Chris Allen on the 'i' word.

Below I've linked to a blog post by Chris Allen, Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham. Chris has spent the past decade studying and campaigning on the increasingly prevalent trend of Islamophobia in Britain, and has quite literally written the book on Islamophobia.

He address succintly Baroness Warsi's statements that anti-Muslim prejudice has become socially acceptable, and also the Quilliam Foundations claims that 'Islamophobia' is a word that should be avoided, lest the terrorists win the battle for our words. I'd highly highly recommend reading, link below.

Anti-Muslim Prejudice? It's just Islamophobia in sheep's clothing - reflections on Baroness Warsi and Quilliam's comments.

There are a wealth of academic researchers, with years and often decades of experience in research on Islam and Muslims in Britain. Chris Allen is one such researcher, but there are many others. It would be beneficial if less attention was given to pseudo-academic think tanks and more time given to experienced and established researchers.

PANORAMA: a response

“British Schools: Islamic Rules” ran the title of this week’s Panorama on BBC1. It dealt with what it considered questionable material being taught in British schools.

There are several point of response, or themes of objection, that I have with the documentary. I highlight them in the hope that others will be able to see the questionable ground upon which the Panorama documentary was based.

OTHERING:

Othering is a process by which one identity is secured in opposition, and often in conflict, with another. In this case, it is the clear distinction between British and Islamic.

For many, myself included, there is little conflict between the two. Like millions of Muslims in the UK, I am confident in my British nationality and the Islamic principles and teachings I live my life by – and in fact I find many areas of commonality.

Yet the show with its title (British Schools: Islamic Rules) directly proposed an antithesis between that which is British, and that which is Islamic. This was a theme that reoccurred through out the show.

The presenter criticises some of the schools for teaching anti-Western views (essentially a construction of opposition between Islam and ‘the West’), when the show itself is guilty of doing exactly the same in its title and narrative.

EXTREMISM AND CONSERVATISM:

Religious extremism and religious conservatism are two very distinct notions, and must never be conflated if a mature and informed discussion on religion is to take place.

Yet Panorama is sloppy in distinguishing between the two. An example found in the show is of the religious opinion it cites which disfavours music. Yes, this is a position expounded by many scholars within Islam, though not all, and is well within the mainstream of Islamic religious opinion. Does this lead to extremism, or fundamentalism, or indeed anything of concern? Of course not, and importantly, Islam is not the only faith tradition with varying opinions on the role of music.

Again, this amateurism can be found in discussions of ‘medieval Islam’ and the way that Muslims use the word ‘kuffar’ (it can be used in a derogatory sense, but also in a technical sense, as scholars of jurisprudence are prone to doing).

CLAIMS OF ANTI-SEMITISM:

It is very difficult to examine the material presented in the documentary regarding anti-Semitism. I watched the documentary with a notepad in hand, but all the issues raised were vague, brief and generalised.

Where there is hate and prejudice being taught in Islamic schools, communities must contest this. But as I can’t bring a specific example from the documentary to discuss, I will simply outline what Islam teaches about Judaism, and the equality of humanity in general.

The Prophet Muhammad left no room for doubt about the nature of mankind when he stated in the Farewell Sermon, an important summa theologica of Islam, that: -

“All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white; except by piety and good action”

Jews, along with Christians and Mandaeans are counted amongst the ‘People of the Book’, and honoured title within the Quran used for the Abrahamic traditions.

The Constitution of Madinah, a social contract drafted and signed by the Prophet Muhammad, states in strong terms that between Muslims and Jews ‘there shall be sincere friendship, exchange of good counsel, fair conduct and no betrayal'.

Islam does not view the ‘Children of Israel’ in history as a differing religious tradition. Rather the story of the Children of Israel is the story of faith amongst humanity in the Quran. And so there are stories of piety and morality, of sin and forgiveness and indeed of sin and condemnation. These are for instruction and reflection of present day believers –Quranic references to Children of Israel should be understood in this context.

GENERALISATION AND SENSATIONALISM:

I refuse to accept the now token disclaimer offered by journalists and presenters who say “not all Muslims are like this, but” and then spend the whole show demonising and misrepresenting Muslims.

Despite almost all the schools mentioned by the documentary receiving ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ classifications by Ofsted (a very rare grade), the show then went on listing tenuous claims of ‘extremism’.

Often this is done by quoting speakers out of context, with some ominous music playing. This is a common technique, and one which wilfully misrepresents the speakers and the content of their message, and as mentioned, conflates extremism and religious conservatism.

If the issue of Muslim faith schools, and the content of their syllabus, is to be examined, it should be done thoroughly, with adequate time and an objective analysis.

This short documentary, with sloppy terminology, lack of understanding, vague accusations, sensationalism and generalisations of a two million strong Muslim community is anything but the right way to do it.

Another Islamophobic Non-story

If you happened to see Saturday's Daily Express headline, it ran: “MUSLIM PLOT TO KILL POPE”.

Millions would have seen the sensationalist headline. It goes without saying the story is a flunk, and the BBC have confirmed that the plot was nothing more than a few street cleaners joking in the work canteen.

It was barely a story from the beginning. There were no formal allegations, nothing about the motivation of the individuals or even their identity other than nationality.

Yet the Express, like a rabid dog, jumped at the story and made it headline. And not only that, they associated it with a whole faith - ‘Muslim plot’. I’m not sure if it’s better or worse that The Telegraph and others who went as far as to identify them as ‘Islamists’.

And despite the prominence of the news story on Saturday, there will be no front page headline saying “CORRECTION – NO MUSLIM PLOT TO KILL POPE” in the Sunday Express. The damage will be done and the public (at least those gullible enough to trust the Express) will consume another morsel of fake-news that adds to the existing Islamophobia.

Muslim communities in the UK (and indeed elsewhere) must engage with the media. First, to contest inflammatory and inaccurate reports. Second, to encourage more positive reporting of Muslim communities and finally, to begin producing media and news outlets that paint a more unprejudiced and unbiased picture.

The burden of responsibility also falls upon level headed journalists to ensure they at least do not add to the problem, and work to counter it - I've been told that the journalist who reports not for a pay cheque but due to a sincere belief in informing the public still exists (or perhaps they're all bloggers now).

And finally, there is much to be expected from our politicians; members of parliament as well as assembly members, to protect their communities against the growing tide of Islamophobia in the UK.

Rant over.