“Europe is in danger of seeing its extreme-right parties move into the mainstream. The message has changed. Anti-Semitism has metamorphosed into ‘Islamophobia’ since 9/11, finding a popular resonance with those bearing the consequences of the war on terror. Islamophobia has become the prejudice of the day, but the threat from the extreme right is real and it is found across the European Union.”
Glyn Ford MEP in the Japan Times, 18 October 2006
The Stop the War Coalition has issued an open letter condemning “an attempt to plunge this country into a racist hysteria, directed against Muslims, of a kind we have not seen for a generation or more”.
It calls on “all people of good-will to reject the anti-Muslim hatred being whipped up and to support the values of tolerance now under attack”.
Tony Blair has said that the veil worn by many Muslim women in Britain is a “mark of separation” that makes people from other backgrounds feel uncomfortable. The Prime Minister came off the fence in the heated debate over Muslim customs by urging them to integrate more fully into British society. His remarks confirmed a significant shift in the Government’s thinking amid fears that its support for multiculturalism may have encouraged the growth of “parallel lives” that never meet.
At his monthly Downing Street press conference, the Prime Minister was asked if a woman who wore the veil could make a full contribution to British society. He paused before replying: “That’s a very difficult question. It is a mark of separation and that’s why it makes other people from outside of the community feel uncomfortable.” He added he was not suggesting women should be ordered to remove their veils. “No one wants to say that people don’t have the right to do it, that’s to take it too far, but I think we do need to confront this issue about how we integrate people properly with our society,” he said.
Jon Cruddas, MP for Dagenham, who will formally launch his campaign to become Labour’s next deputy leader today, will accuse ministers of playing “fast and loose” with religious tensions during the row. He will say: “The solution does not lie in an ever more muscular bidding war among politicians to demonstrate who can be tougher on migrants, asylum-seekers and minorities. Nor is it in using racial or religious symbols to create controversy. That only makes the situation worse. It is not the role of politicians to play fast and loose with symbols of difference, especially when they drive the political centre of gravity to the right as a consequence.”
“This week I’ve been told that women like myself are submissive, oppressed creatures who need rescuing by white, male politicians. But at the same time, I’ve been told that women like myself frighten white, male politicians and that we are a threat to social cohesion in this country.
“Frankly I’m getting fed up with other people’s obsessions being projected on people like me.
“If the government wants to tackle barriers to integration, how about tackling some of the real obstacles that we encounter? And, in this country, the widespread imposition of Islamic dress is not one of them – by any stretch of the imagination. In fact post 9/11, the most prevalent pressure on Muslim women is to NOT wear Islamic dress, out of fear for their personal safety.
“That’s not to say that cultural and patriarchal pressures do not exist in the Muslim community. They do – and many of us are actively engaged in challenging them. I defend the right of women to choose, for themselves, to wear the niqab or hijab. But I equally defend the right of women to choose not to wear particular forms of dress, whether it’s in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iran or Britain.”
Salma Yaqoob in Socialist Worker, 21 October 2006
“It was refreshing to read the article by Martin Newland (G2, October 16). He is the only commentator who seems to understand that women choose to wear the Niqab as an expression of their faith and that you can still be a ‘regular person’, albeit religious.
“I am a Muslim woman, as well as a practising barrister, past Labour parliamentary candidate, human-rights adviser to the mayor of London and past worker for the UN mission in Kosovo. But I fast, give zakat (alms), have performed Haj, say the salat (prayers), do not drink, and am proud to call myself Muslim, will never wear a short dress or a bikini etc.
“At the same time, I love, like many of my Muslim friends and family, watching Carry On films, Benny Hill, Rory Bremner, Have I Got News for You, love fish and chips, and have friends from all religions, cultures and backgrounds. Go and talk to and get to know a Muslim. Then you will know they are no different to anyone else.
“I always thought the best thing about being British was that as long as you obeyed the laws, you could lead your life as you wanted. And yet we are all being pushed into one straightjacket. Just as people who want to ‘take their kit off’ have the right to do so, so should people who want to ‘keep their kit on’. This debate has already got some nasty undertones to it – and a lot of underlying ignorance.”
Yasmin Qureshi, letter in the Guardian, 18 October 2006
An excellent letter, only slightly undermined by some questionable aesthetic judgements. I mean – Benny Hill? Are you sure about that, Yasmin?
State snoopers turn on Muslim students
By Daniel Coysh
Morning Star, 17 October 2006
ACADEMICS and students vowed to fight “McCarthyite” government proposals for university staff to spy on Muslim and “Asian-looking” students yesterday. Lecturers’ union UCU and the National Union of Students both insisted that the proposals were unacceptable and would be vigorously opposed.
Reports said that The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) is drawing up plans to ask universities and colleges to inform on students to Special Branch. As the hysteria surrounding Islamist “extremism” threatens to completely engulf British political discourse, a leaked 18-page consultation document raised fears that Britain’s universities have become “fertile recruiting grounds” for radical groups.
But UCU joint general secretary Paul Mackney pointed out that “radicalisation is not the same as violent extremism or terrorism.”
He said: “The government’s premise is wrong. Radicalisation is not the result of Islamist segregation but government policy, especially in Afghanistan, Palestine and Iraq. UCU has expressed its concern to the minister that our members may be sucked into an anti-Muslim McCarthyism, which has serious consequences for civil liberties by blurring the boundaries of what is illegal and what is possibly undesirable.”
The document calls for university authorities to closely monitor campus Islamic societies, particularly if they invite “radical speakers” to address their meetings. It suggests that checks should be made on guest speakers at such meetings.
Fellow UCU joint general secretary Sally Hunt insisted: “We will not accept further government attempts to restrict academic freedom or free speech on campus. There is little point in having these nominal freedoms if they can be removed when certain people don’t like what they hear.”
NUS national president Gemma Tumelty warned that creating a snooping culture on Britain’s campuses could prove counterproductive to anti-terrorism measures. “Demonising and stigmatising student communities is no way to defeat terror,” insisted Ms Tumelty. “Indiscriminate monitoring of groups on campus assumes collective guilt. This will only fuel the racism and Islamophobia that our society should be trying so hard to stamp out.”
University vice-chancellors also rejected the proposals. Universities UK president Professor Drummond Bone said: “Not only is this unreasonable but, crucially, it could be counter-productive. The key to this is balance and discussion and we have made this point repeatedly to ministers.”
Unite Against Islamophobia
Called by Glasgow Stop the War Coalition and Muslim Association of Britain
Saturday 21st October, 12 noon George Square, Glasgow
There is a feeding frenzy of anti-Muslim stories in the media that has contributed to taking Islamophobia to a new level:
• Jack Straw claimed that women wearing the niqab makes him feel ‘uncomfortable’ and creates social division
• John Reid lectured Muslim parents on how to bring up their children, implying that they are responsible for terrorism
• David Cameron got the headline with ‘I’ll smash Muslim ghettos’
The up-shot of this is that Muslims are being verbally assaulted and even physically attacked. Recently, a mosque in Falkirk was fire-bombed, an Imam in a Glasgow mosque was seriously attacked and a woman in England had the veil ripped from her face.
Stop the War Coalition is proud to work with the Muslim Association of Britain to stop the war and terror in Afghanistan and Iraq. We will not allow politicians to whip up hysteria against Muslims. Everyone who is against racism, scapegoating and persecution must unite together and stand shoulder to shoulder on Saturday 21st October.
No Justice No Peace!
State snoopers turn on Muslim students
By Daniel Coysh
Morning Star, 17 October 2006
ACADEMICS and students vowed to fight “McCarthyite” government proposals for university staff to spy on Muslim and “Asian-looking” students yesterday. Lecturers’ union UCU and the National Union of Students both insisted that the proposals were unacceptable and would be vigorously opposed.
Reports said that The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) is drawing up plans to ask universities and colleges to inform on students to Special Branch. As the hysteria surrounding Islamist “extremism” threatens to completely engulf British political discourse, a leaked 18-page consultation document raised fears that Britain’s universities have become “fertile recruiting grounds” for radical groups.
But UCU joint general secretary Paul Mackney pointed out that “radicalisation is not the same as violent extremism or terrorism.”
He said: “The government’s premise is wrong. Radicalisation is not the result of Islamist segregation but government policy, especially in Afghanistan, Palestine and Iraq. UCU has expressed its concern to the minister that our members may be sucked into an anti-Muslim McCarthyism, which has serious consequences for civil liberties by blurring the boundaries of what is illegal and what is possibly undesirable.”
The document calls for university authorities to closely monitor campus Islamic societies, particularly if they invite “radical speakers” to address their meetings. It suggests that checks should be made on guest speakers at such meetings.
Fellow UCU joint general secretary Sally Hunt insisted: “We will not accept further government attempts to restrict academic freedom or free speech on campus. There is little point in having these nominal freedoms if they can be removed when certain people don’t like what they hear.”
“Where is this political opportunism taking us? Into the dark tunnel of national strife. The corrosive effect of the political and media onslaught against British Muslims is having its impact on all sections of society. What is claimed to be an assertion of free speech and democratic rights is rapidly becoming the demonisation of a community. Once they are dehumanised, who cares for their democratic, civil or human rights?
“Since John Reid demanded that Muslim ‘bullies’ must be faced down and Jack Straw declared the veil a ‘statement of separation’, ministers have fallen over themselves to make increasingly unbridled attacks on Muslims. The shadow home secretary, David Davis, has accused our communities of creating a ‘voluntary apartheid’ and colleges have taken action against veiled teachers and students. The tabloid press has declared open season on Muslims with one hostile front-page story after another.
“In practice this has amounted to incitement to violence. In recent weeks verbal and physical attacks on Muslims have surged alarmingly. Women have had their scarves ripped off. Mosques and Islamic centres in Preston and Falkirk have been attacked by mobs and firebombed.”
Daud Abdullah, deputy secretary general of the MCB, in the Guardian, 17 October 2006