By Sameera Mian
The recent conference organised by the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain (October 19, Institute of Education, London) and the launch of the Runnymede Trust’s Report by Home Secretary Jack Straw (October 22, by its Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia) has helped to highlight a problem that is gripping not only British but the whole of European society today. This phenomenon of anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim sentiment is by no means new. Muslims have known Islamophobes since the dawn of Islam. However, it is important to look at this idea of Islamophobia in the context of contemporary developments. Undoubtedly, Islamophobia has its roots in and is strongly influenced by the long standing conflict between Islam and the Christian West but what we are seeing now is a distinct form of prejudice and fear framed within the socio-political and socio-cultural fabric of European society today. As an identifiable group, Muslims have become important only in recent times in the wake of particular historical events, most notably the Rushdie Affair in 1989 in Britain, but also more significantly with the settlement of large numbers of Muslim migrants in Europe. There is now clearly a move towards what is not so much colour racism but cultural racism and indeed religious racism. The Conference, ‘Islamophobia - the oldest hatred’, attended by over 800 people, provided a valuable opportunity to bring together speakers who presented an overview of the situation in various European countries, including France, Germany, Switzerland and Bosnia and also the situation in Algeria. Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui’s, Leader of the Muslim Parliament, opening speech provided an introduction and overview to the Conference and also outlined the Parliament’s stance on the rising phenomenon of Islamophobia. He talked about the legacy of the conflict between Christianity and Islam and how this has influenced contemporary attitudes towards Islam and Muslims. The importance of organising such a Conference, which provided a platform for speakers to outline the situation of Muslims in various European countries must be stressed. The Conference declaration outlined the practical steps that need to be taken in order to tackle Islamophobia, such as “intellectual and political da’wah, regular meetings to assess the shifting nature of Islamophobia [and] involvement of Muslims in challenging media bias and where necessary complaining through the appropriate channels”. The historical roots of present day Islamophobia were discussed in greater detail by Jahangir Mohammed, Deputy Leader of the Muslim Parliament. He outlined the long tradition of attacking the Prophet of Islam (pbuh) and the Qur’an, which still resonates in attitudes to this day. Muslims have to be conscious of and counter the affects of anti-Islamic discourses in every facet of Western society; the secular education system, media, academia and literature, both in ‘popular’ culture and the classics. English literature teaches us to admire the literary figures of Western Europe in particular, without ever being trained to critically evaluate their work for its anti-Islamic and generally eurocentric approach. Take for example Shakespeare’s Othello, a passionate and barbaric Moor and his references to the ‘Lustful Turk’ in other writing, Dante’s infamous Inferno, in which he places the Beloved Prophet (pbuh), Voltaire’s play Mahomet or Fanaticism full of erroneous accusations about the Prophet (p) and Wilkie Collins in The Moonstone, representing Muslims in his first few paragraphs as plundering and looting through India. The list is by no means exhaustive. Then there was the period of Orientalist literature, in which a particular disdain was reserved for Islam. By using Medieval writings Orientalists expanded and popularised the image of Islam as barbaric, backward, violent and threatening and therefore something that needed to be controlled. Now we find ourselves being bombarded with anti-Islamic sentiment throughout the media. Coverage of the establishment and work of the Muslim Parliament is an appropriate example of the hostility that exists towards Islam. By sensationalising and misrepresenting the situation the media reasserts the idea that Islam and as such Muslims in Britain are a threat to British society, to state security and to the Britishness of Britain’s economic, social, cultural and political institutions. The idea of Islam as a threat is reinforced not only at national but at the international level; after Communism the ‘Islamic threat’ is the next force to be subverted. The Rais al-Ulama of Bosnia, Dr Mustafa Ceric, who was so admired during his last visit to England, sent his message with Ifet Mustafic. He stressed in his beautiful address the need to distinguish between the idea of ‘Islam and the West’ and ‘Islam in the West’, the latter being a more accurate description of Europe today, and to look beyond the idea of ‘Islam versus the West’. “It does not matter where it comes from. If good comes from the West, Islam approves it. If an evil comes from the East, Islam disapproves it. This is the criterion by way of which Islam transcends geographical, national, cultural and political boundaries.” He, like other speakers, reminded us that it was the great Islamic spirit which actually revived Western civilisation and pulled it out of its stagnated and superstitious period into its Renaissance, something which proponents of Islamophobic ideas choose to forget nowadays. The situation of Muslims in Europe varies greatly from state to state, although discrimination and social and economic marginalisation are common elements in all countries. Citizenship rights and therefore political participation of Muslims in Germany is very different from the case of Britain for example, which is different again from the experience of Muslims in France. Ahmed von Denffer illustrated how of the 2 million Muslims present in Germany, the majority of who are Turkish, probably only 100 000 Muslims hold German nationality, resulting in direct discrimination with regards to voting rights. He explained why he felt the term ‘Islamophobia’ is not actually a very accurate description of what is taking place in Germany. Indeed there has been some discussion of the term here in Britain and whether applying this term may be problematic. “Surely ‘phobia’ means an exaggerated fear, but at the same time it usually describes an illogical and sometimes inexplicable reaction. I am of the view that the contemporary anti-Islamic trends are neither illogical nor inexplicable”. He further explains that Islam is seen as a threat to Germany’s constitution as it presents an opposing ideology to its established social and political order. So much so that the ‘Federal Office for Protection of the Constitution’ (Bundesamt fur Verfassungsschutz) is closely monitoring all ‘Islamic’ activities, regardless of whether they have a political agenda. The head of the Verfassungsschutz, Dr Peter Frisch, regularly broadcasts warnings in national newspapers about Islam being Germany’s potential number one enemy, that it wants to rule the world, that Muslims in Germany may sooner or later resort to violence and that Germans are not responsible for problems, it is the Muslims themselves who are to blame (so we had the solution to the problem all along!). Interestingly, the distinction that is often made between ‘moderate’ and ‘extremist’ Muslims is not so obvious in Germany, and all Muslims are seen as a threat, especially those German citizens who have reverted to Islam. Once again the media is the main way of disseminating this information to the German public. The emphasis is on blaming the victim, even in such atrocious acts as those committed in Molln and Solingen, where Turkish people were burnt alive. The Swiss ‘3-Circles’ policy, which again operates on the basis of directly discriminating the most against people from ‘far away’ countries, most of which happen to be Muslim states, has meant property rights and voting rights for Muslims in Switzerland are very limited. Ahmed Huber also highlighted the role of the media in propagating anti-Muslim feelings where there in an already xenophobic population. He stressed the influence that Zionism has on decision making and how this has negative effects for Muslims, particularly in Switzerland but also on the global scale. Huber observed certain discussions taking place between right wing parties in Europe and some Islamic movements but we need to look more carefully at these issues, especially as Islam espouses nothing in the central ideology of the National Front or other fascist, racist or anti-Semitic philosophies. A number of common themes ran through the conference; the role of the media in contributing to Islamophobia; Islam’s new position as Public Enemy No 1 (the ‘Islamic threat’), and the discrimination faced by Muslims. Clearly each of these issues are of concern individually but they are all manifestations of the rising anti-Islamic feeling that is overtaking Europe today. Most speakers acknowledged the role the media plays in propagating and reinforcing negative images of Muslims and the contempt it shows towards Islam. The aim of the researchers from Warwick and Manchester Universities was specifically to outline a number of issues relating to media representation of Islam. The work of Tahir Abbas, Alex Hall and Nusrat Shaheen in this area was also conducted to be used in the Runnymede Report on Islamophobia which presents a chapter on ‘media coverage’ of Islam. By using examples of the coverage of Israr Khan, (the teacher who ‘disrupted’ a carol singing practice in Birmingham in December 1996), ‘arranged marriages’ and the Muslim Parliament, they show how many features of Islamophobia are present in reporting in the British press. Islam is shown to be monolithic, threatening to the British way of life and at odds with the social, cultural and political fabric of Britain and indeed all Western cultures and that it is a misogynistic religion. Racist discourses are intertwined throughout press reports and the ideas of immigration, assimilation and fundamentalism are recurring themes. Sameera Mian also talked about issues of media representation and gave two examples of how Islam received ‘bad press’ in recent years; the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and the Gulf War. Both blatantly and the subtly the language used in the press shows its underlying prejudices against Muslims and also exposes the double standards employed when dealing with non-Muslim aggressors, such as Slobadan Milosevic who was termed a ‘Christian strong man’ whereas if he had been a Muslim he would at least be an ‘Islamic fundamentalist terrorist’. Not only are the descriptions of Islam and Muslims in the written form insulting but they are often accompanied by visual representations which reinforce these disagreeable ideas. Rachid Messaoudi, an Algerian journalist, spoke of the situation in Algeria and the biased media coverage of the recent tragic events taking place there. This case study of the French and the Francophone media in Algeria demonstrates the extent of information, or rather misinformation, about political events relating to Islam. He showed graphically how reporting of the massacres in Algeria, whilst not only trying to strike fear in the hearts of Muslims supporting the FIS, is propagating the lie that the Islamic movement is actually perpetrating the atrocities. Whilst any objective account would show the French backed military junta were responsible for orchestrating these murders, journalists are consistently ignoring the evidence. Needless to say the campaign has been very successful on an international scale as now many people associate FIS with the brutal murders that have become a part of daily life in Algeria. This is an example of the effect of Islamophobia in the world media. A constant theme throughout the day was the role of the media as being crucial in propagating anti-Muslim feelings and this is an area which must be critically analysed and reformed if the damage done to Islam is to be reduced and then eradicated. Of course the French contribution to Islamophobia regarding Algeria is only an element of its hatred towards Islam. Within France its Muslim citizens are experiencing various forms of anti-Islamic processes. The ‘headscarves’ issue is one such incident highlighting the drive to repress Islam. Michele Messaoudi spoke eloquently of the concept of laicity in France, that is, the constitutional decree that France is a secular state and that no religion is favoured over another (although Islam is not even an officially recognised religion) and what effect this was having on Muslims being able to practice their faith. As a laic state all outward symbols of religious affiliation are seen as endangering the principles for which the Revolutionaries fought, therefore a 14 year old girl wearing a headscarf poses a threat to ‘liberty, equality and fraternity’ which France supposedly upholds. Not only that but as Adil Mahdi pointed out the French mass media holds Muslims responsible for unemployment and the economic crises and also levels charges of terrorism and posing a threat to state security against them. A complete climate of Islamophobia has been created in France ensuring that Muslims are denied even their legitimate rights without anyone questioning the governments actions. Dr Yaqub Zaki, of the Muslim Parliament, provided an interesting historical perspective on what he classified as 5 phases of Islamophobia in the last 170 years, Europe presently being in the grip of its fifth phase. Each state in Europe suffers from its own variant on Islamophobia, shaped by its historical colonial, political and cultural experiences with Muslims. Each of the preceding eras of anti-Islamic fervour have influenced the present epidemic hatred of Islam and illustrate that Islamophobia is endemic in the European psyche, at times becoming epidemic. He also urges that we look at history in a more critical manner and evaluate our own understanding of people and events which we have previously learnt from a eurocentric viewpoint. Other speakers included Dr Al-Mass’ari, from the Committee for the Defence of Legitimate Rights (CDLR), who spoke about the role of Western client regimes and their role in promoting Islamophobia. Said Reza Ameli looked at how eurocentric has created and increased Islamophobia and Faiz Siddiqi talked of Islamophobia in the light of the European Convention on Human Rights, to which Britain is a signatory yet still has not legislated against or officially recognised religious discrimination. The Runnymede Trust’s report, Islamophobia: A Challenge to Us All has highlighted issues relating to the experiences of Muslims in British society today. It has identified that Muslims are suffering from social and economic exclusion, religious discrimination and that there is widespread hostility towards Islam and its followers from non-Muslims. It specifically acknowledged the negative portrayal that Islam is given in the media. However, Home Secretary Jack Straw made no promise to move towards outlawing religious discrimination in the lifetime of this parliament. This came as a disappointment to Muslims, but perhaps not as much of a surprise. The Commission made numerous recommendations in its Report and it is vital that we ensure these recommendations are implemented, and then monitored. However, as there is no legislation to back any of these recommendations, we are still at the mercy of individual good will and good practice in our aim to establish a just society for us all. Islamophobia in Britain is at a very intense level and it is set to rise if current trends continue. However, unless the government of the day is prepared to legislate against this phenomenon, matters will definitely get worse before they get better.