Islamophobia Is Not An Imaginary Myth: Whatever May Be The Factors
09 November 2017By Qari Asim
Britain is a country of remarkable tolerance but those who are eroding this
fundamental value must be held to account.
Earlier this week -the national hate crime awareness week- the Home Office has
released new data showing that hate crime has increased by 29% in the past
year. Police forces across England and Wales recorded almost 80,400 hate
crimes in 2016-2017. These figures are deeply troubling as an independent
member of the government's anti-Muslim hatred working group.
The findings suggest that the unprecedented surge has occurred due to the
Brexit vote and an increase in terrorist attacks in the UK. However, some
claim that these figures are part of an "overblown propaganda" or that "the
hate crime epidemic is a self-sustaining myth".
Whatever may be the factors behind the recent surge in hate crimes, it is hard
to dispute that hate crime is neither a meaningless nor an imaginary myth
rather a reality for many Muslims. The staggering statistics are not simply
numbers - these hate crimes have, in the past, snatched away someone's father
or grandfather on his way back from the mosque or resulted in a pregnant woman
losing her baby in a violent attack while shopping in the supermarket. There
have been many incidents of women's headscarves being snatched in streets, and
being asked to leave Britain. All of these are enough to make anyone feel
scared and vulnerable in their own home, let alone on the street.
Earlier in the month, figures revealed that police forces had recorded 110
hate crimes directed at Muslim places of worship between March and July this
year, up from 47 over the same six month period in 2016. This trend of
attacking Muslims and their institutions is worldwide. In the US, the figures
showed that between January to July 2017, every month nine mosques were
targets of threats, vandalism or arson.
Anti Muslim prejudice is often perpetuated by fear and a sense that Muslims
are taking over our jobs, our homes and our country, thus leading to a
polarizing society. This fear is compounded by wrongly dovetailing terrorism
to Islam.
This week the UK Office for National Statistics in its quarterly update
reported a 13% increase in all police-recorded offences across England and
Wales. Trump erroneously links this rise to the "spread of radical Islamic
terror". Trump's hate-filled tweet was immediately used by the far-right
groups to stir up hatred towards Muslims. The newspaper columnist Katie
Hopkins quoted Trump's tweet with a reference to "child rape squads", which
was in turn retweeted by Paul Watson, the alt-right conspiracy theorist.
The anxiety and suspicion towards Muslims is prompted by not only the far
right movement and populist leaders but also some mainstream journalists. Many
studies have already shown that mainstream media reporting about Muslim
communities is contributing to an atmosphere of rising hostility towards
British Muslims. The inflammatory headlines such as 'Christian child forced
into Muslim foster care' or articles talking about sex grooming as a 'Muslim
problem' either conflate an isolated incident with the religion of the
perpetrator or offer a skewed portrayal of Muslims. The far-right groups seize
on such stories as a vindication for Islamophobia.
Islamophobia is so ripe that Islamophobic hate crimes against non-Muslims are
also happening, according to a recent study, because the victims are perceived
to be Muslims.
Britain is not a rancid, rage-fuelled place but the soaring hate crimes and in
particular anti-Muslim hatred, must be tackled, through legislation, the
criminal justice system, objective media reporting and education. The
government must continue to monitor the rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes as a
key priority and challenge those who stir up hatred; the effective
implementation of the hate crime action plan will be a milestone in tackling
hate crimes. Education is critical in preserving our values of tolerance and
embracing others. No one is born hating others- if hating others can be
taught, so can loving others!
The regular smears about Islam or Muslims by those in high offices and the
sections of the mainstream media and the conflation of Islam with criminality
must stop. There is a real danger that such prejudice will further stoke up
anti-Muslim hatred and provide fuel for an already growing number of acts of
violence against the Muslim community across the UK.
Acknowledging that hate crimes are a reality for many in Britain is the first
step to tackling hatred.
Qari Asim is an Imam and a member of the government's anti-Muslim hatred
working group. He can be reached at @QariAsim
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