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Amir Saeed
© Amir Saeed 2008
‘This is total bull-shit! The Israelis kill us. Nothing
is said. The US gives them guns no-one cares. Yet we are the terrorists.
No this is a new war against Islam (emphasis added)’
The above is a quote from a young British Muslim male whom I interviewed during
a study on the wider socio-political effects of 9/11 on British Muslims. The
statement was made in a focus group that became increasingly animated and
passionate when discussing the post 9/11 fallout. After the meeting I spoke
to the participant and asked him if he could see any connections between the
other alleged non- Muslim “terror” states such as Cuba/ North
Korea and the build up to the war in Iraq and increasing public Islamophobia.
In short I was trying to make him see connections between capitalism, class
interests and imperialism. After much private discussion he remarked that
I should not “give up” on Islam. My own comment was that the class
struggle was an essential part of the Islamic doctrine of social justice yet
I was aware that I could not, no matter how I tried, make this young man see
the connections between capitalist structure, class oppression and the increase
in Islamophobia.
Religion, although an important part of my life, was not the overriding ideology.
What was important was to have the right to practice (if I chose) my faith
without fear, intimidation and ridicule. This willingness to put secular rights
over religion mirrored my political maturity that was awakened in the 1980s:
a time when, in Scotland at least, skin colour seemed more important than
religion. In many respects, my political identity was modelled around inclusive
definitions of ‘black.’ I understood the term ‘black’
as meaning people of Third World origin who were victims of European imperialism.
Whether they were Latin American, African or Asian, to me they were part of
the colonised globe amd thus deserved my support. The events of 9/11 and the
subsequent levels of hostility events have made me question my own notion
of hybridity. Increasingly I experience and see Muslims having to emphasise
their Britishness. It seems they are given a stark choice being British or
be Muslim. In short assimilate not just integrate.
However much they seek to identify themselves as British, young Muslims regularly
find that others assume them to be first and foremost Muslim. In Britain today,
especially after the events of 9/11 and the beginning of the so-called ‘War
on Terror’, it is now Muslims who have been identified as a group of
potentially ‘false nationals’ and systematically constructed as
the other. A discourse has been produced that directly links British Muslims
with support for terrorism, fundamentalism, ‘illegal immigration’
and an ‘Oriental’ stereotype of the East. British Muslims are
repeatedly implored by voices in the media and by politicians of all sides
to make more strenuous efforts to ‘integrate’ into British society,
and reassert their loyalty to the British state in a manner that no non-Muslim
anti-war group would ever be instructed. In short demands of integration seem
to be associated with “be quiet and behave.”
However it could be argued that as well as this ‘racist’ discrimination,
the history of Muslims also bears witness to class oppression. As a whole,
Muslims are one of the poorest sections of British society. One in seven of
economically active Muslims are unemployed, compared with one in 20 for the
wider population. The two biggest Muslim communities in Britain, those originating
in Pakistan and Bangladesh, are particularly impoverished. Ironically, when
Muslims do try to participate within society they have been treated with suspicion
both by the Left and ‘liberal’ elements of society.
The moral panic surrounding the events of 9/11, and 7/7 have led to a right-wing
led debate under the guise of community cohesion that suggested a return to
“core national values/culture” (note that the debates suggest
the lack of precise meanings for these terms; ‘national’ and ‘culture’)
alongside stricter immigration and policing controls. A neo-right discourse
has been formulated that questions the whole concept of multiculturalism.
What makes this different from other right wing criticism of multiculturalism
is that much of it is coming from previously centre left commentators. Some
of this language has taken even the more sinister view of questioning the
need of immigration, minority communities and the actual benefits of a multicultural
society. Furthermore, a lot of the ‘blame’ for the failure of
multiculturalism has been attached to Islam’s incompatibility with living
within the ‘democratic’ principles of the West.
For example RESPECT’s recent modest electoral success has been met with
criticism that it is a “Muslim” party. Yet in the areas where
Respect gained seats (East London), the demographics would suggest that even
if every Muslim in these wards voted for RESPECT, they would not win. In short
non-Muslims were attracted to the left wing manifesto that offered an alternative
to Labour. However for many, including Muslim members of the Labour Party,
the class element was diluted from the politics. Indeed some elements on the
Left even argued that RESPECT was a Muslim party that did not address the
needs of the other sections of the working class. Likewise, the mainstream
media assumed RESPECT was a Muslim Party and represented it as such. In short,
Muslim willingness to participate in democratic politics was viewed with suspicion
and debate rather than just simply being welcomed.
The challenge here is immense. The young Muslim cited at the start of this
article needs to realize the West’s foreign policy is linked to domestic
policy on issues such as housing/education and welfare. The young Muslim needs
to recognize that oppression does not begin with imperialist foreign policy
but with domestic welfare cuts that target the most vulnerable in society,
Muslim or non-Muslim. In short Islamic fundamentalism that divides the working
classes is not the greatest threat but market fundamentalism that promotes
racism both abroad and at home.
Dr Amir Saeed is a senior lecturer in Media and Cultural
studies at the University of Sunderland. His research interests are in 'race,'
and ethnicity
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