Qur’an burning in Sweden underscores importance of combating Islamophobia from Europe to Latin America

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Muslim women in Colombia raise awareness about Islam in South America, where cases of harassment, particularly targeting female adherents of the faith in Brazil, are on the rise. (Supplied)
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Updated 06 July 2023
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Qur’an burning in Sweden underscores importance of combating Islamophobia from Europe to Latin America

  • Act of desecration on June 28 draws attention to hatred and prejudice believed to lie just beneath the surface
  • A recent survey of Muslims in Brazil found that women suffer higher rates of Islamophobia than men

SAO PAULO: As the number of Muslims in Latin America increases and Islamic communities gain visibility, more and more cases of Islamophobia are being reported in the region. Community leaders, most of them women, are striving to tackle the issue.

With a Muslim population estimated at between 800,000 and 1.5 million, Brazil is the only nation in Latin America where a comprehensive study on Islamophobia has been conducted.

The issue has been in the spotlight after a copy of the holy Qur’an was burned on June 28 outside Stockholm’s central mosque in an offensive act tolerated by the authorities in Sweden. Although South America has not witnessed such crude display of intolerance, Islamophia is believed to exist just under the surface in many countries.




Swedish police watch as Salwan Momika, who fled from Iraq to Sweden several years ago, prepares to deface the Muslim holy book outside a mosque in Stockholm on June 28, 2023, during the Eid al-Adha holiday. (JAFP)

Led by anthropologist Francirosy Barbosa, a professor at the University of Sao Paulo and herself a Muslim convert, the research involved a survey of 653 Muslims that showed most of them having already suffered some kind of Islamophobia. 

“Women were the majority of the respondents, something that already demonstrates that they’re the ones who suffer the most,” Barbosa told Arab News.

About 54 percent of the men who took part in the study — both those born to Islam and converts — said they have faced some sort of embarrassment due to their religion. Most cases happened on the street, in the workplace or at school.

The proportions are higher among women, with 66 percent of those born to Islam reporting that they have been offended or attacked due to their faith, and 83 percent of converts reporting the same.

Many incidents involve subtle comments and jokes, like a work colleague who discovers that somebody in the office is Muslim and begins to call him or her a “suicide bomber,” or a person who insists that her friend should not wear a headscarf because it is a symbol of male domination.

But the study also reports serious cases of physical violence, such as an unknown attacker spraying insecticide in the eyes of a woman wearing a hijab, and a girl who left her mosque and was hit by a man on the street.

Female converts “are the major victims of Islamophobia because they’re more vulnerable. Many of them come from poor neighborhoods and have to use public transportation,” Barbosa said.

Female converts also have to deal with pressures from their own families. The result is that many of them give up wearing a headscarf after being attacked, something “that brings suffering because they feel they’re failing to attend a divine commandment,” Barbosa said.




Cases of harassment particularly targeting female adherents of the faith in Brazil are on the rise. (Supplied photo)

She added that Islamophobia grew in Brazil under former President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), when different anti-Muslim groups became more powerful.

“In that period, there was a boom in pro-Zionist evangelical churches, for instance,” she said. The survey’s respondents said evangelical Christians are the religious segment that discriminates against them the most.

Barbosa was invited earlier this year to take part in a workshop organized by the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship to discuss hate speech.

Her study on Islamophobia was presented to the group and will be part of its final report, which will orientate the government’s policies to combat intolerance.

“In our research, we included some guidelines for the struggle against Islamophobia, like the need to invest in education about religions and Islam. Now, those suggestions may finally come to light with the new government (of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva),” Barbosa said.

In Argentina, activists against Islamophobia have been counting on partnerships with governmental institutions as well.

FASTFACTS

Recent survey found women suffer higher rate of Islamophobia than men.

Majority of incidents occurred on the street, in the workplace or at school.

Female respondents said they are often targeted for wearing the hijab.

In 2022, Islam para la Paz (Islam for Peace) celebrated a deal with the National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism — known by the Spanish acronym INADI — with the goal of promoting cooperation against religious discrimination.

Melody Amal Khalil Kabalan, who heads Islam para la Paz, said many press outlets were spreading misinformation about Qatar when it hosted the FIFA World Cup last year, so her organization and INADI promoted a workshop on the country for journalists.

“This year, we’ll organize a program called School without Discrimination, which will include workshops about Islamic habits for students,” she told Arab News.

While Islamophobia in Argentina is not comparable to what happens in European nations, there has been a growing number of cases lately, she said. Most cases involve women, like in Brazil.




In Argentina, even the modest burkini swimwear in public places could elicit hate as it is associated with being Muslim. (Supplied

“In a notorious incident, a woman was forbidden to get into a swimming pool in (the city of) Mendoza wearing her burkini,” Khalil said.

“In other cases, women were impeded by government officials to take pictures for documents wearing a hijab, which is their right.”

Victims of Islamophobia can report incidents to INADI, but many fail to do so “because they think the authorities won’t defend Muslims as they defend other groups,” Khalil said.

“We realized that this perception is connected to the fact that our communities aren’t so organized to resist discrimination as other communities in Argentina.”

She said it is up to Muslims to inform and educate Argentinian society about their needs and specificities.

“We have a responsibility to tell people about our way of life. It’s not only a problem for the government,” she added.

Islam para la Paz recently created an observatory of Muslim issues and is gathering information on the communities’ problems.

In Colombia, a group of women led by Maria Jose Acevedo Garcia established five years ago the Islamic Foundation Assalam of Colombian Muslim Women, whose goal is to protect Muslim women and prevent Islamophobia.




Maria Jose Acevedo during an event on religious freedom in Colombia. (Supplied)

She said the most common incidents involve discrimination at school, the workplace and in government agencies.

“Women at times are discriminated against for wearing a hijab at work. In those cases, I send a letter to the person in charge and schedule a visit to the company in order to inform people about Islam,” Acevedo told Arab News.

Raised in a Catholic family, she converted to Islam 20 years ago. At first, she would commonly hear offensive comments and get angry, but over time she “learned how to react calmly and educate people.”

She said: “Assalam frequently visits schools and universities to offer workshops against discrimination. That’s the only way to change things.”

Acevedo added that during crises in Muslim nations — such as the war in Syria and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan — Islamophobia usually increases.

“We still haven’t experienced a great number of physical attacks, but incidents in which people tried to take off the hijab of a woman on public transportation have already been reported,” she said.




Caption

Assalam recently met with governmental authorities in order to present to them the needs of Muslim women in Colombia.

Problems commonly arise at the airport, for instance, when women coming from Muslim nations are told to take off the headscarf during inspection.

Acevedo expressed hope that more government employees will understand the nature of Islam in the future.

In Mexico, where the Muslim community has been growing over the past years, Islamophobia is noticeable in the arts, books and the news, where “negative expressions are commonly employed when it comes to Islam,” anthropologist Samantha Leyva Cortes told Arab News.

In her studies about Muslim communities in Mexico City and San Cristobal de las Casas, Leyva was told by many women that they are treated as foreigners due to their hijab.

“Shopkeepers frequently assume they aren’t from Mexico and charge them more than they should for a product,” she said.




Sonia Garcia, a Mexican convert to Islam, has partnered with Mayte Gutierrez, another Latina convert to Islam, to help build and operate an entirely new center to help Muslims feel more at home while in Tijuana. (Photo: The Latina Muslim Foundation)

Women wearing headscarves have to face all kinds of sexist remarks on the street and on public transportation, Leyva said.

“People generally think they’re passive, disenfranchised women. They don’t consider that wearing a hijab is their choice,” she added.

But the younger generations have been opening new paths lately. Many Muslim women are expanding their presence on social media and making themselves visible in the public arena.

“Many conversions have been happening online, so the internet is an important space for them,” Leyva said.

Barbosa said most Muslim leaders have been dealing with Islamophobia inadequately. “In general, they’re concerned only about spreading the religion and think that talking about discrimination and violence is something negative that can raise more problems,” she added.

Her goal now is to apply the same survey in other Latin American countries so the problem of Islamophobia in the whole region will be known, and communities and governments will be able to act.

 


Prosecutors say Republican South Carolina lawmaker used ‘joebidennnn69’ to send child sex material

Updated 13 June 2025
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Prosecutors say Republican South Carolina lawmaker used ‘joebidennnn69’ to send child sex material

  • RJ May was arrested after a lengthy investigation and ordered by a federal judge to remain jailed until his trial
  • The three-term Republican helped create the Freedom Caucus, a group of the House’s most conservative members

COLUMBIA, South Carolina: A Republican member of the South Carolina House who prosecutors say used the screen name “joebidennnn69” has been arrested and charged with 10 counts of distributing sexual abuse material involving children.
RJ May was arrested at his Lexington County home after a lengthy investigation and was ordered Thursday by a federal judge to remain jailed until his trial.
The three-term Republican is accused of using “joebidennnn69” to exchange 220 different files of toddlers and young children involved in sex acts on the Kik social media network for about five days in spring 2024, according to court documents that graphically detailed the videos.
Each charge carries a five-to-20 year prison sentence upon conviction and prosecutors suggested May could spend over a decade in prison if found guilty.
The files were uploaded and downloaded using May’s home Wi-Fi network and his cellphone, prosecutors said. Some were hidden by the use of a private network but others were directly linked to his Internet addresses.
May says someone else could have used his Wi-Fi
At his arraignment, May’s lawyer suggested someone could have used the Wi-Fi password that was shown on a board behind a photo May’s wife may have posted online. Attorney Dayne Phillips also suggested investigators didn’t link each Kik message directly to May.
Prosecutors asked that May, 38, not be given bail because he lives at home with his wife and young children, and some of the files he is accused of sharing feature children of about the same age as his.
 

Statement of the South Carolina Freedom Caucus announcing that RJ May was expelled from the group last year. (X photo)

May investigated for paid sex in Colombia
Prosecutors said they also investigated whether May used a fake name to travel to Colombia three times after finding videos on his laptop of him allegedly having sex with three women. An agent from the Department of Homeland Security testified the women appeared to be underage and were paid. US agents have not been able to locate the women.
Prosecutors said May created a Facebook account with his fake name and his Internet history showed him switching between his real account and the fake one and even searching his primary opponent from the fake login.
Phillips, May’s lawyer, told the courtroom that no sexual images of toddlers or young children were found directly on his laptop or cellphone.
After spending the night in jail. May appeared in court Thursday in shorts and a T-shirt with his wrists and ankles in cuffs. After being ordered to stay in jail, he appeared to blow a kiss at his wife, who was at the hearing.
May’s political rise to the state House
After May’s election in 2020, he helped create the Freedom Caucus, a group of the House’s most conservative members who say mainstream House Republicans aren’t the true conservative heart of the GOP. He also helped the campaigns of Republicans running against GOP House incumbents.
“We as legislators have an obligation to insure that our children have no harm done to them,” May said in January 2024 on the House floor during a debate on transgender care for minors.
His son charmed the House in April 2021 when May brought him to visit for his third birthday and the boy practiced his parade wave around the chamber.
The Freedom Caucus released a statement Wednesday night saying they kicked May out of their group after his arrest.
May spent a quiet 2025 House session
Many of his onetime friends have distanced themselves from May as rumors of the investigation spread through the Statehouse. During the current session he could largely be seen at his corner desk in the back of the 124-seat chamber, mixing with very few colleagues.
The House Speaker suspended May from his seat after the indictment.
May’s lawyer suggested he could have been framed and asked the Homeland Security agent if she knew that May had a lot of political enemies.
“There are a fair amount of people who don’t like me either, Mr. Phillips,” agent Britton Lorenzen replied.


No. 2 US diplomat questions need for NATO in deleted social media post

Updated 13 June 2025
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No. 2 US diplomat questions need for NATO in deleted social media post

  • “NATO is still a solution in search of a problem,” Christopher Landau wrote in a social media thread
  • He was replying to a query by Matthew Whitaker, the US ambassador to NATO

WASHINGTON: The number two US diplomat questioned the need for NATO in a post on X — which he later deleted — as the alliance prepares for an annual summit expected to be dominated by a US demand for higher defense spending and Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau was replying to a social media thread by Matthew Whitaker, the US ambassador to NATO. Whitaker in his post said that what happened in the Indo-Pacific mattered for transatlantic security.
“He obviously didn’t get the memo our of our Deputies Committee meeting on this very issue,” Landau wrote at 6:56 p.m. on Wednesday, referring to Whitaker. “NATO is still a solution in search of a problem.”
It was not clear if Landau meant for his message to be public or if he intended to send Whitaker’s post to a third person.
“This was a casual, lighthearted remark intended for a brief, private exchange,” a State Department spokesperson said in emailed comments.
“The Deputy Secretary’s comment was in the context of his desire to improve NATO and ensure it remains focused on its mission,” the spokesperson said.
Landau’s post was later deleted. The Deputies Committee is subordinate to the National Security Council and composed of deputy secretaries of State, Defense and other agencies, according to the White House website.
The administration of former President Joe Biden had pushed the European allies to pay more attention to the threats in the Indo-Pacific, particularly from China, but the Trump administration has encouraged those allies to focus on their own security.
Landau’s post contrasts with views of most of NATO’s European members, who see Russia and its war on Ukraine as an existential threat, and the US-led alliance as their main means of defense.
His post came as NATO leaders prepare for a two-day summit in the Hague beginning on June 24, where they will consider US President Donald Trump’s demand that they boost defense spending to 5 percent of GDP.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to attend the meeting. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, he regularly has attended NATO summits, and alliance members have pledged billions in weapons and condemned Russia for an illegal war of conquest.
Trump has shifted US policy, partially accepting Moscow’s justifications for its full-scale invasion in February 2022 and disparaging Zelensky.
European allies have expressed concern about Trump’s commitment to the 32-member alliance and its support for Ukraine’s battle against Russia’s occupation forces.
 


US sees no immediate reason to ground Boeing 787 after Air India crash

Updated 13 June 2025
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US sees no immediate reason to ground Boeing 787 after Air India crash


WASHINGTON: US officials said on Thursday they have not seen any immediate safety data that would require halting Boeing 787 flights after a fatal Air India accident killed over 240 people.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Acting Federal Aviation Administration head Chris Rocheleau made the comments at a news conference and said they had seen videos of the crash in India.
Duffy said he had spoken to National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy. An NTSB and FAA team, with support from Boeing and engine manufacturer GE Aerospace, was going to India, Duffy said.
“They have to get on the ground and take a look. But again right now it’d be way too premature,” Duffy said. “People are looking at videos and trying to assess what happened, which is never a strong, smart way to make decisions on what took place.”
Duffy said the FAA was reviewing information with Boeing and GE as part of the investigation into the crash. Duffy also emphasized the US government “will not hesitate to implement any safety recommendations that may arise. We will follow the facts and put safety first.” Rocheleau said, “As we proceed down this road with the investigation itself, if there’s any information that becomes available to us regarding any risk, we will mitigate those risks.” Duffy said the FAA is “prepared to send additional resources to get the data we need to ensure the safety of the flying public.”


North Korea’s Kim Jong Un lauds restored destroyer, says more to be built

Updated 13 June 2025
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North Korea’s Kim Jong Un lauds restored destroyer, says more to be built

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended on Thursday the launching ceremony of a warship that had been damaged upon its first attempt to launch, state media KCNA said on Friday.
Satellite images had shown ongoing repairs of the 5,000-ton destroyer that had partially capsized in May, after Kim called the accident a “criminal act” and ordered its restoration before a party meeting in June.
Kim said the restoration of the destroyer “had not delayed” North Korea’s attempts to enhance naval power, and said plans were in place “to build two more 5,000-ton destroyers next year,” KCNA said.
Kim called for the country to strengthen its maritime military presence in the Pacific Ocean in the face of what he said were provocations by the US and its allies, KCNA said.
“Soon, enemies will experience themselves how provocative and unpleasant it is to sit and watch the ships of an adversary run rampant on the fringes of sovereign waters,” Kim said in a speech at the ceremony, according to KCNA.
“I’m sure that in the near future, the routes of our battleships... will be opened on the Pacific Ocean toward the outposts of aggression.”


Hegseth says the Pentagon has contingency plans to invade Greenland if necessary

Updated 13 June 2025
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Hegseth says the Pentagon has contingency plans to invade Greenland if necessary

  • Hegseth made the statement during a hotly combative congressional hearing, with some of the toughest lines of questioning coming from military veterans

WASHINGTON: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to acknowledge that the Pentagon has developed plans to take over Greenland and Panama by force if necessary but refused to answer repeated questions at a hotly combative congressional hearing Thursday about his use of Signal chats to discuss military operations.
Democratic members of the House Armed Services Committee repeatedly got into heated exchanges with Hegseth, with some of the toughest lines of questioning coming from military veterans as many demanded yes or no answers and he tried to avoid direct responses about his actions as Pentagon chief.
In one back-and-forth, Hegseth did provide an eyebrow-raising answer. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Washington, asked whether the Pentagon has developed plans to take Greenland or Panama by force if necessary.
“Our job at the Defense Department is to have plans for any contingency,” Hegseth said several times.
It is not unusual for the Pentagon to draw up contingency plans for conflicts that have not arisen, but his handling of the questions prompted a Republican lawmaker to step in a few minutes later.
“It is not your testimony today that there are plans at the Pentagon for taking by force or invading Greenland, correct?” said Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio.
As Hegseth started to repeat his answer about contingency plans, Turner added emphatically, “I sure as hell hope that is not your testimony.”
“We look forward to working with Greenland to ensure that it is secured from any potential threats,” Hegseth responded.
Time and again, lawmakers pressed Hegseth to answer questions he has avoided for months, including during the two previous days of hearings on Capitol Hill. And frustration boiled over.
“You’re an embarrassment to this country. You’re unfit to lead,” Rep. Salud Carbajal snapped, the California Democrat’s voice rising. “You should just get the hell out.”
GOP lawmakers on several occasions apologized to Hegseth for the Democrats’ sharp remarks, saying he should not be subject to such “flagrant disrespect.” Hegseth said he was “happy to take the arrows” to make tough calls and do what’s best.
 

Infographic with map showing Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory that the Trump administration covets. (AFP)

Questions emerge on Signal chats and if details Hegseth shared were classified
Hegseth’s use of two Signal chats to discuss details of the US plans to strike Houthi rebels in Yemen with other US leaders as well as members of his family prompted dizzying exchanges with lawmakers.
Hegseth was pressed multiple times over whether or not he shared classified information and if he should face accountability if he did.
Hegseth argued that the classification markings of any information about those military operations could not be discussed with lawmakers.
That became a quick trap, as Hegseth has asserted that nothing he posted — on strike times and munitions dropped in March — was classified. His questioner, Rep. Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat and Marine veteran, jumped on the disparity.
“You can very well disclose whether or not it was classified,” Moulton said.
“What’s not classified is that it was an incredible, successful mission,” Hegseth responded.
A Pentagon watchdog report on his Signal use is expected soon.
Moulton asked Hegseth whether he would hold himself accountable if the inspector general finds that he placed classified information on Signal, a commercially available app.
Hegseth would not directly say, only noting that he serves “at the pleasure of the president.”
He was asked if he would apologize to the mother of a pilot flying the strike mission for jeopardizing the operation and putting her son’s life at risk. Hegseth said, “I don’t apologize for success.”
Trump’s speech at Fort Bragg raises Democratic concerns about politics in the military
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who appeared along Hegseth, was questioned about Trump’s speech at Fort Bragg this week and whether the military was becoming politicized.
The Defense Department has a doctrine that prohibits troops from participating in political activity while in uniform. Members of the 82nd Airborne Division were directed to stand behind Trump at Fort Bragg, and they booed and cheered during his incendiary remarks, including condemnation of his predecessor, Joe Biden.
There also was a pop-up MAGA merchandise stand selling souvenirs to troops in uniform.
Caine repeatedly said US service members must be apolitical but that he was unaware of anything that happened at Fort Bragg.
Hegseth is pressed about policies on women in uniform and transgender troops
Hegseth got into a sharp debate about whether women and transgender service members should serve in the military or combat jobs.
He said he has worked to remove diversity programs and political correctness from the military. He said he has not politicized the military but simply wants the most capable troops.
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pennsylvania, demanded to know if Hegseth believes that both men and women can pull a trigger, cause death, operate a drone or launch a missile.
“It depends on the context,” Hegseth said, adding that “women carry equipment differently, a 155 round differently, a rucksack differently.”

Hegseth, who has previously said women “straight up” should not serve in combat, asserted that women have joined the military in record numbers under the Trump administration. He said the military “standards should be high and equal.”
He also was asked about three female service members — now being forced out as part of the Pentagon’s move to ban transgender troops.
Hegseth agreed that their accomplishments — which Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., read out — were to be celebrated, until he learned they were transgender.
Republican lawmakers jumped to his defense, criticizing any Pentagon spending on gender transition surgery.
Democrats ask about plans for action against Greenland and Panama
President Donald Trump has said multiple times that he wants to take control of Greenland, a strategic, mineral-rich island and long a US ally. Those remarks have been met with flat rejections from the leaders of Greenland, an autonomous territory that is part of Denmark.
“Greenland is not for sale,” Jacob Isbosethsen, Greenland’s representative to the U.S, said Thursday at a forum in Washington sponsored by the Arctic Institute.
In an effort not to show the Pentagon’s hand on its routine effort to have plans for everything, Hegseth danced around the direct question from Smith, leading to the confusion.
“Speaking on behalf of the American people, I don’t think the American people voted for President Trump because they were hoping we would invade Greenland,” Smith said.