US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has once again drawn controversy and backlash over his new “kafir” tattoo, which many say is Islamophobic.
Hegseth posted pictures on his X account where he joined the SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One (SDVT-1) at a joint base in Pearl Harbor. One of the pictures showed a new tattoo on his upper arm that reads ” كافر” or “kafir”, the Arabic word for infidel or disbeliever.
Many people have picked up on the tattoo, arguing it’s an Islamophobic symbol from the man overseeing the US army.
“Hegseth just got a kafir (كافر) tattoo under his Deus Vult tattoo—a Crusader slogan. This isn’t just a personal choice; it’s a clear symbol of Islamophobia from the man overseeing US wars,” Nerdeen Kiswani, a Palestinian activist, said on X.
“‘Kafir’ has been weaponised by far-right Islamophobes to mock and vilify Muslims. It’s not about his personal beliefs. It’s about how these beliefs translate into policy—how they shape military decisions, surveillance programs, and foreign interventions targeting Muslim countries.”
Award-winning investigator and writer Tam Hussain said the tattoo is “not a good look” for Hegseth, especially when the term is being used in the Quran to refer to someone who rejects God.
“To the Muslim world, the tattoo will be seen as an open declaration of Hegseth’s enmity towards them, which will be confirmed by the bombing of a hospital in Yemen,” Hussain said.
‘Anti-Muslim hostility’
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has denounced the new tattoo Hegseth got, saying it’s “a sign of both anti-Muslim hostility and personal insecurity.”
“Tattooing the Arabic word kafir–which essentially refers to a person who knowingly conceals or denies fundamental, divine truths–on his body is a sign of both anti-Muslim hostility and personal insecurity,” CAIR said in its statement.
“It appears Islam lives so rent-free in Pete Hegseth’s head that he feels the need to stamp himself with tattoos declaring his opposition to Islam alongside a tattoo declaring his affinity for the failed Crusaders.”
CAIR said that while Hegseth can tattoo himself all he wants, he should keep in mind that he leads the US Army, where thousands of American Muslims are sworn to defend the country.
“You don’t see American Muslims running around with tattoos declaring their opposition to Christianity because we are secure in our own faith, we respect the beliefs of our neighbours, and, in any case, most Muslims do not wear tattoos for religious reasons,” CAIR added.
Prior controversies
This is not the first time Hegseth has drawn controversy and backlash, especially from Muslims.
On December 1, 2024, the New Yorker published a report that went through Hegseth’s past controversies.
One of them cited a complaint from the Concerned Veterans for America employees, claiming that Hegseth shouted “Kill all Muslims” while he was drunk at a bar in Ohio in 2015.
After President Donald Trump, he once again went under the scope due to his “Deus Bult” tattoo, Latin for “God Wills it”, a slogan used as a battle cry by the Crusaders as they committed acts of genocide against Muslims and Jews.
Hegseth also has a tattoo of the ‘Jerusalem Cross’. That cross has a long history in Christianity but has lately been co-opted by some far-right groups as a symbol of the fight for Western civilisation.
Page 2
More than 180 Palestinian children have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza in a single day amid a deadly onslaught on the enclave, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has said.
“Over 180 children were reportedly killed in a single day in Gaza,” it said in a statement on Thursday.
The UN agency, however, did not specify when exactly the children were killed.
“If the ceasefire is not restored, large-scale loss of life continues,” it warned.
The Israeli army launched a surprise aerial campaign on Gaza on March 18, killing 855 people, injuring nearly 1,900 others, and shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.
The UN estimated that around 124,000 Palestinians have been displaced again since Israel resumed its attacks on Gaza.
“Families in Gaza are being forced to flee in search of safety once again,” UNRWA said.
“At the same time, the ongoing siege is worsening the humanitarian crisis. Civilians must be respected and protected. At all times. Everywhere.”
The UNRWA warns of a total collapse in Gaza without urgent aid access.
‘No food, no water’
UNRWA Communications Director Juliette Touma said no food supplies have been allowed into Gaza since early March amid an Israeli blockade on the enclave.
“Since 2 March, no food, no water, no medicines & no commercial supplies have been allowed into Gaza due to the ban by Israel,” she said. “This is the longest since the war started.”
“Every day with no supplies means children go to bed hungry,” Touma warned.
More than 50,200 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 113,900 have been injured in a brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Page 3
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that he considered the United States’ plans to annex Greenland “serious” amid President Donald Trump’s push to take control of the Danish island.
“We are talking about serious plans on the American side with regard to Greenland. These plans have long-standing historical roots,” Putin told an Arctic forum in the northern city of Murmansk on Thursday.
Geopolitical rivalries are intensifying in the Arctic, but cooperation in the region is possible, including between Moscow and Western states, Putin said.
Putin added that this had nothing to do with Russia, but that it was clear that the US would continue to promote its interests in the Arctic.
US designs on Greenland were serious and had long historical roots, he said.
Russia was concerned that “NATO countries in general are increasingly designating the Far North as a springboard for possible conflicts”, he said, and Russia was monitoring the situation and preparing an appropriate response.
“It is obvious that the role and importance of the Arctic both for Russia and for the whole world is growing. But unfortunately, geopolitical competition, the struggle for positions in this region, is also intensifying,” he said.
TRT Global – Denmark slams US delegation’s Greenland visit as ‘unacceptable pressure’
Greenland’s acting leader calls the visit a “provocation,” while PM Frederiksen reaffirmed Denmark’s commitment to US cooperation but rejected any takeover.
Putin, who is keen to ramp up commerce via the Northern Sea Route (NSR) through Arctic waters as Russia shifts trade towards Asia and away from Europe because of Western sanctions, said Russia had never threatened anyone in the Arctic but was prepared to defend its interests.
Foreign partners prepared to cooperate with Russia in the region would be guaranteed a good investment return, he said in a major speech in the northern city of Murmansk.
Putin called for an expansion of Russia’s northern ports and the building of a merchant fleet in the Arctic, supported by new-generation icebreakers, including nuclear-powered ones.
But he said Russia’s domestic capabilities were insufficient for this at the moment and that it would also require buying vessels and interacting with foreign shipbuilders.
The Arctic holds fossil fuels and minerals beneath the land and the seabed that could become more accessible with global warming.
It is also an area of military competition, where defence analysts say Russia has built up its presence much faster than the West by reopening Soviet-era bases and modernising its navy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says it is clear that not all countries are in favour of the idea of warmer ties between the world’s two biggest nuclear powers.
Page 4
A Bosnian court has said it was seeking an international arrest warrant for Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, who is facing legal action for his separatist policies.
The Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina said in a statement that it issued the demand on Wednesday and that the decision is now in the hands of Interpol.
Pro-Russia Dodik, who leads the Serb-run half of Bosnia, has repeatedly called for the separation of the territory from the rest of Bosnia, fueling fears of instability.
He has faced US and British sanctions for his separatism, but he has had the support of Moscow.
Defying Bosnia’s court, Dodik has refused to appear for questioning on suspicion that he violated the country’s constitution.
He traveled this week to neighbouring Serbia, where he attended a gathering with populist President Aleksandar Vucic before proceeding to Israel.
Vucic has said Serbia would not arrest Dodik and has criticised legal proceedings against him.
Struggles on EU path
The Bosnia court statement also said it is seeking the arrest of Bosnian Serb parliament speaker Nenad Stevandic, who also briefly visited Serbia.
There have been fears of clashes between the police loyal to Dodik and the Bosnian police forces, stoking tensions that have pushed Bosnia to the biggest crisis since more than 100,000 people were killed in an ethnic war from 1992 to 1995.
The conflict in Bosnia ended in a US-brokered peace deal that created two administrations bound by central institutions.
Bosnia’s Serbs took up arms after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s’ to create a state to join neighboring Serbia.
Bosnia has been seeking European Union membership, but progress has been slow because of constant ethnic and political disputes.
EU leaders agree to open membership talks with Bosnia
“Congratulations! Your place is in our European family. Today’s decision is a key step forward on your EU path,” European Council head Charles Michel says, referring to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Page 5
The personal data and passwords of senior US security officials have been exposed in online leaks, German magazine Der Spiegel has reported.
Among those affected are National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the magazine reported.
Using commercial search engines and hacked customer data published on the internet, Der Spiegel journalists reportedly found mobile phone numbers, email addresses, and some passwords linked to these officials.
“DER SPIEGEL reporters were able to find mobile phone numbers, email addresses and even some passwords belonging to the top officials,” the magazine said.
Der Spiegel said most of these numbers and email addresses are still in use, with some linked to social media profiles or apps that track users’ locations.
The phone numbers of Waltz and Gabbard were reportedly linked to WhatsApp and Signal, exposing them to potential spyware installation.
Hegseth’s phone number and email address were “particularly easy” to obtain, says Der Spiegel, and it was reported that the same email was used just a few days ago on the heels of the controversial Signal group chat.
“The reporting has revealed an additional grave, previously unknown security breach at the highest levels in Washington,” it said, adding “Hostile intelligence services could use this publicly available data to hack the communications of those affected by installing spyware on their devices. It is thus conceivable that foreign agents were privy to the Signal chat group in which Gabbard, Waltz and Hegseth discussed a military strike.”
A US judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to preserve messages from a Signal chat group used by President Donald Trump’s top national security officials to discuss plans for an attack on Yemen.
US District Judge James Boasberg said he will order the government to “preserve all Signal communication between March 11 and March 15,” referring to the commercial messaging app.
Democrats hold Trump administration officials accountable for discussing sensitive attack plans on Signal messaging app, arguing that lives could have been lost if the information had fallen into the wrong hands.
Signalgate scandal fallouts
The revelations follow a separate report by American magazine The Atlantic, in which Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg said he was mistakenly added to a Signal group chat where high-level officials discussed US airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
According to Goldberg, the group included Waltz, Gabbard, Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, senior presidential aide Stephen Miller and others.
On the morning of the March 15 attacks, Goldberg said the chat contained operational details — including intended targets and the types of weapons to be used — and later featured congratulatory messages and emojis as the strikes were carried out.
Congratulatory messages among the senior officials began to appear as the strikes unfolded, confirming his suspicions that the thread was genuine. He left the chat the following day.
Trump later said that Waltz would “probably” stop using Signal, to which the national security adviser responded: “I agree with you. Let’s get everybody in the room, whenever, whenever possible.”
Officials deny that classified material was shared in the group chat. However, opposition lawmakers and some Republicans have voiced concern over the apparent breach in operational security.
Handling national defence information outside secure, authorised channels is a criminal offense under US law.
TRT Global – US defence secretary texted planned time of targeted killing in Yemen
President Trump’s team downplays concerns over Hegseth’s Signal messages revealing US strike details in Yemen. While officials insist no sensitive info was leaked, the Pentagon remains silent on key details of the operation.
