lanka have arrested a key figure from an extremist Buddhist organisation blamed for a series of hate crimes against Muslims that has drawn international censure.

The 32-year-old man from the radical Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), or Buddhist Force, is the first suspect to be arrested in connection with arson attacks against Muslims that have stoked religious tensions.

Police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody said investigations were continuing into 16 &quot;major incidents&quot; of arson since April that hit Muslim homes, businesses, mosques and a cemetery.

&quot;We are taking a tough stand against such crimes,&quot; he told reporters.

Police were criticised for failing to bring the radical Buddhist group to heel by capturing its fugitive ringleader Galagodaatte Gnanasara, as the minority Muslim community endured attacks with stones and petrol bombs.

Jayakody said the detained suspect is a close associate of Gnanasara, an extremist monk who has gone underground since late May when police ordered he turn himself in for questioning. Four specialist teams were hunting the BBS mastermind, he added.

The militant Buddhist outfit says its leader is in hiding out of fear for his life. It has also denied orchestrating the latest violence against Muslims, who make up 10 per cent of Sri Lanka&#39;s mainly Buddhist population.

The BBS was accused of instigating religious riots in mid-2014 that left four people dead but escaped prosecution under the then-strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse.

Rajapakse&#39;s brother Gotabhaya, a former defence secretary, was said to be close to the hardline Buddhist group.

The latest failure to arrest Gnanasara and stop a renewed outbreak of religious violence has seen the European Union and foreign envoys urge Sri Lanka to take action.

The European Union delegation chief in Colombo, Tung-Lai Margue, has said it was crucial there was &quot;no impunity for hate crimes&quot; and that the perpetrators are swiftly brought to justice.

(AFP)

Police said investigations were continuing into 16 'major incidents' of arson since April that hit Muslim homes, businesses, mosques and a cemetery

Police in Sri Lanka have arrested a key figure from an extremist Buddhist organisation blamed for a series of hate crimes against Muslims that has drawn international censure. The 32-year-old man from the radical Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), or Buddhist Force, is the first suspect to be arrested in connection with arson attacks against Muslims that have stoked religious tensions. Police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody said investigations were continuing into 16 "major incidents" of arson since April that hit Muslim homes, businesses, mosques and a cemetery. "We are taking a tough stand against such crimes," he told reporters. Police were criticised for failing to bring the radical Buddhist group to heel by capturing its fugitive ringleader Galagodaatte Gnanasara, as the minority Muslim community endured attacks with stones and petrol bombs. Jayakody said the detained suspect is a close associate of Gnanasara, an extremist monk who has gone underground since late May when police ordered he turn himself in for questioning. Four specialist teams were hunting the BBS mastermind, he added. The militant Buddhist outfit says its leader is in hiding out of fear for his life. It has also denied orchestrating the latest violence against Muslims, who make up 10 per cent of Sri Lanka's mainly Buddhist population. The BBS was accused of instigating religious riots in mid-2014 that left four people dead but escaped prosecution under the then-strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse. Rajapakse's brother Gotabhaya, a former defence secretary, was said to be close to the hardline Buddhist group. The latest failure to arrest Gnanasara and stop a renewed outbreak of religious violence has seen the European Union and foreign envoys urge Sri Lanka to take action. The European Union delegation chief in Colombo, Tung-Lai Margue, has said it was crucial there was "no impunity for hate crimes" and that the perpetrators are swiftly brought to justice. (AFP)

Sri Lanka makes first arrest over hate crimes against Muslims

A man fatally stabbed two passengers aboard a Portland, Oregon, commuter train after they tried to stop him from harassing two young women who appeared to be Muslim, police said on Saturday.

Police identified the assailant, who was arrested soon after the Friday afternoon attack, as Jeremy Joseph Christian of Portland, a 35-year-old convicted felon.

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Here&#39;s Portland killer Jeremy Christian at a &quot;free speech rally&quot; three weeks ago making a Nazi salute: <a href="https://t.co/lSJUxyLkUy">pic.twitter.com/lSJUxyLkUy</a>
&mdash; Omar Ghabra (@omarghabra) <a href="https://twitter.com/omarghabra/status/868502294941245440">May 27, 2017</a></blockquote>
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In a statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations blamed an increase in anti-Muslim incidents in part on President Donald Trump&#39;s focus on militant Islamist groups and anti-immigrant rhetoric. The administration has said that while it strongly opposes Islamist militants, it has no quarrel with Islam.

A senior researcher with the Southern Poverty Law Center, in a blog post, said Christian&#39;s Facebook page showed he held &quot;some racist and other extremist beliefs&quot;.

The attack unfolded hours before the start of Ramadan, Islam&#39;s holy month, when most of the world&#39;s 1.6 billion Muslims observe a daily religious fast.

The <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/05/27/19041594/suspect-in-portland-hate-crime-murders-is-a-known-white-supremacist" target="_blank">Portland Mercury</a> reports that&nbsp;Jeremy Christian was a known white supremacist, who as recently as April 29 attended a &quot;March for Free Speech&quot; in Montavilla,&nbsp;carrying a baseball bat to assault left wing activists. When police confiscated it, he began shouting racist obscenities, and was reportedy&nbsp;giving Nazi salutes all day.

On the train Friday&nbsp;Christian started shouting ethnic and religious slurs, apparently at the two young women, one of whom wore a Muslim head-covering, the Portland Police Department said in a statement.

Three men who intervened were stabbed. Ricky John Best, 53, of Happy Valley, Oregon died at the scene, while Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, 23, of Southeast Portland died at a hospital, police said. A third victim, Micah David-Cole Fletcher of 21, Southeast Portland, remained in a local hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

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.<a href="https://twitter.com/lsarsour">@lsarsour</a> This is one of the young men who gave his life yesterday to fight hatred. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Portland?src=hash">#Portland</a> <a href="https://t.co/xB3BAwthIc">pic.twitter.com/xB3BAwthIc</a>
&mdash; IndivisibleOregon (@Indivisible_OR) <a href="https://twitter.com/Indivisible_OR/status/868512884451557376">May 27, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

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The surviving <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Portland?src=hash">#Portland</a> hero. Micah Fletcher, 21, won a 2013 poetry competition w/ a poem condemning Islamophobia. In hospital w/stab wounds <a href="https://t.co/zxZt4L3flL">pic.twitter.com/zxZt4L3flL</a>
&mdash; Tarek El-Messidi (@Elmessidi) <a href="https://twitter.com/Elmessidi/status/868656255702900736">May 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Christian was booked on two counts of aggravated murder and charges of attempted murder, intimidation and being a felon in possession of a restricted weapon, and was ordered held without bail. His arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday.

The women, who had left the train before officers arrived, were later in contact with authorities, according to police, who have not released their identities.

Dyjuana Hudson, the mother of one of them, told The Oregonian newspaper her 16-year-old daughter, who is black, boarded the train with a Muslim friend, also a teenager, who was wearing a hijab.

The attacker approached the girls while screaming at them, Hudson told the newspaper, relaying an account her daughter had given her. &quot;He was saying that Muslims should die,&quot; Hudson said.

On Friday, police said detectives wanted to speak to the two women. A detective later took a statement from her family, Hudson told the paper. She could not be reached for comment.

Police declined to release details of Christian&#39;s criminal history, but the newspaper reported he had been convicted of robbery, kidnapping and weapon charges, citing court records. It was not immediately clear if he had obtained an attorney.

The suspect had no known affiliation with a criminal gang member nor any mental health history, police said.&nbsp;

A Facebook page that appears to belong to Christian mentions &quot;Jihadi Muslims&quot; among people he disliked. The image on the page matches a photo of Christian released by police.

&quot;There is too much hatred in the world right now and far too much violence. Our current political climate allows far too much room for those who spread bigotry,&quot; Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler told a news conference.

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

The men who stood up to this known white supremacist will be remembered as heroes

A man fatally stabbed two passengers aboard a Portland, Oregon, commuter train after they tried to stop him from harassing two young women who appeared to be Muslim, police said on Saturday. Police identified the assailant, who was arrested soon after the Friday afternoon attack, as Jeremy Joseph Christian of Portland, a 35-year-old convicted felon. Here's Portland killer Jeremy Christian at a "free speech rally" three weeks ago making a Nazi salute: pic.twitter.com/lSJUxyLkUy — Omar Ghabra (@omarghabra) May 27, 2017 × In a statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations blamed an increase in anti-Muslim incidents in part on President Donald Trump's focus on militant Islamist groups and anti-immigrant rhetoric. The administration has said that while it strongly opposes Islamist militants, it has no quarrel with Islam. A senior researcher with the Southern Poverty Law Center, in a blog post, said Christian's Facebook page showed he held "some racist and other extremist beliefs". The attack unfolded hours before the start of Ramadan, Islam's holy month, when most of the world's 1.6 billion Muslims observe a daily religious fast. The Portland Mercury reports that Jeremy Christian was a known white supremacist, who as recently as April 29 attended a "March for Free Speech" in Montavilla, carrying a baseball bat to assault left wing activists. When police confiscated it, he began shouting racist obscenities, and was reportedy giving Nazi salutes all day. On the train Friday Christian started shouting ethnic and religious slurs, apparently at the two young women, one of whom wore a Muslim head-covering, the Portland Police Department said in a statement. Three men who intervened were stabbed. Ricky John Best, 53, of Happy Valley, Oregon died at the scene, while Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, 23, of Southeast Portland died at a hospital, police said. A third victim, Micah David-Cole Fletcher of 21, Southeast Portland, remained in a local hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police said. .@lsarsour This is one of the young men who gave his life yesterday to fight hatred. #Portland pic.twitter.com/xB3BAwthIc — IndivisibleOregon (@Indivisible_OR) May 27, 2017 × The surviving #Portland hero. Micah Fletcher, 21, won a 2013 poetry competition w/ a poem condemning Islamophobia. In hospital w/stab wounds pic.twitter.com/zxZt4L3flL — Tarek El-Messidi (@Elmessidi) May 28, 2017 × Christian was booked on two counts of aggravated murder and charges of attempted murder, intimidation and being a felon in possession of a restricted weapon, and was ordered held without bail. His arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday. The women, who had left the train before officers arrived, were later in contact with authorities, according to police, who have not released their identities. Dyjuana Hudson, the mother of one of them, told The Oregonian newspaper her 16-year-old daughter, who is black, boarded the train with a Muslim friend, also a teenager, who was wearing a hijab. The attacker approached the girls while screaming at them, Hudson told the newspaper, relaying an account her daughter had given her. "He was saying that Muslims should die," Hudson said. On Friday, police said detectives wanted to speak to the two women. A detective later took a statement from her family, Hudson told the paper. She could not be reached for comment. Police declined to release details of Christian's criminal history, but the newspaper reported he had been convicted of robbery, kidnapping and weapon charges, citing court records. It was not immediately clear if he had obtained an attorney. The suspect had no known affiliation with a criminal gang member nor any mental health history, police said. A Facebook page that appears to belong to Christian mentions "Jihadi Muslims" among people he disliked. The image on the page matches a photo of Christian released by police. "There is too much hatred in the world right now and far too much violence. Our current political climate allows far too much room for those who spread bigotry," Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler told a news conference. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Two men stabbed to death on Oregon train trying to stop anti-Muslim rant

In a sprawling banquet hall, Ahmed Rehab walked to a lectern facing a glittering group of diners and launched into a searing speech excoriating the Donald Trump administration.

&quot;This fight is not just our fight, it is America&#39;s fight,&quot; Rehab told the packed room of 1,200 attendees - mostly American Muslims at a fundraiser for the Chicago chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), which Rehab heads.

&quot;As you look at those who are trying to ban good people from coming to this country,&quot; Rehab continued, &quot;people who&#39;ve committed no crime whatsoever other than in their minds the crime of being Muslim... we will have none of it.&quot;

The room broke into applause.

The president&#39;s efforts to institute a ban on travellers from certain Muslim-majority countries have been met with a strong response from Muslim Americans and their supporters.&nbsp;

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But there is also fear that Islamophobia is on the rise, and that the Trump administration may still target Muslims.&nbsp;

&quot;There&#39;s a real dread of what&#39;s coming next, what&#39;s going to happen, who will be targeted,&quot; said Louise Cainkar, president of the Arab American Studies Association, and author of a book that examined how Arab and Muslim Americans were affected by policies following the September 11 attacks.

&quot;There&#39;s a sense that they&#39;re going to once again go after civic organisations, possibly surveil mosques, things that have been done in the past,&quot; she said.&nbsp;

What is different now, she said, is that Muslim and Arab groups have established ties with other communities -- and demonstrations against Trump&#39;s rhetoric now draw a mix of people from various faiths and backgrounds.&nbsp;

&quot;This is new, and this is really energising people,&quot; she said.

&#39;It&#39;s just scary&#39; 
At the banquet hall, those listening to Rehab&#39;s speech had mixed reactions -- some concerned, others optimistic because of the sense of cooperation with outside groups.&nbsp;

&quot;My kids are all American citizens,&quot; explained Fraheen Hashmi, a 36-year-old pharmacist with four young children.&nbsp;

&quot;It&#39;s just scary to raise them in this environment,&quot; she said, worried that they might grow up embarrassed of their heritage or afraid to identify as Muslim.&nbsp;

Zayna Saadeh was worried, too. The 59-year-old Palestinian immigrant has lived in the United States for 40 years. But now, she keeps the front door of her clothing store locked for fear of xenophobic attacks. She unlocks only when someone rings the doorbell.

&quot;We&#39;re not stranger(s),&quot; in the United States she said, but&quot;that&#39;s how we feel a lot of times right now.&quot;

Advocacy groups have reported a sharp rise in hate crimes.

Anti-Muslim groups nearly tripled last year, according to an annual census by the Southern Poverty Law Center. And in 2015, hate crimes against Muslims increased 67 percent, according to the FBI.

Those numbers may be going up, amid increasing reports of new incidents.

Last month, an arson fire damaged a Florida mosque, and a Kansas man was accused of shooting two Indian immigrants who he perceived as Middle Easterners, killing one. &nbsp;

This week, the Islamic Center of Tucson reported that a vandal had scattered ripped up copies of the Quran, Islam&#39;s holy text, around the mosque.

&#39;Best of America&#39; 
But there has also been a rallying response from Muslim groups and supporters, as Muslim-Americans have felt more scrutiny and threats.

During his speech at the banquet hall, Rehab pointed to new allies in the room -- non-Muslim lawyers who helped travellers during Trump&#39;s ill-fated first attempt at a ban that triggered chaos at American airports until it was halted by US courts.

&quot;My friends, you are the best of America,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

Other attendees echoed that optimism.

&quot;The negative could be turned into a positive, and I think that&#39;s what we&#39;re seeing now,&quot; said Akif Ali, a 36-year-old born in Houston.

&quot;The best part is that the American public themselves have become very generous to us,&quot; added Saqib Khan, a US-born lawyer of Pakistani descent.

&#39;Rapidly mobilising&#39; 
One evidence of the growing support was a gathering at Chicago&#39;s Grace Place Episcopal Church, where about 30 people -- many community activists for various other causes -- attended a presentation billed as a teach-in about Islamophobia.

Sofia Sami, dressed in the traditional Muslim head covering known as the hijab, stepped in front of a projection screen to help lead the group.

They watched samples of news coverage, discussed their own perceptions, and considered ways rhetoric shapes policies.

Two hours later as people cleared out, Sami reflected on how American politics are changing.

&quot;A lot of people who aren&#39;t Muslims are watching the news and seeking ways to support,&quot; said the 24-year-old first generation American of Indian descent.

CAIR, Rehab&#39;s group, has expanded its capacity in Chicago to take on hundreds of new volunteers, grown its network of schools, mosques and community centers and held know-your-rights training sessions.

&quot;These are definitely times that are rapidly mobilising the Muslim community, or co-strugglers of colour and allies,&quot; said CAIR spokeswoman Hoda Katebi.

(AFP)

But there is also fear that Islamophobia is on the rise and that the administration may still target them

In a sprawling banquet hall, Ahmed Rehab walked to a lectern facing a glittering group of diners and launched into a searing speech excoriating the Donald Trump administration. "This fight is not just our fight, it is America's fight," Rehab told the packed room of 1,200 attendees - mostly American Muslims at a fundraiser for the Chicago chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), which Rehab heads. "As you look at those who are trying to ban good people from coming to this country," Rehab continued, "people who've committed no crime whatsoever other than in their minds the crime of being Muslim... we will have none of it." The room broke into applause. The president's efforts to institute a ban on travellers from certain Muslim-majority countries have been met with a strong response from Muslim Americans and their supporters. My kids are all American citizens,' explained Fraheen Hashmi, a 36-year-old pharmacist with four young children. 'It's just scary to raise them in this environment' × But there is also fear that Islamophobia is on the rise, and that the Trump administration may still target Muslims. "There's a real dread of what's coming next, what's going to happen, who will be targeted," said Louise Cainkar, president of the Arab American Studies Association, and author of a book that examined how Arab and Muslim Americans were affected by policies following the September 11 attacks. "There's a sense that they're going to once again go after civic organisations, possibly surveil mosques, things that have been done in the past," she said. What is different now, she said, is that Muslim and Arab groups have established ties with other communities -- and demonstrations against Trump's rhetoric now draw a mix of people from various faiths and backgrounds. "This is new, and this is really energising people," she said. 'It's just scary' At the banquet hall, those listening to Rehab's speech had mixed reactions -- some concerned, others optimistic because of the sense of cooperation with outside groups. "My kids are all American citizens," explained Fraheen Hashmi, a 36-year-old pharmacist with four young children. "It's just scary to raise them in this environment," she said, worried that they might grow up embarrassed of their heritage or afraid to identify as Muslim. Zayna Saadeh was worried, too. The 59-year-old Palestinian immigrant has lived in the United States for 40 years. But now, she keeps the front door of her clothing store locked for fear of xenophobic attacks. She unlocks only when someone rings the doorbell. "We're not stranger(s)," in the United States she said, but"that's how we feel a lot of times right now." Advocacy groups have reported a sharp rise in hate crimes. Anti-Muslim groups nearly tripled last year, according to an annual census by the Southern Poverty Law Center. And in 2015, hate crimes against Muslims increased 67 percent, according to the FBI. Those numbers may be going up, amid increasing reports of new incidents. Last month, an arson fire damaged a Florida mosque, and a Kansas man was accused of shooting two Indian immigrants who he perceived as Middle Easterners, killing one. This week, the Islamic Center of Tucson reported that a vandal had scattered ripped up copies of the Quran, Islam's holy text, around the mosque. 'Best of America' But there has also been a rallying response from Muslim groups and supporters, as Muslim-Americans have felt more scrutiny and threats. During his speech at the banquet hall, Rehab pointed to new allies in the room -- non-Muslim lawyers who helped travellers during Trump's ill-fated first attempt at a ban that triggered chaos at American airports until it was halted by US courts. "My friends, you are the best of America," he said. Other attendees echoed that optimism. "The negative could be turned into a positive, and I think that's what we're seeing now," said Akif Ali, a 36-year-old born in Houston. "The best part is that the American public themselves have become very generous to us," added Saqib Khan, a US-born lawyer of Pakistani descent. 'Rapidly mobilising' One evidence of the growing support was a gathering at Chicago's Grace Place Episcopal Church, where about 30 people -- many community activists for various other causes -- attended a presentation billed as a teach-in about Islamophobia. Sofia Sami, dressed in the traditional Muslim head covering known as the hijab, stepped in front of a projection screen to help lead the group. They watched samples of news coverage, discussed their own perceptions, and considered ways rhetoric shapes policies. Two hours later as people cleared out, Sami reflected on how American politics are changing. "A lot of people who aren't Muslims are watching the news and seeking ways to support," said the 24-year-old first generation American of Indian descent. CAIR, Rehab's group, has expanded its capacity in Chicago to take on hundreds of new volunteers, grown its network of schools, mosques and community centers and held know-your-rights training sessions. "These are definitely times that are rapidly mobilising the Muslim community, or co-strugglers of colour and allies," said CAIR spokeswoman Hoda Katebi. (AFP)

America's Muslims fight back

A man named Hisham Saadi, 47, has been charged with carrying out a hoax regarding terrorist activity, uttering threats and mischief after calling in a fake&nbsp;bomb threat at a Canadian university, Concordia University, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-concordia-university-bomb-threats-1.4006151" target="_blank">CBC </a>reports.

His arrest comes one day after three buildings at Concordia were <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/canadian-university-evacuated-over-anti-muslim-bomb-threat-12945" target="_blank">evacuated </a>because a letter, circulated to the school and to local media, claimed there were explosive devices planted&nbsp;around the school.

The <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/canadian-university-evacuated-over-anti-muslim-bomb-threat-12945" target="_blank">letter </a>stated: &quot;Now that President (Donald) Trump is in office south of the border, things have changed. We will not tolerate your behaviour anymore...Until Concordia University stops religious activities of all kinds on campus, we decide the following action to show how far we are ready to go to fight Muslims.&quot;

Saadi appeared in a Montreal courtroom Thursday afternoon via a video link, the report states. He&nbsp;was arrested at 1:30 am local time&nbsp;Thursday, after police officers, including&nbsp;tactical and canine units, descended on his apartment, Constable Boisselle told the CBC.

The police constable said it was unclear&nbsp;whether or not Saadi is at all connected&nbsp;to the university, but a man&nbsp;who spoke on condition of anonymity, claiming to have subletted his apartment to Saadi,&nbsp;said that he was an economic PhD student at Concordia, the CBC report claims.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The anonyous&nbsp;man said that he thinks Saadi has Canadian citizenship, that &quot;he has been here for many years&quot;, and that he is of&nbsp;Lebanese origin, the CBC report claims.

Saadi has been ordered to undergo a psychological assessment before his bail hearing, which is scheduled for Friday, the CBC said.

Concordia University is located in Montreal, Quebec, the same Canadian province&nbsp;where in late January 2017 a man, who had &quot;liked&quot; Donald Trump on Facebook, murdered six Muslims inside a mosque.&nbsp;

(WION)

Hisham Saadi, 47, was charged after a letter which invoked 'Trump' said there were bombs around the school in an effort to 'fight Muslims'

A man named Hisham Saadi, 47, has been charged with carrying out a hoax regarding terrorist activity, uttering threats and mischief after calling in a fake bomb threat at a Canadian university, Concordia University, CBC reports. His arrest comes one day after three buildings at Concordia were evacuated because a letter, circulated to the school and to local media, claimed there were explosive devices planted around the school. The letter stated: "Now that President (Donald) Trump is in office south of the border, things have changed. We will not tolerate your behaviour anymore...Until Concordia University stops religious activities of all kinds on campus, we decide the following action to show how far we are ready to go to fight Muslims." Saadi appeared in a Montreal courtroom Thursday afternoon via a video link, the report states. He was arrested at 1:30 am local time Thursday, after police officers, including tactical and canine units, descended on his apartment, Constable Boisselle told the CBC. The police constable said it was unclear whether or not Saadi is at all connected to the university, but a man who spoke on condition of anonymity, claiming to have subletted his apartment to Saadi, said that he was an economic PhD student at Concordia, the CBC report claims. The anonyous man said that he thinks Saadi has Canadian citizenship, that "he has been here for many years", and that he is of Lebanese origin, the CBC report claims. Saadi has been ordered to undergo a psychological assessment before his bail hearing, which is scheduled for Friday, the CBC said. Concordia University is located in Montreal, Quebec, the same Canadian province where in late January 2017 a man, who had "liked" Donald Trump on Facebook, murdered six Muslims inside a mosque. (WION)

Canadian man charged with terror-related bomb hoax on university campus

Yesterday the White House officially released a list of 78 terrorist attacks&nbsp;carried out by Islamic State (IS) supporters--in the US&nbsp;and abroad, between September 2014 to December 2016--claiming that these attacks were not&nbsp;reported, or were&nbsp;under-reported, in the media. Why did the White House publish such a document?

The list was&nbsp;distributed hours after Trump&nbsp;had accused the media of downplaying terrorist attacks, <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/318190-cnn-gets-wh-list-of-terror-attacks-media-ignored" target="_blank">The Hill</a> reports.&nbsp;&quot;And in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn&#39;t want to report it,&quot; Trump said. He&nbsp;suggested that the media buried stories of terrorist&nbsp;attacks for ulterior motives. &quot;They have their own reasons, and you understand that,&quot; he said, without providing&nbsp;evidence.&nbsp;

Some of the attacks on the White House list have received major&nbsp;coverage in America, despite Trump&#39;s claim. But also included on the list were&nbsp;smaller strikes&nbsp;overseas that got less.

&nbsp;

Justifying the Muslim ban

The list comes as Trump has been panned, by <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/british-speaker-opposes-letting-trump-address-parliament-12121" target="_blank">lawmakers </a>and by <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/womens-march-protesters-flood-washington-to-protest-trump-administration-11544" target="_blank">millions</a>&nbsp;around the world,&nbsp;for a severe&nbsp;&quot;travel ban&quot; imposed on seven majority Muslim countries. Rudy Giulianni went on live TV to explain that Trump himself originally called this executive order a &quot;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/rudy-giuliani-told-trump-how-to-make-muslim-ban-legal-11841" target="_blank">Muslim ban</a>&quot;, even as his administration publicly contests that nomenclature. But presumably the White House is publishing this list to make it appear like the Muslim ban is founded on rationale, not prejudice. The list is also aimed&nbsp;normalising Trump&#39;s&nbsp;world view.

Publishing a catalogue of Islamic terrorism&nbsp;is parallel to an earlier&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;pledge to&nbsp;publish a weekly list of crimes committed by <a href="http://www.salon.com/2017/01/26/trump-plans-to-shame-sanctuary-cities-by-publishing-a-weekly-list-of-crimes-committed-by-undocumented-immigrants/" target="_blank">undocumented immigrants</a>&nbsp;in sanctuary cities. <a href="http://www.thefader.com/2017/01/26/trump-crimes-committed-immigrants-nazi" target="_blank">Critics </a>pointed out that this bore a resemblance to the list of crimes commited by Jewish people, kept&nbsp;by&nbsp;the Institute for Reseach on the Jewish Question in <a href="http://www.thefader.com/2017/01/26/trump-crimes-committed-immigrants-nazi" target="_blank">Nazi Germany</a>.

Highlighting the criminality of minorities is not designed to improve public safety, but to falsely create this&nbsp;appearance.&nbsp;Further, it is designed to make people hate and fear minorities, and to make it appear like fear and hate are sensible.

&nbsp;

Trump&#39;s silence speaks loudly

Last week, Alexandre Bissonnette,&nbsp;a 27-year-old caucasian Francophone&nbsp;from Quebec City, murdered six Muslims&nbsp;and injured eight more in a shooting spree inside a mosque.&nbsp;Canadians&nbsp;of all persuasions were shocked and saddened, but Trump sent condolences to &quot;the Prime Minister and people of Canada&quot;, rather than single out Muslims&nbsp;for support in a time of grief and fear. But the man for whom wishing&nbsp;&quot;Happy holidays&quot; instead of &quot;Merry Christmas&quot; is a sin warranting multiple twitter rants was unusually silent on social media. Initially there were murmurs that&nbsp;the killer was heard saying &quot;Allah Akbar!&quot; before unleashing carnage. This did not happen. Actually, far from this, Bissonnette liked &quot;Donald Trump&quot; on Facebook, and now former classmates say he&nbsp;&quot;really like Trump and had a permanent grudge against the left&quot;.

More, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said: &quot;We condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms...It&#39;s a terrible reminder of why we must remain vigilant and why the president is taking steps to be pro-active, rather re-active, when it comes to our nation&#39;s safety and security.&quot; Thus,&nbsp;mass murder perpetrated by a white French-Canadian&nbsp;against Muslim Canadians&nbsp;is warped and recast as evidence supposedly supporting the need to ban Muslims from entering America. Spicer&#39;s response, which is essentially articulating&nbsp;Trump&#39;s world view,&nbsp;is&nbsp;objectively incoherent.

&nbsp;

Stigmatising Muslims amid&nbsp;general disinformation from&nbsp;White House 

The Trump administration&#39;s Islamophobia&nbsp;also comes amid a torrent from them&nbsp;of general disinformation.&nbsp;White House spokesperson Kellyanne Conway was broadly criticised&nbsp;for coining&nbsp;the Orwellian term &quot;alternative facts&quot;&nbsp;to justify Sean Spicer&#39;s palpably false claim&nbsp;that the media&nbsp;misrepresented the crowd size at Trump&#39;s presidential inauguration.&nbsp;Reports are emerging&nbsp;of the White House shutting down a range of ordinary&nbsp;communication for various&nbsp;imporant agencies.&nbsp;Trump just recently&nbsp;dismissed as &quot;Fake News&quot; any poll that reflects <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/06/media/donald-trump-poll-denialism/" target="_blank">negatively </a>against&nbsp;him.

That the White House is actively&nbsp;dissemenating lies and shutting down open communication does not mean the media covering Trump is perfect!&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/rubycramer/democrats-confront-lefty-fake-news?utm_term=.oeBZJy8ZA#.ro6GLr7GM" target="_blank">BuzzFeed </a>published criticism of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/rubycramer/democrats-confront-lefty-fake-news" target="_blank">Fake News</a> with a liberal bent, as some Trump critics sensationalise half-truths,&nbsp;publish factually wrong information or outright fabrications.&nbsp;But the White House&#39;s criticism of the media seems to exist independently of media errors, and is designed to&nbsp;accomplish at least two goals. The first is to create fear by both&nbsp;stigmatising&nbsp;minorities and to paint the state of the country as being in&nbsp;&quot;<a href="http://www.vox.com/a/president-trump-inauguration-speech-transcript-annotations" target="_blank">carnage</a>&quot; that requires&nbsp;a strongman leader to fix.&nbsp;The second is to discredit the media, not because they are sometimes inaccurate, but specifically because&nbsp;they are&nbsp;accurate.

&nbsp;

The White House&#39;s bias

The White House&nbsp;publishing a&nbsp;list of terrorism attacks is hardly the first time politicians have tried to manipulate the media into getting&nbsp;headlines they desire. The criticism is not merely that they&#39;re shaping the story, it&#39;s that their framing is biased: It stigmatises&nbsp;Muslim citizens by associating Muslims in general with terrorism, and ignores terrorism&nbsp;committed by white people.

A 2015 article by&nbsp;<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/06/18/white_extremist_murders_killed_at_least_60_in_u_s_since_1995.html" target="_blank">Ben Mathis-Lilley at Slate</a>&nbsp;corrects&nbsp;this record by publishing a&nbsp;list of terrorist attacks&nbsp;committed by white Americans on&nbsp;United States soil.<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/06/18/white_extremist_murders_killed_at_least_60_in_u_s_since_1995.html" target="_blank"> &quot;White extremists&quot;</a> have killed at least 60 people in 23 deadly attacks since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Trump claims that any&nbsp;failure to utter<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72SbL2SJt-4" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a>&quot;Radical Islamist terrorism&quot; is&nbsp;dangerous&nbsp;political correctness. Esssentially&nbsp;Trump,&nbsp;and he&#39;s far from alone in this, believes that liberals are so overeagerly tolerant&nbsp;that in their misguided&nbsp;effort to be inclusive&nbsp;that they ignore flagrant,&nbsp;fatal&nbsp;threats in their midst.

This mindset presupposes that Muslims are uniquely and inherently dangerous, a bogus presumption which leads to two negative outcomes:&nbsp;A&nbsp;hostile environment for millions of peaceful Muslims, and a society unguarded against the&nbsp;real but officially unacknowledged&nbsp;danger of white terrorism, swallowed up as it is in the hysteria surounding a&nbsp;real but exaggerated threat&nbsp;posed by&nbsp;Islamic terrorism.

It also fails to take into account what should be a unifying and heartening truth,&nbsp;that&nbsp;people of every religion and skin colour actually agree:&nbsp;Islamic terrorism is very bad! Muslims are disproportionately the victims of terrorism. Islamic State is in predominantly Muslim countries&nbsp;killing thousands of people, destroying&nbsp;ancient sites&nbsp;and committing various other atrocities. Most of the people&nbsp;fighting against Islamic State are&nbsp;Muslims. Nobody likes Islamic State!

If Trump&#39;s only&nbsp;interest is keeping Americans safe, why is he silent about the threat posed by white terrorists? Trump says that if a leader is unwilling to&nbsp;say &quot;Radical Islamist terrorism&quot; aloud,&nbsp;they are incapable of protecting their society. They are soft on terror.&nbsp;But there is a class of terrorism about which Trump&nbsp;is glaringly,&nbsp;hypocritically silent.&nbsp;Trump&#39;s&nbsp;silence is both dividing Americans and putting them&nbsp;at risk.

Who he systematically criticises and systematically ignores reveals much.

As a private citizen Trump was free to tweet how he liked,&nbsp;but he is issuing&nbsp;official White House communications now. His pledge to put America&nbsp;first must apply equally for&nbsp;all Americans. This balance is required both&nbsp;when keeping Americans safe&nbsp;and when condemning American murderers, too.&nbsp;

(WION)

Trump is actively stigmatising Muslims and vilifying the media, and in the process ignoring many real threats to America

Yesterday the White House officially released a list of 78 terrorist attacks carried out by Islamic State (IS) supporters--in the US and abroad, between September 2014 to December 2016--claiming that these attacks were not reported, or were under-reported, in the media. Why did the White House publish such a document? The list was distributed hours after Trump had accused the media of downplaying terrorist attacks, The Hill reports. "And in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it," Trump said. He suggested that the media buried stories of terrorist attacks for ulterior motives. "They have their own reasons, and you understand that," he said, without providing evidence. Some of the attacks on the White House list have received major coverage in America, despite Trump's claim. But also included on the list were smaller strikes overseas that got less. Justifying the Muslim ban The list comes as Trump has been panned, by lawmakers and by millions around the world, for a severe "travel ban" imposed on seven majority Muslim countries. Rudy Giulianni went on live TV to explain that Trump himself originally called this executive order a "Muslim ban", even as his administration publicly contests that nomenclature. But presumably the White House is publishing this list to make it appear like the Muslim ban is founded on rationale, not prejudice. The list is also aimed normalising Trump's world view. Publishing a catalogue of Islamic terrorism is parallel to an earlier Trump pledge to publish a weekly list of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants in sanctuary cities. Critics pointed out that this bore a resemblance to the list of crimes commited by Jewish people, kept by the Institute for Reseach on the Jewish Question in Nazi Germany. Highlighting the criminality of minorities is not designed to improve public safety, but to falsely create this appearance. Further, it is designed to make people hate and fear minorities, and to make it appear like fear and hate are sensible. Trump's silence speaks loudly Last week, Alexandre Bissonnette, a 27-year-old caucasian Francophone from Quebec City, murdered six Muslims and injured eight more in a shooting spree inside a mosque. Canadians of all persuasions were shocked and saddened, but Trump sent condolences to "the Prime Minister and people of Canada", rather than single out Muslims for support in a time of grief and fear. But the man for whom wishing "Happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" is a sin warranting multiple twitter rants was unusually silent on social media. Initially there were murmurs that the killer was heard saying "Allah Akbar!" before unleashing carnage. This did not happen. Actually, far from this, Bissonnette liked "Donald Trump" on Facebook, and now former classmates say he "really like Trump and had a permanent grudge against the left". More, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said: "We condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms...It's a terrible reminder of why we must remain vigilant and why the president is taking steps to be pro-active, rather re-active, when it comes to our nation's safety and security." Thus, mass murder perpetrated by a white French-Canadian against Muslim Canadians is warped and recast as evidence supposedly supporting the need to ban Muslims from entering America. Spicer's response, which is essentially articulating Trump's world view, is objectively incoherent. Stigmatising Muslims amid general disinformation from White House The Trump administration's Islamophobia also comes amid a torrent from them of general disinformation. White House spokesperson Kellyanne Conway was broadly criticised for coining the Orwellian term "alternative facts" to justify Sean Spicer's palpably false claim that the media misrepresented the crowd size at Trump's presidential inauguration. Reports are emerging of the White House shutting down a range of ordinary communication for various imporant agencies. Trump just recently dismissed as "Fake News" any poll that reflects negatively against him. That the White House is actively dissemenating lies and shutting down open communication does not mean the media covering Trump is perfect! BuzzFeed published criticism of Fake News with a liberal bent, as some Trump critics sensationalise half-truths, publish factually wrong information or outright fabrications. But the White House's criticism of the media seems to exist independently of media errors, and is designed to accomplish at least two goals. The first is to create fear by both stigmatising minorities and to paint the state of the country as being in "carnage" that requires a strongman leader to fix. The second is to discredit the media, not because they are sometimes inaccurate, but specifically because they are accurate. The White House's bias The White House publishing a list of terrorism attacks is hardly the first time politicians have tried to manipulate the media into getting headlines they desire. The criticism is not merely that they're shaping the story, it's that their framing is biased: It stigmatises Muslim citizens by associating Muslims in general with terrorism, and ignores terrorism committed by white people. A 2015 article by Ben Mathis-Lilley at Slate corrects this record by publishing a list of terrorist attacks committed by white Americans on United States soil. "White extremists" have killed at least 60 people in 23 deadly attacks since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Trump claims that any failure to utter "Radical Islamist terrorism" is dangerous political correctness. Esssentially Trump, and he's far from alone in this, believes that liberals are so overeagerly tolerant that in their misguided effort to be inclusive that they ignore flagrant, fatal threats in their midst. This mindset presupposes that Muslims are uniquely and inherently dangerous, a bogus presumption which leads to two negative outcomes: A hostile environment for millions of peaceful Muslims, and a society unguarded against the real but officially unacknowledged danger of white terrorism, swallowed up as it is in the hysteria surounding a real but exaggerated threat posed by Islamic terrorism. It also fails to take into account what should be a unifying and heartening truth, that people of every religion and skin colour actually agree: Islamic terrorism is very bad! Muslims are disproportionately the victims of terrorism. Islamic State is in predominantly Muslim countries killing thousands of people, destroying ancient sites and committing various other atrocities. Most of the people fighting against Islamic State are Muslims. Nobody likes Islamic State! If Trump's only interest is keeping Americans safe, why is he silent about the threat posed by white terrorists? Trump says that if a leader is unwilling to say "Radical Islamist terrorism" aloud, they are incapable of protecting their society. They are soft on terror. But there is a class of terrorism about which Trump is glaringly, hypocritically silent. Trump's silence is both dividing Americans and putting them at risk. Who he systematically criticises and systematically ignores reveals much. As a private citizen Trump was free to tweet how he liked, but he is issuing official White House communications now. His pledge to put America first must apply equally for all Americans. This balance is required both when keeping Americans safe and when condemning American murderers, too. (WION)

OPINION: White House list of 78 terrorist attacks it claims media ignored ignores terrorism by white people

In the wake of Sunday&#39;s fatal attack on a mosque in Quebec City, attention is turning to the role of populist talk radio stations and their possible role in whipping up resentment against Muslims.

The day after the massacre at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Qu&eacute;bec, one local talk show host in Quebec City told his listeners several times that two hooded men shouting &quot;Allahu Akbar!&quot; had carried out the attack.

&quot;Is this Islamophobia or an Islamist attack?&quot; asked Sylvain Bouchard on station FM93. In fact, police that day charged a white Quebec man with six counts of premeditated murder and five counts of attempted murder with a restricted weapon for the attack. Members of Quebec&#39;s Muslim community suggest views expressed on what is known popularly as &quot;radio poubelle&quot; (garbage pail radio) may be encouraging extremist views in a province which has at times struggled to cope with immigration.

Quebec has seen a steady rise of right-wing groups, especially since a heated debate in 2007 about &quot;reasonable accommodation&quot;: how far the province should go to make immigrants feel welcome. The province last year unveiled draft legislation to ban face-coverings in the public sector in a move criticized as marginalizing Muslim women and potentially inflaming anti-immigrant tensions.

&quot;This unhealthy climate is fed by &#39;garbage pail radio&#39; where you can say anything and where the hosts vomit all over Muslims, Jews -- in short, everyone who isn&#39;t &#39;us&#39; but &#39;them,&quot; wrote Michele Ouimet, a columnist for the La Presse daily. Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard on Tuesday would not answer directly when asked by a reporter whether the radio stations were partly to blame.

But, he added: &quot;Words are important - written words, spoken words. People need to think carefully about that.&quot;

By Tuesday morning, Bouchard had radically changed his tune. &quot;Did I make a mistake? Yes,&quot; he said on air warning listeners to beware of unverified social media messages.

He also interviewed Quebec City Muslims, who called for acceptance in Quebec society, and Mathieu Fiset, a native-born Quebecer, who went from skin-head neo-Nazi to opponent of the alternative-right.

The far-right in Quebec

Several far-right groups are active in Quebec, with their activities increasingly expanding from online discussion to physical displays of protest. Soldiers of Odin, an anti-immigrant group founded in Finland in 2015, has a particularly visible presence in Quebec City, where it has regularly patrolled streets since early last year.

&quot;There is an underground culture of small far-right groups in Quebec,&quot; said Chedly Belkhodja, a professor of public affairs at Concordia University in Montreal. &quot;They feel their values are threatened by immigrants, by the mainstream political elites accepting more immigrants,&quot; he said.

Couillard admitted Quebec society was not perfect.

&quot;Racism, xenophobia and exclusion exist here. We have to recognise that and act together to highlight the path we want society to take,&quot; he said.

Francois Blais, the provincial government minister in charge of the Quebec region, admitted frankly that relations between locals and Muslim immigrants could be better.

&quot;I think native Quebecers in the region still don&#39;t know enough about this community...We are going to focus on organising activities to boost rapprochement,&quot; he told reporters.

(Reuters)

'This unhealthy climate is fed by 'garbage pail radio'... where the hosts vomit all over Muslims, Jews; In short, everyone who isn't 'us''

In the wake of Sunday's fatal attack on a mosque in Quebec City, attention is turning to the role of populist talk radio stations and their possible role in whipping up resentment against Muslims. The day after the massacre at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec, one local talk show host in Quebec City told his listeners several times that two hooded men shouting "Allahu Akbar!" had carried out the attack. "Is this Islamophobia or an Islamist attack?" asked Sylvain Bouchard on station FM93. In fact, police that day charged a white Quebec man with six counts of premeditated murder and five counts of attempted murder with a restricted weapon for the attack. Members of Quebec's Muslim community suggest views expressed on what is known popularly as "radio poubelle" (garbage pail radio) may be encouraging extremist views in a province which has at times struggled to cope with immigration. Quebec has seen a steady rise of right-wing groups, especially since a heated debate in 2007 about "reasonable accommodation": how far the province should go to make immigrants feel welcome. The province last year unveiled draft legislation to ban face-coverings in the public sector in a move criticized as marginalizing Muslim women and potentially inflaming anti-immigrant tensions. "This unhealthy climate is fed by 'garbage pail radio' where you can say anything and where the hosts vomit all over Muslims, Jews -- in short, everyone who isn't 'us' but 'them," wrote Michele Ouimet, a columnist for the La Presse daily. Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard on Tuesday would not answer directly when asked by a reporter whether the radio stations were partly to blame. But, he added: "Words are important - written words, spoken words. People need to think carefully about that." By Tuesday morning, Bouchard had radically changed his tune. "Did I make a mistake? Yes," he said on air warning listeners to beware of unverified social media messages. He also interviewed Quebec City Muslims, who called for acceptance in Quebec society, and Mathieu Fiset, a native-born Quebecer, who went from skin-head neo-Nazi to opponent of the alternative-right. The far-right in Quebec Several far-right groups are active in Quebec, with their activities increasingly expanding from online discussion to physical displays of protest. Soldiers of Odin, an anti-immigrant group founded in Finland in 2015, has a particularly visible presence in Quebec City, where it has regularly patrolled streets since early last year. "There is an underground culture of small far-right groups in Quebec," said Chedly Belkhodja, a professor of public affairs at Concordia University in Montreal. "They feel their values are threatened by immigrants, by the mainstream political elites accepting more immigrants," he said. Couillard admitted Quebec society was not perfect. "Racism, xenophobia and exclusion exist here. We have to recognise that and act together to highlight the path we want society to take," he said. Francois Blais, the provincial government minister in charge of the Quebec region, admitted frankly that relations between locals and Muslim immigrants could be better. "I think native Quebecers in the region still don't know enough about this community...We are going to focus on organising activities to boost rapprochement," he told reporters. (Reuters)

Talk radio, intolerance in focus as Quebec seeks answers after Mosque mass shooting

It is that time of the year again. It is always that time of the year.

We are back to raising usual questions about comedy and satire. BBC&rsquo;s latest satirical offering, a sketch called &quot;The Real Housewives of ISIS,&quot; debuted this week. It has already gone viral on social media while eliciting some extreme responses from viewers. &quot;Revolting,&quot; the BBC Two show on which the sketch aired, is a satirical sketch and prank series by the makers of &quot;The Revolution Will Be Televised&rsquo; and &lsquo;Brexageddon.&quot; &nbsp; &nbsp;

<center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="430" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DOB6UDC-67w" width="770"></iframe></center>

 
The two-minute video manages to refer to jihad, suicide vests, burqa, bombings, slavery, forty virgins, chat room grooming, amongst other things. The content is indeed explosive. BBC has been criticised for airing a sketch that pokes fun at the real women suffering under the clutches of the ISIS fighters. Charges of Islamophobia have also been levelled against the makers &mdash; the BAFTA winning duo Heydon Prowse and Jolyon Rubinstein.

The makers seem to be engaged in a David-Goliath fight. But who is David here? Does the sketch punch down the victims of ISIS brutalities and fan the already raging fire of the anti-Muslim sentiments? Or, is it serving the great cause of satire &mdash; reformation &mdash; as proposed by celebrated satirists across cultures and centuries? &nbsp;

&ldquo;We poets will force you into our point of view,&rdquo; says Horace humourously towards the end of his fourth Satire. The classical Roman satirist believed in the power of satire in bringing social change through ridicule and laughter. He, however, warned against overuse of bitter invective. Talking of Old Comedy in the fourth Satire, Horace clearly says that ridicule is better than invective and Old Comedy should be imitated in this regard. He states that a good satire needs much more than wit. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Studying the culture of folk humour in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, Mikhail Bakhtin in his &quot;Rabelais and His World&quot; says, &ldquo;A boundless world of humorous forms and manifestations opposed the official and serious tone of medieval ecclesiastical and feudal culture.&rdquo; Laughter is subversive. It has been a traditional tool to dismantle status-quo.

In the current context, the &quot;Housewives&quot;&nbsp;sketch seems to be combating the demagoguery of the ISIS. Aditi Mittal, a Mumbai based comedienne who has been working closely with BBC, shares her view on the same. &ldquo;The sketch is hilarious. It&#39;s mocking what is a very real problem of young women getting groomed online and joining causes like this. It is mocking joining the ISIS by young people &mdash; a thing that ought to be seen as something absurd. In that spirit, I&#39;m 100% on it and think it is pitch perfect. If we&#39;re not going to make fun of ISIS, then who do we get to make fun of?&rdquo; She adds, however, &ldquo;Since it is being released into a pervasive culture of the online world &mdash; where sarcasm and subtleties can get lost &mdash; it is fair enough to say that the video could be construed as Islamophobic.&rdquo;

What makes the same video funny for some and offensive for others?

Mittal has a ready answer for this age-old conundrum. &ldquo;Without proper context nothing is funny. The challenge with the online world is that now context is very wide reaching and different, literally, from person to person. That is why it may/may not be problematic.&rdquo;

Mittal sees the Islamophobia and insensitivity charges against the sketch as emanating from the rise of hateful rhetoric against Islam in the past few years. &ldquo;Also, since a lot of people still don&#39;t know how to distinguish between Islam and ISIS, this video could easily be misconstrued to further anti-Muslim sentiments.&rdquo;

Rana Safvi, a Delhi based author and a practicing Muslim, puts it strongly, &ldquo;We have to separate Islam from the ISIS. The sketch is stereotyping the ISIS fighters but in this there&#39;s no Islamophobia at all.&rdquo; She says that ridicule always works better than anger. However, she finds the sketch a bit insensitive as it is trivialising a genuine problem: the plight of these young women. Nevertheless, Safvi grants the makers satiric license.

Mehr Tarar, a Pakistani columnist, lauds the sketch for capturing the essence of &ldquo;what we read about ISIS and women who join them willingly&rdquo;. She does not find the video Islamophobic at all. &ldquo;The video is about skewed narratives and priorities that are upside down,&rdquo; adds Tarar. &nbsp;

Commenting on those who are outraging against the video, Eiynah, the anonymous creator of the iconic anti-homophobia comic book for children, &quot;My Chacha is Gay,&quot; says, &ldquo;They don&#39;t realise that they are only making Muslims look bad. Outrage around &quot;The Real Housewives of ISIS&quot; reminds me just how sorely lacking Muslim community is in humour.&rdquo; She continues, &ldquo;I want to live to see a Muslim &quot;Book of Mormon&quot; style show take place, safely some day inshallah! We should be able mock without getting killed. I want to go into a craft beer store and see a tongue in cheek beer label referencing my culture.&rdquo; Eiynah, who identifies herself as an ex-Muslim feminist woman, has created and shared a visual of an array of Shariah-compliant liquor bottles.

Whenever any cultural or literary production aims at the ills of a community, a similar storm brews on and off mainstream and social media. Bloodbath at the Charlie Hebdo office, threats to Maqbool Fida Husain from the Indian Hindu right-wing, fatwa against Salman Rushdie have one thing in common: inability to laugh.

Jo Coppola, noted columnist and television critic in the 1950s was thus quoted on comedy in &quot;The Realist&quot; in 1958:

&ldquo;Good comedy is social criticism&hellip;Comedy is dying today because criticism is on its deathbed... because telecasters, frightened by the threats and pressure of sponsors, blacklists and viewers, helped introduce conformity to this age... In such a climate, comedy cannot flourish. For comedy is, after all, a look at ourselves, not as we pretend to be when we look in the mirror of our imagination, but as we really are. Look at the comedy of any age and you will know volumes about that period and its people which neither the historian nor anthropologist can tell you.&rdquo;

Coppola&rsquo;s words hold true even half a century later today. Comics, satirists, and&nbsp;filmmakers are pitted against intolerance in an unequal fight. It is easy to force exile upon artists, put the publications out of business, and take shows off-air through threats of violence and boycott. In this David-Goliath battle, it is the comedy that is David, fighting against the Goliath of conformity desired by religious, political, and terror outfits.

(WION) 
&nbsp;

The viral BBC sketch ridiculing the ISIS brides causes a furore. Does satire need defenders today more than ever?

It is that time of the year again. It is always that time of the year. We are back to raising usual questions about comedy and satire. BBC’s latest satirical offering, a sketch called "The Real Housewives of ISIS," debuted this week. It has already gone viral on social media while eliciting some extreme responses from viewers. "Revolting," the BBC Two show on which the sketch aired, is a satirical sketch and prank series by the makers of "The Revolution Will Be Televised’ and ‘Brexageddon." The two-minute video manages to refer to jihad, suicide vests, burqa, bombings, slavery, forty virgins, chat room grooming, amongst other things. The content is indeed explosive. BBC has been criticised for airing a sketch that pokes fun at the real women suffering under the clutches of the ISIS fighters. Charges of Islamophobia have also been levelled against the makers — the BAFTA winning duo Heydon Prowse and Jolyon Rubinstein. The makers seem to be engaged in a David-Goliath fight. But who is David here? Does the sketch punch down the victims of ISIS brutalities and fan the already raging fire of the anti-Muslim sentiments? Or, is it serving the great cause of satire — reformation — as proposed by celebrated satirists across cultures and centuries? “We poets will force you into our point of view,” says Horace humourously towards the end of his fourth Satire. The classical Roman satirist believed in the power of satire in bringing social change through ridicule and laughter. He, however, warned against overuse of bitter invective. Talking of Old Comedy in the fourth Satire, Horace clearly says that ridicule is better than invective and Old Comedy should be imitated in this regard. He states that a good satire needs much more than wit. Studying the culture of folk humour in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, Mikhail Bakhtin in his "Rabelais and His World" says, “A boundless world of humorous forms and manifestations opposed the official and serious tone of medieval ecclesiastical and feudal culture.” Laughter is subversive. It has been a traditional tool to dismantle status-quo. In the current context, the "Housewives" sketch seems to be combating the demagoguery of the ISIS. Aditi Mittal, a Mumbai based comedienne who has been working closely with BBC, shares her view on the same. “The sketch is hilarious. It's mocking what is a very real problem of young women getting groomed online and joining causes like this. It is mocking joining the ISIS by young people — a thing that ought to be seen as something absurd. In that spirit, I'm 100% on it and think it is pitch perfect. If we're not going to make fun of ISIS, then who do we get to make fun of?” She adds, however, “Since it is being released into a pervasive culture of the online world — where sarcasm and subtleties can get lost — it is fair enough to say that the video could be construed as Islamophobic.” What makes the same video funny for some and offensive for others? Mittal has a ready answer for this age-old conundrum. “Without proper context nothing is funny. The challenge with the online world is that now context is very wide reaching and different, literally, from person to person. That is why it may/may not be problematic.” Mittal sees the Islamophobia and insensitivity charges against the sketch as emanating from the rise of hateful rhetoric against Islam in the past few years. “Also, since a lot of people still don't know how to distinguish between Islam and ISIS, this video could easily be misconstrued to further anti-Muslim sentiments.” Rana Safvi, a Delhi based author and a practicing Muslim, puts it strongly, “We have to separate Islam from the ISIS. The sketch is stereotyping the ISIS fighters but in this there's no Islamophobia at all.” She says that ridicule always works better than anger. However, she finds the sketch a bit insensitive as it is trivialising a genuine problem: the plight of these young women. Nevertheless, Safvi grants the makers satiric license. Mehr Tarar, a Pakistani columnist, lauds the sketch for capturing the essence of “what we read about ISIS and women who join them willingly”. She does not find the video Islamophobic at all. “The video is about skewed narratives and priorities that are upside down,” adds Tarar. Commenting on those who are outraging against the video, Eiynah, the anonymous creator of the iconic anti-homophobia comic book for children, "My Chacha is Gay," says, “They don't realise that they are only making Muslims look bad. Outrage around "The Real Housewives of ISIS" reminds me just how sorely lacking Muslim community is in humour.” She continues, “I want to live to see a Muslim "Book of Mormon" style show take place, safely some day inshallah! We should be able mock without getting killed. I want to go into a craft beer store and see a tongue in cheek beer label referencing my culture.” Eiynah, who identifies herself as an ex-Muslim feminist woman, has created and shared a visual of an array of Shariah-compliant liquor bottles. Whenever any cultural or literary production aims at the ills of a community, a similar storm brews on and off mainstream and social media. Bloodbath at the Charlie Hebdo office, threats to Maqbool Fida Husain from the Indian Hindu right-wing, fatwa against Salman Rushdie have one thing in common: inability to laugh. Jo Coppola, noted columnist and television critic in the 1950s was thus quoted on comedy in "The Realist" in 1958: “Good comedy is social criticism…Comedy is dying today because criticism is on its deathbed... because telecasters, frightened by the threats and pressure of sponsors, blacklists and viewers, helped introduce conformity to this age... In such a climate, comedy cannot flourish. For comedy is, after all, a look at ourselves, not as we pretend to be when we look in the mirror of our imagination, but as we really are. Look at the comedy of any age and you will know volumes about that period and its people which neither the historian nor anthropologist can tell you.” Coppola’s words hold true even half a century later today. Comics, satirists, and filmmakers are pitted against intolerance in an unequal fight. It is easy to force exile upon artists, put the publications out of business, and take shows off-air through threats of violence and boycott. In this David-Goliath battle, it is the comedy that is David, fighting against the Goliath of conformity desired by religious, political, and terror outfits. (WION)

BBC's 'The Real Housewives of ISIS' sparks debate over Islamophobia, insensitivity

A commission probing violence in Myanmar&#39;s Rakhine state on Wednesday denied security forces have carried out a genocidal campaign against the Rohingya, days after a video emerged showing police beating civilians from the Muslim minority.

Tens of thousands of Rohingya -- a group loathed by many among Myanmar&#39;s Buddhist majority -- have fled a military operation in the northwestern state, launched after deadly attacks on police posts in October.

Dozens have died in the crackdown, while escapees now in neighbouring Bangladesh have claimed they suffered rape, arson, murder and torture at the hands of police or soldiers.

Myanmar&#39;s government, led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has said the allegations are invented and has resisted mounting international pressure to protect the minority.&nbsp;

A state-appointed commission set up to investigate the violence released its interim report on Wednesday, dismissing claims troops and police have embarked on a campaign to force the Rohingya out of the country.

Its interim findings come days after the government detained multiple police officers over a video showing policemen beating and kicking Rohingya villagers. The footage, shot by one of the officers, has sparked outrage and undermined the government&#39;s blanket denials that soldiers and police have carried out rights abuses.

The size of the &quot;Bengali&quot; population, mosques and religious buildings in the unrest-hit area &quot;are proof that there were no cases of genocide and religious persecution&quot;, it said in a statement carried in state media. Myanmar refuses to recognise the Rohingya as one of the country&#39;s ethnic minorities, instead describing them as Bengalis -- or illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh -- even though many have lived in Myanmar for generations.

The commission also found &quot;insufficient evidence&quot; of rape but added it was still looking into claims security forces committed arson, illegal arrests and torture of the Rohingya. It blamed the unrest on foreign-backed extremists, whom it said had attacked security forces in October to harm &quot;the sovereignty of the state... with the intention of igniting riots and conflicts&quot;.

Legal action has been taken against 485 people arrested during the army&#39;s subsequent clearance operation, it added, without giving further details. Chris Lewa, from the Arakan project, said the commission had failed to properly investigate the widespread allegations of rape and rights abuses.

&quot;The methodology is not credible, it&#39;s totally unprofessional,&quot; she said.&nbsp;&quot;There is no corroboration from the villagers they are meant to have talked to. Their job was to verify the allegations and the report has not verified them.&quot;&nbsp;

The commission has faced opposition from across the spectrum since it was announced last month -- the second body created by Suu Kyi to try to heal the simmering religious divide in Rakhine state.

Rights activists dismissed the 13-member commission as toothless, pointing out it is headed by the vice-president, a former army general. Rakhine nationalists and many of the state&#39;s MPs have denounced it as a tool for government propaganda.

Malaysia&#39;s prime minister has accused Suu Kyi of allowing genocide on her watch, while more than a dozen Nobel Laureates wrote to the UN Security Council urging action to stop the &quot;human tragedy amounting to ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity&quot; in northern Rakhine.

State media ran a statement from the Home Affairs Ministry on Wednesday, saying eight officers have now been arrested over the incident depicted in the video. &quot;Police committed abuses as they tried to arrest some villagers who fled the village and some who were hiding in their homes,&quot; the statement said.

Myanmar has long discriminated against the stateless Rohingya. More than one million of them live in Rakhine, including 120,000 in displacement camps. Their movements are severely restricted as well as their access to basic services, like health and education.

(AFP)

A recent video showing policemen beating and kicking Rohingya villagers undermines the government's blanket denials

A commission probing violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state on Wednesday denied security forces have carried out a genocidal campaign against the Rohingya, days after a video emerged showing police beating civilians from the Muslim minority. Tens of thousands of Rohingya -- a group loathed by many among Myanmar's Buddhist majority -- have fled a military operation in the northwestern state, launched after deadly attacks on police posts in October. Dozens have died in the crackdown, while escapees now in neighbouring Bangladesh have claimed they suffered rape, arson, murder and torture at the hands of police or soldiers. Myanmar's government, led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has said the allegations are invented and has resisted mounting international pressure to protect the minority. A state-appointed commission set up to investigate the violence released its interim report on Wednesday, dismissing claims troops and police have embarked on a campaign to force the Rohingya out of the country. Its interim findings come days after the government detained multiple police officers over a video showing policemen beating and kicking Rohingya villagers. The footage, shot by one of the officers, has sparked outrage and undermined the government's blanket denials that soldiers and police have carried out rights abuses. The size of the "Bengali" population, mosques and religious buildings in the unrest-hit area "are proof that there were no cases of genocide and religious persecution", it said in a statement carried in state media. Myanmar refuses to recognise the Rohingya as one of the country's ethnic minorities, instead describing them as Bengalis -- or illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh -- even though many have lived in Myanmar for generations. The commission also found "insufficient evidence" of rape but added it was still looking into claims security forces committed arson, illegal arrests and torture of the Rohingya. It blamed the unrest on foreign-backed extremists, whom it said had attacked security forces in October to harm "the sovereignty of the state... with the intention of igniting riots and conflicts". Legal action has been taken against 485 people arrested during the army's subsequent clearance operation, it added, without giving further details. Chris Lewa, from the Arakan project, said the commission had failed to properly investigate the widespread allegations of rape and rights abuses. "The methodology is not credible, it's totally unprofessional," she said. "There is no corroboration from the villagers they are meant to have talked to. Their job was to verify the allegations and the report has not verified them." The commission has faced opposition from across the spectrum since it was announced last month -- the second body created by Suu Kyi to try to heal the simmering religious divide in Rakhine state. Rights activists dismissed the 13-member commission as toothless, pointing out it is headed by the vice-president, a former army general. Rakhine nationalists and many of the state's MPs have denounced it as a tool for government propaganda. Malaysia's prime minister has accused Suu Kyi of allowing genocide on her watch, while more than a dozen Nobel Laureates wrote to the UN Security Council urging action to stop the "human tragedy amounting to ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity" in northern Rakhine. State media ran a statement from the Home Affairs Ministry on Wednesday, saying eight officers have now been arrested over the incident depicted in the video. "Police committed abuses as they tried to arrest some villagers who fled the village and some who were hiding in their homes," the statement said. Myanmar has long discriminated against the stateless Rohingya. More than one million of them live in Rakhine, including 120,000 in displacement camps. Their movements are severely restricted as well as their access to basic services, like health and education. (AFP)

Myanmar commission denies genocidal campaign against Rohingya Muslims

A weekend attack in which a man set fire to a veiled British woman&#39;s clothing in Manhattan was not likely an Islamophobic attack, police said Wednesday. 
 
The incident took place late Saturday in front of a luxury boutique on 5th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The woman, a 35-year-old tourist, said she was walking when she suddenly felt her shirt sleeve on fire. 
 
Police at first said they were investigating a possible hate crime, but backtracked on Wednesday, saying she was not likely targeted because of her clothing. 
 
Two similar attacks were carried out against women in the same area on Saturday night, police said. The woman was neither a Muslim nor was wearing any religious clothing. 
 
Police said the investigation is continuing and no suspects have been arrested. 
 
In August, an imam and his assistant were shot to death on the street near their mosque in the borough of Queens. An investigation into that incident has not yet established that it was an Islamophobic attack. 
 
After the shooting, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that additional police officers would be deployed to secure mosques and the Muslim community. 
 
(AFP)

Police said that the woman, who was set on fire on Saturday, was not targeted because of her clothing

A weekend attack in which a man set fire to a veiled British woman's clothing in Manhattan was not likely an Islamophobic attack, police said Wednesday. The incident took place late Saturday in front of a luxury boutique on 5th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The woman, a 35-year-old tourist, said she was walking when she suddenly felt her shirt sleeve on fire. Police at first said they were investigating a possible hate crime, but backtracked on Wednesday, saying she was not likely targeted because of her clothing. Two similar attacks were carried out against women in the same area on Saturday night, police said. The woman was neither a Muslim nor was wearing any religious clothing. Police said the investigation is continuing and no suspects have been arrested. In August, an imam and his assistant were shot to death on the street near their mosque in the borough of Queens. An investigation into that incident has not yet established that it was an Islamophobic attack. After the shooting, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that additional police officers would be deployed to secure mosques and the Muslim community. (AFP)

Veiled British woman's attack not likely anti-Muslim: New York police

Germany&#39;s interior minister came out in favour of partially banning the full-face burqa Islamic veil on Friday, as a debate on integration rages after two jihadist attacks, and ahead of key state polls. 
 
The call by Thomas de Maiziere comes as Chancellor Angela Merkel&#39;s government attempts to address public fears surrounding last year&#39;s record influx of migrants and refugees.&nbsp;It also echoed a controversial move by several French towns in recent weeks to outlaw &quot;burkinis&quot;, the full-body Islamic swimsuit, at a highly sensitive time for relations with the Muslim community following a series of Islamist attacks. 
 
&quot;We agree that we reject the burqa, we agree that we want to introduce a legal requirement to show one&#39;s face in places where it is necessary for our society&#39;s coexistence: at the wheel, at public offices, at the registry office, in schools and universities, in the civil service, in court,&quot; De Maiziere said after a meeting with regional counterparts from his conservative bloc. 
 
He told public television that the full-face veil &quot;does not belong in our cosmopolitan country&quot;. 
 
&quot;We want to show our faces to each other and that is why we agree that we reject this. The question is, how we put this into law,&quot; he said.&nbsp;De Maiziere, who was to hold a press conference later on Friday on the proposal, did not say when he would put forward a draft bill. 
 
But he indicated that outlawing the burqa only under certain circumstances, as opposed to the blanket ban favoured by the hard right of Merkel&#39;s Christian Union bloc, would be &quot;likely to win approval&quot; in parliament.&nbsp;Merkel&#39;s right-left &quot;grand coalition&quot; holds an overwhelming majority in the Bundestag lower house. 
 
Islamic State threat &#39;already there&#39; 
 
In an interview with a regional newspaper this week, Merkel underlined her objections to the burqa.&nbsp;&quot;From my point of view, a woman who is entirely veiled has hardly any chance at integrating,&quot; she said. 
 
De Maiziere&#39;s position outlined on Friday represents a compromise with hardliners ahead of two pivotal regional elections next month in which the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party looks set to make strong gains. 
 
Just last week he had rejected a call from conservative state interior ministers for a sweeping burqa ban, saying: &quot;We can&#39;t ban everything that we reject, and I reject the wearing of the burqa.&quot; 
 
He made the comments on August 11 as he unveiled tough new anti-terror measures after two attacks in Germany last month claimed by the Islamic State group.&nbsp;The measures included a controversial proposal to strip jihadist fighters of their German nationality, as well as to speed up deportations of convicted criminal migrants and boost police resources. 
 
The AfD in particular has attempted to link the arrival of nearly 1.1 million migrants and refugees in Germany last year with an increased threat of terrorism, an argument Merkel sharply rejected this week on the campaign trail in her home district. 
 
&quot;The phenomenon of Islamist terrorism by Islamic State is not something that came to us with the refugees, it was already there,&quot; she said, referring to the threat posed by homegrown militants. 
 
(AFP)

Thomas de Maiziere told public television that the full-face veil 'does not belong in our cosmopolitan country'

Germany's interior minister came out in favour of partially banning the full-face burqa Islamic veil on Friday, as a debate on integration rages after two jihadist attacks, and ahead of key state polls. The call by Thomas de Maiziere comes as Chancellor Angela Merkel's government attempts to address public fears surrounding last year's record influx of migrants and refugees. It also echoed a controversial move by several French towns in recent weeks to outlaw "burkinis", the full-body Islamic swimsuit, at a highly sensitive time for relations with the Muslim community following a series of Islamist attacks. "We agree that we reject the burqa, we agree that we want to introduce a legal requirement to show one's face in places where it is necessary for our society's coexistence: at the wheel, at public offices, at the registry office, in schools and universities, in the civil service, in court," De Maiziere said after a meeting with regional counterparts from his conservative bloc. He told public television that the full-face veil "does not belong in our cosmopolitan country". "We want to show our faces to each other and that is why we agree that we reject this. The question is, how we put this into law," he said. De Maiziere, who was to hold a press conference later on Friday on the proposal, did not say when he would put forward a draft bill. But he indicated that outlawing the burqa only under certain circumstances, as opposed to the blanket ban favoured by the hard right of Merkel's Christian Union bloc, would be "likely to win approval" in parliament. Merkel's right-left "grand coalition" holds an overwhelming majority in the Bundestag lower house. Islamic State threat 'already there' In an interview with a regional newspaper this week, Merkel underlined her objections to the burqa. "From my point of view, a woman who is entirely veiled has hardly any chance at integrating," she said. De Maiziere's position outlined on Friday represents a compromise with hardliners ahead of two pivotal regional elections next month in which the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party looks set to make strong gains. Just last week he had rejected a call from conservative state interior ministers for a sweeping burqa ban, saying: "We can't ban everything that we reject, and I reject the wearing of the burqa." He made the comments on August 11 as he unveiled tough new anti-terror measures after two attacks in Germany last month claimed by the Islamic State group. The measures included a controversial proposal to strip jihadist fighters of their German nationality, as well as to speed up deportations of convicted criminal migrants and boost police resources. The AfD in particular has attempted to link the arrival of nearly 1.1 million migrants and refugees in Germany last year with an increased threat of terrorism, an argument Merkel sharply rejected this week on the campaign trail in her home district. "The phenomenon of Islamist terrorism by Islamic State is not something that came to us with the refugees, it was already there," she said, referring to the threat posed by homegrown militants. (AFP)

Germany's interior minister votes for partial burqa ban

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