Meanwhile, several contenders for the Republican party's presidential nomination in 2016, including Donald Trump and Ben Carson, have stoked anti-Muslim suspicions. Referring to the Muslim population in the US, the billionaire previously said, "We're going to have to do certain things that were frankly unthinkable a year ago." Carson, Trump's top rival, suggested a comparison between some of the refugees and migrants coming into the US from the Syrian conflict zone and "rabid dogs" that should be vetted before being released.
On Sunday, November 22, Australian cities -
Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, and Canberra - were hit by anti-Islam rallies. The recent
terrorist attacks in Paris were used as a rallying cry for their cause.
"Reclaim Australia" is a campaign
that has already organized several rallies throughout Australia to protest what
they call the 'encroachment' of Islam.
The "Reclaim Australia" protesters had placards with anti-Muslim slogans, such as "Ban Islam" and "Ban Halal."
According to their website, they want the "freedom to be 'Australian'" and notably ask that the country get rid of halal food certifications, the French newspaper Observers reported. Their earlier protests were marred by violence, and the latest batch was no exception: in Melbourne, where the "Reclaim Australia" protesters were also demonstrating against the building of a mosque, three men were arrested for possessing a weapon, and two others for riotous behavior.
It is bizarre to implicate Islam and view all Muslims as suspects or as potential terrorists every time a heinous atrocity is committed by a follower of the Muslim faith, or when such a crime is claimed to be executed in the name of Islam. Worse is when such Islamophobic bias turns into active hostility against Muslim individuals, mosques, property and Muslim institutions.
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