Mapping Anti-Muslim Hatred and Its Impact on Freedom of Religion or Belief

In recent years Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s Rakhine province have been the target of  ‘ethnic cleansing’ – carried out by the military and non-state actors. The Rohingya are neither accepted as citizens of Myanmar nor recognized among the country’s 135 ethnic groups. Commonly referred to as ‘Bengali’, they do not have citizenship papers, and also face longstanding restrictions and discrimination. Recurrent and episodic violence against Muslims has been seen throughout Myanmar’s history, but in recent years has become particularly virulent, amounting to genocide. Rohingya women and girls have been singled out for particularly vicious manners of killing, rape and sexual violence, including gang rape and torture.

The ongoing and intensifying conflict in Iraq has fallen – at least in part – along sectarian lines, with the Sunni Muslim militant group ISIS advancing against the Shia Muslim-led Iraqi government and Shia militias. In addition to killing thousands of Shiites and displacing hundreds of thousands more, ISIS uses its media arms to target, demonize, and incite violence against Shiites worldwide. The militants commonly refer to Shiite Muslims as “Rafidah,” a derogatory term that translates to “rejecters” (i.e. of Sunni Islam). Sunni women and girls report severe restrictions on their clothing and freedom of movement in ISIS-controlled areas. These rules, enforced by beating or fines on male family members or both, isolate women from public life.

In 1974, the Ahmadi minority in Pakistan was designated as a non-Muslim group in the state’s constitution. Ahmadis have since been subjected to persecution by the state including criminalization for violating the country's blasphemy laws, forced conversions, violence and hate propaganda. In order to vote in general elections Ahmadis are mandated to declare themselves as “non-Muslims”. The Shia minority in Pakistan, which makes up 20% of the Muslim population, is also subjected to religious intolerance. According to the data compiled by South Asia Terrorism Portal, there were 446 incidents of violence against Shia Muslims in Pakistan between 2003 and May 2016, in which more than 2,558 people were killed and over 4,518 others injured. Furthermore, the combination of discriminatory legislation and other violations of freedom of religion or belief by the government has reportedly created a culture of impunity in which non-state actors engage in attacks on minority religious communities, in particular Ahmadis and Shias. 

Reports by human rights organizations suggest that up to one million Uighur Muslims and other Muslim groups are being held against their will in state run detention centres in the western Xinjiang region, where the state claims that the Uighur’s are undergoing "re-education" programmes to prevent “terrorism, extremism and separatism”. Former detainees, however, report that they were tortured in the camps (physical as well as psychological), forced to denounce Islam, and. Uighur children are also reportedly being separated from their families and placed in “boarding schools” and many Uighur families report that relatives have disappeared. Outside of the camps, there is evidence of almost a complete surveillance state in Xinjiang and officials have destroyed mosques, claiming the buildings were shoddily constructed and unsafe for worshippers.

In 1947, a majority of Muslims did not migrate to Pakistan when British India was partitioned into Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India with the result that Muslims are the largest minority in India (14%). However, there is a growing sense of insecurity for many Muslims in India, and intensified religious tensions. Mob violence and hate crime against Muslims are allegedly met with impunity from the government. A campaign for cow protection appears to have emboldened vigilante groups, who seem to be operating in some cases with the tacit approval of state authorities.

Anti-Muslim hatred in Europe manifests itself through individual attitudes and behaviours, and the policies and practices of states, local government, organisations and institutions. Certain laws and policies indirectly target or disproportionately affect Muslims, and unduly restrict their freedom of religion or belief, such as bans on wearing visible religious and cultural symbols, laws against facial concealment, and bans on building mosques with minarets. Muslims report facing discrimination in education, employment, housing, and experiencing ethnic and religious profiling and police abuse. NGO and physical or verbal attacks on property, places of worship, and people - especially those who display a visible manifestation of their religious identity such as women wearing the hijab or niqab.

• Meet with the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief and his research team to discuss expectations for project; including objectives and goals, outputs and outcomes.
• Gain a strong understanding of the right to freedom of religion or belief in international human rights law, including the limits of the right, its relationship with other human rights and the relevant IHRL frameworks that seek to advance implementation of the right.
• Develop expertise in conducting a gender analysis of human rights violations.
• Conduct summary review of anti-Muslim hatred that assesses general trends, laws and root causes in each of the 6 countries.
• Identify key stakeholders in the jurisdictions listed that could be invited to consultations or engaged with in the research process.
• Identify and resolve any ethical or administrative issues that may limit research activities.
• Devise and present a plan for undertaking a report on anti-Muslim hatred in the six jurisdictions and analysing various proposed definitions (see below).

End of term: Students will submit x 5 products

1. Summary review of anti-Muslim hatred in each of the 6 jurisdictions. (2 -3 pages each)
2. A list of relevant organizations and stakeholders that can be used to organize consultations.
3. A research and drafting plan to the UN Special Rapporteur and his research team for a full-scale report.
4. An application to the university for ethical approval.
5. A 1 page communications strategy, which will cover internal communications in the team, as well external communications with the partners and other actors (the external element to be agreed with the partner).

• Meet with UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief and his research team at the start of term to discuss last term’s outputs, review best practices and lessons extracted from Phase I research activities, and review plan for the second phase of the project.
• Conduct outreach to human rights groups and affected communities to gather first-hand perspectives and obtain primary research and other research sources.
• Ensure that research and drafting incorporates a gender perspective by including how religious intolerance impacts gender equality rights 
• Meet midterm with Special Rapporteur and his research team to discuss progress and challenges.
• Submit a draft of the project report, focused on the points identified above, to the UN Special Rapporteur and his research team by the end of term.
• Support organising partners with research consultations by a) drawing up a list of participants; b) drafting concept notes for each consultation; and c) where funding and university authorisation exists, attending where possible as note-takers.

• Update report in light of new understandings gained at, and contributions made at, regional and international consultations as well as comments made on the draft report by the UN Special Rapporteur and his team.
• Propose responses for how states should address anti-Muslim hatred
• Produce final report bringing together the different strands and sources of research on the human rights impacts of anti-Muslim hatred. This report will serve as a primary submission for the Special Rapporteur’s UNGA report on Anti-Muslim hatred in March 2021.