Rhetoric & Rage

  Politicians participating in incivility is not necessarily a new thing , and it’s certainly not a new enterprise for their followers . However, social media has pushed this to a new level , particularly with Donald Trump’s entrance into American politics.   Although Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential campaign is viewed as the first monumental online campaign , his online activity didn't touch how effective Donald Trump’s Twitter use was throughout his 2016 Presidential campaign. Maybe this was because more people had access to social media than ever before, maybe this was because humans can’t help but stare at an inevitable car crash, maybe this was because of many, many things that all added up and resulted in the shocking whirlwind victory.   Whatever it was, Trump’s strategy won him the US Presidency.   Scholars and journalists have been studying and compiling his Twitter usage, particularly his use of online incivility to get more clicks. Here is a New York...

Many Western states pride themselves on religious freedom , allowing citizens to practice what they believe in whatever way they wish. That being said, some of the population in these states don’t  necessarily align with this philosophy, with some politicians and political parties using anti-Muslim rhetoric and conspiracies to secure more votes, and some states claiming secularism as their excuse to ban headscarves , mostly associated with Islam,   in certain contexts.   European Islamophobia   On 28 November 2023, the European Union court ruled that employers can prohibit staff from wearing anything revealing signs of religio us beliefs in the name of secularism. France had already had a ban on headscarves in schools, claiming the same reason, since March 2004 , and continues to push for further bans for hijabs in sports . This was particularly relevant in the 2024 Summer Olympics, which had been held in Paris, during which this exclusionary policy  wa...

November being Islamophobia Awareness Month in 2024 , it is critical to share information on the unfortunate recent rise of anti-Muslim hate speech onl ine.   Cases of I slamophobic hate doubled from 2012-2022, according to Tell MAMA’s 2023 report . Tell MAMA, Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks, is a non -governmental organization which has been working to put a n end to anti-Muslim hate incidents throughout the UK, and has been used as a safe space to report these incidents and crimes.   In the four months following 7 October 2023, there was over triple the number of Islamophobic incidents compared to the same timeframe in the previous year, as detailed in this BBC article referencing Tell MAMA data . This increase is due to the West’s determination to stand by Israel’s apartheid in Palestine, which has seemingly led to some directing hatred toward the entire Muslim community.   Riots in the summer of 2024 plagued England and Northern Ireland  after the Southpor...