Let's talk about Islamophobia
Not that long ago I worked alongside an amazing organisation,
ENAR, to bring to life Ireland’s first Anti- Islamophobia conference. The
population of Muslims in Ireland has been growing rapidly for the past decade
and yet, the problem of Islamophobia is continuously pushed under the rug. I
want to change that!
Racism is an issue that people are faced with in their everyday
lives and even if you aren’t affected by it personally I hope you can see the
urgent need there is for the problem to be dealt with. More must be done to
overcome xenophobia in our country and with the general elections right around
the corner I want to raise the question “Well what is going to be done to stop
the spread of Islamophobia in Ireland?”
For those who are unaware of the issue of Islamophobia and for
those of you who don’t believe that Islamophobia is even an issue I’d like to
share with you my experience of being a young Muslim girl in Ireland:
"Hi, my name is Iesha Moustafa. I’m 18 years old and I’m
studying science in Trinity College. I’m half Irish/ half Egyptian and I am
Muslim.
When I was younger I never really understood what ‘racism’
meant.
Up until the age of 10 I went to a lovely little school in
Coolock in the North of Dublin. For most of the time that I was there it was
run by a nun. She was an absolutely wonderful sister and she always tried her
best to make school an accepting and loving place for students. I never felt
any different to anyone else. It never occurred to me that I was of a different
ethnicity and skin colour to the other girls in my class. It wasn’t that I didn’t
know but more so that it didn’t matter.
During religion class I’d learn about Jesus, Mary and the
Holy Spirit, and my teacher would ask me to tell the girls about the prophet
Muhammed. I was allowed to bring in my prayer mat and show the other students
how we pray in Islam. As a young girl in
primary school all you really want is to fit in. Thinking back I can say
without a doubt that I felt a sense of belonging. My identity was respected and
my differences were valued.
It wasn’t until I moved out of Dublin that I began to
understand the meaning of the word ‘racism’. I remember joining my new school
in fifth class. I was nervous the other girls in my class wouldn’t like
me. I remember one day a group in the
class were whispering and someone mentioned the word black and everyone turned
to look at me. That is when I started to
realise I was different.
I found that in the countryside talking about anything other than
Christianity was seen almost as taboo. When I began secondary school I really
started to experience the effects of that. I’d see girls in my class wrap a
scarf around their heads and put on a Pakistani accent and snigger about Al Qaeda.
Even in the presence of a teacher
Islamophobia was seen as acceptable and even sometimes encouraged. One day during a geography lesson my teacher
raised the topic of whether the hijab should be permitted in schools. She was
talking about Muslims learning to conform to the Irish way of life, ‘our’ way
of life. A girl at the back of the class shouted a comment along the lines of “Muslims
should all go back to their own country!” and when a girl stood to say how such
a comment is racist, she was quickly silenced and given a scolding by none
other than the teacher herself.
I felt hurt, I felt rejected but more than anything, I felt
humiliated.
For the 6 years I attended that school Islamophobia was a
regular occurrence, indirectly or even sometimes directly. For a year in school
a nun was assigned as my religion teacher. Before class we’d always say a
prayer. As the girls said the Our Father I’d say the Fatiha to myself silently.
My teacher eventually noticed that I wasn’t saying the same prayer as the other
girls and approached me about it. She shouted at me until I explained to her
that I was Muslim. That same week I was taken out of a class by the sister
demanding that I present her my religion homework. I told her I had handed it
up to her in class as I always do. She was growing increasingly frustrated and
angry with me. “Where is your
copy?”, “I gave it to you in class”,” Where is your copy?!”, “ I told you
sister I gave it to you in class” “Do you not speak English?!”
I was speechless
I realised I was fighting a losing battle especially when
those in charge were enforcing the xenophobic and islamophobic mind-sets in
the students. It’s isolating and alienating when you have no choice but to
accept exclusion.
Even on the street I heard comments from people who I
believed were my friends. One day I was
walking past an old friend’s house, “Duck she has a bomb!” someone shouted
mockingly as the group dived to the floor, hands over head, as if their lives
depended on it. Around the time that Osama Bin Ladin was announced dead it was
a reoccurring joke for people to pretend that he was my dad and tell me how
they were sorry for my loss. You should
see the look of shock on some people’s faces when I tell them I’m Muslim, “But
you can’t be Muslim, you don’t wear the scarf, you play sports, you’re
ambitious”
There is an evident need for solidarity not just between minority
groups but between all groups in Ireland. We need to develop understanding
within our communities.
Multiculturalism does not imply interculturalism.
I don’t expect anyone to believe what I believe but I do
expect to be respected."
The problem with the term Islamophobia is the word phobia which implies that people who are critical of Islam have a phobia, phobia is defined in most dictionaries as a fear, just because someone has a dislike of Islam doesn,t mean that he or she has some sort of phobia or l fear, it is also an attempt to try link criticism of Islam as some form of new racism which is bogus as someone cannot choose their race or ethnicity-but one can choose what religion he or she wishes to practice, believe in and adhere to. now just Imagine how absurd + dishonest it would sound to accuse someone of racism or label them as a scienaphobe for criticism of the church of scientology ? Or imagine how absurd + dishonest it would sound to accuse someone of racism or label them as a catholic phobe for criticism of the catholic church ?people can have a right to personal beliefs but those beliefs don,t have a right to be immune from criticism or scrutiny, Islam like other religions is a belief system how can one develop a phobia about beliefs ? Im all for preventing incitement to violence against minority groups and having laws in place to deal with it,
ReplyDeleteA Catholic or Protestant may choose to be irreligious in Northern Ireland yet their upbringing and FAMILY are identified by society by religion, religion isn't a simple individual choice. Nor is religion a set of abstract beliefs without impact on how people live and ac, people don't leave the 'baggage' of religion at the front door either, religion is not an equation or theory but a way of being. We have problems with terms such as Islamophobia, with language it is always a best attempt in a given social and historical context. Phobia as a term could be argued as problematic given its clinical connotation yet it is employed to conveyed a strong pattern of anti-muslim sentiment that has developed in the west not only since 9/11 but since medieval times. You are not on the recieving end of abuse therefore your mind sees no use for the term. If a wife is beaten by a husband and doesn't have the vocabulary to articulate that fact to the wider world she can be silent or she can use the resource of language as best she can to highlight HER suffering. Hope that clarifies something, all the best,
ReplyDelete-Salam.
It's such a pity that majority of people who are islamaphobic don't even know themselves what they are are fearing. Media has played and maginified the fuelling of hatred towards Muslims/Islam.
ReplyDeleteIf people were more open-minded and took the opportunity to learn about muslims,perceptions will change through dialogue and understanding.
Islamophobia is as real as antisemitism or homophobia. What this girl experienced made her feel ostracized and terrible. The reasons for her being targeted is solely her religion which is Islam so we can use the term Islamophobia. No reason to coin another term. People who deny the reality of Islamophobia need to accept the fact that of course there is bigotry aimed at Muslims, to deny deny that is denying reality. That bigotry has a name and it's called Islamophobia and these days in Europe that bigotry is producing violence and arson propagated by retrograde fascist racist bigots. I as a long life-long atheist am afraid of powerful political Islam however commonly termed Islamism. Where the politics are centered around the religion, and with that very regressive policies can take hold and I saw that first hand as I lived in Turkey for some years and witnessed the Islamisation of the country where their secular life is being removed. The fact people need to realize is that politicized religion is a dangerous thing. Political Christianity is also dangerous. The political christian right in Ireland control our schools, control women's bodies and must be opposed. Look at the evangelical Ted Cruz in America and tell me you trust him in charge of the most powerful military the world has ever seen. George Bush claimed God told him to invade Iraq. Life must be secular. The separation between church and state/mosque and state must be unbreakable. We must oppose the christian political right, oppose the Islamic political right (Islamism) but not target individuals and welcome our Muslim brothers and sisters because they are human beings as we are. They have suffered in their countries mainly because western meddling and destabilization (Syria) and outright illegal intervention and invasion (Iraq and Afghanistan). If we welcome in Muslims into our secular societies, provide support not abandonment and stigmatization then the retrograde political Islam of Islamism will have no base to feed off as Irish Muslims will feel valued, loved and integrated.
ReplyDeleteWhat Sam Harris had to say about the term Islamophobia he put it quite well .
ReplyDelete"Needless to say, there are people who hate immigrants from predominantly Muslim societies . But if you can't distinguish that from a hatred vs concern for dangerous, divisive, and irrational ideas -- like a belief in martyrdom, or a notion of male 'honor' that entails the virtual enslavement of women and girls --
There is no such thing as 'Islamophobia.' This is a term of propaganda designed to protect Islam from the forces of secularism by conflating all criticism of it with racism and xenophobia. And it is doing its job, because some people are taken in by it."
Sam Harris sees that the term Islamophobia is being used by the power structures within political Islam to deflect criticism of them and so makes the conclusion that it is a propaganda term. Netanyahu and Hillary Clinton use the term antisemitism to deflect criticism of Israel which is very warranted with their terrorist campaigns in Gaza, land stealing and such a brutal occupation. Then Clinton and Netanyahu call the boycott Israel (BDS) movement antisemitic. They are using the term to deflect criticism. Does that mean antisemitism is not real and is a propaganda term? No it is very real and we have the history of the 20th century to prove that. Nefarious characters will twist and lie to meet their agenda doesn't mean Islamophobia or antisemitism aren't real.
DeleteI am not convinced that "life must be secular" I agree that versions of Christianity and Islam are malign but a retreat into a secular atheist culture would simply be a matter of allowing a different ideology to dominate. History suggests that when atheist ideologies dominate (such as the old USSR or China) the outcome is no more appealing or productive of human flourishing. Further I worry that by essentially banning the outward expression of religion in certain public environments, as has happened in France, will eventually so close religion out from the public space as to drive it underground and further into the hands of the extremists. That might well already be happening in France, it almost certainly is in the Muslim regions of China.
ReplyDeleteThe wealthier countries where there is less inequality, where people generally have a better standard of living, better access to quality healthcare and education always tend to be more secular or atheist. Examples can be the Scandinavian countries or Japan where the vast majority of people recognize as non-religious. A more PC term for atheist. Even Ireland is becoming more non-religious, the first country to vote for marriage equality for LGBT people by referendum, as the generations experience better qualities of life they don't need or want the church. And as the church recedes the atheist ideologies taking its place are belief in human rights and a progressive belief in equality between people. If you have doubts about the separation between church and state and secular life just look at the countries ruled by theocracy present in the world. They are generally the worst abusers of the human rights of their own people. If you would choose that over a secular society then simply you don't believe in human rights and theres nothing more to say.
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