In Sri Lanka, hate speech and impunity fuel anti-Muslim violence
A day before anti-Muslim mobs swept through a peaceful hill town in central Sri Lanka, the leader of a Sinhala nationalist group took a stroll through the town’s centre. “We have been distributing leaflets and have now reached Digana,” Amith Weerasinghe said into the camera of his phone. “But the problem is we haven’t come […]
Counter-terror police investigate ‘punish a Muslim’ day letters
Counter-terrorism police in the UK are investigating a possible hate crime after several people received letters calling on them to attack Muslims on April 3, termed in the leaflet as “punish a Muslim” day. Several Britons in London, the West Midlands and Yorkshire said they received the printed letter through the post, according to reports. […]
Town Manager Fired for Anti-Muslim Comments to Get $30K
Tom Kawczynski, a town manager in Maine who was fired for posting anti-Muslim comments, will receive $30,000 to avoid a lawsuit, local outlets reported. The decision was made behind closed doors in an hour-long, private meeting between Kawczynski, the town lawyer and four members of the local government, the Bangor Daily News reported. Kawczynski came […]
What We Discovered During a Year of Documenting Hate
The days after Election Day last year seemed to bring with them a rise in hate crimes and bias incidents. Reports filled social media and appeared in local news. There were the letters calling for the genocide of Muslims that were sent to Islamic centers from California to Ohio. And the swastikas that were scrawled […]
The Empire Files: The Most Dangerous Year for Muslims in America
Abby Martin interviews Dr. Deepa Kumar, professor of media studies at Rutgers University and author of Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, about the roots of this alarming situation. From confronting right-wing arguments, to examining the reality behind Donald Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims, to how Islamophobia is a reinforcement and basis for the structures […]
Anti-Muslim group confronted by protesters in Quebec
Anti-immigration and anti-Muslim groups clashed with counter-protesters in Ottawa, Saturday, along the Quebec border where thousands of asylum seekers have crossed into the country since January. On Ottawa’s Parliament Hill, the seat of the federal government, a few dozen members of a far-right alliance called the Canadian Coalition of Concerned Citizens (CCCC) protested opposition to […]
Transcripts detail plot to bomb Somali refugees in Kansas
Prosecutors: Men accused of conspiring to bomb a mosque, apartment complex housing Somali refugees in Kansas also discussed killing the white landlord WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Three men accused of conspiring to bomb a Kansas mosque and an apartment complex housing Somali refugees also allegedly discussed killing the refugees’ white landlord because he rented […]
UN urged to punish Myanmar army over Rohingya ‘atrocities’
Pressure tightened on Myanmar Monday as a rights group urged world leaders to impose sanctions on the country’s military, which is accused of driving out more than 400,000 Rohingya Muslims in an orchestrated “ethnic cleansing” campaign. The call from Human Rights Watch came as the UN General Assembly prepared to convene in New York, with […]
Maine bank fires executive over anti-Muslim Facebook posts
In a post to their Facebook page on Friday afternoon, Kennebunk Savings Bank announced that Dawn Robinson, who had been hired last month as the bank’s Chief Information Officer, was no longer working for the company. The firing was a result of Robinson posting what the bank described as “disturbing and offensive images” on Facebook. […]
Despite Disavowals, Leading Tech Companies Help Extremist Sites Monetize Hate
Because of its “extreme hostility toward Muslims,” the website Jihadwatch.org is considered an active hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League. The views of the site’s director, Robert Spencer, on Islam led the British Home Office to ban him from entering the country in 2013. But its designation as a […]