On Friday morning, I was terrified after reading a WhatsApp message titled, “marches” with a subheading, “Please be careful” as English Defence League (EDL), a far-right, Islamophobic organization, is coming to 17 major cities across Britain. Later, I saw Sky News report “more protests have been planned for the coming days over the Southport stabbing attacks, including one targeting a mosque.”....CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE
By the same evening, a police station and a car were set on fire by far-right “violent thugs in Sunderland.” Following a “deadly child stabbing,” the United Kingdom is witnessing new waves of rioting and violent protests from Southport to Sunderland, London and spreading across several cities. However, mainstream religious figures, community leaders, politicians, security institutions and academics have shown archetypal solidarity in denouncing “criminal thuggery.” The Sunderland MP Lewis Atkinson vows “‘Far-right racists’ will not win” but only time will tell whether the far-right will be weakened and defeated.
A pile of evidence shows the far-right has been successful in constructing a robust narrative that British Muslims are the root cause of all problems. Since the beginning of the Southport tragic incident, hundreds of far-right associates in the social and mainstream media platforms and political circles are going live unchecked disseminating fake news and accusing Muslims for all troubles.
For hours, the mainstream British press avoided naming the teenage killer because of U.K. laws. What happens if the killer was a Muslim? I remember British politician Suella Braverman, made numerous distasteful and false comments about “grooming gangs” ethnicity and identities, cataloging them as Pakistani Muslims but she paid no attention to whites and non-Muslim groomers as, “A previous piece of research from 2015 found that of 1,231 perpetrators of ‘group and gang-based child sexual exploitation,’ 42% were white, 14% were defined as Asian or Asian British and 17% black.” Current statistics shows an alarming “82% rise in online grooming crimes against children” so the point is blaming Muslims wouldn’t solve the problem.
Braverman attained publicity like British politician and broadcaster Nigel Farage and many of his associates who blamed Muslims for mass stabbings in Sunderland. Earlier, Farage accused Muslims for the Leeds riots and nothing happened as he cleanly walked away. Anyone can demonize the whole Muslim community and tag them with all social-ills in society for a long time.
So far, what we have learnt from the violent protests; disinformation is a killing virus and social media warriors can accuse anyone of anything without checking. Hence, it’s the law that does not protect certain communities and Muslims are at a disadvantage and easy targets. The result is ongoing mayhem and no one knows how far it goes.
Is Islamophobia a form of racism?
Racism exists in every country and Britain is not an exception. In Britain racism is systematic, and it is institutionalized. Thirteen years ago, Conservative Party Lady Saeeda Warsi revealed, “Islamophobia is now socially acceptable in Britain.” At that moment in time, the Conservative Party chair “believes prejudice against Muslims is seen by many Britons as normal.”
Wes Streeting, the current Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and an MP at the time, admitted in his Guardian piece titled; “Yes, Islamophobia is a type of racism” and recommended, “Contrary to myth, the definition I helped devise isn’t a threat to free speech. Theresa May’s government must adopt it.” Although, the working definition of “Islamophobia” states, “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness” which was accepted by Labor, Lib Dems and Scottish Tories,” yet the then Conservative government declined it.
University of Bristol professor Tariq Modood report titled: “Islamophobia: A form of cultural racism” suggests, “Islamophobia is the racialization of Muslims based on physical appearance or descent as members of a community and attributing to them cultural or religious characteristics to vilify, marginalize, discriminate or demand assimilation and thereby treat them as second class citizens.” Decades on, Islamophobia is yet unresolved.
Why mosques? How does British media present mosques?
The Masjid, also described as a mosque in English, symbolizes the religion of Islam like a Church, Synagogue, Temple, or a Gurdwara recalls Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.
Since the ongoing riots triggered in England, rioters have attacked mosques in Southport, Sunderland, Hartlepool, London and Liverpool and “shouted insults about Islam” though the killer is an African Christian. What happens next? How far can the far-right go?
The University of Leeds academic and commentator, Abdul Shaikh said, “Across social media, the name of the EDL has been mentioned despite the fact that the organization is now defunct. What is more worrying is that (Tommy) Robinson (a co-founder of EDL) is known to be a pro-Israeli campaigner and has been at the forefront of anti-Palestine demonstrations since Oct. 7 in the U.K. What is more disturbing is that this call to action culminating in riots is an attempt to intimidate Muslims in the U.K. because of their pro-Palestine sentiments and the fact that they have made their voices heard in the political arena just last month. The authorities in the U.K. need to get to grips with the situation and focus on community cohesion to build stronger communities across these isles.”
Now, mosques across the U.K. are “preparing for the worst” to come as “far-right protests mobilize” marches across England accusing Islam and Muslims for the crime that was committed by an African Christian who never attended any mosque. So what’s the logic behind attacking mosques? For argument’s sake, now that the killer’s identity is confirmed no one is targeting Africans or attacking Churches. So why mosques and why Muslims?
Any in-depth analysis on mosques’ representations in the British media shows a similar narrative that all radicals, extremists and violent criminals have attended mosques at some point in their lives. For years, the sections of the British press and polity have misrepresented mosques on purpose. The aim clearly lies in turning the public uproar toward Muslims and Islam rather than tackling the real issues such as rising prices, social injustice, wars and public spending cuts.
Leeds Beckett University academic, Razaq Raj told Daily Sabah: “Far-right groups often use religion to justify violence and oppression against minority communities, particularly Muslims. They employ simplistic labeling to portray Muslims as monolithic and inherently dangerous, which dehumanizes them and legitimizes discrimination, hate speech and violence. This rhetoric supports their political, social and ideological goals, rallying support by promoting fear and division within local communities. The impact on Muslim communities includes increased discrimination, exclusion and physical danger. Combating this requires education, legal protections and fostering intercommunity dialogue to promote understanding and inclusion.”
The recent mayhem recalls British sociologist Stanley Cohen’s renowned study “Folk Devils and Moral Panics” (1972). Cohen suggests that the press, politicians, public bodies, pressure groups and police together construct a narrative on “deviant behavior” of the nominated “folk devil.” In his study, it was “mods and rockers” a youth subculture that were featured as villains. Initially, all major players described as five P’s present a selected group as a threat to society and hence pressurizes the government to ban or expel them or tighten the country’s laws otherwise to show the public that they are the problem.
Sadly, Cohen’s “mods and rockers” left the U.K. and lived in India, and decades after, it appears that they were not guilty but it was the media and politicians who portrayed them as the bad guys. Notably, The Independent report titled: “Forty years ago pictures of Mods and Rockers shocked polite society. But were they staged by the press?”
Years on, Cohen has departed but his study is so relevant as if he had published it yesterday. Today, far-right politicians, rioters, pressure groups and their associates in the press are blaming Muslims for current violent riots. I am sure none of the far-right protestors or their leaders will ever regret it and apologize.
Any sensible and educated British person agrees with the European Convention on Human Rights, which acknowledges “The individual rights together with other people and make their collective voice heard is fundamental to a properly-functioning democracy.”
The British media should halt using the same old lens through which they have created and promoted self-appointed and self-proclaimed radical imams and scholars and then told the British public that mosques are houses of radicals. It’s clearly disinformation.
There is notable evidence that Muslims are the least protected community in Britain and it’s time for Britain to rethink its laws that should exhibit equality not in theory but in practicality. As a test case let’s embrace the fact that Islamophobia should be treated the same as Anti-Semitism to protect Muslims.
