Israel-Hamas War: Countries See Surge in Islamophobia
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Hashim Sheikh
- . October 22, 2023
- . Update: October 22, 2023 10:22 am
A six-year-old boy was killed in the US, and women were verbally abused and had their head scarves pulled off their heads – just because they are Muslims. Countries around the world have seen a surge in Islamophobia amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Law enforcement officers are struggling to deal with racist and hate crimes. Individuals are being singled out and attacked because of their religion. It’s shocking that that people and governments cannot move beyond race and religion even when we have moved forward from the dark ages.
The world is once taking a step back, governments spewing hatred against specific religions and communities, and people armed with pitchforks threatening to wipe them out from the face of the Earth. Does the world need this?
Israel-Hamas War Having Direct Impact
London mayor Sadiq Khan said these are traumatic times. “The conflict is having a direct impact on London and Londoners, with increasing cases of abhorrent Islamophobia and anti-Semitism seen in the capital. There is an understandable heightened fear in our communities. I’ve heard some truly harrowing stories, from Muslim women now too scared to go out wearing hijab, to Jewish parents unsure if they should send their child to school, and if they do if it’s safe to wear school uniform.”
Yousef Hannon, the uncle of the Palestinian-American boy who was killed in a hate crime, said Muslims are not animals. “We are humans. We want people to see us as humans, to feel us as humans, to deal with us as humans because this is what we are.”
Ahmed Rehab, executive director of Muslim Civil Liberties Organization, said there has been a disturbing spike in hate calls and emails since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. “Palestinians basically again, with their hearts broken over what’s happening to their people have to also worry about the immediate safety of life and limb living here in these most free of democracies in the world.”
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Incidents Driven by Pro-Israel Media Coverage
Salem Nasser, a professor of international relations, believes anti-Muslim sentiments have been influenced and driven by pro-Israel media coverage. Anti-Muslim activists chant Palestinians are terrorists and that every Muslim is a terrorist.
“We’ve been continually incentivized to blame Hamas and the Palestinians for all that’s happening now, and to authorize Israeli violence in Gaza.” Nasser said the wrongful association of Palestinians with terrorism by the media enables Israel to act as it wishes.
Sheikh Jihad Hammadeh, a Muslim leader in Brazil, shared that on October 12 his 18-year-old daughter was called a terrorist on two occasions – a first incident for her. He believes propaganda against Palestine is generating that hatred. “The press isn’t covering the conflict in a balanced way. Political leaders have been stimulating hatred against us.”
Hammadeh said there’s also a media war. “The aim is to justify the attacks against the Palestinian people.”
