In a survey conducted in 1991, the deep-seated prejudice against minorities, especially Muslims, was something that could be uttered freely and without condemnation, these days the more astute in Irish society have learned to couch their hate in politically acceptable tones. But what this survey reveals in that almost 20yrs on, the same hateful bigotry continues to place minorities on the fringes of society through a process of exclusion and demonisation.
In the 1991 survey, 79% of a group of respondents revealed that they would not marry or allow a Muslim into their family and 24% would even go as far as denying citizenship rights to Muslims.
Is it any wonder that in 2007 Kevin Myers could pen this hateful diatribe against Muslim immigrants. Callously casting Muslim doctors as would-be-terrorists and Muslims as a demographic time bomb.
In fact a steady stream of media wolves have continued to savage the Muslim community here in Ireland with sensationalist Nazi-like propaganda that has served to marginalize and victimize a largely docile community.
“Prejudice cannot see the things that are because it is always looking for things that aren't”
The problem with demonisation though, is that it very often creates the very demons we have imagined and as our UK neighbour has witnessed, there can be serious societal repercussions resulting from exclusion.
A fellow at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Martin Kramer, has called for “the West” to take measures to curb the births of Palestinians, a proposal that appears to meet the international legal definition of a call for genocide.
Kramer, who is also a fellow at the influential Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), made the call early this month in a speech at Israel’s Herzliya conference, a video of which is posted on his blog (“Superfluous young men,” February 7, 2010).
In the speech Kramer rejected common views that Islamist “radicalization” is caused by US policies such as support for Israel, or propping up despotic dictatorships, and stated that it was inherent in the demography of Muslim societies such as Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip. Too many children, he argued, lead to too many “superfluous young men” who then become violent radicals.
Kramer proposed that the number of Palestinian children born in the Gaza Strip should be deliberately curbed, and alleged that this would “happen faster if the West stops providing pro-natal subsidies to Palestinians with refugee status.”
Due to the Israeli blockade, the vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza are now dependent on UN food aid. Neither the UN, nor any other agencies, provide Palestinians with specifically “pro-natal subsidies.”
Kramer appeared to be equating any humanitarian assistance at all with inducement for Palestinians to reproduce.
He added, “Israel’s present sanctions on Gaza have a political aim — undermine the Hamas regime — but if they also break Gaza’s runaway population growth, and there is some evidence that they have, that might begin to crack the culture of martyrdom which demands a constant supply of superfluous young men.” This, he claimed, would be treating the issue of radicalization “at its root.”
The 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, created in the wake of the Nazi holocaust, defines genocide to include measures “intended to prevent births within” a specific “national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”
The Weatherhead Center at Harvard describes itself as “the largest international research center within Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences.” In addition to his positions at Harvard and WINEP, Kramer is “president-designate” of Shalem College in Jerusalem, a far-right Zionist institution that aspires to be the “College of the Jewish People.”
Pro-Israel speakers from the United States often participate in the Herzliya conference, an influential annual gathering of Israel’s political and military establishment. This year’s conference was also addressed by The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman and, in a first for a Palestinian official, by Salam Fayyad, appointed prime minister of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.
Kramer’s call to prevent Palestinian births reflects a long-standing Israeli and Zionist concern about a so-called “demographic threat” to Israel, as Palestinians are on the verge of outnumbering Israeli Jews within Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories combined.
Such extreme racist views have been aired at the Herzliya conference in the past. In 2003, for example, Dr. Yitzhak Ravid, an Israeli government armaments expert, called on Israel to “implement a stringent policy of family planning in relation to its Muslim population,” a reference to the 1.5 million Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Last year saw the highest number of anti-Semitic incidents in the UK since recording began in 1984. In a report by the Community Security Trust (CST), a total of 924 incidents including extreme violence, threats to human life and abusive behaviour were recorded, an increase of 69 per cent from the previous year.
The true picture is much worse, as many victims of anti-Semitic attacks are either unable or unwilling to report such crimes. Perhaps the most worrying aspect of this is that attacks of this nature are even more prevalent when you consider the strong similarities between anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, which is also on the rise along with its associated incidents.
Both anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents peak around ‘trigger events’ both here and elsewhere in the world. For example, the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza caused a peak in incidents between January and February 2009. The report links the next highest number of recorded incidents in September to greater visibility of Jewish people in public spaces due to key Jewish festivals.
Similarly, Islamophobic incidents rise after ‘trigger events’ and are perpetrated against the most visible Muslims, in particular Muslim women who wear headscarves and other forms of Islamic attire. These ‘trigger events’ can also be seen elsewhere, for example when Danish Embassies were attacked as a result of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy.” Such incidents have caused death and serious injury but the consequential fear and distress is felt much more widely and, as with the reporting of anti-Semitic incidents, research has shown that the vast majority of Islamophobic incidents remain un-reported. Even where reported, official sources rarely differentiate between religion and race and unlike CST, no single Muslim organisation is collecting data nationwide – there is now a desperate need to better evidence the extent of Islamophobia.
Islamophobia does not appear to be being taken seriously by the Government, the media or the general public and the situation is becoming increasingly dire - why this is remains unclear. It could be because of a lack of understanding and recognition of the seriousness of Islamophobia; it could be because little ‘hard evidence’ exists; it could also be that anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic attitudes are becoming more socially acceptable. Whatever the reason though, it is clear that neither Islamophobia – nor indeed anti-Semitism – are going to quickly or easily disappear.
Last week’s bleak report on Islamophobic hate crime in London from the European Muslim Research Centre argues that fears and misunderstandings of Muslims were increasingly providing a basis for violent acts. The report found that Muslim Londoners face a threat of violence and intimidation from three primary groups: small violent nationalist groups with similar ideologies as the British National Party; street gangs with no allegiances to the far-right; and a small number of others who appear to be acting on prejudices gained via negative media portrayals of Muslims as terrorists and security threats.
But hate crimes are just the tip of the iceberg. Anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic attitudes are also increasingly commonplace. As the British Social Attitudes Survey recently highlighted, not only are Muslims the least popular religious community in Britain today but over half the population would be bothered by a large mosque being built in their community. Neither of these attitudes are specifically Islamophobic but they do suggest a hardening of attitudes especially when Muslims and Islam are considered against other religions. As Professor David Voas provocatively put it, Muslims are increasingly being understood as posing a threat to British society.
Whilst the CST has a crucial role in monitoring and recording anti-Semitic incidents, solving these problems should not be left to the victims’ communities. Whether anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, racism or indeed anything similar, there needs to be a commitment from the politicians, public servants, police, media and general public to address these unwanted and unnecessary discriminations and hatreds head-on.
As was noted at a University of Birmingham conference last December on the issue of Islamophobia, now is the time to get the influential decision-makers to think hard about what still needs to be done. If we do not, then British society will become less fair and less equal, more divided and more disparate and the spectres of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia will continue to rear their ugly heads. If we do, then we will begin the process of socially marginalising Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in the same way that we have racism since the 1970s. Source
MPAC.ie Comment: Ireland can of course carry on in blissful ignorance, content in the notion that Islamophobia is not a problem here. Of course when the Gardai have no mechanism for recording such attacks, it’s hardly surprising – is it? Does Ireland take Islamophobia seriously?
If today means anything then we must not ignore the growing discourse of hate, ridicule and scorn being perpetrated against Muslims across the world. The Muslim Council of Britain castigated the British Government for their indolence and inaction in relation to anti-Muslim hatred (expect no such denunciations from the sycophantic Irish Council of Imams).
“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it”
In a meeting of concerned Muslims on the 26th Jan in Birmingham, the gathering noted:
1. That a growing trend of anti-Muslim hysteria and hatred has been exacerbated over the last year. In 2009 alone, scores of Muslim institutions, centres and persons have been attacked and denigrated
2. This hatred has been fed by a failure by our political leaders who on balance have remained silent or have ridden the wave of this disturbing trend by failing to effectively stand-up or challenge the rhetoric from the far-right.
3. Their inaction is facilitated by the insatiable appetite of a hysterical media, keen to paint a picture of a British Muslim community that is somehow foreign, suspect and disloyal.
4. British Muslims are none of these. Muslims have made a positive and enduring contribution to the social, economic, political and cultural fabric of this nation.
Luton Mosque bombed by arsonists
Similar to our UK counterparts, Irish Muslims have been subject to media hysteria and denigration. And while there have been no instances of extremism amid our community, nor any terrorist actions on the part of Irish Muslims we still remain a suspect community, firmly positioned on the margins of society.
Today the world remembers some horrible events of the past, but we must not ignore the rhetoric that often precedes such acts – to do so would be unforgivable.
‘As I was once strolling through the inner city, I suddenly happened upon an apparition in a long caftan with black hair locks. Is this a Jew? was my first thought … but the longer I stared … the more my first question was transformed into a new conception: is this a German?”
Some 60yrs later, little has changed. Only now, the burqa, veil and beard and the ubiquitous Muslim, has replaced the Jew in the long caftan and black hairlocks. The regurgitated rhetoric, almost identical.
“If people want to come into a western society that is Christian and secular, they need to conform to the rules and regulations of that country,” said Ruairi Quinn in 2008, “…In the interests of integration and assimilation, they should embrace our culture.” Menacingly he added, “Irish girls don’t wear headscarves. A manifestation of religious beliefs in such a way is unacceptable and draws attention to those involved. I believe in a public school situation they should not wear a headscarf.” Brian Hayes, Fine Gael’s education spokesperson piped in stating ‘Ireland should not be going down the route of multiculturalism’.
It seems Labour’s education spokesperson was similarly struck by the threat Muslims present to the Irish way of life.
It is a shameful indictment upon 21st century Ireland that the obvious hostility, menacing hatred and incitement went unanswered in political and media circles. Such animus has no place in a society that claims modernity and liberal democracy as its cornerstone.
In a week in which people remember the attempted genocide of unfortunate minorities during the Nazi era, we should also remember the rhetoric that made it all possible. A discourse, not dissimilar to that rehearsed by members of what could be Ireland’s future government.
The George Bush mantra ‘they hate us for our freedoms’ took on a whole new meaning today as the UK government proscribed the Islam4UK group. Whether we agree or disagree with what they say is irrelevant at this point, what is important is the impact this may have on others.
Anjem Choudary, one of the group’s key spokespeople, lambasted the ruling as a failing of democracy and however hypocritical that may sound he has a point! Whether Islam4UK or MPAC.ie for that matter see democracy as being a system of kufr, the principles that the UK government claims to abide by still count – and they were quite clearly cast aside in favour of electoral votes today.
Inayat Bunglawala writing in the Guardian today said, ‘we should be very wary of giving our government the arbitrary power to ban entire organisations. It also sets a bad precedent.’ Indeed it does, and in the absence of evidence it makes a mockery of alleged freedoms.
For those Muslims who cheered this ruling, beware lest the same evil befall you for Allah has said, ‘they will not cease fighting you until you turn for your religion’.
First they came for the ‘terrorists’, and I did not speak out—because I was not a ‘terrorist’;
Then they came for the activists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a activist;
Then they came for the dissenters, and I did not speak out—because I was not a dissenter;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out.
O ye who believe! Take not my enemies and yours as friends (or protectors),- offering them (your) love, even though they have rejected the Truth that has come to you, and have (on the contrary) driven out the Prophet and yourselves (from your homes), (simply) because ye believe in Allah your Lord! If ye have come out to strive in My Way and to seek My Good Pleasure, (take them not as friends), holding secret converse of love (and friendship) with them: for I know full well all that ye conceal and all that ye reveal. And any of you that does this has strayed from the Straight Path.
And who are these enemies of Allah save those who have rejected Al Islam, even though the evidence has come to them. They are those who persecute the Muslims in word and deed simply because they believe and Allah commands us not to take them as friends or protectors, not to have love or friendship with them.
What then do we say of one who is praised by an avowed Islamophobe, one who proudly states that he is ‘Atheist. Liberal-right. Anti-jihad. Pro-American. Pro-Israel?’ What do we say of one who is praised by a man who says, ‘The moral responsibility for all deaths in Iraq since 2003 lies with those Muslims who turned to violence to resist the introduction of democracy’.
It seems obvious to us that praise from such an individual is a clear sign that all is not well, and indeed when the one who is praised unashamedly announces that he rejects aspects of the Shariah, then assuredly there is a sickness in the heart that left unattended may indeed lead to one’s rejection by the Almighty, and what could be worse than that?
Know O’Muslim that the ghulaat (extremists) are of two types, there are two extremes, yet too often we focus on just one element and neglect the danger of the liberals, those who would mix the ways of the kuffar in with Islam to make things easier and more palatable to the kuffar. Both extremes are dangerous and both must be warned against.
In this day and age the latter may cause more harm because it is they who are often proffered as the moderates, the kind of Muslim the kuffar likes. It is they who then denounce all practicing Muslims as extreme until all voices but theirs are heard.
How do we recognise the liberals? They are usually those who reject the Shariah of Allah, who pronounce their love and friendship for the kuffar, who imitate the kuffar in dress and appearance and who usually advocate an Islam in the heart to the exclusion of actions on the limbs and tongue.
As our Shaikh and brother Saleem Al Hilalee says, from the completion of a person’s love for his Lord is that he loves what Allah loves and hates what Allah hates. May Allah help us all to strive toward this completion.
The rumours that the Saudi Embassy was looking at the possibility of opening a secondary school in Dublin were met with mixed reactions, to say the least.
While the Muslim community is enthusiastic at the prospect, certain non-Muslims as well as some minority Muslim elements in Irish society have weighed in, citing unwarranted concerns in an attempt to muddy the waters and scaremonger.
One of these ‘concerns’ is the issue of Al Wala’a wal Bara’a – friendship and enmity for the sake of Allah. I hope you will see that this principle is one that we all – Muslim and non-Muslim – readily implement in various degrees, though as you will appreciate the Muslim does so seeking to please Allah first and foremost.
The reality is that in our everyday dealings we all urge caution in friendships, and readily acknowledge that bad company ruins good morals. No responsible parent, for example, would encourage their child to hang around with children who are bullies, troublemakers, drug-takers or sexually promiscuous. Some would even go as far as restricting friendships because of profane language or smoking.
As adults, we also make conscious decisions about friendships; no one is free of bias. Normally we assume friendships based on similarities and interests, and the same is often projected upon children – whether we admit it or not.
For Christians, the choice of friendship takes on a more spiritual tone. “The righteous,” Proverbs 12:26 tells us,
“should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.”
And the Christian apostle Paul even encourages Christians to separate themselves from the wicked:
“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16).
In fact, the Gospels go as far as referring to non-Christians as both ‘dogs’ and ‘swine’ (Matthew 7:6).
While a Muslim would never refer to another human being in such a derogatory manner, we are however encouraged to choose friends and alliances carefully. Ibn Taymiyyah explains:
“The reality of loving someone is never complete except by having loyalty to the beloved one, that is, to comply with him by loving what he loves and hating what he hates. For Allah loves al Eeman (complete faith) and at-Taqwah (hope and fear of Allah), and He hates al-Kufr (disbelief), al-Fusooq (open display of sin) and disobedience.”
We Muslims are aware that friendships require a degree of love and affection and necessarily involve a degree of imitation. Naturally, we look to those who will bring us closer to Allah and distance us from disobedience, and we choose our friends accordingly.
Like our non-Muslim counterparts – Christian and other – we desire to offer our best in the interests of building a better society, and believe this is best achieved though friendships with like-minded individuals.
These are the Kuffaar, the Pagans, the Hypocrites, the Apostates, and the Backsliders regardless of their different nationalities. Allaah the Exalted said,
“You will not find any people who believe in Allaah and the Last Day, loving those who oppose Allaah and His Messenger, even though they were their fathers, sons, brothers, or relatives.” Al-Mujaadilah, 58:22
Also, Allaah the Exalted said about the Children of Israeel,
“You see many of them turning in friendship to the disbelievers, evil indeed are (the works) which their souls have sent forward before them [with the result] that Allaah’s wrath is on them, and in torment will they abide. If only they had believed in Allaah, in the Messenger of Allaah, and in what is revealed to him. Never would they have taken them for friends and protectors, but most of them are rebellious wrongdoers.” Al-Maidah, 5:81-82
The one who wants more of the wordly things and is not satisfied with what he has, even if he was an ally of Allaah and His Messenger (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) , we are still at odds with him and hate him for his greediness. ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbaas (radhiAllahu “anhumaa) said,
“Whoever loves for Allaah’s sake and hates for Allaah’s sake and withholds for Allaah’s sake, Allaah is an ally to him. However, most people in this world befriend others for the worldly life which is nothing compared to the Hereafter”
Further, Bukhaari narrates upon Abu Hurairah (radhiAllaahu ‘anhu) that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said,”Allaah said,
“Whoever is an enemy to My ally, I start him with war.’”Narrated by
Ibn Jareer At-Tabari
Most of the people who wage war against Allaah act unjustly towards and are at odds with the Companions of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam). They curse and lie against them and act vindictively towards them and hate them. He (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said,
“Whoever bothers my Sahabah bothers me and who bothers me bothers Allaah and makes Him near to taking his soul.” Narrated by At-Tirmidhee and others.
Generally, the people who hate the Companions just hate them by their tongues and these people are astray.
I seek refuge with Allaah from His anger and His punishment and we ask Him for forgiveness and good health. And may salutation, blessings, and security of Allaah be on Muhammad, his family and Companions.
Source: Shaikh Fawzan’s Book, Al Walaa’ wal Baraa’. English translation available here.
