Tag: Islamophobia

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Anti-Muslim incidents in US hit record high in 2023  

Human rights advocates have similarly reported a global rise in Islamophobia…reports Asian Lite News

Reported discrimination and attacks against Muslims and Palestinians reached a record high in the US in 2023, driven by rising Islamophobia and bias as the Israel-Gaza war raged late in the year, data from an advocacy group showed on Tuesday.

Complaints totaled 8,061 in 2023, a 56 percent rise from the year before and the highest since the Council on American-Islamic Relations began records nearly 30 years ago. About 3,600 of those incidents occurred from October to December, CAIR said.

Human rights advocates have similarly reported a global rise in Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian bias and antisemitism since the latest eruption of conflict in the Middle East.

US incidents have included the fatal October stabbing of 6-year-old Palestinian American Wadea Al-Fayoume in Illinois, the November shooting of three students of Palestinian descent in Vermont and the February stabbing of a Palestinian American man in Texas.

CAIR’s report said 2023 saw a “resurgence of anti-Muslim hate” after the first ever recorded annual drop in complaints in 2022. In the first nine months of 2023, such incidents averaged around 500 a month before jumping to nearly 1,200 a month in the last quarter.

“The primary force behind this wave of heightened Islamophobia was the escalation of violence in Israel and Palestine in October 2023,” the report said.

The most numerous complaints in 2023 were in the categories of immigration and asylum, employment discrimination, hate crimes and education discrimination, CAIR said.

Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s subsequent military assault on Hamas-governed Gaza has killed over 32,000 people, according to the local health ministry, displaced nearly all its 2.3 million population, put Gaza on the brink of starvation and led to genocide allegations that Israel denies.

CAIR said it compiled the numbers by reviewing public statements and videos as well as reports from public calls, emails and an online complaint system. It contacted people whose incidents were reported in the media.

Corey Saylor, CAIR’s research and advocacy director says the number of complaints CAIR received after October 2023 surpassed previous spikes of Islamophobia in the U.S., including when Donald Trump  proposed a Muslim ban in 2015 and attempted to implement it as president in 2018.

The report also cites a December incident in Georgia in which a middle school teacher was arrested after allegedly threatening to cut off the head of a student who questioned an Israeli flag in his classroom.

Saylor says the number of complaints CAIR received after October 2023 surpassed previous spikes of Islamophobia in the U.S., including when Donald Trump  proposed a Muslim ban in 2015 and attempted to implement it as president in 2018.

“By the numbers, it doesn’t even add up to what we’re seeing right now, or what we saw in October to December,” he said.

What’s particularly disheartening, Saylor said, is that 2022 was the first year in CAIR’s history when there was a drop in complaints, with 23% fewer than in 2021. The spike in 2023 was a somber snap back to reality, he said.

“It’s a return to a degree of normalcy for our community,” he said. “Unfortunately, over the last couple of decades, Muslims have come to expect to be targeted. … We have a history of that with minorities in this country.”

He urges anyone who experiences discrimination or a threat to report it, and says these incidents often go unchecked.

“I’ll talk to people and they’ll be like, ‘Oh, I got a bomb threat at the mosque a couple of weeks ago,’” he said. “I’ll say, ‘What’d you do?’ ‘I deleted it, we get them all the time.’”

Reporting an incident will bring visibility and accountability, he said, and it will also mobilize a community to come together. He encourages young Muslim people not to lose hope, saying he sees an interfaith coalition rallying together in support.

“Over the last couple of decades, the community has grown significantly stronger,” he said. “While the community expects to face discrimination, it is far more empowered to defend itself and assert itself than it has been in the past.”

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MP warns of ‘explosion’ in unreported Islamophobia

A recent poll conducted by Hope Not Hate revealed that 58 percent of Conservative Party members believe Islam to be a threat to the British way of life…reports Asian Lite News

A senior politician has warned of an “explosion” of unreported Islamophobia in the UK. Shadow Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “In my constituency, people report it to me but not the police. They kind of just put it down to the price you pay for being a Muslim in this country, (but) reporting is then what drives police policy, social policy and potential legislation. We all have a role to play.”

Mahmood was speaking at a panel discussion after a screening of the film “HIJABI” by award-winning documentary-maker Samir Mehanovic.

The film, released to coincide with International Women’s Day and International Day to Combat Islamophobia, documents the lives of five British women and their experiences with Islamophobia, including one forced to flee the UK after she was assaulted.

Mahmood said: “Islamophobia has passed the dinner party test — it’s seen as acceptable. This is not just a Muslim problem, it should be addressed by all of society.”

The UK has witnessed a 365 percent surge in anti-Muslim hate incidents since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

According to Tell Mama, an organization dedicated to fighting Islamophobia, 65 percent of all incidents target women, with those who wear a hijab or niqab especially vulnerable.

Afzal Khan, an MP with the main opposition Labour Party, told the panel: “With Islamophobic hate crime having trebled since October and senior members of the Conservative Party spouting Islamophobia through the media in recent weeks, there has never been a more pressing time to listen to the testimonies of visibly Muslim women in Britain.”

MP Lee Anderson, former deputy chair of the Conservatives, was suspended by the party last month for refusing to apologize for claiming that Islamists had “got control” of London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

A recent poll conducted by Hope Not Hate revealed that 58 percent of Conservative Party members believe Islam to be a threat to the British way of life.

A government spokesperson told The Independent: “British Muslim women make a huge contribution to the United Kingdom and in strengthening the ties that bind our country together.

“It is unacceptable for anyone to feel unsafe while practicing their religion and we take a zero-tolerance approach to anti-Muslim hatred.

“We expect the police to fully investigate all hate crimes and work with the Crown Prosecution Service to make sure the cowards who commit these abhorrent offences feel the full force of the law.”

Former Labour councillor Shaista Aziz, who resigned from the party over the leadership’s position on Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza, told the panel: “When it comes to Islamophobia, there’s rightly lots of focus on the government and what they are doing and not doing. There’s no focus though on the man who wants to become the next leader of this country: Keir Starmer.

“Labour can talk about equalities until the cows come home. However, the proof is there: anti-Black racism, Islamophobia and a hierarchy of racism.” She added: “These things cannot be brushed under the carpet.”

A recent poll by the Labour Muslim Network reported that the party’s support within the UK’s Muslim community had dropped from 86 percent at the time of the last general election in 2019 to around 60 percent, with many citing Gaza as the reason.

ALSO READ-Scully’s comment adds to Islamophobia row

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Scully’s comment adds to Islamophobia row

Tory ex-minister said areas of east London and Birmingham had “no-go areas” enforced by local Muslims “abusing their religion”…reports Asian Lite News

Claims by a former Conservative minister that Muslim “no-go” zones exist in major British cities have escalated an Islamophobia row within the ruling party. MP Paul Scully, who previously ran to be his party’s candidate for London mayor, made the claims as the Conservatives were engaged in a fresh row over Islamophobia.

In an interview with the BBC, Scully referenced areas of east London and Birmingham as containing “no-go areas” enforced by local Muslims “abusing their religion,” the Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday.

“If you look at parts of Tower Hamlets, for example, where there are no-go areas, parts of Birmingham Sparkhill, where there are no-go areas, mainly because of doctrine, mainly because of people using, abusing in many ways, their religion to … because it is not the doctrine of Islam, to espouse what some of these people are saying,” he said. “That, I think, is the concern that needs to be addressed.”

Scully was responding to the recent sacking of MP Lee Anderson, who had claimed that Islamists had “got control” of London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Sully’s comments were condemned by Labour and Conservative figures representing the areas referenced by him.

Andy Street, the Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, said “those in Westminster” should “stop the nonsense slurs.” He added: “The idea that Birmingham has a ‘no-go’ zone is news to me, and I suspect the good people of Sparkhill.”

Labour’ Jess Phillips said: “As one of the MPs for Sparkhill, I am expecting an apology for this utter drivel. My kids hang out in Sparkhill day and night, never had a moment’s worry. I go there weekly and live literally a five-minute walk from there and used to live there myself.”

Scully also claimed that the Conservative Party did not have a problem with Islamophobia.

Tory action against Anderson angers voters

Tory supporters at the grassroots level have expressed anger over Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s suspension of an MP embroiled in an Islamophobia row, The Guardian reported on Tuesday.

Lee Anderson was suspended last week after claiming in a TV interview that Islamists had “got control” of Sadiq Khan. Sunak’s decision to sack Anderson has divided the Conservative base, with some supporters labeling the leader “weak and feeble,” and a “snake.”

Leaked WhatsApp messages seen by The Guardian from members of the Conservative Democratic Organisation, a faction on the right of the party launched in 2022, show the extent of anger at Anderson’s sacking.

One member said it was “time for the snake of a PM to go,” while another said Sunak “should never have been” in the leadership position. Other members appear to support Anderson’s comments, with one saying: “The government are now owned by fear of Islamic rule.”

Controversial former Home Secretary Suella Braverman is also discussed in the WhatsApp conversations after she claimed last week that “the Islamists, the extremists and the antisemites are in charge now.”

One CDO member said: “She is saying the exact same thing as Lee Anderson, just in less colorful language, and importantly in print. I am beginning to believe that Suella is the only person who has shown the mettle who can turn the party and remove the threat of Islam from our country.”

Their message was liked by 10 group members on the messaging platform.

In a sign of further rifts within the Conservative Party, the CDO group members shared an online petition calling for Anderson’s reinstatement, which had gathered more than 5,000 signatures overnight.

Members also warned that the party leadership’s decision to sack the MP would threaten its electoral chances. One member said: “There goes Lee’s voters — wonder what happens when it dawns on them that they actually need voters to keep themselves in power.”

A number of Conservative MPs have said they support Anderson’s reinstatement if he apologizes for his comments. MP Jonathan Gullis told Times Radio: “I hope that we will see him return to that party sooner rather than later but of course he has to, I think, make that apology to Mayor Khan.”

Another Conservative MP said: “He wants to come back. We want him back.” But Anderson has so far remained firm in standing by his remarks, describing them as “born out of sheer frustration at what is happening to our beautiful capital city.”

In a statement, he said: “If you are wrong, apologising is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength. But when you think you are right, you should never apologise because to do so would be a sign of weakness.”

Despite making the decision to sack Anderson, Sunak has avoided describing the MP’s comments as Islamophobic, saying: “I’ve been very clear that what he said was wrong, it was unacceptable and that’s why we suspended (him).”

Khan said Sunak’s refusal to describe the claims as Islamophobic is “a tacit endorsement of anti-Muslim hatred and can only lead to the conclusion that anti-Muslim bigotry and racism are not taken seriously.”

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Sunak defends Tories against Islamophobia claims

PM under mounting pressure to directly address the issue and condemn the remarks made by his former colleague…reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was forced to defend the Conservatives against allegations of Islamophobia as the row over a Tory MP’s remarks against London Mayor Sadiq Khan continued to dominate the headlines.

Sunak was asked during a BBC radio interview round in northern England if the Conservative Party had Islamophobic tendencies after MP Lee Anderson was suspended from the Tory party last week for stating that Islamists had got control of Pakistani-origin Khan, a member of the Opposition Labour Party, who branded the remarks “Islamophobic, racist and anti-Islam”.

Sunak had been under mounting pressure to directly address the issue and condemn the remarks made by his former party colleague. “No, of course it doesn’t. I think it is incumbent on all of us, especially those elected to Parliament, not to inflame our debates in a way that is harmful to others,” he said in response to the question about whether the Conservative Party has a problem of Islamophobia.

Asked to address the controversial remarks made by Lee Anderson, he added: Lee’s comments weren’t acceptable, they were wrong and that is why he has had the whip suspended. “Words matter, especially in the current environment where tensions are running high. I think it’s incumbent on all of us to choose them carefully.”

The row followed scenes of chaos in Parliament last week over an Israel-Gaza conflict vote and came in response to an article in The Daily Telegraph’ by former home secretary Suella Braverman, who wrote that “the Islamists, the extremists and the anti-Semites are in charge” of the country. “I don’t actually believe that these Islamists have got control of our country, but what I do believe is that they’ve got control of Khan, they’ve got control of London. He’s actually given our capital city away to his mates,” Anderson told GB News’ in response to a question.

Following his suspension from the Conservative Party, Anderson refused to apologise for his comments, saying instead: “Following a call with the chief whip, I understand the difficult position that I have put both he and the prime minister in with regards to my comments. “I fully accept that they had no option but to suspend the whip in these circumstances. However, I will continue to support the government’s efforts to call out extremism in all its forms be that antisemitism or islamophobia.”

While the Labour Party has insisted that Anderson’s comments were racist, most senior Tories have refrained from using the term even as they insist the words were wrong. There are also some reports of support for the suspended Tory MP from within certain quarters of the Conservative Party.

Meanwhile, it has proved a major distraction for Sunak who is touring the north of England to draw attention to unprecedented investment for better transport connectivity for the region. He announced on Monday that the north will receive GBP 2.5 billion and the Midlands region of England will receive GBP 2.2 billion from April 2025 to improve local transport connections that so many people rely on every day, particularly across smaller cities, towns, and rural areas.

We have a clear plan to level up our country with greater transport links that people need and deliver the right long-term change for a brighter future, said Sunak. The Local Transport Fund will deliver a new era of transport connectivity. This unprecedented investment will benefit more people, in more places, more quickly than HS2 (High-Speed rail) ever would have done, and comes alongside the billions of pounds worth of funding we’ve already invested into our roads, buses and local transport services across the country, he said.

It comes as the British prime minister also decided to host his first Cabinet meeting in the Yorkshire and Humber region of northern England. As part of the initiative, ministers across government will be meeting with communities, businesses, and organisations across the north and Midlands to discuss their priorities for the Local Transport Fund and how their area can best benefit from the funding.

Conservative Muslim Forum seeks talks

The Conservative Muslim Forum has said it is seeking to meet with senior government figures as UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his party continue to battle ongoing allegations of Islamophobia.

It comes after the party’s former deputy party chair, Lee Anderson, was suspended by the Conservatives for remarks about Mayor of London Sadiq Khan last week, and an article by former Home Secretary Suella Braverman for the Daily Telegraph claimed that “the Islamists, the extremists and the antisemites are in charge” of the UK.

Anderson refused to apologize for his claim that Islamists had “got control” of Khan and London.

Naveed Asghar, deputy chair of the CMF, told The Guardian: “Is the party racist or Islamophobic? I would say no, from my heart. Individuals? Yes. Are these people pandering to the vote base in their seats? I can’t see what’s going on.

“If he (Anderson) is doubling down on the comments, then the party should absolutely be having a word with him. I was hoping that the suspension would be enough. Any inflammatory remarks are just not acceptable, whether it’s people on the left making antisemitic comments or people on the right making anti-Muslim comments.”

On a visit to East Yorkshire on Monday, Sunak refused condemn Braverman’s article, saying: “I think that those comments were not about an individual in particular.”

He also stopped short of calling Anderson’s comments Islamophobic, saying: “I’ve been very clear that what he said was wrong, it was unacceptable, and that’s why we suspended (him).

“It’s important that everybody, but particularly elected politicians, are careful with their words and do not inflame tensions.”

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‘365% spike in reports of Islamophobia since Oct 2023’

Many of the Islamophobic incidents have involved people being targeted over their support for Palestine as the war in Gaza continues…reports Asian Lite News

An enormous rise in Islamophobic incidents against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war has led many Muslims in the UK to fear leaving their homes after dark, The Independent reported.

Many of the Islamophobic incidents have involved people being targeted over their support for Palestine as the war in Gaza continues.

Muslims who spoke to The Independent said they had bricks thrown through their windows for displaying the Palestinian flag, and a 17-year-old was questioned by his teachers after he displayed a Palestinian badge on his bag at school.

Islamophobia Response Unit, a charity dedicated to supporting victims of Islamophobia, said there was a 365 percent increase in reports of Islamophobia in October 2023, following Hamas’ attack on Israel that month.

“Since October 2023, IRU has seen a sustained increase in reports to the unit,” said IRU CEO Majid Iqbal.

“It is clear that this is now developing into a long-term trend and is having a profound impact on those affected by it. IRU calls on the press and politicians to not demonize legitimate Palestinian activism and, by extension, British Muslims, to avoid feeding into the serious societal problem of Islamophobia,” he said.

Tell MAMA, another body that records anti-Muslim hate incidents, said there were 2,010 Islamophobic incidents between Oct. 7 and Feb. 7, more than triple the 600 reported during the same period the year before.

The figures were released in the same week that Tory MP Lee Anderson was suspended by the Conservative Party after making comments about London Mayor Sadiq Khan that have been widely condemned as Islamophobic.

Anderson told GB News on Friday that “Islamists” had “got control” of the mayor of London and the capital city.

“I don’t actually believe that the Islamists have got control of our country, but what I do believe is they’ve got control of Khan and they’ve got control of London … He’s actually given our capital city away to his mates,” the former Tory deputy chairman said.

Of the cases reported to IRU, a 17-year-old Londoner said he was interrogated by teachers about his faith and “his understanding of Hamas” after he put a Palestinian badge on his school bag.

The Year 13 student said he felt targeted because he was Muslim, which triggered an anxiety attack and led to exam failure.

“The numerous instances of being pulled out whilst studying to remove my badge made me feel like I was targeted because I was a Muslim, which made me feel like I was doing something wrong,” the boy said.

“This feeling of being targeted intensified following the intimidating interrogation, which I was subjected to,” he added. A 32-year-old doctor said he has been too scared to leave his home after an attack he believes stemmed from his support for Palestine.

He was awoken on Feb. 5 after a large rock smashed through a window at his Manchester home, which displayed a Palestinian flag. He said he was unable to sleep and took two weeks off work as a result of the incident.

“This event has been extremely traumatic and has had a significant impact on my well-being,” he told The Independent.

“I am not sleeping; I just pace around until 4 or 5 a.m. because I am too scared to sleep in the property. I no longer leave the house after sunset, as I am too frightened.

“I will soon be returning to work after two weeks off sick with stress, but I am very concerned about the impact this event will have on my professional performance as a doctor. I do not know how I can work with patients whilst I am this sleep-deprived,” he added.

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British Muslims observe Islamophobia Awareness Month  

“Over the course of the now month-long attack on the Gaza Strip, we have seen a surge of hate crime at home,” the MCB spokesperson said…reports Asian Lite News

Muslims in the UK are observing Islamophobia Awareness Month against the backdrop of the conflict in Gaza and “an exceptionally hostile political environment,” the Muslim Council of Britain said on Wednesday.

The negative political climate is “only further exacerbated by divisive comments from senior politicians such as the home secretary,” Suella Braverman, an MCB spokesperson said.

Braverman has described pro-Palestinian demonstrators who take to the streets of the UK in support of a ceasefire in Gaza as taking part in “hate marches.” And in a letter to senior police officers, she said that waving a Palestinian flag or chants that advocate freedom for Arabs in the region could constitute a criminal offense.

There has been an increase in violence against British Muslim communities in the past month, since the war in Gaza began, the MCB said, with police recording a 140 percent increase in Islamophobic offenses in London alone.

“Over the course of the now month-long attack on the Gaza Strip, we have seen a surge of hate crime at home,” the MCB spokesperson said.

“We have also seen Islamophobic attacks across the UK, including the attempted arson on an Oxford mosque in which the perpetrator threw a petrol can at the mosque that had ‘IDF’ (the abbreviation for Israel Defense Forces) scrawled over it; a man attacking a Muslim woman with a concrete slab in broad daylight; and alcohol being poured over Muslim worshippers praying at a protest.”

The head of London’s Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley, has said there is scope for “sharper” laws to deal with extremism and that he would support a review of the legal definition of the word, after his force was criticized for the way it has handled ongoing weekly pro-Palestinian protests in London.

According to The Observer newspaper, government officials have drawn up proposals to broaden the definition of extremism to include anyone who “undermines” the country’s institutions and values.

Civil rights groups fear that such a move would “criminalize dissent” and dramatically suppress freedom of expression. There is concern that a broader legal definition could be used to crack down on freedom of speech and penalize legitimate organizations and individuals.

Sal Naseem, 47, is an expert on inclusive culture and the former regional director for London at the Independent Office for Police Conduct. He has actively campaigned against Islamophobia after witnessing it first-hand while growing up in southwestern Scotland.

Any proposal that could limit free speech must be developed in accordance with the laws on equality and must not legally discriminate against any particular group, he said.

“Muslims are very much protected under the equality law in the UK, and what we are seeing now as a result of the conflict in Israel and Palestine is the rising tide of Islamophobia being peddled out, particularly in the right-wing media,” Naseem said, adding that narratives that routinely demonize Muslims are being touted and explored.

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US Aims to Tackle Islamophobia

The initiative comes amid a spike in antisemitism incidents and increased fears of Islamophobia across the US in the wake of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war…reports Asian Lite News

The White House has announced that US President Joe Biden’s administration is set to establish the country’s first-ever national strategy to counter Islamophobia.

At a press briefing on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: “President Biden ran for office to restore the soul of our nation. He is unequivocal: there is no place for hate in America against anyone. Period.”

“We look forward to continuing our work with community leaders, advocates, members of Congress, and more to develop the strategy — which will be a joint effort led by the Domestic Policy Council and the National Security Council — and counter the scourge of Islamophobia and hate in all its forms.”

She went on to say that ” for too long, Muslims in the US, and those perceived to be Muslim, such as Arabs and Sikhs, have endured a disproportionate number of hate-fueled attacks and other discriminatory incidents”. 

This is the “latest step as part of President Biden’s directive last year to establish an interagency group to increase and better coordinate US government efforts to counter Islamophobia, antisemitism, and related forms of bias and discrimination within the US”, Jean-Pierre was quoted as saying in a White House statement.

The initiative comes amid a spike in antisemitism incidents and increased fears of Islamophobia across the US in the wake of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

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OIC urges media to confront Islamophobia

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has called for cinematic, television and radio productions to confront Islamophobia and insults against religious symbols, reports Asian Lite News

The General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) called on public and private media in Member States to direct their cinematic, television, radio, journalistic and social media to present products to combat Islamophobia and insults against religious symbols, and to clarify and strengthen the tolerant principles of Islam calling for coexistence, tolerance and respect for the other and renouncing violence, intolerance and hatred.

The call came in the statement delivered by the Director of the OIC Information Department, Mr. Wajdi Ali Sindi, at the emergency meeting of OIC States Broadcasting Union (OSBU) to discuss a mechanism for confronting desecration of religious sanctities in the media following the incident of burning a copy of the Holy Qur’an in the Swedish capital.

Mr. Sindi indicated that the Final Communique of the OIC Emergency open-ended meeting of the Executive Committee, regarding the incident, held on July 2, 2023 at the headquarters of the General Secretariat, included 26 items that constituted a road map and an integrated plan to address the recurrence of such incidents and insulting sacred religious symbols.

It called for collective efforts at the level of national parliaments, the media and civil society organizations, to pronounce the OIC position and urge the relevant authorities to take the necessary legislative measures to criminalize such attacks.

Mr. Sindi pointed out that, through its Department of Information and the Islamophobia Observatory, and its media arms represented by the Standing Committee for Information and Cultural Affairs (COMIAC), the OIC States Broadcasting Union (OSBU), and the Union of News Agencies (UNA), the OIC is making great efforts with its partners, to enhance understanding of the responsible use of freedom of expression in the media , and to establish national mechanisms to hold accountable the media that continue to feed hate speech and intolerance, and implementing the OIC media strategy to combat Islamophobia.

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