Migrants to the West #4

Tariq Modood, Professor of Sociology, Politics and Public Policy at the University of Bristol, wrote a letter in response to an academic paper written by Alison Shaw titled ‘Why might young British Muslims support the Taliban?‘.

According to Modood Western policy in relation to the Muslim world and many other parts of the world has been far from moderate. when we look at the previous war years we can see that the Western world intervened their where they could get their oil and other important resources to make their economy turn well.

English: Image of a demonstration staged by the group Stop of the Islamification of Europe (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

He writes:

As for domestic politics, the possible involvement of a small number of British Muslims in international terrorism should not lead us to overlook the need for policies to further the democratic inclusion of Muslims in Britain, any more than the existence of the IRA was a reason to neglect the democratic inclusion of Catholics in Northern Ireland. In each of these cases, the opposite is true.”

Abdelxyz in his blog covering politics, current affairs and issues relating to especially British Muslims wrote:

The ‘need for policies to further the democratic inclusion of Muslims in Britain’ that Modood mentions in his letter is important because not only do Muslims and other communities have a right to fully participate in the democratic process, research has shown that lack of involvement could contribute to radicalisation. In fact the political settlement in Northern Ireland that acknowledged all sides in the conflict resulted in a marked decrease in terrorist activity in the region, suggesting that political participation, ie democratic inclusion, is a necessary tool to fighting radicalisation as well as allowing citizens to exercise their political rights. (One man, no vote: British Muslims’ apathy)

Tehmina Kazi, Director of the charity British Muslims for Secular Democracy (BMSD)

Golden Room wants to make us believe that the UK has one of the fastest growing mixed ‘race’/mixed ethnicity populations in the world and talks about the death threats against Tehmina Kazi, the director of the charity British Muslims for Secular Democracy, which have become common. More recently British Muslims for Secular Democracy has become the target of a trolling assault on Twitter launched by Stephen Gash, leader of far-right group “Stop the Islamification of Europe”

Efforts from the far left, extreme liberalists and from hardline Islamic groups have tried to silence Kazi and degrade her arguments by focusing on her gender and attacking her personally.

‘I have been accused of being a sell-out, and some people have said I can’t represent Muslims because I don’t wear hijab’ says Kazi, ’The trustees have had criticism and there has been much speculation on what I wear, including (false) assertions that I must wear short skirts!’

“The courage and willingness to challenge injustices perpetrated against the Muslim community as well as hardline Muslim conservatives has often led to a backlash from the community.” writes Golden Room. But extremist politics oftentimes lead to strange bedfellows.

Leftist liberalist organisations have found common ground oddly enough with hardline conservative Islamic groups. In a complex interplay, they have the shared objective to bash the right wing which they view as the fight against imperialism. These expedient alliances are equally quick to attack anyone who disagrees, and in their warped logic, progressive groups such as British Muslims for Secular Democracy come under fire. Hence, such fronts, whilst confronting the extreme right wing ‘…simultaneously try to disempower Muslim activists like myself.’  describes Kazi, ‘I have received a lot of flack from vicious bloggers, and had spiteful, vengeful comments posted on Facebook’ 

The experiences of people of dual heritage and people in cross cultural relationships, is poorly reflected and understood by political institutions, the media and wider society, therefore it is necessary that people come forwards to express their feeling. They have more than one identity, and simultaneously are a new and unique identity in themselves- but this identity is frequently overlooked, marginalised and even stigmatised, so it is good that those people of dual heritage let the world hear their voice about Cross Cultural Relations.

The Goldenroom Online Journal for Cross Cultural Relations and its accompanying Goldenroom blog wants to be the leading go-to place for the increasing cross-cultural population, providing resources, information and products representative of dual, mixed or multi heritage people.  A place to celebrate and enrich their lives, families and communities.

Kenan Malik whose extended essay Multiculturalism and its Discontents will be published by Seagull this summer writes:

The reasons for this transformation in the perception of multiculturalism are complex, and at the heart of what I want to explore in this book. It is not just the perception of multiculturalism that has changed. The character of the critique of multiculturalism has transformed, too. As much of the debate surrounding the Breivik assault reveals, the contemporary critique of multiculturalism is often driven by crude notions – indeed myths – about Islam, Muslims, immigration, European history and Western values.

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Preceding : Migrants to the West #3

Migrants to the West #2

Migrants to the West #1

An image of most famous Indian Muslims (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Blog for and go for Peace

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Please do read:

1. British Muslims for Secular Democracy
2. Multiculturalism and its discontents
3. One man, no vote: British Muslims’ apathy
4. Religion, fundamentalism and murder
5. Consequences of Breivik’s mass murder
6. A Spade Is a Spade: Why a Western Terrorist Is No Different from a Muslim One
7. Will Islam conquer Europe

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Related articles

• UK: ~Looking Back~ Muslim Culture, British Identity (ionglobaltrends.com)
  On 30 November the Chairman of the Conservative Muslim Forum, Lord Altaf Sheikh, urged the British Muslim community to join the armed forces and police in order to promote tolerance and mutual respect between Muslims and non-Muslims in Britain. Such suggestions, as well as the very existence of this Forum within the British Conservative Party, demonstrate to what extent Muslims in Britain are becoming a vibrant and integral part of British society.As much as the British government and society have a role to play in this process, the Muslim community does as well. Such integration will not only allow Muslims in Britain to better understand British culture, but will also allow the broader British society to understand Muslims.When looking at the Muslim community, it is important to recognise that a central aspect of Islam is its global character – Muslim culture is not limited to a specific region or nationality. Instead Muslim culture and identity are guided by personalities and behavioural tendencies.
• The Rise of Ignorance and Islamophobia (reteacheronline.com)
  An interesting article in the HuffPostUK sets out what I’ve been trying to teach in my lessons on prejudice and persecution for a while now. Since 9/11 it has been evident that Islamophobia is on the rise and many students have felt that all Muslims are terrorists or that the religion is out to take over the world (in a very negative way).
• British Muslim leader Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin indicted for genocide and crimes against humanity (telegraph.co.uk)
  

  Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin, left, with the Prince of Wales at the Markfield Islamic Foundation, Leics

  A war crimes court in Bangladesh has indicted Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin, a British Muslim leader, for his alleged role in the murder of top intellectuals during the country’s 1971 liberation war.

   

• British Muslims warn Prime Minister Tony Blair over foreign policy (susanfreudzon5.wordpress.com)
  “Whether we like it or not such a sense of injustice plays into the hands of extremists. As moderates we will do all we can to fight extremism. We hope the government will join us in this, not just by changing the rules on hand luggage, but by showing itself as an advocate for justice in the world.”
• I spy with my many eyes… (abdelxyz.wordpress.com)
  Muslim individuals are approached or pressured to spy on fellow Muslims, as shown in Salih’s documentary, but it doesn’t stop there. Even a Muslim Member of Parliament, Khalid Mahmood, wants local authorities to reinstall cameras to spy on Muslim communities in Birmingham after they were taken down because of considerable opposition after it was revealed the cameras were used to spy on the community. The Prevent Strategy once funded the Quilliam Foundation who, like Khalid Mahmood, support spying on Muslims and whose founder, Ed Husain, said that spying on Muslims was “the morally right thing to do”. Husain’s comments don’t differ much from the comments made by Islamophobe Martin Amis who suggests “the Muslim community will have to suffer until it gets its house in order”.
• British Muslims warn Prime Minister Tony Blair over foreign policy (josephfrederick47.wordpress.com)
  Some of the United Kingdom’s most influential British Muslims have written a letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair saying that there must be urgent changes to UK foreign policy.In the memo, they say current government policy musters fanaticism and puts ordinary people at risk in both the United Kingdom and abroad. They also urge the Prime Minister to extend his efforts in tackling terrorism and extremism. 
• 11 British Muslims jailed for bomb plot (nation.com.pk)
  Eleven British Muslims were jailed on Friday for planning an Al-Qaeda-backed plot to carry out a string of bombings that they hoped would rival 9/11 and the 2005 London attacks.
  The conspiracy involved at least six of the plotters travelling to Pakistan for terror training, with the eventual aim of setting off eight rucksack bombs in crowded areas and possibly other timed devices.
• 3 British Muslim men jailed for terror offenses (conservativeread.com)
  Three British Muslims, including a convert who was featured in a documentary about radical Islam and a former London police support officer, were jailed Thursday in London for traveling to Pakistan for terrorism training.Richard Dart, Imran Mahmood and Jahangir Alom pleaded guilty last month. Prosecutors said that in addition to traveling to Pakistan for training between 2010 and 2012, the trio went to extensive lengths to try to evade surveillance, discussed making explosives and referenced Wootton Bassett — which for years served as a military repatriation town — as a possible target.