Islamophobia in a global context

By Fozia and Lauren

Introduction
for this presentation we are looking at Islamophobia globally 1st we are looking at Islamophobia in Europe and will look at the Islamic history there and how 9/11 effected Muslims in Europe We are then looking at France & the UK as case studys The Bosnian genocide will then be looked at We will then ask, why does Islamophobia exist in Europe? The USA will be the next case study to look at Islamophobia there particularly since 9/11 We are then going to explore India to see if the conflict between religions there is anything to do with Islamophobia We will then conclude our presentation and it will be your chance to ask any questions

What is Islamophobia?
A fear of Muslims and Islam (www.blog.beliefnet.com) Rynnymede Trust in 1997: dread or hatred of Islam and, therefore, the fear and dislike of all Muslims. It also included any act of discrimination against Muslims. It could also involve the perception that Islam has no values in common with other cultures and is a violent political ideology rather than a religion.
(www.exmuslimdiaries.wordpress.com)

They try to tell me my religion is wrong They try to tell me to follow

Islam They said their prophet was a righteous dude But I found out none of their words were true I read the Quran and I read the hadith And the sickness of Muhammad was apparent to me. He justified perversion in the name of Allah When he married a girl too young for a bra She was playing with dolls when the prophet came Her childhood was stolen in Allahs name Aisha was nine when he took her to bed Dont tell me that fools not sick in the head isn't gonna follow no child molester, sex offender, prophet pretender. Ain't gonna follow no child molester, Islam is not for me. Islam is not for me. The sickness of the Islamic mind Has caused the Mullahs to be blind To justify their prophet they would justify sin So the sins of the prophet are repeated again All over the world in Islamic states 9 year old girls suffer cruel fate Sold into marriage to twisted men And Aishas sad story is repeated again Aint gonna follow no child molester, sex offender, prophet pretender. Ain't gonna follow no child molester, Islam is not for me. Islam is not for me. Do you care about women all over the world? Do you care about those little girls? Then stand up and fight for human rights Speak out against the laws of Islam Aint gonna follow no child molester, sex offender, prophet pretender. Ain't gonna follow no child molester, Islam is not for me.

Examples of Islamaphobia propaganda

Islamaphobia & Muslims in Europe

Since 9/11, Western Europe's growing Muslim population has been the focus of debate on issues ranging from immigration policy to cultural identity to security. Several incidents in recent years have increased tensions between some Western European states and their Muslim populations: the 2004 Madrid and 2005 London attacks, the 2004 ban of the head scarf coupled with recent calls to ban the "burqa" in France, the 2005 Paris riots, the 2006 Danish cartoon incident, and several high-profile murders. Even some Muslims who aren't particularly religious may be drawn to projecting a strong Islamic identity in response to feelings of isolation and their perceptions of the moral permissiveness of Western culture. Muslim diversity in Europe also means there is no monolithic version of Islam being practiced. Some analysts say since culture plays a large role in how Islam is translated into daily lives, there is hope a stronger Euro-Islam identity will emerge as Muslims continue to grow into European culture.

France
Catholicism is the most widely practised religion in France with approximately 30 million churchgoers, Islam is in second place, with 3.7 to 5.5 million Muslims out of metropolitan Frances total population of around 63 million (5 to 9%).
www.ambafrance-uk.org

French activists have recognised a rise of Islamaphobic and racist values in France against the Muslim and Arab community particularly in the past 2 years. Other experts also say that 'church people are more understanding and tolerant than secular people. This is most apparent in the issue of Islamic veil, as some secular people encouraged the passing of a law that bans such a veil in French schools, while the Christian community has lately denounced such situation. www.islamonline.net The big problem is that it is not a religious state and French law now dictates the no religious symbols can we used or worn in public places such as schools, this includes religious practices such as the headscarf. Many Muslims in France feel persecuted that they cannot wear the headscarf in public places like schools as this is a major part of Islam, many parents have had to take their children out of school and educate them at home or pay to put them in private Islamic schools just so the girls have the right to cover themselves as the holy Quran says they should. We can take a look at this short video which highlights how the headscarf ban in particular has effected muslims in France.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQtTBhbzG8g&feature=related

UK
Islamaphobia has been present in western culture for many centuries. It has taken different forms, however, at different times and in different contexts. The current context in Britain includes the international situation, concerns about asylum and refugees, and widespread scepticism in relation to all religious beliefs. Life for Britain's 1.6 million Muslims has never been easy. For decades they have struggled in the face of discrimination. But since 11 September 2001, things have become even worse. There has been an upsurge in attacks on Muslims and their places of worship. The police have been ineffective in preventing such assaults. They seem more concerned with harassing young Muslims under new stop-and-search powers granted by the Terrorism Act. There has been little evidence that such heavy-handed tactics achieve anything other than alienating the Muslim community.
Akbar S. Ahmed, (2003), Islam under siege, polity Press in association with Blackwell publishing LTD.

The Bosnian Genocide; anything to

do with Islamaphobia?

Bosnia has a long history but to stay on track I'm starting in 1980. in1980 the population of Bosnia consisted of 1.3m Bosnian Serbs (Orthodox Catholic Christians), over 1m Bosniaks (Sunni Muslim), and 0.7m Bosnian Croats (Roman Catholic Christians), all with strong historical and local claims to a homeland there. 1987 Slobodan Milosevic became Serbia's leader (and thus effectively Yugoslavia's as well) and he encouraged Serb nationalism All of the countries in Yugoslavia where given independence as well as Bosnia but Bosnian Serbs were not happy Bosnian Serb army got control of nearly three quarters of Bosnia Cities where used by the UN as safe haven for the Muslims but they all got taken over by the Serbs and where ethnically cleansed except for Sarajevo Srebrenica was a UN safe area but Serb troops destroyed all the soldiers trying to protect the town and when they reached Srebrenica began killing thousands of Muslim civilian Food supplies and water began to dwindle, buildings were damaged, people were injured. All of the Muslims wanted to get out of there and they were told that all women and children would be allowed to leave but men would have to be screened 1st then sent on if they were not war criminals As the women and children left on tanks and buses the men where lined up and shot and that is the mass graves you see on the next slide

Bosnian genocide in pictures

Bodies of victims being found who have been lined up and killed with the intention of ethnic cleansing.

The Bosnian Genocide;

anything to do with Islamaphobia?

What happened in the Bosnian genocide was eerily similar to what happened to the Jews in the Nazi concentration camps The Bosnian genocide has elements of Islamaphobia, with the Muslim people facing death because of an unreasonable hatred against them There are many accounts of women and young girls who were abused sexually, tortured and forced to drink alcohol in order to entertain islamaphobic soldiers When you look in depth at specific cases it is easy to see that these soldiers where islamaphobic and i do think the genocide did happen because of hatred to the Muslim people However, I also think the hatred for the Muslim people was because of geography too, a lot of the conflict was territorial and about power If we go back to the definition of Islamaphobia it says it is a hatred of Muslims and any act of discrimination against Muslims The genocide definitely fits that definition

Why does Islamaphobia exist in Europe?

Conflict between religions has always been a part of world history but today it seems that it is Islam that is getting picked on Islam has never really been a part of European society until now so for many people it is new religion that they dont understand Stereotypes are often made about Muslim women been oppressed and depressed and men been terrorists The terrorist connotation with Islam definitely comes from 9/11 and i think many people who have never experienced Islam are scared and threatened by it Slowly Muslim communities are becoming more defined in Europe and the more Islam spreads the more people will hopefully understand it and be tolerant and respectful of different religions

USA case study

Since 9/11 Muslims in America have felt islamaphobia on the increase A lot of people in the US have a low tolerance of Muslims especially since 9/11 Its a shame that the good Muslim people have to be punished for a small percentage who are extremists This low tolerance and racist assumptions can lead to people turning to extremism Here is a video showing how Americans react to Muslims

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX5oxxv9Q1E&feature=related

USA Here is a survey on Islam In the USA published in the Guardian

58% of those interviewed now believe that Islam has more violent followers than any other religion Since January 2002 the proportion of those who believe mainstream Islam promotes violence against non-believers has risen from 14% to 32% nearly half of Americans, 46%, said they held unfavourable attitudes towards Islam It also found that the demonization of Islam by politicians and the media during the past four years had led to an erosion of tolerance

India; different religions living side by side

in peace?

Islam came to India in the early 7th century with the advent of Arab traders, it started to become a major religion during the Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent. Islam's spread in India mostly took place under the Delhi Sultanate (12061526) and the mughal empire, greatly aided by the mystic Sufi tradition. During the 14-17th centuries, North India was under Muslim rule,

India; different religions living side by side in peace?

Through history there has been conflicts in India because it is very religiously diverse There are Muslims, Hindu's, Sikh's and Christians living together Hindus account for 80% of the population The 2nd largest religion is Islam with around 13% In 2002 there where riots where Hindu's went on killing sprees and attacked the Muslim villages Many Muslims argue that there is Islamaphobia in India today because there is a hatred towards them from the Hindu community in particular

To conclude....
As you can see from this presentation there are huge concerns for Muslims all around the world as they have been harassed and attacked because of their faith Islamaphobia does exist globally and is a big problem today Does everyone agree that the things we have discussed concerns Islamaphobia or would you make a different argument?

Any Questions???