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This congressman says Muslims ‘don’t belong’ in the US. How does he keep winning a district with so many? | David Daley

The Guardian World news: Islam - 26 March, 2026 - 11:00

Andy Ogles’ election victories in Tennessee are a product of an electoral system broken by gerrymandering

Andy Ogles represents more Muslims than any other Tennessee congressman. Yet he has no interest in representing them. He doesn’t even want them in the country.

“Muslims don’t belong in American society,” the third-term Republican wrote on Twitter/X last week. He’s proudly doubled down on his incendiary statement, which joins a long list of Islamophobic beliefs. During last year’s New York City mayoral campaign, Ogles called Zohran Mamdani “a communist who has publicly embraced a terroristic ideology”. The US naturalization system, he said, required “any alignments with communism or terrorist activities to be disclosed. I’m doubtful he disclosed them. If this is confirmed, put him on the first flight back to Uganda.”

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Islamic community calls out ‘anti-Muslim hate’ after suspicious fire at site of new Victorian mosque

The Guardian World news: Islam - 25 March, 2026 - 23:58

Former Kilmore church being converted into mosque set alight Tuesday amid spate of Islamophobic incidents

Islamic communities have called out a rise in “anti-Muslim hate” after a church that was being converted into a mosque was allegedly set alight in what Victoria police are treating as a “suspicious” fire.

In a statement, Victoria police said the abandoned church in Kilmore, north of Melbourne, was set alight at about 1.50pm on Tuesday, causing “significant damage” to the building. No one was inside at the time and the fire was believed to have been started in the rear of the building.

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There’s nothing sinister about Muslims praying | Letters

The Guardian World news: Islam - 24 March, 2026 - 16:51

Readers respond to negative comments by Conservative and Reform UK politicians following a Ramadan event in Trafalgar Square

As a young British Muslim, I was troubled to see public prayer described as an “act of domination” by the shadow justice secretary, Nick Timothy (Report, 19 March). To characterise a few minutes of prayer in this way is simply unjust. Britain stands for fairness and equal treatment. If other faiths can gather in public spaces, Muslims should be afforded the same right. To single out one community undermines that principle.

Events such as open iftars are not about imposing beliefs, but about bringing people together. We are often encouraged to integrate, yet when Muslims do so visibly and peacefully, they are criticised. Such language and behaviour are deepening division and making Young British Muslims feel unwelcome in their own country.
Sarmad Anwar
Bradford, West Yorkshire

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In Gaza, the joy of Eid has gone. Visiting relatives at the end of Ramadan is a procession through loss | Ahmed Kamal Junina

The Guardian World news: Islam - 24 March, 2026 - 06:00

Every home is missing someone, every person is carrying grief. We went not to celebrate but to sit with the bereaved

Eid al-Fitr is meant to bring release. It comes at the end of Ramadan, after a month of fasting and prayer, and in Gaza it has always carried its own kind of joy. The day begins with prayer. Men and boys gather in clean clothes, neighbours congratulate one another, friends embrace, and supplications rise with the first light. Families return home for breakfast, then begin the long round of visits to sisters, daughters, aunts, uncles and neighbours. Children wait for eidiya, the money given to younger relatives. Coffee is poured, sweets are shared and doors remain open.

This year, the rituals remained. The feeling had gone.

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