Category: Islamophobia

Introduction

Naved Bakali’s book Islamophobia: Understanding Anti-Muslim Racism through the Lived Experiences of Muslim Youth was published in 2016, fifteen Islamophobiayears after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, were used as a catalyst to start the United States’ Global War on Terror. In this book, Bakali examines those fifteen years. Upon finishing Islamophobia, the reader will have a clear sense of the hostile global environment that Muslims are currently forced to navigate, even in countries like Canada, which have an international reputation for tolerance. More importantly, Bakali impresses upon the reader that present-day Islamophobia is not an individual problem, but a systemic one perpetuated by the narratives and policies that followed the events of September 11. By combining intimate, personal details from the lives of Muslims in multiple contexts with an engaging critical analysis of historical context, Bakali has produced a work that is both informative and compassionate, making it an excellent source for learning about one of the largest issues facing the world today.

Summary

Bakali has broken his book into two sections. The first, “Understanding Islamophobia: History and Context,” explains the historical context for Islamophobia as a concept. In this section, Bakali draws upon theories about race, gender, class, and religion to formulate an intersectional and complex vision of the mindsets and world events that precipitated the current climate of Islamophobia. In the second section, “Experiencing Islamophobia: Islamophobia in Practice,” Bakali explains how these ideas manifest in actions, focusing on specific problems like young Muslim women’s struggle to be granted the autonomy to choose whether to wear religious veils and Muslim men’s experiences with the presumption that they are violent and dangerous. Bakali concludes the book by connecting theory and practice, showing that prejudice against Islam is not harmless and that harmful actions are not without explanation.

Analysis

The structure of Bakali’s book is a highly effective arrangement of its content, and its content is well-argued and informative. The book opens with a series of anecdotes about brutal attacks on young Muslims, which it then connects with the events of September 11, 2001. This opening sequence is very intelligent; it immediately garners sympathy for the Muslim victims of these attacks and contextualizes them using an event that has been institutionally co-opted to promote Islamophobia. Throughout the introduction to the book, Bakali continues to strike this fine balance between intelligent arguments and appeals to emotion, never veering too far into detachment or irrationality. By the end of the introduction, the reader already trusts Bakali to make strong arguments that are relevant and humane.

This primes the reader for Part One, in which Bakali begins by discussing the historical context for Islamophobia. Bakali’s history of Islamophobia makes it clear that this ideology did not originate in 2001, but developed over centuries of religious conflict and colonialism. By the time Bakali starts creating a working definition of Islamophobia, the reader has already been given enough historical facts about the phenomenon to have their own ideas, making the definition itself a useful framework for already-begun processes of critical engagement. Because Bakali’s definition describes Islamophobia as similar in structure and function to racism, he takes the opportunity to elucidate through the lens of Critical Race Theory, which creates a rich backdrop for the book’s discussion. Finally, Bakali concludes the section by reiterating the importance of theory in considering ideas like Islamophobia; without this context, the structural and institutional backing of instances of hate and violence are lost.

After explaining what Islamaphobia is, Bakali sets out to examine “why and how Islamophobia emerges in the post-9/11 context” and how it appears in the lived experiences of actual Muslims. In this section, Bakali spends some more time on theory, keeping his explanations just as accessible and effective as in the first part of the book; however, the most powerful part of this section is without question the one in which the author begins to discuss the studies he has conducted with ordinary Muslims in Canada. Although this portion of the book is still written formally and professionally, Bakali offers meaningful glimpses into the lives of actual Muslims, providing their names and backstories, and describing their sometimes horrifying experiences with Islamophobia in Canada. This part of the book is essential, as it supports Bakali’s argument that theories have real, human consequences and that the suffering experienced by Muslim communities does not exist without context.

“They think Muslims are like a monster,” says one study participant, Ahmad, “or some bacteria.” The pain of this statement is palpable. Here, Bakali does something truly innovative with his report of study findings: He creates a narrative, one in which the reader is naturally inclined to side with the protagonist, making what would otherwise be a purely theoretical text a critical examination grounded thoroughly in reality. These voices are real, and the reader recognizes them as such; this proves Bakali’s point and does the essential work of humanizing a population that is routinely dehumanized and demonized. Finally, Bakali concludes by stating that there are opportunities to challenge Islamophobia, and it is the responsibility of educators to take those opportunities.

Conclusion

Naved Bakali’s book Islamophobia: Understanding Anti-Muslim Racism through the Lived Experiences of Muslim Youth is an informative and emotional account of how the world reached its present position toward Islam. It is effective because it is intelligent, offering a balanced and complex examination of the historical context and theoretical underpinnings for Islamophobia that make the phenomenon impossible to overlook or underplay; however, what makes it most effective is its appeals to emotion. While many authors have the capacity to make emotional arguments that manipulate the reader, Bakali offers evidence that is straightforward and unvarnished. The effect is that the reader feels as though they are speaking directly to the people most impacted by Islamophobia; they are no longer abstract or distant. This undermines the “Otherness” that has increasingly become associated with Islam and humanizes a population that has been treated inhumanely for more than the fifteen years between 9/11 and the book’s publication. Bakali’s well-considered book is an excellent source for learning about Islamophobia and for pushing back against it.

Introduction

This report is going to address the issue of Religious Hate crime (RHC), specifically Islamophobia. A hate incident is defined as ‘any criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by a hostility or prejudice based on…’ (in the case of RHC) ‘…a person’s religious faith or perceived religious faith’ (The College of Policing’s Hate Crime Operational Guidance 2014). When hate incidents become criminal offences (i.e. something which breaks the law of the land) they are known as hate crimes, for example assault, harassment, or criminal damage. Hate crime serves to send out a message to the victim and the wider community to which the victim belongs that they are not liked or welcome. Typically, victims of hate crime are those who belong to groups with negative stereotypes and stigma attached to their identity, often seen as a threat to society.

The term ‘Islamophobia’ was coined by the Runnymede Trust in the 1997 report, ‘Islamophobia: Still a Challenge for Us All’, the first major report on anti-Muslim attacks, which has since been updated in 2004 and again in 2018. Islamophobia is generally defined as “the dislike of or prejudice against Muslims”. However, the Runnymede foundation created a more comprehensive definition in their 2018 report and emphasise the importance of defining Islamophobia in order to confront the issue, as it is “…a mechanism that leads to accountability” (Runnymede Islamophobia report):

“Islamophobia is any distinction, exclusion, or restriction towards, or preference against, Muslims (or those perceived to be Muslims) that has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.”

This report will begin by highlighting the scale and scope of the issue in England and Wales, and will then use theories to make sense of it as a social and criminological issue. Next, this report will provide an overview of the different policies that have been implemented to tackle this issue and support victims. Thereafter, this report will set out some recommendations for what the future of policy should look like, before concluding by summarising key points that have been discussed throughout.

The nature and extent of Islamophobia in England and Wales

In 2018/19, 103,379 hate crime offences were recorded by the police. This was an increase of 10% in comparison to the previous year 2017/18 (where 94,098 hate crimes were recorded) and a continuation of the upward trend shown from the year 2012/13, with the number of recorded hate crimes having doubled since then. The number of offences per hate crime strand were recorded as follows:

• 78,991 race hate crimes
• 14,491 sexual orientation hate crimes
• 8,566 religious hate crimes
• 8,256 disability hate crimes
• 2,333 transgender hate crimes

These statistics highlight that RHC remains the 3rd highest of 5 strands of hate crime in England and Wales, and the number of reported RHCs is increasing along with hate crime generally. Islamophobia is a significant type of RHC to address as more than half of the rising number of RHCs reported to the police are now specifically targeted at Muslims or individuals perceived to be Muslims (Home Office, 2018) for example those from other faiths who are sometimes misidentified as Muslims, such as Sikhs. Additionally, Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks), the leading response and support service for victims of anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia in the UK, highlighted a record number of anti-Muslim attacks since 2011 in their 2017 annual report ‘Beyond the Incident’. In their 2018 report, ‘Normalising Hatred’, it was stated that records show Islamophobia is still a ‘significant social and political issue in the UK’ and Muslim communities feel that it is becoming ‘more prominent, visible and vocal.’

Don’t Let Islamophobia be the reason to Judge a Muslim

Ever since the attacks of 9/11, Islamophobia has been on the rise. Whether it be in the west or the middle east, Islamophobia has become a stereotype of hatred and fear. Now, if a Muslim asks you in public to watch over his bag what would your answer be? Would you trust the Muslim? Would you feel comfortable around him?. Unfortunately nowadays the answer to these questions is “No”. Now, this is because a perpetuated negative stereotype has been instilled on society that tells them to marginalize Muslims from all sorts of social services. However, evidence says otherwise, history says otherwise, the people say otherwise. Any academic analysis devoid of bias of religion or past experience would say that Islam is a religion of peace, however, it is stereotyped as a promoter of terrorism and violence. A saying goes “The actions of one does not define the beliefs of a whole”. This an idea that mainstream society is missing, pertaining to Islamophobia.

Let’s look at some types of Islamophobia. There are 4 types of Islamophobia present in today’s society. The very first type is discrimination against Muslims and their values. On October 18 2017, a bill was passed in the province of Quebec which discriminated against Muslims women as it prohibited one of their key values of covering their head and faces. The most popular supportive argument of the said bill is that “We need to see their faces for security”. My counter argument against it is: “what about the Sikh or the Catholic nuns, why are they allowed to cover their heads and why are the Sikh men allowed to carry knives or wear a turban on their head”. And if that’s your only motive, then why not have some female security officers to perform these checks, as Muslims women are allowed to show their faces to other females? This clearly shows the discrimination against Muslim women and Islamophobia towards them, that since they are Muslims a proper check should be made and their values should be ignored by the society.

The second type of Islamophobia is called Post-Reflective Personal Islamophobia. This is when people believe that the ideals of Islam are inferior to those of the west. One of the most criticized stereotypes of the West is that the values of Islam lack gender equality. Well, as ridiculous as it sounds some people believe this to be true, however if we look at some quotations directly from the Quran which is the holy book of the Muslims it states “The believers, men and women, are allies of one another. They enjoy the ‘common good’ and forbid the bad, they observe prayers and give charitable alms and obey God and his Prophet” (Qu’ran , 9:71) . This quote exhorts equality between men and women as it calls men and women to remain mutually supportive through spiritual, emotional and companionate alliance based on common belief in God and his Prophet. In the above verse there is a word in arabic stated as “awliya” which means allies of one another – where one perceives this subliminal closeness between men and women where both are part of each other in harmony. However, it is true that there are some exegesis in the Quran about differences between men and women stated in the religion but those are gender differences which exist among all men and women in society, and those differences are how a female prays or is punished for their sins. This does not mean that the way women are treated in the West is inferior to those of in Islam.

The third type of Islamophobia is Institutional Islamophobia. This is where people purposely ignore the beliefs of Islam and Muslim people. Recently the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Imran Khan and the Prime Minister of Turkey Recep, Mr. Tayyip Erdoğan came together to announce to the world about the brutalities happening in Kashmir to Muslims by Indian oppressors. However, not a single country has come forth to have a say in this and ignored all calls to actions. I say this is because India is an economic booster for most countries and they have been very defensive about their actions and call it an “entirely internal matter”. But this does not change the human rights violations in Kashmir. This proves that there is Institutional Islamophobia and people are choosing to ignore the oppression of Muslim people.

The fourth type of Islamophobia is Political Islamophobia, where politicians use it for popularity. Recently, the President of U.S.A, Mr. Donald Trump, has called out Muslims on social media to gain popularity among his supporters, or people on the fence. He inspires Islamophobia in them and gets personal gain in terms of votes during his electoral campaign. An example of this is when he made presidential order to ban people from countries with Muslim majorities from entering the US. According to a report from the Washington Post, Mr. Trump has purposely and methodically proposed his Muslim ban in suspicion of American Muslims as the centerpiece of his nativist pitch to voters. Additionally, Mr. Trump has allegedly stated that American Muslims and mosques are knowingly protecting terrorists and that the US should consider profiling Muslims. This is a clear indication of hatred and political gain using Islamophobia.

Why is it that when a terrorist incident occurs the first question we ask ourselves is: “was it a Muslim?” and why is it that when a Muslim hears about a terrorist incident, he/she prays that the culprit was not a Muslim? Why is that we are so prone to Islamophobic stereotypes? Let me tell you why. Most people believe that the attacks of 9/11 caused a rise in Islamophobia but in reality Islamophobia existed long before the attack. The term Islamophobia was created in the 1980s. However it is true that the rise of hate crimes and fear in Islamophobia occurred the most after 9/11. Hate crimes against Muslims went from 554% to 1600% in nine weeks after the attack. The main reason for the spread of Islamophobia is undoubtedly the media as it deliberately provokes all types of dicrimination to Islam and Muslim people. After 9/11 many remarks and strong statements were made by then US president George W. Bush, in which he awakened the harsh memories of the crusades done in the past against humanity. Bush stated that the US will launch a crusade on terrorism. However, this sparked a sense of hatred towards Islam and contributed to Islamophobia because the nation had thought that Islam was the reason why the attack had happened. Furthermore, the use of word ‘crusade’ in his statement has recalled the barbarous and unjust military operations against the then Muslim empire over capturing the city of Jerusalem. To make matters worse, Mr. Bush uses the word ‘Islamic fundamentalist’ in his statements to describe the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, led by the terrorist Osama Bin Laden. An example of that is the press conference released by Mr. Bush in which he states: “renegade Islamic fundamentalist Osama bin Laden is the most likely suspect in the attacks.” in which he is using the word “Islamic” to tag this terrorist organization to Islam and Muslims. Since then, hatred has enraged many westerners and wars are still being fought to this day in Arab nations such as Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Libya.

Nowadays, Islam is one way to define “terrorism” in the world. Islamophobia continues to cause disrespect, hatred, loss in value, and led towards the decrease in Muslim faithfuls. Muslims are known to say Allahu Akbar in arabic, meaning God is Great. Now, this word has been attributed as a call for attack. When people talk about “jihad”, it is portrayed as a terrorist attack. When Muslims talk about Sharia Law, it is portrayed as a law of unequality and barbaric actions. Islamophobia has changed the world’s thinking as it has shown peaceful practices of the Muslims to be lunatic ideologies. The Muslims have to live with disrespect to their religion everyday from so many sources in society. Islamophobia caused 1.6 billion people in the world to lose their confidence, to lose their respect, to lose their homes, to lose their sense of dignity, to lose their freedom and most importantly to lose their right to live in peace. The Muslims lost everything based on the actions of a few lunatics who unfortunately were misguided Muslims. Does this seem right to you? Why are the few terrorists who also happen to be Muslims considered as the representatives of the 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide. In contrast, when terrorists from other faiths or religions commit some violent acts, they are considered to be just lunatics or murderers who do not belong to any religion, country or community. A recent example of this is the Christchurch Mosque shooting in New Zealand on 15 March 2019, in which 51 Muslims were killed and 49 were severely injured. The main suspect of this terrorist act, a heinous man named Brenton Tarrant has not been linked to any particular religion or community by world leaders or mainstream international media, which in fact is a very commendable thing. A terrorist is a terrorist, nothing more or nothing less. If the same terror attack has been commited by a terrorist who is a Muslim, then the same media and the same world leaders would have happily linked it to Islam and provoke more Islamophobia which unfortunately leads to further discrimination against Muslims.

So how do we control Islamophobia?

As frightening as it sounds, Islamophobia can not go away easily. The stereotype and twisted image in our heads about Islam and Islamophobia can not go away with a simple snap of the fingers. But, there is always hope. Muslims believe in peace as they are true followers of their beloved Prophet and consider him as there role model to be the “perfect” Muslim. The prophet used to have many incidents in his life where he was abused and showed hatred but he never oppressed. Instead, he showed kindness and compassion. As is quoted in the Quran: “Messenger of Allah! It is a great Mercy of God that you are gentle and kind towards them; for, had you been harsh and hard-hearted, they would all have broken away from you’ (Quran 3:159). This shows the kindness of the greatest Muslim to ever walk on the earth. It shows how he changed the opinion of millions of people with kindness, and this is how we fight Islamophobia. This is how we get rid of the oppressors and violence towards Muslims. As George Barnard used to say: “We will always come across not-so-nice people every once in a while, that’s life. So how do we deal with such people?… simply by killing them with kindness, the trick is to take away their power of inflicting hurt or pain by being extremely kind towards them.”

Most of the time when we judge terror, we are not judging the Muslims but instead showing our sense of hatred and lack of self control, we are only expressing our hatred that has been fed to us. As the famous saying goes: “Those who judge will never understand and those who understand will never judge.” Therefore, we need to understand Muslims and the teaching of true Islam and not prejudge them due to Islamophobia. The Muslims in general are trying to make peace. Can you make peace with them too?

Not once in modern world history, where human beings can live peacefully and harmony with each other. There is always going to be that conflict, that tension, those disagreements that will make a wall in between. One of the biggest conflicts that has been roaming around for decades is, islamophobia. It started with the religion called islam and the people who believe in it are called muslims. According to the sources, Islam has existed for more than 1,400 years. The reasoning of why ‘islam’ has been targeted for making the fear islamophobia so powerful these days is because of all the chaotic, tragic events that has been happening made by extremist. Who we believed, they follow the religion.

There are many issues to choose from when looking at the liability of islamophobia. However the main ones usually roam around the topic of social problems, different race and different environment. Like miscommunications or how they choose to believe it in their own certain way.

Racism

The first issue is different races. Most of the time, racism could be described for having a fear of something.Racism is a symbolic form of Islamophobia, which has been misrepresented as a form of religious bias. In an enormous country like America, statistics have shown that throughout the globe, most people believe that muslims are being targeted because of their own individual understanding and how others were influenced from a certain group of people around them. Sometimes muslims can be badly treated from normal civilians.

In the modern world, mankind have already created a threatening activity towards the muslims. A major incident had happened by creating “Punish a Muslim Day”. It was designed to strike fear in the hearts of individual Muslims. These had impacted a majority of Muslims to be terrified from even getting out of their own house. This event had occurred in many countries, mostly in the United Kingdom and America. On 3rd of April 2018, it was officially announced, letters were sent out to homes, businesses, and lawmakers, with details of how to gain points for disturbing a fellow muslim. It can process from a mild verbal intend to a severe contusion. These have made a big impact on the muslims. Generally when activities being held, is often influenced from social media.

In the national aspect, Malaysia has not encountered any venture involving severe injuries.

Malaysia is estimated to be 61.3% filled with citizens that practices the Muslim religion as of around the year 2010. It is to be believed that the fear of islamophobia has slowly creeping into the minds of malaysians. This statement is proven to be backed up by this particular article that is explaining how the actions that were took to an extent and were made from malaysians. It has been ‘viraled’ throughout the wold-wide web in 2017. It was stated that the malaysian gentleman was telling all of his statements to the foreign resident, what to refrain from activities involving alcohol, drugs, prostitution and many more.

The article that was took from 2017 above has shown me, of how not malaysians but including muslims are making fast judgments on ‘white-coloured people’. Based on past experience, other religions also restricted most things stated above are prohibited. Relating to the question, it also proves that, this article were called upon by the shared social media post. After the 9-11 incident happened, the statistics has showed the anti-muslim hate crime rise from 21 to 481 incidents happened in the year 2001. This information was updated latest in 2014 and it has proven that the hate crime had continued to stay at a constant level. After the information was live, many muslims in various countries were either being protective of their own belief or afraid to even voice out their own judgement on this sensitive topic.

It has also caused the new elected president in 2016, president Donald Trump, to use this as one of his factors to banish muslims out of America entirely.

Political Environment

This leads us to the issue of the political environment and whether the government have contributed all their powers in order to create peace. “Xenophobia is defined as the fear of those perceived to be foreign or strange.” In American history , there have been previous episodes of xenophobia. Not only muslims and arabs were targeted for being new immigrants however it also included catholics, jews, hispanics etc.

This has started the chain reaction of events. Almost in every major shocking events happened. Our first thoughts are “This is a terrorist attack”, with no legal confirmation or inspection being made. Every person’s mind has been consumed by the most horrible nightmare happened back in 2001 and it made our instinct reaction to believe that everything happened by one thing. It was like a diseased, devouring our minds by showing the after-shock on live tv’s, the news, movies and posters etc. Propaganda has multiplied by using this useful information to strike an attack on muslim individuals.

‘I was afraid to go outside. If I stayed inside, I couldn’t mess up, except maybe with my words, which I policed carefully. I couldn’t speed, I couldn’t frighten anyone, I couldn’t break any law — no matter how tenuous — and therefore couldn’t be thrown in Gitmo,’ says American Muslim writer Shawna Ayoub Ainslie. This comment could explain millions of things of what goes through the minds of an american muslim.

President Donald Trump had used this as one of his factors for his grand election back in 2016.

He had shared many tweets regarding the controversy of islamophobia. This has created a lot of people to be believing in those tweets as they were shared by a well-known person. One of his tweets were repost from an article with the title “Bible answer man says Islam is not religion of peace, warns ramadan: muslims fast, they also blast”. This tweet was bluntly accepted by the supporters and aggressor who has come a crossed it. Nevertheless, locals and international residents have spoken out about this on their own social media platform. There is no proven evidence since the tweet is currently privated by the accessor.

The Media

Despite getting false accusations or news by a well-known celebrity. It is also rightfully to blame the media being shown to the whole world. The meaning of media itself has a vital abstract. “Media – communication channels through which news, entertainment, education, data, or promotional messages are disseminated. Media includes every broadcasting and narrowcasting medium such as newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, billboards, direct mail, telephone, fax, and internet.”. This was taken from business dictionary, meaning this was the general idea of what most people will think. Media has evolved throughout the years, especially during the time when internet were introduced to the world. It has successfully conquered the minds of a human-being throughout the times.

It has not only conquered the masterminds in businesses but was also showing fake examples to the future leading generations. From my past experiences, my cousin had been living america her whole life. One day when she was studying world history, the textbook had shown a line from the holy book of quran and had shown the exact opposite of what it really meant. It has shown that, islamophobia had made to a great extent to even brainwashed the future generations. Even though that information was blurt out, the adults just bluntly accepted the fact that, this information has been copied millions of times and was on sale for people to buy.

Ever since news and social media had continued the chain of hatred. Many incidents had also happened due to the outsiders being afraid of muslims. One of it was in Canada, an 11 year old girl was apparently alleged by a grown man and her hijab had been cut off by him. This news was false but it had made many controversies and had been shared throughout the globe. Many bizarre conspiracy theories roamed around about Muslim communities trying to control political narratives. Some people had also went so far to call for criminal charges to be laid on muslims. This has shown of how much they had fear to even be near them. Statistics had shown, 80% of ABC and CBS and 60% of Fox coverage of Muslims is negative. Them labeling acts of violence by Muslims are terrorism while similar violent acts by non-Muslims are not called terrorism

This being compared to slavery has been equalised. Americans who identify as black and Muslim have weighed in on the conversation about the domestic and international policy of closed borders. This is not only because of their religion but also about their skin colour.

Solution

Possible solution to overcome islamophobia has many ways. First to muslims, they have to be proactive towards false accusations to them. As an example, in America they have CAIR society to provide information against Islamophobia and to deny whatever perceptions from netizens and media attack. Truth to be told, not all media or all non-Muslims support this type of insulting behavior. There are lots of non-muslims that support muslims. They don’t necessarily have to accept all this behaviour and they have a bigger voice to share to the whole nation about the truth. Secondly, to non muslims, they should not only accept whatever written or says in the media about Islam. They should learn to respect other human beings that have different belief especially Islam. Moreover, Muslims should show readiness to accept differences. Not everyone is perfect and the main goal is to benefit the human society.

As Muslims we have to be prepared and aware to overcome whatever the media has against us. Because not every official websites like CNN can be from a big stand point of view. In order, to be the most accurate at the true information, you have to gain from other aspects, not only from Muslims but also from hispanics, Jews, Buddhist etc. So especially this matter wouldn’t go out of hand and it will be in great detail of how one person can represent the whole nation. “For every incident of Islamophobia, write a letter to the editor and your local civil rights organization about it”. This statement is very helpful to overcome islamophobia because it is saying that, we as muslims have a voice and not only to sit around and accept slowly. We should show some gratitude to the outside world. For example, to invite non-muslims to have a talk about how peaceful the real religion is. At the same time we can help some non-muslims to find the right path.

Conclusion

In conclusion, my perspective has not changed about this issue. I agree that the media had played a big in sharing and continuing the increase in islamophobia. Not only islamophobia but also the racism being shown among each other. In fact, you can only experience the true effect of islamophobia in countries with a bigger population ruled by non-Muslims. For example, like in America and in Great Britain. The constant fear comes from the ongoing terrorist attacks carried out by extremist. There were once that my aunt was also being called by the security guard, because a ‘white’ couple were afraid that she was holding a gun in the supermarket. You can’t judge muslims based on what they wear. A hijab is not a kind of weapon. Comparing this, if people wearing hijab is a terrorist, what about a nun? She also wears similar things to cover, from head to toe. However because they are ‘white’ and ‘christians’ they are not called a terrorist? No, because of how to social and political news had impacted the world that they think very lowly of Muslims. Why do they have more respect than anyone else? It is because World history is repeating itself, just like how Germany hated the jews back in world war 2 and we know how that ended up. To conclude we should condemn any media and the people associating with it that promote the Islamophobia all over the world wide web.

INTRODUCTION

Islamophobia, the fear of or prejudice against the Islamic religion, is a social phenomenon prominent worldwide and in dire need of the public’s attention, considering the wide implications it has on the lives of Muslims. With the internet and social media facilitating both the misrepresentation and exaggeration of the Islamic religion as pro-terrorist and a threat to society, the lives of three million Muslims residing in the UK have limited socio-economic mobility, restricting and denying Muslims from access to “employment, education, freedom of movement, and free speech, while at the same time subjecting them to counterterrorism laws and strategies that unfairly discriminate against Muslims (Islamophobia: Understanding). The Western media’s portrayal of the Islamic Religion has intensely exacerbated following 9/11, a terrorist attack led by the Islamic terrorist group al Qaeda, resulting in the backlash against Muslims in Western countries such as the UK (Gould).

The theme of social media facilitating the misrepresentation of Islamic groups and how discrimination restricts people’s lives renders throughout the stimulus packet, specifically in the Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and Edward Kessler’s “Social Media and the Movement of Ideas.” In the first source, the author communicates about the painful experience during the civil rights movement when segregation was still prominent in America and how inferior colored-people felt amongst the whites (King). The second delineates how social media is both a fast-growing outlet yet easy to abuse when it comes to promoting prejudice and stereotypes of religious groups online (Kessler). Both sources stress the necessity for inclusion in societies, emphasizing that segregation or narrow mindedness will cause havoc by not only destroying the quality of lives of those affected but also hindering the progression of modern society.

With the media integrating into every aspect of people’s lives in the UK and worsening the severity of Islamophobia, it is important to address: How is mainstream media facilitating Islamophobia, thus, negatively affecting the lives of young British Muslim adults socioeconomically in the UK?

In order to analyze the extent to which the media is responsible for Islamophobia thus hindering the socio-economic lives of Muslims in the UK, this paper will tend to various perspectives and limitations before reaching a counteractive solution: the government should proactively interfere by educating the public on the Islamic Religion, providing media literacy programs, as well as promoting one-to-one guidance for Muslims currently facing discrimination.

IMPACT ON EDUCATION

Increasingly, living as a Muslim is becoming a social mobility challenge with cultural barriers that strictly limit one’s ability to receive a proper education. In a survey done by the National Union of Students, a confederation of students’ unions in the UK, one in every three British Muslim students have experienced abuse or crime at their place of study (Kong). In support of this, figures released by Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, reveal that anti-Muslim hate crimes in London have increased by 59.4% between 2015 and 2016 (Khan). The biggest targets of such abuse were found to be Muslim women. Since Muslim women wear hijabs that explicitly manifest their identity as a Muslim, averting oppression in schools becomes unpreventable (Livingstone).

On the subject of increased maltreatment of Muslims in schools, Alan Milburn, a British labor politician, confirms that there were reports of teachers having low expectations of Muslim students (Adu). This justifies why there is less student participation among Muslim students: the fear of becoming next targets for bullying.

A 2015 Perils of Perception Survey led by Didier Truchot, founder and CEO of the global market research company Ipsos, explains how mainstream media is responsible for the widespread presence of discrimination in schools. In the survey, 89% of Muslim students had agreed that Muslims were not getting an equal amount of press coverage, compared to attacks on other racial groups (Perceptions are Not Reality). Moreover, 43% felt that they could not express their views or be themselves at school for fear of persecution, harm, and bigotry (Perceptions are Not Reality). With mainstream media merely drawing attention to the extremist side of Islam, it is incrementally getting harder for Muslims to be portrayed as ethical and sane people. The misrepresentation provokes Islamophobia which ultimately hinders Muslims from fully expressing themselves in schools and engenders higher vulnerability within them. While religious hate crimes aren’t solely facilitated by mainstream media, it still has a serious role in expanding Islamophobia across nations and influencing innocent people to display coercive behaviors towards Muslims in order to feel socially compatible amongst their community and peers (Mainstream and Digital Media).

Along with such lethal oppression, Muslim students were also found less likely to be offered a spot in higher education. A research conducted by the Nuffield Foundation, a charitable trust aimed to improve social wellbeing by funding educational projects, has revealed that those of the Pakistani heritage are less likely to receive higher education offers when compared to the white British applicants (Nuffield Foundation Education). They also analyzed that those who do manage to access higher education will have all odds holding against them as they progress into the workforce (Nuffield Foundation Education). Both sources highlight the restrictions Muslims encounter in getting accepted to higher level schools, deciphering why Muslim students are underrepresented in most universities. However, a limitation to be noted regarding the lesser educational offers cannot be generalized to all universities in the UK.

Oxford University has recently initiated “the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies Program,” a curriculum which empowers educational opportunities on interpreting the Quran, designed for the inclusion of more Muslim students in their schools (Khan). Moreover, this program allows for religiously committed British Muslims seeking to build bridges between the Islamic world and the contemporary west while simultaneously allowing them to feel hospitality in their school (Khan). While the complications of living as a Muslim in the UK has ameliorated in the past few years, there is still a long way to go with regards to improvements in the entirety of higher level schools and to completely wipe the stigma that is preventing Muslims from building successful peer relationships.

In summary, the prevalence of Islamophobia driven by the mainstream media is evidently shown to obstruct the academic and social lives of Muslims studying in the UK.

IMPACT ON OCCUPATION

Once set back from higher education, it takes a bigger threshold for Muslims to break from poverty and to become successful in the workforce. Professor Jacqueline Stevenson from Sheffield Hallam University states, “Muslims from low socio-economic backgrounds lack sufficient resources and support to enable them to reach their potential, exacerbated by their parents’ experiences of higher levels of underemployment and unemployment” (Willingham).

In the labor market, Muslims face the lowest employment rates as well as the lowest rates of pay of any group in the UK (Pritchard). Mr. Milburn, the former secretary of state for health in UK, explains, “Young Muslims feel their transition into their labor market is hampered by discrimination in the recruitment process. At a national level, a Muslim candidate’s callback rates were 13% less than the Christian counterparts” (Pritchard). Together, these two sources delineate that even before Muslims enter the workforce, they face pitfalls in finding an occupation. According to the Muslim Council of Britain’s study of population data, among 16-74 year old Muslims, only one in five of the Muslim population is in full-time employment (British Muslims in Numbers). More shockingly, a report from Processor Ron Johnson from the University of Bristol had found Muslim men were 76% less likely to have a job and Muslim women were 65% less likely to be employed than their white Christian counterparts of the same age, with the same qualifications (Tappa). Dr. Khattab, a Lecturer in Sociology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, buttresses this by affirming that “[Muslims] are perceived as disloyal and as a threat rather than just a disadvantaged minority mainly through media, making those from their own groups or others from less threatening groups to fill their jobs” (Faimau). Being categorized as a threat due to their religious identity obstructs one’s socio-economic well being and begets lower standards of living among unwaged Muslims.

Once a Muslim manages to secure an occupation, he or she must face the negative stereotyping that still prevails in the workplace. These stereotypes include assumptions such as Muslims being antisocial, uncommitted, and needy people, as well as “threats to the business”, excluding them from informal relationship-building and mentorship opportunities at work (Ali). This elucidates why the Muslim Council of Britain has found Muslim employees less likely to be satisfied with their involvement in decision making at work (Supporting the Aspiration). With the fear that participating and confronting their coworkers may get them fired, Muslim workers become inexpressive and unable to be actively engaged at work.

On the contrary, while it may appear that there is a lack in government interference to deal with such matters at hand, other organizations and companies have actively been engaged to assist young British Muslim adults in the labor market. The Muslim Aid Organization of UK is an organization that works in assisting Muslim young adults in finding occupations while providing training programs that helps individuals get exposed to real-life work experiences (Who are We). Outside of organizations engrossed in supporting Muslims, companies like Gordon Dadds, law and professional service firm based in the UK, has also taken initiative to help Muslims develop the fundamental skills and confidence required in their job interviews (Livingstone). Not only does the program entail to teach Muslim students with low socio-economic mobility the skills necessary to getting recruited, it also provides guidance in ways to counter the discrimination they may face (Livingstone).

Overall, the repercussions of Islamophobia facilitated by the mainstream media is holding back Muslim employees from consolidating into the workforce and reducing their chances of employment, which ensues into lesser socio-economic mobility amongst them.

CONCLUSION

Through observing the existence of Islamophobia on mainstream media and its effect on promoting negative stereotypes and discrimination in our society, it can be concluded that greater efforts must be enacted. In terms of education, Islamophobia is responsible for the discrimination against Muslims in receiving higher education and halting them from having a socially productive life with their peers. In terms of occupation, Islamophobia will hamper Muslims in both the recruitment process and the workplace through ways like closing them off from social events and from fully harmonizing with the rest of their coworkers.

In summary, the repercussions of Islamophobia facilitated by mainstream media appears in cases of discrimination against Muslim young adults which ensues into less socio-economic mobility within those identified with the Islamic religion.

The most efficient and feasible solution is for proactive government interference by firstly, educating the public on the roots of the Islamic religion and how to counter Islamophobia in school and work. By understanding the basis of what the Islamic Religion entails to teach its worshippers, this would allow students to see Islam from a different perspective, outside from what they are used to seeing on media, explains Dr. Monisha Bajaj from the Teaching Tolerance Organization that helps teachers educate prejudice in schools (Naresh). This would ultimately work to break down the barriers between the two communities.

Additionally, teaching students media literacy is essential in today’s age as mainstream media is largely responsible for facilitating the negative portrayal of Islamic groups and rising into a more problematic issue gradually—advocates the Center for Media Literacy, an educational organization dedicated to promoting literacy education (Johnsen).

Lastly, the government should intervene in taking the initiative to promote one-to-one guidance for Muslims facing discrimination in schools with guidance counselors and in workplaces through occupational psychologists. This would be the most direct way of helping Muslims get the help they need by teaching ways in better dealing with any discrimination and negative stereotyping that they encounter (Padela).

While the limitation for the last solution may be the cost and time that governments would have to bear in the process of promoting these guidance programs, if we were to look for the more long-term and direct solution, this solution would be the most effective as it would ensure that each individual fully gets the help they deserve. Moreover, it would teach Muslim young adults on ways to handle discrimination and increase their level of productiveness, which in turn would positively impact their socio-economic mobility as citizens of UK.

Conclusively, it is evident that Muslims are socioeconomically confined in a society that continues to be indulged in targeting the Muslim community; thus, in order for social progression to flourish, it is vital we integrate Muslims into our community and provide them the opportunity for equal social standing.

The ongoing issue of Islamophobia is outlined by the misrepresentation and stereotyping of Muslims in the media. The media have blamed all Muslims for recent terrorist attacks carried out by extreme groups who say they follow the religion of Islam. This chapter aims to investigate the reasons islamophobia is a global issue in societies. With further research conducted, 95% have an understanding of islamophobia yet 5% who conducted the survey have no understanding of islamophobia. Participants of the primary research taken Individuals understanding of islamophobia are considered to be the irrational ‘fear’ of the religion Islam and those who follow it, Discrimination and dislike of Muslims and Islam. Prejudice against Muslims and Islam. (Reserach 56, 2020)

The indication of Islamophobia shown through the working group ‘Islam and media’ composed by Faatin Haque shows Islamophobia and the impact on conflict resolutions. The media is regularly liable for the reporting of fair and unbiased new stories towards Islamic individuals, where the global media is accused for disregarding into the ethical issues when it regards Islam inside society. (Faatin Haque) Islam is the quickest developing religion in the world all the more predominantly in the west, where various generalisations and misguided judgments about Islam happen. Disregarding the way that Islam is depicted upon as ‘extremist’, ‘terrorist’ religion, Islam is the complete opposite. Islam is a peaceful religion and doesn’t elevate uncalled or assaults to others. Islam is inclined to the generalisations in the Western culture, utilising medias judgments of their words used to depict Muslims. (Faatin Haque) The misrepresentations of their clothing, generally regular with ladies wearing the cover in the west. It is to be believed that it’s a harsh custom Islam requires of women to wear a veil. It’s also claims the veils attacks the privileges of a women, but yet in reality it serves the inverse and secures them. (Faatin Haque) The terrorist groups who justify themselves as ‘Muslims’ have anticipated a public opinion against all followers of Islam. Regarding the insight of association of Islam and Muslims with the term ‘Arab or Middle Eastern’ are in fact a misleading, as Arabs only account for just 18% of the Muslim population around the world.

Through stereotypes of Islam, the creation of islamophobia is arising. Muslims are stereotypically conceptualised as terrorists and Islam as the abode of terrorism. A lot of negativity is presented in the media based off few events that people assume to be characteristics of the whole religion of Islam, portrayed upon as ‘extremist’, ‘terrorist’ religion. (Faatin Haque) Islamophobia is an issue around the world, It allows others to see the discrimination towards Muslims in society.

Psychological oppression in the broadest sense is a demonstration of viciousness proposed to make terror and fear in individuals and society for varying reasons. It has been a recurring issue throughout history and keeps on being executed by individuals of shifting social, financial, social, political, and ideological foundations. In this sense, fear-based oppression isn’t one of a kind to a specific people or culture. (Georgetown, 2018) Be that as it may, particularly over the last ten years, most of demonstrations of fear-based oppression have been submitted by Muslims and as a conclusion it has been introduced as a Muslim marvel. This has been the situation to a great extent because of the job media has played, in connecting psychological oppression to Muslims and to their confidence.

(Belinda F. Espiritu 2016) explains the negative aspects that the media depiction of Islam is a present obsession in mainstream media, current obsession is joined with negative signifiers with the worldwide media’s dominatingly negative depiction of Islam and Muslims. The site asserts the media portrays Muslims by and large as fierce, obsessive, narrow-minded, or as radicals and psychological oppressors. Particularly after the 9/11 bombing at World Trade Centre in New York, Islamophobia has expanded influencing standard Muslims around the globe. Islam is reliably depicted by worldwide media as a violence prone religion in the public eye. The self-proclaimed Islamic State group (ISIS) which allegedly shows videos of the beheadings of individuals, depict an image for others in society about Muslim individuals today. As Muslim individuals are an obsession in the mainstream media and the misrepresentation of Muslim communities, leads to the exclusion of the community.

The media is regularly liable for the reporting of fair and unbiased new stories towards Islamic individuals, where the global media is accused for disregarding into the ethical issues when it regards Islam inside society.

With media only highlighting the negatives of individuals who claim to be Muslim, it sets a negative understanding for individuals. With 42.9% believing the media isn’t the reason of misunderstanding Islam, and a solid 57.1% agreeing as the media seems to be the issue. Media tends to focus on Muslims who commit terrorist acts and highlight Islam as a violent religion. Whereas it often doesn’t capture the other side of the Islamic culture. (Reserach 56, 2020)

Participants of the primary research taken believe the media tends to focus on men committing acts, rather than women. (Reserach 56, 2020) As extremist groups often are led by men, it becomes an easier access for the media to pinpoint headlines about Islamic individuals. It still an ongoing issue the Muslim community face, as the hate and discrimination hasn’t stopped on society. They also believed with the media misrepresenting their Islamic cultural beliefs, it often leads to their exclusion in society. Demonstrating the discrimination, they face on a day to day bases, of others act who act in the name of Islam and the media jeopardising them actions for a negative encounter.

Across the media the differentiation of the effect based on gender is rapidly enormous, due to physical appearances of women. Women in society have become more of a target as they represent the name of Islam physically, which allows individuals whom are Islamophobic be disgraceful to them.

The article “After the Terror Attacks in Germany, Are We Still Safe?” by Emran Feroz will be critically analyzed in this paper. In the article under consideration, the author tells about the recent terrorist attack in Germany. Although the author’s fears and concerns are well-grounded and based on solid evidence, he fails to be on point by generalizing the public by accusing the left of being the part of the problem. The paper will argue that Islamophobia is connected with the fear of Islam representing another system of values to Germans.

Overview

The societal tension between the main public and Muslim citizens is rising to a dangerous degree. According to a survey conducted in 2009 by the Institute for Market and Political Research commissioned by the First Channel of German Television (ARD), the spread of Islam in Germany worries three quarters of Germans (Bazian, 2015). Feroz (2020) states that he and his family are still in danger and “activism of social media will not change the reality” (para. 7). The only way is to reveal what makes Germans fear this religion. The mass media talk primarily about the violence of Islamists in Syria and Iraq, about terrorism and the oppression of women, but they say nothing about Muslim culture and Islam itself (Bazian, 2015). The reasons for the emergence of fear of the Islamization of Europe could be the actions of a radical group known as the “Islamic State.” Media reports about the Germans recruited by it, who gained experience in the war in the Middle East, returned to Germany and now pose a threat to the country (Machtans, 2016). In other words, one should not dismiss the fact that there is an outside influence.

There are ongoing discussions in the country about the need to change the rules regarding immigration and asylum. The success of the Alternative for Germany party, whose demands include streamlining the influx of foreigners into the country and adopting the Canadian model of immigration, only confirms the results of the survey. If in 2013 it did not manage to overcome the five percent barrier to enter the Bundestag, then in 2014 its representatives were included in the country’s three Landatags. In addition, one needs to consider the overall perception of “Islamization” of Germany, since many refugees come from Syria, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Therefore, this part of the respondents shares the point of view of the association “Europeans-patriots against the Islamization of the Old World,” which began to conduct anti-Islamist protests in Dresden. If in October 2014, at the first demonstrations, called by the supporters of the movement “evening walk,” there were only a few hundred participants, then at the end of the year their number increased to 17 thousand people (Mombauer, 2017). In other words, there is a clear and evident escalation of the societal tensions against Muslim Germans.

Article Analysis

The main argument of the author revolves around the danger of far-right extremism to the lives of non-whites in Germany. Another major issue is the lack of proper response from the media and government regarding the fascist terrorist attacks. One should be aware that the news outlets and main channels use highly politically mild terms to describe the incidents. In addition, there was an attempt to frame the event as intra-immigrant conflict, which is inaccurate and incorrect. However, Feroz is prone to biases in generalizing all whites as racism and xenophobic people. He labels social democrats, conservative, and left-wing liberals as people exhibiting islamophobia, which is unsupported and ungrounded. The very reason why the author and his family were able to settle and prosper in Germany is the fact that leftists and liberals were welcoming towards immigrants. The bias can easily be identified because Feroz does not support the given statement with evidence, whereas everywhere else he provides some form of supportive statement.

Pegida portrays itself as a civic movement that opposes a possible increase in foreign influence in Germany and fears the excessive spread of Islam in the country. Its leaders reject violence, so in addition to right-wing radicals and neo-Nazis, the organizers of the association managed to attract ordinary citizens (inhabitants) from the middle class into their ranks. The community has a page on the social network Facebook, where new supporters are recruited and the time of the processions is appointed. The goals of the association are determined by an organizational group of 12 people, one of whom is Lutz Bachmann, who makes speeches at the demonstrations. He does not hide the fact that he was previously convicted of criminal offenses, including drug trafficking, theft, and evasion of alimony. Angela Merkel paid considerable attention to this organization in her New Year’s speech. She urged people to stop supporting Pegida and refuse to participate in their demonstrations. Merkel also mentioned the growing number of refugees, many of whom “literally escaped death” by arriving in Germany.

The manager of the German national football team recalled that the Bundestim, which became the world champion, includes players with a migratory background. Therefore, integration in society should work in the same way as in the national team. In January, demonstrations took place in several large cities in Germany, in which thousands of people took part, wishing to protest against the growth of anti-Islamism, xenophobia, and racism. Moreover, opponents of the anti-Islamic movement urge to openly express their position on the Internet, putting on their social pages the phase “No Pegida!” All these performances did not prevent the eleventh Pegida demonstration in Dresden from becoming the largest with the number of participants in 18 thousand people, but already on January 10, 2015, 35 thousand people came participated in the action against extremism.

I agree with the argument that media and government response to the far-right extremist’s attack was downplayed, which will facilitate the environment, where such attacks can go unpunished. Any form of problem needs to be recognized as such in a full extent in order to be able to solve it effectively. However, the major institutions refuse to express the concern for immigrants and their descendants. It is evident that there is a severe discrepancy of response towards Muslim terrorist attack and white extremist attack. It is especially true in regards to far-right and conservative media elements, which need to recognize the presence of a problem. Instead there was an attempt to frame the attacker as an immigrant, and thus, denouncing the claim of whites being potentially dangerous and hostile.

I do not agree that entire establishment is against immigrants and non-whites, because Germany’s left and liberal population is highly progressive. Anti-Islamic sentiments have aroused the interest of scientists dealing with the problems of migration and self-identification of German society. The main reason for the disputes over the migration issue is the huge number of refugees and people looking for a better life. Germany needs to come to terms with such processes and find a way to integrate all social groups, thereby creating a basis for coexistence in a pluralistic and diverse society with a new identity of all its members. In large German cities the diversity of religions and cultures is already taken for granted. Feroz (2020) admits that “The victims of the massacre were not strangers but people who were born and raised in Hanau. They were a part of German society, and probably, many of their parents or grandparents came to this country to work and prosper” (para. 8). In other words, the crime was committed against German citizens.

It is not possible to analyze the issue from a scholarly point of view, since it is necessary first to classify this movement among other right-wing populist organizations. Their difference from the right-wing extremist and neo-Nazi movements lies in the fact that they do not try to abolish democracy. Their goal is to destabilize society by using the opportunities provided by it. They try to restrict the rights of minorities and blame them for all the failures of social development. However, at present, right-wing and populist parties, speculating, among other things, on Islamophobia and racist prejudices, do not have a serious influence in the politics of the EU countries, and in particular in Germany. A sufficient example of proof would be that, despite all the efforts of campaigning, the right has failed to mobilize voters in order to win the next elections.

In most cases, they manage to gain a foothold only in district and city councils, at the commune level, without the majority they need on the ground. In addition, thanks to the strong civil society in the Federal Republic of Germany, many rallies and events of the right-wing parties turn out to be a collapse for them, since they are unable to mobilize a society dominated by a strong democratic self-awareness. On this basis, one can make some assumption that if the governments of European countries do not take any effective steps to resolve this dangerous problem, then Islamophobia will go further, gradually gain momentum, from which right-wing politicians will try to win. The manifestations of Islamophobia are not just isolated cases in public life, but an ideology constantly whipped up by the right-wing forces, built on racism and religious intolerance. This situation arose due to the crisis of the multicultural community in Europe at the end of the last century, but it became the agenda at the beginning of this century due to the intensified campaigning work of the right-wing forces.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is important to note the inconsistency of the Germans in relation to Islam. On the one hand, there is the fear of the spread of the Muslim religion in the country, expressed in large demonstrations, and the emergence of anti-Islamist movements like Pegida. On the other hand, there are thousands of actions in defense of Islam. Thus, the main reason for the fear of Islam is its misperception by German citizens, who know about this religion only what the media say, as well as a lack of understanding of the difference between Islam and Islamism, the line between which is shaky. Emran Feroz is right in saying that social media will not help just telling about the cases of violence against Muslims. This can be remedied by telling people what Muslim culture is, gradually removing prejudice from them and helping to form a more conscious attitude towards the Muslim community.

References

Bazian, H. (2015). Islamophobia and “the three evils of society.” Islamophobia Studies Journal, 3(1), 158–166. Web.

Feroz, E. (2020). After the terror attacks in Germany, are we still safe? TRT WORLD. Web.

Machtans, K. (2016). “Racism is not an opinion”: Muslim responses to Pegida and Islamophobia in Germany. German Politics and Society, 34(4), 87–100. Web.

Mombauer, A. (2017). The German centenary of the First World War. War & Society, 36(4), 276–288. Web.