Between left and right: Islamophobic discourse in the political sphere (SLIDES)

Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, 6th March 2013

Between left and right: Islamophobic discourse in the political sphere

@DrChrisAllen

Chris Allen

www.chris-allen.co.uk

[email protected]

07940 537691

about.me/drchrisallen

Today’s Presentation

What is Islamophobia...? Brief introduction, definitions etc

Between left and right...? Some examples from the left and right of the political mainstream

Are these Islamophobic...? Questioning the validity

Convergence...? Some examples from beyond the political mainstream, left and right

arguments

Consequences...? Re-contextualising the debates, positioning Islamophobia

Questions & Answers

What is Islamophobia...?

What isn’t Islamophobia...?

“Islamophobia is not about disagreeing, criticising or condemning...”

Commission on British Muslims & Islamophobia, 1997

Better known as the ‘Runnymede report’ into

Islamophobia

“a useful shorthand way of referring to dread or

hatred of Islam – and, therefore, to fear or dislike all

or most Muslims” (p.1)

Islamophobia a “part of the fabric of everyday life in

modern Britain” (p.11)


‘Closed views’ of Islamophobia:

Islam as monolithic and static;

as 'other' and separate from the West;

as inferior;

as enemy;

as manipulative;

as discriminated against; as having its criticisms of

the West rejected;

and where Islamophobia was ultimately becoming

increasingly natural





Islamophobia – like other discriminatory phenomena –

is highly complex yet becomes easily reduced

‘Muslims’ and ‘Islam’ become essentialised

Value judgments are made about the legitimacy of the

victims

Debates and discussions lack nuance; responses are

bland and meaningless; similarities with other

phenomena overlooked and ignored

The three components of Islamophobia

A political programme or ideology which becomes largely

interdependent with the notion and ideology of nationalism

as well as providing knowledge and meaning about other

both new and existing relations of power and meaning;

A set of prejudices, opinions and attitudes that may be

held by either individuals, groups, communities or society,

or indeed a combination of these;

A set of exclusionary practices as a result of prejudice and

discrimination in employment, housing and other socio-

economic spheres as well as subjection to violence as a

tool of exclusion (Allen, 2010)

Between left and right...?

Between left & right...?

“Quote from EUMC report” (Allen & Nielsen 2002, p. ???)

“one key observation to have come out of the period since

9/11 is how the gap between the opposite poles of the

extreme political right and left, when concerned with

attitudes and perceptions of Muslims at least, would

appear to have become much closer” (Allen 2010, p.93)

How though does one conclude whether something is

Islamophobic or not...?

Between left & right: New Labour

Ruth Kelly, Communities Secretary DCLG:

August 2006

Kelly called for Islamic schools that sought to be

isolationist to be immediately closed down

October 2006

Announced that Muslim organisations that refused to

defend core British values and failed to be ‘proactive’ in

the fight against extremism were to lose access to

Government funding


Department of Education:

October 2006

DoE issued guidelines to lecturers and university staff

urging them to “spy” on Muslim and “Muslim looking”

students who they suspect might be involved in Islamic

extremism or prone to supporting terrorist violence

DoE suggested that university campuses had become

“fertile recruiting grounds” for Muslim extremists


Home Secretary, John Reid:

First public speech was to Muslim families in East London,

September 2006

Asked Muslim parents to look out for the “tell-tale signs of

extremism” in their children

“our fight is not with Muslims generally … [but a] struggle

against extremism...There is no nice way of saying this.

These fanatics are looking to groom and brainwash

children, including your children, for suicide bombings,

grooming them to kill themselves in order to murder

others”


Home Secretary, John Reid:

Abu Izzadeen was known by Special Branch as an

‘extremist’ from a proscribed organisation who later gained

notoriety for commending the 7/7 suicide bombers

Following morning, Izzadeen on the BBC called for the

establishment of sharia law in the Islamic state of Britain

Race commentator Darcus Howe: ‘the Sky News clash

was staged by Reid and his cohorts at the Home Office.

They organised the meeting, Abu Izzadeen was invited in

advance – his performance guaranteed – and the press

was alerted to film and report the confrontation”


Jack Straw, Foreign Secretary & Leader of Commons:

October 2006

Stated that Muslim women who wear the niqab could make

relations between communities more difficult

“barrier to integration”

Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Harriet Harman & Bill Rammell

all voiced their support for Straw


Jack Straw, Foreign Secretary & Leader of Commons:

October 2006

BBC News’ Home Editor Mark Easton:

“not some reflective little observation from Jack Straw

about the protocols of MP/constituent meetings in a

multicultural world. This was a quite deliberate foray into

what is becoming a real debate within Westminster: Does

Britain’s brand of multiculturalism work?”

Islamophobic...?

Between left & right: English Defence League

Website, English Defence League:

July 2010

“...the English Defence League do not ‘fear’ Islam, we do

not have a ‘phobia’ about Islam, we just realise the very

serious threat it poses…Muslims can have their faith, that

is their right, but when that faith infringes upon our hard

fought freedoms, our democracy, our right to freedom of

speech and expression then we will counter it at every

opportunity because it is a threat to our way of life, our

customs, our rule of law”

The EDL: a “…multicultural

organisation made up of

every community in this

country...for all races and

faiths…to awaken our

sleeping Government to face

up to and deal with the Jihad

in our country, which

threatens the very

foundations of the freedoms

won so dearly for us by past

generations”

(Tommy Robinson, Sky News interview

Winter 2010)

Convergence...?


“organisations and individuals known for their liberalism and

anti-racism express prejudice against Islam and Muslims…

…What is new [about Islamophobia] is the way it is

articulated by those sections of society who claim the

mantle of secularism, liberalism and tolerance…They

preach equality for all, yet turn a blind eye to the fact that

this society offers only unequal opportunities for Muslims”

(CBMI 1997, p.15)

Between left & right: consequences

Voices and discourses emerging from both the ‘left’ and the

‘right’ have contributed to a climate where:

An immediacy of recognition and acknowledgement of

Muslim and Islamic difference is commonplace

That difference is largely associated with Muslims and

Islam being ‘probelamtic’

Similarly associated with notions of ‘threat’ to our way of

life, our customs, our rule of law

A growing receptivity to anti-Muslim ideas and expressions,

and the sense of justification that is recurrently evident, is

increasingly being seen to ‘make sense’

Consequences...?

The three components of Islamophobia

A political programme or ideology which becomes largely

interdependent with the notion and ideology of nationalism

as well as providing knowledge and meaning about other

both new and existing relations of power and meaning;

A set of prejudices, opinions and attitudes that may be

held by either individuals, groups, communities or society,

or indeed a combination of these;

A set of exclusionary practices as a result of prejudice and

discrimination in employment, housing and other socio-

economic spheres as well as subjection to violence as a

tool of exclusion (Allen, 2010)

Attitudes...?

Nigella’s Burkini: from the left...?

Joan Smith, The Independent:

“The only time anything like it has been spotted on a beach

since the 19th century is when devout Muslim women wear

an outfit idiotically called a burkini, which has a lot more in

common with a burka than a bikini…

…I once went shopping in west London with a woman who

was wearing black robes and a niqab, and I can't say I felt

much sympathy when she complained that people were

staring at her in the local supermarket”

Nigella’s Burkini: from the left...?

Joan Smith: The Independent

“I can't help suspecting that Lawson's decision to cover

herself up has something to do with the unwanted

attentions of the paparazzi; she knows she's a target and

she may feel, perfectly reasonably, that she doesn't want to

expose herself to their lenses on a public beach...”

Nigella: “…perfectly reasonably…” chose to cover –

autonomous, independent, empowered, individual etc

Muslim woman: “I can’t say I felt much sympathy” forced to

cover – victim, controlled, oppressed, passive,

indistinguishable etc

The Burqha: from the right...?

EDL Angels Division

“…those that wear the burkha, the hijab & the niqab are

showing their unwillingness to mix with the country that they

live in and keeping themselves on the outer edges of

society…by wearing all three items of clothing as above no

one really has any assurances or proof positive as to who is

under the apparel and any items could be concealed…”

“Sharia Law...is totally opposed to freedom of dress – for

women. This is obviously a huge barrier to the personal

development of women, not allowing them to develop

sexually and as people”

Exclusionary practices...?

Victims of exclusionary practices...?

Allen & Nielsen (EUMC, 2002)

Europe-wide: verbal abuse, harassment & aggression most

widespread - Muslim women most likely victims (pp.6-7)

Fundamental Rights Agency (EUMC, 2007)

26% of Muslim women in Europe had experienced anti-

Muslim discrimination in the past year

Of those experiencing Islamophobia, they had done so an

average of 8 times over the past twelve months (p.3)

MAMA Project (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks, 2013)

Up to 80% of all recorded anti-Muslim attacks directed at

women

Levels of attacks on the increase

Ideology...?

“People talk about the culture of the country changing… it’s all

part of the Islamophobia, it’s like everyone else against the

Muslims and I think that’s a huge sentiment at the moment.

People have already got this fear of Muslims, dislike etc

because of the diatribe from the media and I think the far-right

have just tapped into that. It’s the easy way to get into

people’s heads…

…You can kind of tap into that, then drip-feed other things

later when you’ve kind of got it all worked out”

(Interview in Sandwell, 2010)

Islamophobic...?

@DrChrisAllen

Chris Allen

www.chris-allen.co.uk

[email protected]

07940 537691

about.me/drchrisallen

Documents

Between left and right: Islamophobic discourse in the political sphere (SLIDES)