Toward a refined definition of Islamophobia

Islamophobia Watch does some stirling work in collecting the rancid and putrid rantings of anti-Muslim bigots and racists. This is to be applauded. I (and other Muslim bloggers) nominated and voted for Islamophobia Watch during the last Brass Crescent awards; the website received an honourable mention behind Juan Cole. This I did despite my reservations with the term 'Islamophobia', which I think can distract from the more important task of combatting anti-Muslim prejudices. I think the (ab)use of the word 'Islamophobia' has allowed some (Muslims) to suspend their critical faculties when it comes to criticisms of Islamic thought and practice; this makes it harder to combat exclusion, prejudice and hatred against Muslims.

Muslims in Britain -- or their self-imposed community leaders -- haven't, yet, learnt to distinguish between anti-religious writings of some atheists and secularists (for whom Islam is one, amongst many, religions to be critiqued), the rhetoric of those who engage in rhetoric for its own pleasure (an English trait), and a genuine hatred expressed for anything remotely Islamic (these people, in extreme manifestations of hatred, genuinely wish harm on Muslims and portray Muslims as Untermenschen). This inability discern goes back to the point that British Muslims are 'culturally illiterate' who take any sort of criticism or opposition as a form of hatred upon us and our beliefs. We end up opposing all such opinions and views through demands for more rights from the state and society, rather than trying to distinguish between them, and perhaps using them to our advantage. Combatting Islamophobia should mean combatting exclusion, bigotry, racism and hatred against Muslims and treating Muslims as 'serious adults', who can bring something to the societies in which they live and their acknowledging critiques do not merely mask a bid for political power. It should not mean shielding them or their beliefs from the critical eye of the onlooker or the outsider; we have the intellectual resources, across the religious, political and social spectrum to be able to meet the challenges that might be posed.

This reservation with the term 'Islamophobia' is borne out in a recent Islamophobia Watch entry on Shahid Malik, a Muslim MP from Dewsbury. Malik has come out and stated that he agress with Blair's views regarding Muslim communities' efforts to combat the ideologies of extremism. Malik has also said the MCB should stop trying to foster a culture of 'victimhood' (this interview can be found in yesterday's Daily Mail). Yet, Islamophobia Watch have chronicled this as a case of Malik being 'unhelpful'. Unhelpful? In what way? Do the Watchers work within, sometimes rather isolated, communities like Malik? Do they visit mosques and community centres and mingle with Muslims to get even a broad, if limited, view of what Muslims feel? I would suggest that, instead, Martin Sullivan and his fellow Watchers are the ones being unhelpful in this case by assuming all criticism of Muslims, even those by Muslims, is 'Islamophobic' or 'unhelpful' (of course one might argue Malik is merely expressing loyalty to his party leader; but that wouldn't distract from the main thrust of his point).

Comments

[Osama Saeed]

Sorry to divert slightly from your main thrust - but you brought this on yourself. To be fair to IW, they didn't say Malik was Islamophobic. The site highlights passages form the media, not adding too much analysis and leaving that to its readers.

In this case, I can't understand why Malik attacks others (including fellow MP Sadiq Khan) who lament the sidelining of Tony Blair's own taskforce.

But in the most part, I can't get on board with the constant "Muslim leaders must do more". He never, ever, says exactly what it is that he wants to see done (maybe the taskforce recomendations would be a good start).

To bat his own phrase back at him "it's easier for govt to criticise the Muslims, rather than take a long hard look at their own actions".

[thabet]

assalamu 'alaykum

"The site highlights passages form the media, not adding too much analysis and leaving that to its readers."

Fair enough. I should have been clearer in saying they didn't call Malik 'Islamophobic' (which I agree they didn't). But the site is dedicated to documenting anti-Islamic/Muslim remarks in the media or those which feed such sentiment. As such, I don't see what Malik's statement is doing there (of course, they're under no obligation to put material up which I feel doesn't belong there). I certainly don't see how they're 'unhelpful'.

I think the reliance on a "task force" is itself part of the problem. It should be me and you, the 'ordinary Muslim', who should combat extremist ideas should we happen to come across them being expressed by Muslims. We should not be relying on government driven initiatives (which, I agree, can be very helpful).

Yes, the government can take a look at its own actions. But these actions cannot and should not include directly entering, or being seen to enter, the battle of ideas amongst Muslims; and that is what I stresses in my post on Muslim extremism and what I believe Malik was getting at.