Humza Yousaf has compared modern “Islamophobia” to 1930s Germany as he issued a call to “mobilise”.

The former Scottish First Minister said “conspiracy theories and lies” about Muslim today are “hauntingly reminiscent” of the language used about Jewish people in the 1930s.

Mr Yousaf was speaking ahead of an address in Washington DC on Thursday and said there had been a “frightening rise” in Islamophobia in recent months on both sides of the Atlantic.

The ex-FM pointed to arson attacks targeting mosques and said Muslim graves had been “desecrated”.

He also raged at Tommy Robinson’s thousands-strong Unite the Kingdom march in London – and branded the activist a “proud Islamophobe”.

The former SNP boss then turned his fire on “open Islamophobia” from senior American politicians, including against Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City.

Speaking just after Mr Mamdani’s election, Mr Yousaf said: “A wonderful victory for the inspirational mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. He ran on a bold and radical agenda, all while facing down anti-Muslim bigots.

“Progressives on both sides of the Atlantic should take note. Excited to see Mayor Mamdani in action.”

Mr Yousaf said it was “incumbent” on those who hate Islamophobia to unite against it, urging people to “get organised and mobilise across borders to tackle this growing threat”.

Prior to his speech at Georgetown University, he said: “Many Muslims in the US tell me they are living in fear, and worry about their rights as citizens being stripped away from them without notice or due cause.”

Mr Yousaf added: “We know the far-right forces across the Atlantic are supporting each other and sharing disinformation.”

He continued: “I will be working with allies in the fight against anti-Muslim hatred both at home and in the US to create a transatlantic alliance to tackle Islamophobia.

‘ISLAMOPHOBIA’ IN THE UK – READ MORE: 

• Scouts offer Islamophobia Awareness Month badge – but has no antisemitism awareness badge
• Labour scraps Islamophobia definition amid fears it could threaten free speech
• There must NEVER be a legal definition of Islamophobia to be able to exercise freedom of speech, says Gary Mond

“We cannot be passive as the threat of the far-right continues to rise, if we allow such hatred to go unchecked, the consequences could be devastating.”

Last week, Mr Yousaf argued a graffiti attack on a mosque in Glasgow showed anti-Muslim hate is being “normalised”.

In September, the former First Minister, who resigned before a vote of no confidence last year, called for legal authorities to give exemptions to those who “peacefully” backed terrorist group Palestine Action.

The organisation was formally designated a terrorist organisation in August after its members broke into an RAF base in Oxfordshire and caused around £7million of damage to military planes.

His request was slapped down by the Solicitor General for Scotland, Ruth Charteris, on behalf of Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain.

She said that by issuing a statement on the prosecution policy, the Lord Advocate would contradict her “obligation to independently enforce the criminal law”.