What's behind the rising hate?

At the end of last year, the uptick in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents in the U.S. and around the globe captured headlines as part of the fallout from the Israel-Hamas war.

Reactions were swift and widespread, as university presidents resigned, demonstrators took to the streets in places such as Berlin and Paris and the White House promised to take steps to curb religious and faith-based hate in the U.S.

The topic of rising discrimination and incidents of hate remains contentious, as political polarization and debate over definitions challenge reporters covering the issues.

But before we come to conclusions, it’s important to consider a) what we are talking about - or - how we define antisemitism and Islamophobia and b) the long arc of “Other” hate across time.

In the latest editions of ReligionLink and “What You Missed Without Religion Class,” I unpack both so we can better understand and react to the surge in hate.

Christian Politician Awaits Finnish Court’s Verdict on Hate Speech Charges—Again

The facts are the same. The arguments, the same. But for two days in an appeals court in Helsinki, prosecution and defense rehashed the arguments that previously cleared Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen and Evangelical Lutheran Mission bishop Juhana Pohjola of charges of criminal incitement against a minority group.

State prosecutors argued there was a mistake last March. They say the district court weighed the evidence incorrectly, setting the threshold for “incitement” too high. According to them, a pamphlet the former minister of the interior published with a conservative Lutheran press in 2004, and comments she made about homosexuality on Twitter and on a national radio show in 2019, should be judged as hate speech.

State prosecutor Anu Mantila says Räsänen’s comments are not only disagreeable and offensive, but harmful.

“Offensive speech has a damaging effect on people,” she said.

How to monitor, identify, and counter hate speech

“The words of a human being have tremendous power, to build and destroy, to give life and to take life. In Abrahamic religions, an essential part of the creation of the world was the word. It was words that created this world and it is words that will destroy this world,” said Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, Chief Rabbi of Moscow and member of the European Muslim and Jewish Leadership Council (MJLC).

Worldwide, xenophobia, racism, and other forms of intolerance — including antisemitism, misogyny, and islamophobia — are prevalent in public discourse, the media, and political rhetoric.

The global growth of hate speech raises the spectre of how, over the past century, it was a precursor to atrocity crimes, including genocide, from Germany to Rwanda, Cambodia to Bosnia.

“Hate speech is virtually everywhere,” said Goldschmidt, “but we must not tolerate it anywhere.”

With this in mind, the International Dialogue Center (KAICIID) has been employing a range of initiatives to help religious communities and leaders counter hate speech, from producing a guide on how to monitor and analyse hate speech to hosting consultations with experts in the field.

“Religious actors and interreligious leaders,” said Faisal bin Muaammar, Secretary General of KAICIID, “have a role to play in countering hate speech.”

Recently, I learned from KAICIID experts in partnership with the European Council of Religious Leaders/ Religions for Peace- Europe (ECRL/RfP Europe) with the support of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to develop a guide to IDENTIFYING, MONITORING, and COUNTERING HATE SPEECH.

We all have a role to play in responding to hate speech and it begins with understanding what it is, how it manifests online and in day-to-day life, and why it is resonating and replicating.