Making Sense of Islamophobia in Post-9/11 Britain? Professor Humayun Ansari Royal Holloway, University of London

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1 Making Sense of Islamophobia in Post-9/11 Britain? Professor Humayun Ansari Royal Holloway, University of London

2 Islamophobic discourse, sometimes blatant but frequently coded and subtle, is [now] part of everyday life in modern Britain, and warning that because in the last twenty years the dislike [of Islam and Muslims] has become more explicit, more extreme and more dangerous (The Runnymede Report, 1997)

3 fear-mongering, negative stereotyping and abuse are now out of control The mere mention of the words Islam or Muslim generates astonishing levels of hysteria and hate on the web you can now say things about Muslims, in polite society and even among card-carrying liberal lefties, that you cannot say about any other group or minority.

4 The support network is, in fact, rarely completely unknown within these communities. The problem... is bigger and deeper than logistical networks. It extends to support conveyed through shared ideas and values that have the effect of turning a blind eye to those engaged in the organisation and delivery of violence. Whole swathes of such communities may be characterised by an ambivalence towards the use of violent means to pursue shared goals. The support is essentially tacit in nature, articulated only in moments of severe crisis, and responsible for minimal engagement with law enforcement agencies. Meanwhile, those involved in or close to violent conspiracies are able to operate reasonably freely, safe in the knowledge that their communities back them in both ends and in means.

5 Perceptions of Islam and Muslims 75% viewed Islam as the most violent religion 43% saw Muslims as fanatical 41% assumed Muslims held dual loyalties 53% regarded Islam as a threat to Western democracy

6 If a threat is from a particular place then our action is going to be targeted at that area It means that some of our counterterrorism powers will be disproportionately experienced by the Muslim community.

7 83% of Muslims to be proud British citizens, compared to 79% of the general public; 77% of Muslims strongly identify with Britain while only 50% of the wider population do so; 82% of Muslims want to live in diverse and mixed neighbourhoods compared with 63% of non-muslim Britons.

8 - around a fifth found a contradiction in being British and Muslim, and a sixth were of the view that Islam is incompatible with the values of British democracy. - 36% of the Muslims polled characterized Western values as a threat to the Islamic way of life, and perceived the West as immoral and arrogant. - a third felt that full integration would never be possible; and a similar number did not feel they had much in common with non-muslims. - 86% said that they would only defend Muslim interests and that their religion was the most important thing in their life: half expressed sympathy with Muslims fighting a holy war against the West. - Post 9/11, 44% exonerated al-qaeda on the grounds that the United States and its allies were killing fellow Muslims. - Two-fifth wanted Sharia law introduced into predominantly Muslim areas, and just under a third wanted to live completely under Sharia rather than British law.

9 47% of Britons see Muslims as a threat only28% believe Muslims want to integrate into British society 52% believe that they create problems 58% associate Islam with extremism.

10 identity politics and a politics of recognition flow from the contradictions that exist between the ideas of equality, written into constitutions or articulated in notions of citizenship, and the practices and politics that characterize everyday realities

11 They [Muslims] are already demanding a mega mosque, funded by Arabs to teach Wahhabism (the favorite teachings of Salafis and extremists). This wonderful, contributing new immigrant population that enriches British culture so much happen to have 50% unemployment of all their men, and 75% unemployment of all their women. In other words, most of them are living off the government. As if that is not enough of a cost factor they further enrich British culture by filling up the country s prisons. Nearly 40% of the entire prison population in Whitemoor are now Muslims, while 11% of total prison population are now Muslims. Conversion to Islam under threats and violence is common in prisons. And the entire youth prison population of the country is 20% Muslim and escalating. But with the ever increasing number of Sharia courts that run parallel to British law and courts, there is a big chance these numbers will eventually go down once Sharia runs the law of the land, since it would mainly target non-muslims. But their contribution to British culture and values don t end there. 69% of British Asians (Muslims) support and want honor killings and are diligent in committing them. And 40% of Muslim youth in Britain, who is suppose to represent a more moderate and modern Islam, backs Sharia law and prefer Sharia law to run the county. Isn t it fantastic how much diversity and exciting additions can be made to a society by importing just the right kind of wrong people? They should be ever so proud to know that the most popular name for newborn boys in London and three other regions in the country is now Mohammed. How a 5% population has managed to enrich a nation so fine and well, is a mystery. But we can only guess that they will continue to import this fine specimen of human unkind.