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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
c.allen.2@bham.ac.uk
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)
Commission on British Muslims & Islamophobia, 1997
‘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
Commission on British Muslims & Islamophobia, 1997
Commission on British Muslims & Islamophobia, 1997
Commission on British Muslims & Islamophobia, 1997
Commission on British Muslims & Islamophobia, 1997
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
Between left & right: New Labour
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
Between left & right: New Labour
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”
Between left & right: New Labour
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”
Between left & right: New Labour
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
Between left & right: New Labour
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...?
Commission on British Muslims & Islamophobia, 1997
“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
c.allen.2@bham.ac.uk
07940 537691
about.me/drchrisallen