Islamophobia in the United Kingdom
Islamophobia in the United Kingdom defines Islam as being "monolithic, separate, and Other; without any common values with other cultures; and essentially barbaric and sexist".[1] Muslims are therefore seen as being fundamentally uncivilized and unwilling to conform to the values of the UK.[1]
Overview
Stereotypes
The Daily Express stated in 1995 that:
they (Muslims) are backward and evil, and if it is being racist to say so then I must be and happy and proud to be so
This was the case before the 9/11 attacks. However, since the 9/11 attacks the language only intensified. In November 4, 2001, The Sunday Times stated that:
We have a fifth column in our midst...Thousands of alienated young Muslims, most of them born and bred here but who regard themselves as an army within, are waiting for an opportunity to help to destroy the society that sustains them. We now stare into the abyss, aghast.
The views expressed in the above statements, and like many others, inflamed the already tense situations post 9/11. In June 2004, prior to the 7/7 attacks on the London Underground, the Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia, warned that increased attacks against individuals and mosques, was resulting in bitterness that created violent "time-bombs".[2] They also said that their previous suggestion on dealing with Islamophobia was not taken seriously, as a result:
The cumulative effect of Islamophobia's various features [...] is that Muslims are made to feel that they do not truly belong here--they feel that they are not truly accepted, let alone welcomed, as full members of British society. On the contrary, they are seen as "an enemy within" or a "fifth column" and they feel that they are under constant siege. This is bad for society as well as for Muslims themselves. Moreover, time-bombs are being primed that are likely to explode in the future--both Muslim and non-Muslim commentators have pointed out that a young generation of British Muslims is developing that feels increasingly disaffected, alienated and bitter.
However the advice was not paid attention to, even after one year after the report was published, and in July 7, 2005, the "time-bombs" went out and the language was intensified. The following quote is from The Sunday Telegraph:
All Muslims like all dogs share certain characteristics. A dog is not the same animal as a cat just because both species are comprised of different breeds. An extreme Christian believes that the Garden of Eden really existed; an extreme Muslim flies planes in to buildings-there's a big difference.
This is just one of the opinions. David Cameron, leader of the opposition in the UK, stated that Islamist extremist terrorism have to be countered at all costs.[3] He also said that "The driving force behind today's terrorist threat is Islamic fundamentalism. The struggle [...] is at roots ideological". He also said that "During the last century a strain of Islamist thinking has developed [...] such as Nazis and Communism, offers its form of redemption through violence."
The division of the world between Orient and Occident has led some commentators such as Author Melanie Phillips, to express a fear of being overrun:
from the 1990s, Islamist radicals had been given free rein in Britain in a "gentlemen's agreement" that if they were left alone, they would not turn on the country that was so generously nurturing them. The result was "Londonistan", as Britain became the hub of al-Qaeda in Europe...no fewer than 1200 Islamist terrorists are biding their time within British suburbs...Trained "Afghan Arab" warriors made their way instead to Britain, attracted, they said, by its "traditions of democracy and justice."
Patronization
There has also been a climate of patronization of Muslims.
But they had now been trained to be killers. They had discovered jihad. And the radical ideology they brought with them found many echoes in the Islamism and seething resentments that, by now, were entrenched in British Muslim institutions.
The statements suggests that the West must force the Middle East to democracy and must free those who wear hijab even if it involves closing the doors of schools to them, in the East as well as in the West.
Since the 9/11 attacks, Islamophobia has gained momentum of its own, creating a clash between Muslims and non-Muslims in the UK. The Otherization and the Orient has contributed to an inevitable "clash of civilization" and has apparently been concreted.[4]
See also
References
- 1 2 Religion and politics of Peace and Conflict. p. 205.
- ↑ "Islamophobia pervades UK-report". BBC website. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
- ↑ "David Cameron's speech". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ↑ Religion and the Politics of Peace and Conflict. p. 208.
| ||||||||||||||