Latest news with #anti-Muslim
USA Today
38 minutes ago
- Business
- USA Today
After $220 million Columbia deal, Trump promises more to come
After commending Columbia University for "agreeing to do what is right," President Trump indicates his pressure campaign to reshape prestigious colleges isn't stopping any time soon. WASHINGTON – After announcing a $220 million deal with Columbia University to restore its federal funding, President Donald Trump indicated his pressure campaign to reshape prestigious colleges isn't stopping anytime soon. Not long after the settlement was reached, he wrote on his social media platform that similar agreements with "Numerous other Higher Education Institutions that have hurt so many, and been so unfair and unjust, and have wrongly spent federal money, much of it from our government, are upcoming." Columbia, a selective and wealthy Ivy League school in New York City, on July 23 agreed to pay more than $220 million in fines over several years to the government for allegedly violating federal civil rights laws. Last year, the campus became the epicenter of student protests related to the Israel-Hamas war. At the time, the tense environment drew nationwide concern over a spike in antisemitic and anti-Muslim incidents. The heightened scrutiny also focused the ire of many conservative politicians, who have long accused higher education more broadly of being too left-leaning. Read more: How Columbia University became the epicenter of disagreement over the Israel-Hamas war Trump's criticisms of the campus, however, have extended far beyond its compliance with antidiscrimination protections. In March, he demanded that the school overhaul its hiring, admissions and teaching practices. Columbia's president, Claire Shipman, said the university would appoint an independent monitor to oversee the campus in conjunction with federal officials, and to ensure administrators are abiding by the terms of the deal. The 22-page agreement contains sweeping concessions from the college, including handing over admissions data to the independent monitor, new faculty appointments, conducting reviews of some academic departments and more greatly scrutinizing foreign student enrollment. In return, the Trump administration promised to reroute more than $400 million in paused federal funding, largely for research, back to the college. In an interview on CNN the morning after the arrangement was announced, Shipman indicated billions more dollars were at stake. "It's not just money for Columbia," she said. "This is about science. It's about curing cancer, cutting edge, boundary breaking science that actually benefits the country and humanity." The unprecedented agreement came weeks after the administration struck a separate accord with the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, another member of the Ivy League, to unfreeze $175 million in return for apologizing to swimmers who competed against a transgender athlete years ago. "I also want to thank and commend Columbia University for agreeing to do what is right," Trump wrote. "I look forward to watching them have a great future in our Country, maybe greater than ever before!" Zachary Schermele is an education reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@ Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
As Vellappally continues ‘anti-Muslim' remarks, Congress says his ‘divisive statements' at CM Vijayan's behest
Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) general secretary Vellappally Natesan's alleged hate speech against the Muslim community in Kerala has created a political storm with Opposition Congress alleging that he was making the 'divisive statements'' at the behest of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Natesan, who had recently predicted a third consecutive term for Vijayan, on Sunday said that Kerala will become a Muslim majority state by 2040. 'Muslims have become an unbeatable force in the state. Whichever party is in power, Muslim clerics including Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musaliyar are interfering in the government. The situation is such that any reforms, before being introduced, should get consent from Malappuram (Muslim-dominated district),'' he alleged. His remarks at an SNDP function was a sequel to a similar comment on Saturday, when he said the IUML, which is mainly operating in North Kerala, was eyeing seats in Central Kerala in the next Assembly elections. 'After winning the elections, the IUML wants to get the chief minister's post,' he claimed. Coming out against Natesan, Opposition Leader V D Satheesan said community leaders should desist from making such 'divisive statements.'' 'The SNDP Yogam general secretary has echoed what the CPI(M) leaders in Kerala speak against Malappuram and what the Chief Minister had stated in Delhi through public relation agencies. Everything is at the behest of the Chief Minister. This hate speech is against the philosophy of social reformer Sree Narayana Guru (who founded the SNDP Yogam). The Opposition will question the campaign aimed at creating hate and chasm in society,'' the Congress leader said. Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) national general secretary P K Kunhalikutty accused the government of complicity in Natesan's 'brazen communal comments'. 'This is not the first time that Natesan is making such communal statements. The government has to react to this. We cannot agree with such communal statements,'' he said. Without naming Natesan, the CPI(M) state secretariat, in a statement, urged people 'to be vigilant against any move that would undermine Kerala's secular culture'. 'The party views the rights of minorities as part of the protection of secularism. Only in a secular society, all religious and non-religious people can function democratically,'' the CPI(M) state secretariat said. Although the IUML has been away from power for the last nine years, Natesan has been constantly attacking the party, an ally of the Congress, as if it controls state politics. His words were apparently aimed at building an anti-Muslim plank in the Assembly elections to be held next year. Incidentally, the leader of the traditionally pro-CPI(M) Ezhava community has stepped up the attack on the IUML after the CPI(M) failed in its efforts to woo the IUML into the party-led Left Democratic Front fold after its crushing defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In April, Natesan had stated that backward communities 'cannot breathe freely' in the Muslim-dominated Malappuram district, which he termed 'a special country and a state with a special section of people'. Although his observations had triggered an outrage then, Natesan got support from Vijayan, who said the Ezhava community leader's words were 'misrepresented.'' Natesan had been the patron of SNDP's political wing, Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), which is now an ally of BJP-led NDA in Kerala. Natesan's son Tushar Vellappally is the BDJS chairman. Although the BDJS is with the NDA, the party at the grassroots level has to depend upon followers of the SNDP, many of them traditionally with the CPI(M).
Hans India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Kerala: IUML slams Vellappally Natesan over communal remarks
Thiruvananthapuram: SNDP Yogam General Secretary Vellappally Natesan has stirred fresh controversy with a communally charged speech, prompting a sharp rebuttal from the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which labelled him 'Kerala's Togadia' - a reference to Praveen Togadia, known for his inflammatory and anti-Muslim rhetoric. Speaking at a branch leadership convention of the SNDP in Kottayam on Saturday, Vellappally claimed that Kerala was on the path to becoming a Muslim-majority state. He accused both the ruling LDF and opposition UDF of pandering to the Muslim community and alleged that the state government needed the approval of Malappuram district for decisions as trivial as changes to school timings or the introduction of Zumba classes. He further twisted a decade-old remark by senior CPM leader V.S. Achuthanandan to support his claim. While Achuthanandan had, in 2012, warned that the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) aimed to Islamise Kerala through radical means, Vellappally quoted him out of context to suggest that even a former chief minister had predicted a Muslim-majority Kerala within decades. BJP national executive member Amit Malviya also shared a cropped version of Achuthanandan's comment on social media. This is not the first time Vellappally has drawn flak for his remarks about Malappuram. Two months ago, he described the district as functioning like a separate nation, dominated by a particular community, making it difficult for others to express their opinions freely. While IUML had downplayed his earlier comments, the party has taken strong exception this time. An editorial published in Chandrika, the party's mouthpiece, tore into Vellappally's rhetoric, stating, 'He spreads communal poison even more freely than Praveen Togadia. It seems there is a contest between him and the man from Poonjar (a reference to P.C. George) on who can be the worst communal voice in Kerala. The state police and government appear indifferent.' The editorial also criticised Vellappally's statement that while two wards were reduced in Alappuzha during delimitation, four were added in Malappuram. He accused the IUML of now eyeing the Chief Minister's post, having earlier demanded the Deputy Chief Minister's position. The IUML hit back strongly. 'Wasn't C.H. Mohammed Koya a Muslim Chief Minister? Who says a Muslim can't hold that post? These remarks clearly reflect majoritarian communal thinking,' the editorial concluded.
The Sun
6 days ago
- The Sun
Online radicalisation fuels rise of campus extremism
PETALING JAYA: Religious extremism is quietly seeping into university spaces through digital narratives aimed at influencing impressionable minds, according to Universiti Islam Selangor Faculty of Islamic Civilisation Studies associate professor Dr Mariam Abd Majid. 'Young people are in a phase of searching for identity and meaning. Extremist groups know this and exploit it by wrapping their messages in what looks like intellectual or religious reform,' she told theSun. She said social media platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Telegram and Discord have enabled radical ideologies to spread beyond public scrutiny. 'They use short, emotionally charged content that feels convincing because it mimics academic arguments. But it's a distortion,' she explained. Mariam warned that some students gradually disengage from campus activities and adopt more rigid, fringe perspectives. 'They start idolising controversial preachers, criticising mainstream institutions and joining closed religious circles off-campus. 'Not all of them become extremists, but the early signs are there, and they need to be addressed before it escalates.' To counter the threat, she proposed embedding anti-extremism modules into the national curriculum, strengthening core religious subjects such as Aqidah and Fiqh, and equipping counsellors and lecturers to recognise ideological red flags. 'We need students to think critically, not just follow charismatic voices online,' she said. Out of four students from the university who spoke to the daily, two shared that they had personally encountered extremist content online, often through platforms like Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. One student described stumbling upon a page that 'looked like it was just sharing facts about Islam' but regularly included anti-Muslim rhetoric, mistranslations of Quranic verses and posts accusing Muslims of being violent or deceptive. Muhammad Zikrul Hakim, 20, said the topic of extremism feels 'very relevant' to students today. 'We get exposed to so many things online without realising what they are. If no one teaches us how to think critically, we'll just absorb whatever we see.' He urged authorities to use more engaging visuals to reach younger audiences. 'Use things such as infographics or mind maps, something visual, something we'll actually pay attention to.' Wan Muhammad Khalis Indra, 25, noted, 'A lot of us are just curious. We want to explore ideas. But that's also what makes us vulnerable, because we don't always know when a message is dangerous.' Another student, Suafiudin, 27, called for more structured academic guidance. 'There should be proper subjects that teach us how these ideologies work. If we don't understand the mechanics of it, we won't know how to avoid it.' An anonymous respondent added, 'Universities can only do so much. We need to start from young. Parents should teach real religious knowledge from early on, not just leave us to learn from TikTok or YouTube.' As students navigate an increasingly digital landscape, both experts and young voices agree that education alone is not enough. A stronger collective effort involving families, institutions and policymakers is needed to stop ideological manipulation at its root.
The Hindu
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
An excerpt from Believer's Dilemma:Vajpayee and the Hindu Right's Path to Power (1977-2018)
The second volume of a two-part biography, Believer's Dilemma begins with a watershed moment when India voted in its first non-Congress government at the Centre in 1977. The Sangh Parivar was in the coalition, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee got the post of External Affairs Minister. Two years later, when the coalition collapsed, Vajpayee 'publicly apportioned some of the blame to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh,' whose ideology he believed in. After a stint in government, 'the believer now had dilemmas,' and Vajpayee's relationship with the Sangh Parivar would 'remain a convoluted affair till the very end.' An edited excerpt: Janata went to its funeral not only unsung but also unbathed. In mid-July 1979, the RSS's labour wing Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh instigated a strike in Delhi's water supply department, demanding a pay hike and better working conditions. It led to 'choking lavatories, bursting sewers, threat of epidemics in the slums and not a drop to drink anywhere in the city'. Confined to his hospital bed, Vajpayee felt exasperated with old colleagues such as Dattopant Thengadi, who was spearheading the water strike, for worsening the chaos in the capital. Seeds of discord Away from the mayhem, undergoing physiotherapy at his private retreat, Vajpayee introspected on the previous twenty-eight months. He used the time to churn out a longish op-ed for theIndian Express, where he argued that the responsibility for the collapse of the first non-Congress government lay with leaders across all factions. Partly because he was under pressure from both sides, and divided in his loyalties, he adopted the tone of a detached referee. The highlight of this essay was Vajpayee's takedown of his own fraternity for their failure to demonstrate that they did not seek a political role: 'Patronising a press that takes sides in the sordid politics of power, involvement in youth bodies that interact with political parties, participating in trade union rivalries such as the one which recently brought enormous misery to the people of Delhi by callously cutting off the water supply – these do not help an organisation to establish its apolitical credentials. It is possible that some people genuinely feel apprehensively about the RSS. A certain onus accordingly devolved on the RSS, an onus that has not been discharged effectively by the RSS. Its repudiation of the theocratic form of the state was welcome, yet the question could legitimately be asked – why does it not open its doors to non-Hindus?' Vajpayee's unexpected outburst had an urgent purpose: it was a careful PR exercise in showcasing the Jan Sangh's independence from Nagpur, so Janata could lure back some of the MPs who had crossed over. In truth, he continued to be emotionally tied to and dependent on the RSS to bolster his political muscle. His mild criticism also evaded the more serious charges of the Sangh Parivar's involvement in anti-Muslim violence. Later, the enquiry commissions implicated the RSS. As in the past, the essay declared the riots to be a law-and-order failure (in Aligarh) or a response to provocation from the Muslims, such as an attack on a Ram Navami procession (in Jamshedpur). Power games Charan Singh had found his moment of supreme glory, but with enough hint that he could not hold on to it for long. He had agreed to withdraw Emergency cases against Indira and Sanjay Gandhi. But this demand was rebuffed by Congress-U, a breakaway faction of Mrs. Gandhi's party that formed the backbone of his ragtag coalition. It served Indira Gandhi well to pull the plug after twenty-three days of outside support. The way was finally clear for Jagjivan Ram, who had more than 200 Janata MPs supporting him. Vajpayee's essay helped the Janata president, Chandra Shekhar, who praised 'Atal jee on his courageous clear vision' and beseeched the defectors to return and help usher Jagjivan Ram as the first Dalit prime minister of the republic. If the plan succeeded, it would make for a profound moment of democratic deepening. On 22 August, Vajpayee had flown to Madras to induce M. G. Ramachandran of the AIADMK – All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam – whose flock had eighteen MPs, to support the Dalit leader. Just when MGR had nearly agreed that afternoon, the bid turned infructuous. Vajpayee received news from the capital: the president of India had, rather dubiously, dissolved the Lok Sabha. Claims, counter claims It was now a three-ring circus. Touring for elections, Vajpayee's twin targets were Charan Singh and Indira Gandhi. The strategy left many voters confused, unable to distinguish between Janata and Charan Singh's new party. Vajpayee tried convincing the voters that Janata had accomplished 'a lot in its short tenure'. Everywhere he flew – now in a private plane – he made hour-long speeches reminding the crowd of Janata having restored democracy, freedom of press, and judiciary. He cited improved economic indicators: falling prices, rising food stocks, doubled foreign exchange reserves. He pointed out that Janata had boosted relations with all major countries without damaging with any. Mrs. Gandhi mocked Janata as a mishmash – a 'khichdi sarkaar' – and beseeched people to 'vote for a government that works'. The Congress-I even managed to pierce the armour of the former foreign minister: they convinced his eldest brother, Awadh Behari, who had recently retired from his government job in Bhopal, to join Mrs. Gandhi's party. Atal was obviously embarrassed, but salvaged the situation saying there was 'nothing wrong' with his elder brother joining his rivals: 'It is his personal decision. I will not mind if my other brothers joined the Lok Dal or the Congress-U.' Excerpted with permission from Pan Macmillan India
