tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/muslims-in-uk-31981/articlesMuslims in UK – The Conversation2023-02-14T17:39:49Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1987142023-02-14T17:39:49Z2023-02-14T17:39:49ZLocal journalism is under threat at a time when communities need more inclusive reporting<p>The future of local newspapers is under threat, according to parliament’s <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/378/digital-culture-media-and-sport-committee/news/175585/more-support-needed-to-halt-damaging-decline-of-local-journalism-dcms-committee-warns/">digital, culture, media & sport committee (DCMS) report</a> released in early 2023. </p>
<p>This report into the sustainability of local journalism comes at a time when <a href="https://pressgazette.co.uk/news/trust-in-news-uk/">public trust</a> in the national media is falling, while <a href="https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/52789">online disinformation, polarisation and hatred</a> towards minorities continues to rise.</p>
<p>But my research shows <a href="https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/how-a-society-tells-a-story-about-itself">local journalism</a> is capable of providing an important antidote to this. And therefore it should be recognised as an essential element for nurturing our diverse, civic communities. </p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1748048516656305?journalCode=gazb">Research shows</a> how the media can portray Muslims in disproportionately negative ways. They are often represented as the <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/discourse-analysis-and-media-attitudes/8305B860E5CCFFE9918986B21FCAD15D">problematic outsider of British society</a>, often portrayed using stereotypes or as “a menace to the west”.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/documents/college-artslaw/ptr/90172-univ73-islamophobia-in-the-uk-report-final.pdf">recent survey</a> on Islamophobia in Britain found Muslims were perceived as the second “least liked” group in the UK, according to polling. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2021-to-2022/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2021-to-2022">Home Office figures</a> released in October 2022 show how Muslims are much more likely to be the victims of religious hate crimes than any other religious group.</p>
<h2>Local journalists and community spirit</h2>
<p><a href="https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/how-a-society-tells-a-story-about-itself">My research</a> has shown that the local media, in particular, has the potential to provide more inclusive ways of reporting on stories involving Muslims.</p>
<p>I conducted interviews with local journalists working for newspapers in areas with relatively large Muslim populations including London and Blackburn. The results showed there were conscious efforts to ensure their reporting did not cause harm to the Muslims within the communities they served. I found that local journalists saw Muslims as an integral part of their local community rather than outsiders.</p>
<p>Muslim celebrations and festivals were covered by local journalists. Stories about terrorist incidents were featured as well as concerns of Islamophobic attacks on local Muslims. And contributions of Muslims to civic life were reported in the same way as anyone else, as were crimes or wrongdoings.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I attempt to go the extra mile in my reporting to get a more truthful picture of where the community is and the real lives of the people within it,” one local journalist told me. “For me, it’s about pushing back against the atomised bullshit that we do see coming back at us online. The reason it’s important to tell stories truthfully and accurately is to push back against this dehumanising narrative that is out there.”</p>
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<p>Of course, it would be an oversimplification if we took the experiences learned from these particular journalists and applied them to local media as a whole. But <a href="https://iupress.org/9780253221261/the-anthropology-of-news-and-journalism/">other studies</a> of local journalism have also highlighted their often distinctive newsroom cultures. Journalists and their readers are seen to be part of a <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Local-Journalism-and-Local-Media-Making-the-Local-News/Franklin/p/book/9780415379540">single community</a> with common values and goals. This closeness to the communities they serve can often translate to a more considered approach to reporting, as well as a greater reluctance to sensationalise or demonise. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003178217-3/trust-ethics-local-journalism-julie-firmstone-john-steel-martin-conboy-charlotte-elliott-harvey-carl-fox-jane-mulderrig-joe-saunders-paul-wragg">Research</a> also points to the commitment of local journalists to create a sense of community and to defend it. </p>
<h2>Threats ahead</h2>
<p>However, as the <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/378/digital-culture-media-and-sport-committee/news/175585/more-support-needed-to-halt-damaging-decline-of-local-journalism-dcms-committee-warns/">DCMS committee report</a> highlights, the landscape of local journalism is changing and not in a good way. Between 2009 and 2019, more than 300 regional newspaper titles were shut down. During the week of February 6 2023, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64581579">it was announced</a> that three hundred employees at publisher DC Thomson will be made redundant. The company publishes newspapers including Aberdeen’s Press & Journal and The Courier in Dundee.</p>
<p>There are serious concerns in the same report that without considerable government intervention, the decline in local journalism will have a harmful impact on civic life. Communities in the most deprived areas of the UK are most likely to be affected. </p>
<p>The DCMS report shows local publishers are struggling to keep up with larger media organisations in the move towards online news services. This is leading to losses in revenues and resources. To combat this, the DCMS committee has called on the government to help local news organisations gain charitable status while providing funding to support innovation, startups and new technology. </p>
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<img alt="A selection of different newspaper brands are stacked in a display." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509138/original/file-20230209-20-dn1h0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509138/original/file-20230209-20-dn1h0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509138/original/file-20230209-20-dn1h0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509138/original/file-20230209-20-dn1h0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509138/original/file-20230209-20-dn1h0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509138/original/file-20230209-20-dn1h0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509138/original/file-20230209-20-dn1h0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dolgellau-gwynedd-wales-uk-august-8-1474678949">Wozzie/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The upcoming <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/365/business-energy-and-industrial-strategy-committee/news/173840/report-consumers-at-risk-if-digital-markets-unit-not-given-teeth-say-mps/">digital markets, competition and consumer bill</a> in Westminster will be closely watched by media experts to see how it affects smaller publishers. </p>
<p>Concerns for local journalism are not just about its survival in an increasingly digital news market, however. It is more a case of recognising that nurturing a community spirit is one solution to countering wider hatred, disinformation and polarisation. </p>
<p>Research by campaigning group <a href="https://www.mediareform.org.uk/media-ownership/who-owns-the-uk-media">the Media Reform Coalition</a> shows how nearly 84% of local newspapers are now owned by just six companies. And while consolidation has been a lifeline for some newspapers, for others it risks extinguishing the close community connection that appears to be vital for the inclusive and balanced civic journalism we need.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198714/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nadia Haq receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)</span></em></p>Local journalism should be recognised as an essential element for nurturing the UK’s diverse, civic communities.Nadia Haq, ESRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1426102020-07-15T09:34:42Z2020-07-15T09:34:42ZGovernment policy has left Muslim students feeling unable to speak up on campus<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347611/original/file-20200715-27-izucb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C6%2C2297%2C1717&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">University students and staff alike reported feeling like they cannot speak their mind due to concerns about the government's Prevent strategy.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Amir Ridhwan/Shutterstocl</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When he first arrived at his university campus, Tom found his roommate was Muslim. He had never met a Muslim and was concerned about living with one. As far as he knew, Islam was a violent religion and most Muslims had links to terrorism. However, spending time living with Ahmed he came to know his roommate, and through him he came to understand more about Islam. He discovered unexpected similarities in their lives, common values and shared goals to complete their studies, find jobs and be successful. In Tom’s words:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think it really cooled my previous perception… generally, everyone associates Islam with terrorism, but for me, right now, I’ve seen Islam in a different way, a uniting factor… a common denominator between people.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While Tom and Ahmed are not their real names, the situation is real and is one of many we uncovered during our <a href="https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FM00841X%2F1">research</a> into how Islam and Muslims are perceived among students across UK universities. Our <a href="https://www.soas.ac.uk/representingislamoncampus/publications/file148310.pdf">report</a> is the first nationwide assessment, based on a survey of 2,022 students across 132 universities, and interviews and focus groups conducted with 253 staff and students at six higher education institutions.</p>
<p>We found that the UK government’s counter terrorism strategy, Prevent, has reinforced negative stereotypes of Muslims and encouraged a culture of mutual suspicion and surveillance throughout universities. However, universities can take an active role in helping to build peaceful relations on campus, and beyond, by challenging prejudice and empowering Muslim and all marginal voices. As we discuss in our forthcoming book <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/islam-on-campus-9780198846789?q=Scott-Baumann&lang=en&cc=gb">Islam on Campus</a>, suspicion and negative stereotypes need to be replaced with shared, equal and just understandings of who we all are. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-both-sides-are-wrong-in-the-counter-extremism-debate-55714">Why both sides are wrong in the counter-extremism debate</a>
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<h2>How Prevent has curtailed freedoms</h2>
<p>The UK government has long maintained that radicalisation is a problem in UK universities and that its Prevent strategy is an essential means to tackle it – despite the Home Affairs Committee concluding in its <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmhaff/1446/144605.htm">2012 review of Prevent</a> that “there is seldom concrete evidence” that universities are sites of radicalisation, and as such the emphasis placed on universities “is now disproportionate”. </p>
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<p>We found that the Prevent strategy appears to have had the effect of discouraging free speech within universities. Students and staff of all backgrounds, and Muslims in particular, feel over-scrutinised and constantly under pressure to say the “right thing”, or to be quiet. One British Bangladeshi Muslim student said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>there is a general feeling across Muslim communities that while dissent is a very, very strong British tradition, somehow it doesn’t apply to Muslims. So when Muslims want to dissent from the mainstream, then it becomes a shared value issue, whereas otherwise, for other people in society, dissent may still hold true.</p>
</blockquote>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-lecturers-are-pushing-back-against-counter-terrorism-creep-into-universities-93998">How lecturers are pushing back against counter-terrorism creep into universities</a>
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<p>Our research group found that students who agree with the government are more likely to express negative views about Islam and Muslims. For example, students who see radicalisation as a problem on campus are four times more likely to believe that Muslims have not made a valuable contribution to British life. Those who support Prevent are almost three times more likely to see Islam as intolerant towards non-Muslims than those who believe Prevent corrodes university life. </p>
<p>Students and staff self-censor their discussions to avoid becoming the object of suspicion, and are sometimes discouraged from exploring, researching or teaching about Islam. Only a quarter of students said they felt entirely free to express their views on Islam in university contexts. We heard from students who were too scared to take books from the library because they felt they may be targeted by Prevent, and others who are not accessing mental health services for similar reasons. According to Ali, a politics student:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s problematic, because a lot of Muslims feel that they can’t air their views, they can’t voice their opinion, because they’ll be labelled extreme. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Encouraging intercultural understanding</h2>
<p>Despite clear evidence of unconscious bias, casual racism and discrimination, our research also revealed warm and sincere discussions between students of different faiths. We found the influence of university life enabled intercultural conversations and understanding, and that the impact of this extended far beyond campuses into the wider community and workplaces. </p>
<p>More than 70% of students agree that Muslims have made a valuable contribution to British life, and 85% agree that the majority of Muslims are good people. We found that people from different backgrounds studying, working and living together on campus leads to the uncovering of shared values, aims, and builds enduring friendships. Such encounters between people of different ethnicities, cultures, beliefs and ways of life provide university students and staff with firsthand insights into the lives of those they perceive as different. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347343/original/file-20200714-139992-187oz12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3889%2C2590&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347343/original/file-20200714-139992-187oz12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347343/original/file-20200714-139992-187oz12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347343/original/file-20200714-139992-187oz12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347343/original/file-20200714-139992-187oz12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347343/original/file-20200714-139992-187oz12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347343/original/file-20200714-139992-187oz12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Making friends and learning from them has been shown to be universities’ strongest bulwark against racism found in media and society.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">oneinchpunch/Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>We found where Islamic Studies was taught with a <a href="https://www.soas.ac.uk/blogs/study/decolonising-curriculum-whats-the-fuss/">decolonisation approach</a>, where Islam and Muslims are studied as being <a href="https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/6500/1/Updated%20Dr%20Siddiqui%20Report.pdf">inherent to British society</a> rather than alien from it, this had the effect of helping to dismantle “us and them” ways of thinking. However, with only a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/11/only-fifth-of-uk-universities-have-said-they-will-decolonise-curriculum">fifth of universities stating they are decolonising their curriculum</a> there is a long way to go.</p>
<h2>The power of friendships</h2>
<p>When a quarter of all students cite TV, newspapers, magazines, news websites and social media as their most important source of information about Islam, any understanding that stems from personal relationships is significant. These personal encounters challenge negative stereotypes found on campus and in the media, and extend new narratives around Islam and Muslims back into the communities from which students have come from. </p>
<p>We recommend that universities build on this approach, empowering marginal voices on campus, including Muslims, fostering respect among students, and developing knowledge of Islam. Universities should encourage these sorts of intercultural encounters in the classroom, across campus and throughout the curriculum.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142610/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council</span></em></p>A nationwide report on Islamophobia on campus reveals that friendships between those of different backgrounds is most effective at dispelling racist views.Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor, Assistant Professor in Faith and Peaceful Relations at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1391002020-05-22T18:03:51Z2020-05-22T18:03:51ZMuslim women observe Ramadan under lockdown – and some say being stuck at home for the holiday is nothing new<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336837/original/file-20200521-102671-1e3s1hu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C7%2C4707%2C3279&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque in Minneapolis, Minnesota, before the midday prayer during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that ends May 27, 2020, and is celebrated this year amid pandemic. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/woman-takes-a-video-near-dar-al-hijrah-mosque-as-people-news-photo/1210936699?adppopup=true">Stephen Maturen/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For most of the world’s <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/01/the-countries-with-the-10-largest-christian-populations-and-the-10-largest-muslim-populations/">1.8 billion Muslims</a>, the holy month of Ramadan has been spent in isolation this year, with <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52716535">mosques closed and communal meals canceled</a> due to the coronavirus. As <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-eid-and-how-do-muslims-celebrate-it-6-questions-answered-118146">Eid-al-fitr</a>, which marks the end of Ramadan, draws near, many Muslim communities are holding virtual events starting May 23 to commemorate this religious festival.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-significance-of-friday-prayers-in-islam-113702">Collective worship</a> is an important part of the Islamic tradition. During Ramadan, which commemorates Prophet Muhammad’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/2017/5/25/11851766/what-is-ramadan-2019-start-date-muslim-islam-about">first Quranic revelation</a>, those who are able fast from before dawn to sunset, pray and break fast together with celebratory meals called iftars. For many in the faith, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/drive-thru-iftars-and-coronavirus-task-forces-how-muslims-are-observing-obligations-to-the-poor-this-ramadan-137365">shift from in-person to online Ramadan</a> has been difficult.</p>
<p>For other Muslims, though, access to <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-coronavirus-chicago-ramadan-women-20200424-mhufcude3zbj7jl45evobjit6q-story.html">mosques was limited</a> well before the pandemic. Women often traditionally pray in separate – and, <a href="https://twitter.com/HindMakki/status/1263355911365636096">critics say, unequal</a> – sections of mosques, and some find child care duties and cooking typically keep them at home for holidays. </p>
<p>For these women, a “remote Ramadan” may be nothing out of the ordinary.</p>
<h2>A difficult Ramadan is nothing new</h2>
<p>I study <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wearing-Niqab-Muslim-Women-Cultures/dp/1350166030/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Anna+piela&qid=1586528684&sr=8-1">Muslim women in non-Muslim majority countries</a>, and I’ve been investigating their experiences of a Ramadan celebrated almost entirely at home.</p>
<p>In collaboration with a colleague who also studies gender and Islam, <a href="https://religioznawstwo.uj.edu.pl/dr-joanna-krotofi">Joanna Krotofil</a> of Poland’s Jagiellonian University, I created an anonymous survey with <a href="https://annamagdalenapiela.wordpress.com/2020/05/22/questions-for-the-ramadan-2020-survey/">open-ended questions</a> about religious practices and rituals, self-care, relationships with family and friends and online activities this Ramadan, and distributed it to Muslim women on social media and in our professional networks. </p>
<p>We received 38 responses, from women ranging in age from 22 to 57 and representing diverse Islamic traditions – Sunni, Shia, Sufi, Orthodox and others. Most respondents live in the United States, Poland and the United Kingdom, but five come from elsewhere. </p>
<p>Like their backgrounds, the women’s perceptions of this year’s remote Ramadan varied widely. </p>
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<p>Some felt that social isolation during the holiday was entirely familiar. One woman commented she was usually “too busy with working and having a large family to be involved in the wider Muslim community.” </p>
<p>“Not much has changed,” another respondent wrote. “I am generally not attending the mosque due to feeling constrained there, as a second class citizen.” </p>
<p>Such responses reflect the lack of well-provisioned, comfortable <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11562-013-0286-3">women’s spaces in many mosques and the scarcity of women in mosque leadership positions</a>. Several “inclusive mosques” in the U.S. – including Chicago’s <a href="https://masjidalrabia.org">Al-Rabia</a> and the <a href="https://womensmosque.com">Women’s Mosque of America</a> in Los Angeles – welcome not only women but also LGBTQ Muslims into their ranks, including in leadership positions. But <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-46567505">such attitudes are rare</a>. </p>
<p>As a result, we found, many welcome this year’s shift away from traditional mosque worship and services. The sudden proliferation of virtual events actually brings more opportunities to participate. </p>
<p>That’s true for Muslims whose disabilities prevent them from leaving home, too.</p>
<p>“Often I can’t attend [events] due to disability,” one woman wrote. “Now that everything is online, it’s great.” </p>
<h2>Varied perceptions</h2>
<p>For Muslim women engaged with their faith communities, however, celebrating Ramadan during a pandemic has been frustrating. </p>
<p>“I’m used to attending my place of prayer about twice a week and having community events on top of that, so having to resort to online worship has been quite a jarring shift,” one woman wrote. </p>
<p>“It has been a struggle,” another responded, saying “it just doesn’t really feel like Ramadan.” </p>
<p>She added that holiday plans made months ahead of time are now scrambled. She’s been “rethinking everything we want to do and if it is possible during this time of quarantine.”</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337076/original/file-20200522-124836-1tpq6bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337076/original/file-20200522-124836-1tpq6bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337076/original/file-20200522-124836-1tpq6bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337076/original/file-20200522-124836-1tpq6bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337076/original/file-20200522-124836-1tpq6bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337076/original/file-20200522-124836-1tpq6bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337076/original/file-20200522-124836-1tpq6bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337076/original/file-20200522-124836-1tpq6bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Palestinian women prepare date and nut cookies, traditional Eid al-Fitr treats, for families in need in Gaza City, May 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/palestinian-volunteer-women-prepare-date-and-nutty-cookies-news-photo/1214308179?adppopup=true">Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Trans and queer Muslim women and <a href="https://www.islamic-foundation.org.uk/UserUpload/filemanager/source/Research%20&%20Reports/Between%20Isolation%20%20Integration%20-%20LCC%20Report.pdf">converts to Islam</a> – groups that often <a href="https://www.advocate.com/current-issue/2017/1/18/queering-islam">report feeling unwelcome</a> in traditional congregations – are accustomed to challenges in celebrating their faith. </p>
<p>“Unfortunately, I’ve never had any sort of physical community to be a part of because I’m transgender,” another respondent wrote. “Online is my only means of really connecting to the Muslim community.”</p>
<p>Some are trying to create an inclusive digital community in this isolating time. One respondent said that when the pandemic struck, she created a “virtual mosque” for other queer and nonbinary Muslims, featuring daily prayer, Quran readings and classes. </p>
<p>And the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC48zkiw6F6DzAcQ9Np6hBpA">#inclusiveAzaan</a> initiative, started by the group Feminist Islamic Troublemakers of North America, has been streaming the Azaan, or Adhan – the Islamic call to prayer – delivered by trans women, queer women, converts to Islam and American Sign Language speakers. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337083/original/file-20200522-124822-tf5rnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337083/original/file-20200522-124822-tf5rnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337083/original/file-20200522-124822-tf5rnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337083/original/file-20200522-124822-tf5rnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337083/original/file-20200522-124822-tf5rnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337083/original/file-20200522-124822-tf5rnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337083/original/file-20200522-124822-tf5rnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337083/original/file-20200522-124822-tf5rnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Socially distant Ramadan prayers in Thailand, May 15, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/muslim-woman-wearing-protective-face-mask-prayers-ramadan-news-photo/1213061079?adppopup=true">Anusak Laowilas/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Solitude may enhance religious experience</h2>
<p>Eid, the three-day feast celebrated by Muslims worldwide at Ramadan’s end, is usually a large, convivial celebration with mountains of food. Observing it privately <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/15/world/middleeast/ramadan-coronavirus-al-aqsa.html">is almost without historic precedent</a>. </p>
<p>Yet several of our respondents said solitude has enhanced their spiritual experience. </p>
<p>“I’ve discovered that I love to pray alone,” another woman said. “I can tap deep into my emotions.”</p>
<p>Several respondents found iftar, the communal supper eaten after sunset to break the Ramadan fast, more spiritually satisfying in quarantine. Ramadan is about strengthening one’s connection with God, a goal that can sometimes get lost amid all the organizing and “small talk” with strangers. </p>
<p>“Part of me does think that Ramadan is meant to be much more quiet,” one woman wrote. “Being under lockdown kind of forces that aspect of Ramadan” to the fore.</p>
<h2>Diverse perspectives</h2>
<p>The wide range of views women expressed in our survey makes sense. Islam is the world’s second largest religion, and <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/01/31/worlds-muslim-population-more-widespread-than-you-might-think/">Muslims make up a majority of the population in 49 countries</a> with varied cultural norms. </p>
<p>Our survey captures just a tiny slice of this population. But it displays Muslim communities’ divergent <a href="https://www.pewforum.org/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-women-in-society/">interpretations of Islamic prescriptions about women and gender relations</a>.</p>
<p>If there’s a throughline in the data, it’s that a woman’s perspective on “remote Ramadan” largely depends on her public participation in the faith during normal times. </p>
<p>Those deeply engaged with their mosques are dispirited by the loss of physical congregations. For others, Ramadan under quarantine feels like more of the same.</p>
<p>[<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=expertise">Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter and get a digest of academic takes on today’s news, every day.</a></em>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139100/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Piela does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A survey of Muslim women finds many are frustrated by having a Islamic holy month in quarantine. But others say a ‘remote Ramadan’ is nothing new because child care duties often keep them home anyway.Anna Piela, Visiting Scholar in Religious Studies and Gender, Northwestern UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/980592018-06-13T15:13:54Z2018-06-13T15:13:54ZGrenfell Tower: how Twitter users fought off fake news to honour Muslim heroes<p>For those who were present in West London on June 14, 2017, it’s a day they will never forget. Residents awoke to the smell of fire and the sound of helicopters, while exhausted, blackened firefighters laboured in the streets surrounding a burning tower block. Questions rapidly emerged about how Grenfell Tower, a local landmark – for many a “vertical village” – had <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44368082">become a deathtrap</a>. </p>
<p>In the hours and days that followed, uncertainty about the number of casualties and the cause of the fire endured. Social media platforms such as Twitter became a place where survivors, civilians, journalists and aid organisations shared the latest updates about the cause of the blaze, its progress and its aftermath. </p>
<p>But remember, this was the summer of 2017: at the time of the fire, terrorists linked with Islamic fundamentalism had mown down pedestrians <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/11/europe/stockholm-terror-attack-rakhmat-akilov/index.html">in Stockholm</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/mar/23/crude-nature-of-attack-suggests-lack-of-isis-network-in-britain">London</a> (<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/isis-london-bridge-attack-borough-market-terrorists-took-steroids-dhea-inquest-khuram-butt-rachid-a8203241.html">twice</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/06/paris-police-shoot-man-who-attacked-officer-outside-notre-dame-cathedral">shot a police officer</a> in Paris and <a href="https://theconversation.com/it-happened-here-once-again-manchester-must-define-what-comes-after-a-devastating-attack-78361">planted a bomb</a> in a Manchester stadium – each time, claiming lives. There were <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/westway-warriors-the-nest-of-isis-fighters-from-a-few-london-streets-jqzwxzpxf">stories of jihadists</a> travelling from Britain to join so-called Islamic State – some of whom hailed from the same area as Grenfell Tower. </p>
<p>Combined with the fact that many of those who lived in Grenfell Tower were Muslim, their role – and the role of British Muslims more broadly – became a focal point of the online debate surrounding the tragedy. In the four days days after the fire, 44,000 tweets with the keywords “Grenfell” and “Muslims” flooded the social media platform. We decided to analyse these tweets, to see how Muslims were perceived and portrayed in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire. </p>
<h2>A helping hand</h2>
<p>Our initial search of the tweets revealed that, during the first hours of the fire, there were tweets discussing the possibility of the fire being a terror attack. Some speculated that Muslims had set the fire as an attack during Ramadan. But there was also a substantial number of tweets depicting Muslims as heroes during the fire, because they were awake during Ramadan to raise the alarm, and knocked on doors to get residents to safety, while the “stay put” advice was still being given by the emergency services. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"874944928203362309"}"></div></p>
<p>We wanted to go deeper into the data, to find out how certain messages were spread, and identify the key “influencers” who shaped the debate. We purchased the data from <a href="https://texifter.com/">a third party data provider</a>, and analysed the text using <a href="https://discovertext.com/">a specialised platform</a> with machine learning capabilities, called discovertext. </p>
<p>We wanted to see how much the fake news stories about the Grenfell fire being a terror attack actually influenced the debate online. So, we sampled the top 5% of tweets by influence – that is, how widely the tweet was spread – and analysed them on discovertext. We then compared this with a random 5% sample of tweets. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222996/original/file-20180613-32310-de625c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222996/original/file-20180613-32310-de625c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222996/original/file-20180613-32310-de625c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=291&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222996/original/file-20180613-32310-de625c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=291&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222996/original/file-20180613-32310-de625c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=291&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222996/original/file-20180613-32310-de625c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222996/original/file-20180613-32310-de625c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222996/original/file-20180613-32310-de625c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Based on information provided by the authors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joseph Downing, Richard Dron.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Once ranked by influence, the conspiracy theories all but disappeared from the debate. Instead, the most influential tweets were those about how helpful the Muslim population was, both during and after the fire. A full 74% of the most influential tweets spread messages about how Muslims, awake to close their Ramadan fasts, played a crucial role in spreading awareness of the fire and evacuating residents from the building.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223001/original/file-20180613-32316-1yoo7qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223001/original/file-20180613-32316-1yoo7qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223001/original/file-20180613-32316-1yoo7qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=243&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223001/original/file-20180613-32316-1yoo7qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=243&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223001/original/file-20180613-32316-1yoo7qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=243&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223001/original/file-20180613-32316-1yoo7qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=306&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223001/original/file-20180613-32316-1yoo7qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=306&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223001/original/file-20180613-32316-1yoo7qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=306&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Based on information provided by the authors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joseph Downing, Richard Dron.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>discovertext also allowed us to export the data, to generate comprehensive maps of the social network. The complete overview was made up of 812 intersecting networks; the boundaries are blurred, as messages pass between the different topics of discussion surrounding the fire – grouped by colour in the graphic. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223009/original/file-20180613-32304-1cca282.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223009/original/file-20180613-32304-1cca282.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223009/original/file-20180613-32304-1cca282.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223009/original/file-20180613-32304-1cca282.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223009/original/file-20180613-32304-1cca282.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223009/original/file-20180613-32304-1cca282.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223009/original/file-20180613-32304-1cca282.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223009/original/file-20180613-32304-1cca282.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The complete network map, with topics grouped by colour.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Richard Dron.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Fighting fake news</h2>
<p>We found we could examine not just how individual messages were spread, but also how they were refuted and contested. For example, one story <a href="https://www.infowars.com/muslims-celebrate-london-tower-fire-despite-many-of-the-victims-being-muslim/">concocted by fake news and conspiracy site InfoWars</a> aggregated comments and tweets to claim that “Muslims celebrate London tower fire”. The story was shared 730 times. </p>
<p>But in the “post truth” era of Trump and Brexit, we were also interested to know how misleading information was challenged on social media. Grenfell was completely unlike the 2016 US presidential race – where fake news <a href="https://web.stanford.edu/%7Egentzkow/research/fakenews.pdf">was widely spread and believed</a> by users. Instead, misinformation was refuted by users, who shared stories from mainstream media to highlight the positive contributions of Muslims in the wake of the fire. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223014/original/file-20180613-32339-7e8aaq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223014/original/file-20180613-32339-7e8aaq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223014/original/file-20180613-32339-7e8aaq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223014/original/file-20180613-32339-7e8aaq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223014/original/file-20180613-32339-7e8aaq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223014/original/file-20180613-32339-7e8aaq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223014/original/file-20180613-32339-7e8aaq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223014/original/file-20180613-32339-7e8aaq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">InfoWars article: retweets and responses.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Richard Dron.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This graph shows how the InfoWars story spread, but also how it was challenged by users tweeting back articles from <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4604980/Muslims-awake-Ramadan-helped-Grenfell-Tower-fire.html?ito=social-twitter_dailymailUK">The Daily Mail</a>, <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/816870/London-Fire-grenfell-tower-latimer-road-blaze-w11-ramadan-muslims-firefighters-police">The Express</a>, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/london-fire-muslim-wake-early-ramadan-fast-grenfell-tower-resident-live-save-north-kensington-a7789111.html">The Independent</a> and <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/14/local-heroes-saved-lives-helped-residents-grenfell-tower-fire/">The Telegraph</a>, which pointed out how the local Muslim community helped at the height of the unfolding disaster. </p>
<p>Clearly, fake news is not innately persuasive in all contexts – instead, it can trigger far more nuanced and complex processes on the social media platforms where it is spread. At a time when news coverage relating to Muslims is dominated by concerns about terrorism, Grenfell is a rare instance where people looked past religious and ethnic differences, to recognise the humanitarian contributions of this community, amid tragedy and disaster.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98059/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joseph Downing receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 703613.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Dron does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new analysis of 44,000 tweets reveals that fake news isn’t always persuasive.Joseph Downing, Marie Curie Fellow, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)Richard Dron, Lecturer in Digital Enterprise & Innovation, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/947932018-04-13T08:38:58Z2018-04-13T08:38:58ZIslamophobia in Paris and London – how it differs and why<p>Islamophobia in France and Britain has intensified in recent years, particularly in the wake of terrorist incidents, such as the 2015 <a href="https://theconversation.com/charlie-hebdo-changed-the-way-the-french-say-liberte-egalite-fraternite-89553">Charlie Hebdo attack</a> in Paris and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/islamophobia-and-causes-of-terrorism-must-be-part-of-awkward-conversations-after-london-bridge-attack-78954">London Bridge attack</a>. This led British prime minister, Theresa May, and French president, Emmanuel Macron, to meet in January 2018 to agree a shared approach to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/12/may-macron-online-terror-radicalisation">counter-terrorism</a>.</p>
<p>In many respects, France and Britain face similar challenges. They are both in Western Europe and have significant Muslim populations. It’s estimated there are <a href="https://www.thelocal.fr/20171201/how-frances-muslim-population-will-grow-in-the-future">5.7m</a> Muslims in France and just over <a href="http://www.mcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/MCBCensusReport_2015.pdf">2.7m</a> in the UK. But our research shows that Islamophobia operates differently in each country. </p>
<p>In an effort to shed light on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/eight-ways-that-islamophobia-operates-in-everyday-life-64444">complexities of Islamophobia</a>, our research <a href="http://research.ncl.ac.uk/sama/">into anti-Muslim acts</a> focuses on where Islamophobia happens in France and the UK – mainly in Paris and London. Data from 2015 from the associations <a href="http://www.islamophobie.net/">Collectif contre l'islamophobie en France </a> (CCIF) in France and <a href="https://tellmamauk.org/">Tell MAMA</a> in the UK reveal the specific contexts of Islamophobia.</p>
<p>In both countries, most anti-Muslim acts take place in the two capital cities, but the distribution of Islamophobic acts varies. In Paris, anti-Muslim acts take place more in the <a href="https://issuu.com/ccif/docs/ccif_rapport_final_complet/25">Parisian centre</a> and they decrease progressively the further out from the centre you go. This creates a contrast between the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/anti.12303">centre and the suburbs</a>.</p>
<p>This is different to <a href="https://www.tellmamauk.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/tell_mama_2015_annual_report.pdf">London</a>, where there are similar numbers of Islamophobic incidents in both inner and outer London. Many anti-Muslim acts take place on buses and trains, or in <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/campaign-against-antiislam-hate-crime-launched-across-london-transport-network-a3659351.html">transport hubs</a>. The phenomenon is therefore spatially more diffuse, because anti-Muslim acts occur mainly in everyday spaces.</p>
<p>Latifa, who took part in our research in London, explained to us that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A man walking onto the bus decided to lean over me, and directed a few derogatory Islamophobic comments calling me ‘ISIS terrorist’ – he was actually touching me.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In France, the majority of Islamophobic acts take place in <a href="https://issuu.com/ccif/docs/ccif_rapport_final_complet">public institutions</a> such as a town hall, a school or a hospital. In Paris, most anti-Muslim acts are based around personal discrimination. One of the people we interviewed in France, Kenza explained: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>One of my friends arrived in the school, while the director snatched her veil in front of everyone. I always have this image in my head, seeing her climbing up the stairs ashamed. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The reason why most discrimination takes place in public institutions is largely due to the impact of a 2004 French law which bans the headscarf in state-funded schools, in the name of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0966369X.2014.939150"><em>laïcité</em></a> or secularism. Some civil servants – whether they know the law or not – believe that they have the right to extend its scope to all the users of diverse public institutions and not only schools. While the wearing of the niqab, or full face veil, <a href="https://theconversation.com/life-under-the-french-veil-ban-is-nothing-like-living-together-29120">has been banned</a> in public in France since 2010, headscarves are not. As a result, Islamophobia in France is more institutionalised. </p>
<h2>Different victims and perpetrators</h2>
<p>In both France and the UK, the main victims are <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-truths-about-the-hijab-that-need-to-be-told-63892">veiled Muslim women</a> and in France, many of them are students. Victims in the UK tend to have a South Asian background, while in France they tend to be from North Africa. This connects with the immigration history and <a href="https://www.cairn.info/revue-annales-de-geographie-2009-1-page-61.htm">colonial past</a> of each country.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214279/original/file-20180411-566-1k8kjn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214279/original/file-20180411-566-1k8kjn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214279/original/file-20180411-566-1k8kjn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214279/original/file-20180411-566-1k8kjn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214279/original/file-20180411-566-1k8kjn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214279/original/file-20180411-566-1k8kjn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214279/original/file-20180411-566-1k8kjn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">‘I am French. I am Muslim. I condemn these barbarous acts.’ A woman holds up a sign in Paris after the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/home">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
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<p><a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2043820616655018">White men</a> are the main perpetrators of anti-Muslim acts in the UK. In France, it is equally likely to be a man or a woman. Some French women – notably <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2015/jul/20/france-feminism-hijab-ban-muslim-women">French feminists</a> – resist the wearing of the veil, and consider that a <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/i-am-a-hijabi-feminist_us_593c78b4e4b014ae8c69e11d">hijabi woman</a> cannot be a feminist. In the UK, Islamophobia is often related to white men’s domination over ethnic and religious minority women.</p>
<h2>The role of the state</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgOsb5anMwM">Our findings</a> consider the role of the state in fostering where and how Islamophobia happens. The French republican model sees all citizens as French and does not differentiate between people on the basis or race or religion. This could partly explain why there are fewer Islamophobic acts reported in France as it is challenging to make a claim based on religious intolerance or racial discrimination when such divisions are not easily recognised by the French state.</p>
<p>The UK tends to promote an approach that is built around multiculturalism and the promotion of diverse ethnic and religious communities. Unfortunately, some resist this multicultural approach and are racist against those who they feel do not “belong” in the UK. These factors are also likely to shape how Muslim communities engage in <a href="https://theconversation.com/young-muslims-want-to-participate-in-politics-but-prejudice-and-islamophobia-may-be-stopping-them-73985">politics</a> and participate in society. </p>
<p>Both the French and British approaches demonstrate the role that the state plays in shaping where anti-Muslim acts take place and who is involved. The state has been described as one of the <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/opensecurity/david-miller-tom-mills-hilary-aked-narzanin-massoumi/five-pillars-of-islamophobia">five pillars of Islamophobia</a> – so the governments in both countries should be more critical and aware of the role their <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/islamophobia-anti-muslim-prejudice-definition-discrimination-government-prevent-dominic-grieve-a7820486.html">policies</a> play in shaping everyday experiences of Islamophobia.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94793/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kawtar Najib receives funding from the European Commission. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Hopkins receives funding from the European Commission. </span></em></p>While Islamophobic acts in Paris mainly take place in public institutions, in London they’re mainly on the street or on public transport.Kawtar Najib, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellow in the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle UniversityPeter Hopkins, Professor of Social Geography, Newcastle UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/864232017-10-30T12:28:06Z2017-10-30T12:28:06ZWhat British Muslims think about the term ‘British values’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192288/original/file-20171027-13315-1tzp6p6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C4%2C1009%2C523&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Views on British values, from British Muslims. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://britishmuslimvalues.wordpress.com/2017/10/10/alif-lam-mim-trailer/">Alif. Lam. Mim. by M.Malik</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Channel 4’s recent programme <a href="http://www.channel4.com/programmes/my-week-as-a-muslim">My Week as a Muslim</a>, in which a non-Muslim woman lived with a Pakistani family for a week, was a reminder of the ongoing curiosity about Muslim life in British society. The programme was criticised for its <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/20/channel-4-brownface-tv-documentary-my-week-as-a-muslim-niqab-racism">use of “brownfacing”</a> as the woman wore dark make-up and a niqab to appear Pakistani – highlighting the resilience of assumptions that British Muslims are non-white or somehow non-British. </p>
<p>This abiding curiosity about how Muslims live and what Muslims think frequently stems from enduring concerns around integration. In the past, such concerns were usually couched in the language of multiculturalism or community cohesion, but today they are often centred around the idea of “<a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/british-values-10935">British values</a>”. While the meaning of the term remains unclear, it saturates public life in areas as diverse as <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/97976/prevent-strategy-review.pdf">counter-radicalisation policy</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/sep/22/schools-should-not-be-afraid-to-promote-british-values-says-ofsted-head">education</a>. Yet, in one recent study, around half of British adults <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/02/19/tracker-islam-and-british-values/">surveyed believed Islam to be incompatible</a> with British values. </p>
<p>For the last year, we have been working with Muslims across eastern England and East Anglia who have produced their own short films about British values as part of an ongoing <a href="https://britishmuslimvalues.wordpress.com/about/">research</a> project. Doing so, we hoped, would tell us a little more about what the term British values means to Muslims in an often neglected region. It might also shed light on how those Muslims feel when they encounter the term in media headlines or opinion polls. </p>
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<p>Although we’re mindful of the dangers of generalisation – and cautious that these reflections are still provisional – we have picked out three themes that recur in a number of our films and interviews with those who made them. </p>
<h2>Elusiveness</h2>
<p>The term British values was often seen by our filmmakers as an elusive and ambiguous one. Some, such as Shukria from Bedford, were confident in articulating the term precisely – in her case as “having the freedom to express yourself however you want”. But many others professed to not knowing what the term means. </p>
<p>Haroon, a college student in Norwich, told us: “I can’t really speak on British values, because I don’t know anything about them … to me it’s a weightless word, it has no meaning to it.” Fatima, from Bedford, held a similar view: “To be honest, I don’t know, it doesn’t mean anything to me … We were never taught what British values were.” </p>
<p>For some, this ambiguity was even more pronounced when they reflected on whether anything is distinctively British about values such as “democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs” – the language the Home Office uses to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/guidance-on-promoting-british-values-in-schools-published">define the term</a>. As one of the people interviewed put it, such values “should be universal regardless – British, non-British, faith or no faith”.</p>
<h2>Compatibility</h2>
<p>Despite this ambiguity, the British Muslims we spoke to saw some similarities between British values and values associated with Islam. As one interviewee put it: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>If I think about British values and I think about my faith, I think there’s a lot of common ground. And common ground for me is serving my community, looking after my neighbours, regardless of whoever they are. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The claim that a vague and ambiguous set of British values actually complements Islamic values could appear counter-intuitive. But the indistinctness of the term might actually make the idea of British values easier to square with other sets of religious or non-religious values. A desire to identify with the Britishness of these values – or to be seen by others to identify with this Britishness – could also be more important than concerns about their specific content or meaning. </p>
<h2>Dog-whistle politics</h2>
<p>There also seems to be genuine public concern among those with whom we spoke about how the term British values is used in politics and the media. Many people on this project pointed to the manipulation of the term by politicians and media commentators to serve dog-whistle politics, often in the aftermath of violent and tragic events. In the words of one anonymous participant: “Whenever there’s an attack, you have the government … start talking about [British] values.” </p>
<p>In this way, the term British values was seen by two of those we spoke to as a coded “warning” to specific communities, which contributed to “divisive” and “alienating” politics. These sentiments can also offer insights about how those exposed to the term within classrooms or places of worship might feel. </p>
<p>The next stage of our research will be to carry out a series of focus groups in East Anglia with Muslim and non-Muslim participants to dig further into the meaning of British values. Wherever that takes us it is clear that the term remains a contested and contentious one, that must be used with care by politicians, commentators, and others.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86423/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lee Jarvis receives funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council scheme under the Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research (Reference: AH/N008340/1)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eylem Atakav works for the University of East Anglia. She receives funding from the Research Councils UK and Arts and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lee Marsden receives funding from the Research Council UK and the Arts and Humanities Research Council</span></em></p>A series of films made by Muslims shows how much confusion remains about the term.Lee Jarvis, Professor of International Politics, School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication, University of East AngliaEylem Atakav, Senior Lecturer in Film and Television Studies, University of East AngliaLee Marsden, Professor of International Relations, University of East AngliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/804362017-07-07T10:44:52Z2017-07-07T10:44:52ZBritain’s ‘missing’ Muslim women<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/177048/original/file-20170706-26513-umk12g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Muslim women pray behind men at mass prayers to celebrate Eid al-Adha in Birmingham. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joe Giddens/PA Archive</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Whether British citizens with Muslim beliefs are sufficiently committed to “British values” and to a “British way of life” is a topic of intense political and media debate. Now a new report on “<a href="http://www.citizensuk.org/missing_muslims">Missing Muslims</a>” launched by the <a href="http://www.citizensuk.org/islam_public_life_commission">Citizens Commission on Islam, Participation and Public Life</a> on July 3 has challenged the <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/04/why-do-we-pretend-that-all-muslims-are-sweet-smiley-and-integrated/">allegation</a> that Muslim citizens are disengaged from the mainstream of British life. </p>
<p>It finds that “most Muslims in the UK are British citizens” and that a large majority of them actively identify as British. Muslim citizens have also been found to vote in elections at a higher rate than the general population, according to the report. </p>
<p>Such clear demonstrations of public engagement and belonging are set against a volatile sociopolitical context. A documented rise in <a href="https://theconversation.com/finsbury-park-attack-shows-the-harm-islamophobia-continues-to-inflict-on-muslim-communities-79682">Islamophobia</a>, anti-Muslim prejudice and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jun/20/anti-muslim-hate-surges-after-manchester-and-london-bridge-attacks">hate crimes</a> make it increasingly challenging for Muslim citizens to feel they are equally valued as citizens. But the report also finds much wanting within Muslim communities when it comes to participation in British public life – with barriers particularly affecting Muslim women.</p>
<p>The Citizens Commission on Islam, Participation and Public Life was established in 2015 by <a href="http://www.citizensuk.org/">Citizens UK</a>, a charitable civil society organisation that represents various churches, mosques, synagogues, schools, trade unions and other voluntary associations across England and Wales. Chaired by Conservative MP <a href="https://www.dominicgrieve.org.uk/">Dominic Grieve</a>, the commission has held a number of <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/i-lost-count-verbal-attacks-10430210">public hearings</a> and received evidence from both organisations and individuals. </p>
<p>Based on my own <a href="http://www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9781137405333">research</a> on Christian and Muslim women’s experiences of citizenship, I gave evidence to the commission’s hearing in Leicester. My focus was on the stereotyping and discrimination of Muslim women in wider society and on barriers to women’s participation in Muslim faith organisations.</p>
<p>The new report notes that, for Muslim women, “disadvantage in employment is particularly acute” and that Muslim women who wear headscarves are “more likely than men to feel unsafe” due to the verbal and physical abuse they suffer. In explaining Muslim women’s disadvantage in the labour market, the authors highlight discriminatory recruitment and hiring practices among employers. </p>
<h2>Women’s role in mosques</h2>
<p>The report also observes that Muslim women are missing from the governance structures of Muslim institutions. It says that many mosques “are not welcoming to women’s participation at any serious level”. Within this overall picture of male dominance, there is a <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/muslims-in-britain/3F6E4E693BC225A6754D1D048BBDFD6C">growing participation</a> of Muslim women in mosques around the country that have created designated women’s spaces. There is also a <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01419870.2016.1216142">desire among many Muslim women</a> to take on mosque leadership, management and teaching roles. </p>
<p>The commission makes a strong recommendation for all Muslim organisations to enable “equal access to leadership opportunities” for women. Whether this would include leadership of religious prayer is unclear, as the report falls short of recommending that women should be able to perform the role of an imam in a mosque. The issue of women leading Muslim prayer is <a href="http://forums.ssrc.org/ndsp/2015/04/29/woman-led-prayer-a-conversation-with-juliane-hammer/">controversial</a> and the commission appears to have simply bypassed the issue. </p>
<p>It also fails to mention the slow but growing emergence of women-led mosques, such as the <a href="https://www.indy100.com/article/meet-one-of-the-woman-imams-preaching-at-londons-feminist-mosque--bybuPRWAfW">Inclusive Mosque Initiative</a> in London and plans by the <a href="https://www.womenledmosque.co.uk/about-muslim-womens-council/">Muslim Women’s Council in Bradford</a> to build a <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/worshipping-as-equals-plans-to-build-britains-first-women-led-mosque-a6933021.html">women-led mosque</a>. </p>
<p>The report also ignores that sexual minority groups and individuals (LGBT+) are often excluded from faith institutions. Groups such as <a href="https://imaanlondon.wordpress.com/">IMAAN</a> in London and <a href="http://al-jannah.proboards.com/">Al-Jannah</a> in Scotland should be acknowledged for the support they provide to individuals and their contribution to raising awareness and tolerance. </p>
<h2>A question of justice and equality</h2>
<p>In neglecting such contested issues surrounding gender and sexuality, the report risks homogenising all Muslim communities as deeply traditional and conservative. It also risks minimising the progressive changes that some Muslim women and men are currently engaged in towards developing more inclusive practices within their faith communities. </p>
<p>In attempting to explain why Muslim women experience barriers to participation stemming from their own communities, the report suggests a distinction between “religion” and “culture”. But by blaming this gender inequality on culture, it fails to recognise the importance of men’s interest in maintaining the status quo in order to serve their own privilege and control. The Muslim Women’s Network UK <a href="http://www.mwnuk.co.uk//go_files/resources/169296-PM%20Letter%20(Muslim%20Women%20Empowerment).pdf">has emphasised</a> these patriarchal structures as the main hindrance to women’s participation in faith communities. </p>
<p>This isn’t just a problem that affects Muslim women. Elsewhere in British life women are underrepresented in important political, economic and religious institutions ranging from the UK <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/british-election-results-record-number-women-parliament-623521">parliament</a> to business <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-race-for-boardroom-diversity-is-falling-at-the-first-hurdle-29866">boardrooms</a> and churches. But gender discrimination within these institutions is rarely excused as resulting from “culture” – as it is within Muslim organisations. Instead, such discrimination in wider society is talked about as relating to justice, equality and human rights for women.</p>
<p>Secularism does not guarantee gender equality, but neither does religion necessarily promote gender inequality and we must pay attention to specific contexts. By making <a href="https://theconversation.com/good-muslims-or-good-citizens-how-muslim-women-feel-about-integration-58796">comparisons</a>, such as between Christian and Muslim women, we can establish similarities and differences in experiences and views. Such comparisons are likely to reveal that, as the late MP Jo Cox said, there is <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2016/june/jo-cox-maiden-speech-in-the-house-of-commons/">more that unites us than divides us</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/80436/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Line Nyhagen receives funding from the European Union.</span></em></p>A new report on missing Muslims under-emphasises women’s growing participation in civil society.Line Nyhagen, Reader in Sociology, Loughborough UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/797702017-06-20T23:28:20Z2017-06-20T23:28:20ZBritain must address the pervasive ‘white noise’ against Muslims<p>On hearing the news that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/19/finsbury-park-attack-suspect-named-as-cardiff-resident-darren-osborne">Darren Osborne</a> was arrested for terror offences including attempted murder following an attack on a group of Muslims near the Finsbury Park Mosque, it would have been easy to jump to the conclusion that the act was motivated by far-right ideologies.</p>
<p>But, while it would appear Osborne <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/19/finsbury-park-attack-suspect-named-as-cardiff-resident-darren-osborne">followed</a> both Paul Golding and Jayda Francis – two leaders of the far-right group <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-923X.12118/abstract">Britain First</a> – on Twitter, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/19/finsbury-park-attack-suspect-named-as-cardiff-resident-darren-osborne">officials said the suspect had no concrete links</a> with any far-right group nor was he <a href="http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/london-mosque-attack-finsbury-park-suspect-was-not-known-to-security-services-a3568271.html">known to the security services</a>. The investigation will now turn to what motivated the attack, which has rightly been described as terrorism. </p>
<h2>The night out test</h2>
<p>For almost two decades, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1520857373/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_14?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE">my research</a> has shown how anti-Muslim views have become increasingly unquestioned and accepted in both the public and political discourse. In this respect, despite being roundly criticised by the right-wing press, Sayeeda Warsi, former co-chair of the Conservative party, was right when she said in 2011 that Islamophobia had passed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/jan/20/lady-warsi-islamophobia-muslims-prejudice">the dinner table test</a>. </p>
<p>I would go further and say that it had in fact passed the playground test, the workplace test, and the night out test. This is because those in positions of influence have historically been far too lenient in allowing things to be said about Muslims that they would not have tolerated were they said about others. </p>
<p>This “white noise” about Muslims and Islam was allowed to form a seedbed from which much of today’s Islamophobic discussion and rhetoric subsequently emerged. It has become the norm. In an overwhelmingly negative and dangerously stereotypical way, Muslims and Islam have routinely and repeatedly been positioned as the undeniable “other” to who we were, what we stood for, how we lived our lives, and what we held dear in terms of our values. In essence, Islamophobic notions and expressions were seen to “make sense” in Britain.</p>
<h2>Far-right airtime</h2>
<p>There can be little doubt that one of the main contributors to this “white noise” has been far-right groups such as the English Defence League (EDL) and Britain First. Without any constraints being placed on them, they were only allowed to become ever more confrontational and aggressive towards Muslims and mosques. The mainstream media gave them a platform from which to voice their explicit and divisive message about Muslims and Islam. </p>
<p>The day after the Finsbury Park attack, the former leader of the EDL, Tommy Robinson, was invited onto ITV’s <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/20/stirring-hatred-piers-morgan-rows-edl-leader-tommy-robinson/">Good Morning Britain</a>. While the show’s host, Piers Morgan, rightly chastised Robinson for the bigoted views he expressed, there can be no doubt that he was invited on to do exactly that. His track record shows that objectivity and sensitivity are not two of his better known qualities.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqwTegQh5m4">Robinson had posted a video</a> online shortly after the recent terror attacks in London and Manchester stating that “if we don’t get this issue dealt with, the British public will,” before adding: “They [the white British] will end up taking matters into their own hands”. </p>
<p>After the Finsbury Park Mosque attack, Robinson <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/19/former-edl-leader-tommy-robinson-condemned-finsbury-park-mosque/">said</a> it was one of “revenge”, a point reiterated by the leader of the South Wales National Front, Adam Lloyd. While denying any links to the suspect, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/19/finsbury-park-attack-suspect-named-as-cardiff-resident-darren-osborne">Lloyd said</a>: “Anyone with a right mind can see this is not a terrorist attack but a revenge attack.” </p>
<p>By stating that the attack was an act of revenge, both are suggesting that the attack was justified in that it was carrid out in return for the violence committed by Muslims. Not some Muslims, but all Muslims without differentiation: the core tenet of Islamophobia is clearly evident.</p>
<h2>A change in tone</h2>
<p>Following the Finsbury Park attack, Theresa May, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/finsbury-park-mosque-attack-latest-theresa-may-full-speech-van-crash-terror-a7797136.html">said</a> there had been “far too much tolerance of extremism in our country over many years – and that means extremism of any kind, including Islamophobia”. The prime minister said her government would act to “stamp out extremist and hateful ideology”.</p>
<p>A number of suggestions come to mind. First, May and her political colleagues could begin to think about Islamophobia away from the spectre of extremism. Islamophobia isn’t a form of extremism, nor is it synonymous with extremism. It doesn’t only occur after terror atrocities – Islamophobia affects the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-does-islamophobia-feel-like-we-dressed-visibly-as-muslims-for-a-month-to-find-out-66786?sr=9">day-to-day</a> lives of many Muslims going about their business – and it isn’t only perpetrated by those we might define as being extremists. </p>
<p>Second, they might consider the tone of the way they talk about Muslims in Britain. Rather than being used as scapegoats for the actions of criminals, Muslims need to be spoken about and referred to as being a part of who “we” are in the 21st century – and as partners rather than enemies. </p>
<p>Third, we need to limit the disproportionate airtime afforded far-right extremists such as Robinson. This is not to suggest that free speech should be curtailed, just that measures that seek to provide balance are assessed proportionately. The same needs to be applied to those celebrities, personalities and commentators who become famous solely for making bigoted public statements. These would include <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/media/2017/05/you-re-fired-last-katie-hopkins-sacked-lbc-after-final-solution-tweet">Katie Hopkins</a> among others. Hate should not be given preference or legitimacy.</p>
<p>Not allowing hateful messages about Muslims – or indeed any other group – to be broadcast or widely shared will help to ensure that the white noise is neither seen to be normal, nor justified. </p>
<p>Now is the time to take Islamophobia seriously.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79770/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Allen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fed by the far-right, Islamophobia continues to make it into the mainstream – where it’s eagerly received by some.Chris Allen, Lecturer in Social Policy, University of BirminghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/796822017-06-19T13:09:22Z2017-06-19T13:09:22ZFinsbury Park attack shows the harm Islamophobia continues to inflict on Muslim communities<p>Following the attack on a group of Muslim worshippers in <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-40323279">Finsbury Park</a> that left one person dead and 11 injured, Londoners have once again demonstrated their strength and unity in the face of violence. </p>
<p>Neil Basu, deputy assistant commissioner for the Metropolitan Police and senior national coordinator for counter terrorism, <a href="http://news.met.police.uk/news/incident-in-seven-sisters-road-247036">commended the response of the Muslim community</a>, who stopped the man suspected to have carried out the attack before turning him over to police. One man who apprehended the man <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-london-40323698/finsbury-park-attack-he-was-shouting-i-want-to-kill-all-muslims">told</a> the BBC that the individual had said he “wanted to kill Muslims”. </p>
<p>The Finsbury Park attack occurred just after the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/fairfax-loudoun-police-searching-for-missing-17-year-old-reported-to-have-been-assaulted/2017/06/18/02e379ac-5466-11e7-a204-ad706461fa4f_story.html?utm_term=.d0fd7c0f10f5">murder</a> of a teenage Muslim girl in Virginia and an attempted <a href="https://www.thelocal.se/20170614/man-with-alleged-nazi-links-admits-driving-his-car-into-refugee-demonstration-in-malmo-sweden">vehicular attack on Iraqi migrants in Sweden</a>. There is little doubt that this incident targeted the Muslim community, and while we cannot speculate as to what exactly motivated this violence, such an incident demands that we reflect on the harm that Islamophobia can cause.</p>
<h2>Heightened tensions</h2>
<p>The attack took place near Finsbury Park Mosque and the Muslim Welfare House on Seven Sisters Road, north London. Finsbury Park Mosque is infamous because the violent extremist, Abu Hamza, preached there before his arrest in 2004. Since then, under new leadership, the mosque and its leaders have made outstanding contributions to the local community, which has been <a href="http://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/news/finsbury-park-first-mosque-to-win-prestigious-national-award-1-3836208">recognised nationally</a>. Regardless of this recognition, parts of the press continue to demonise the mosque. </p>
<p>On the night of the attack, Mail Online <a href="https://twitter.com/IlhanNur/status/876607979163987973/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmic.com%2Farticles%2F180248%2Fdaily-mail-other-media-outlets-criticized-for-victim-blaming-muslims-for-finsbury-park-attack">referenced</a> Hamza – who was <a href="https://theconversation.com/abu-hamza-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-after-years-of-abusing-the-limits-of-free-speech-36087?sr=1">sentenced</a> to life in prison in the US in 2015 – in their headline for a report on the attack.</p>
<p>As a researcher on Islamophobia, I have had the opportunity to speak with members of the mosque’s leadership a few times. I recall a conversation I had with Mohammed Kozbar, then chairman of the mosque, in 2012 about a <a href="http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/pigs-head-attack-on-finsbury-park-mosque/">pig’s head</a> left on the gate to the mosque in 2010 and a hoax anthrax <a href="http://bioprepwatch.com/stories/510507971-anthrax-hoax-at-london-mosque">threat</a> sent to the mosque in 2011. He told me then that the community was feeling vulnerable and fearful. He reminded me as well that the media rarely, if ever, reported on the positive contributions made by members of the mosque.</p>
<p>In 2015, in a <a href="https://www.tellmamauk.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/tell_mama_2015_annual_report.pdf">report</a> for Tell MAMA (the UK’s primary watchdog for anti-Muslim hate) and the Metropolitan Police, I identified a cluster of nine anti-Muslim hate crimes and incidents targeting the mosque. The misplaced association of the congregation with violent extremism continues to make the site a target for hate. In this sense, it should sadly come as no surprise that Finsbury Park has been targeted once again.</p>
<p>Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred have demonstrably increased year on year. This is evident in police data that I have reviewed from <a href="https://tellmamauk.org/anti-muslim-hate-crimes-2012-2014-in-london-an-analysis-of-the-situation/">2012 to 2014</a> and in <a href="https://tellmamauk.org/category/reports/">reports by Tell MAMA</a> that include data from victims, charities, and police forces across the country. Between May 2013 and September 2016, 100 mosques <a href="https://tellmamauk.org/over-100-mosques-targeted-and-attacked-since-may-2013/">were targeted</a> and attacked. </p>
<p>Spikes of hate tend to follow attacks perpetrated by Muslims in the UK and abroad. These dynamics are evident in research on the attacks in Paris in 2015. The three atrocities that claimed lives in Westminster, Manchester, and London Bridge have led to a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/07/anti-muslim-hate-crimes-increase-fivefold-since-london-bridge-attacks">major increase in anti-Muslim hate</a> based both on police evidence and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/may/24/muslim-leaders-in-manchester-report-rise-in-islamophobic-incidents">reports</a> from Muslim communities. </p>
<p>These spikes are not localised and they affect Muslim communities across the country. In this sense, the way that Muslims are framed in reporting on terrorism directly harms communities by putting them in the cross-hairs of lone criminals, angry citizens, and extreme right-wing terrorists.</p>
<h2>Anti-Muslim hate plays a role</h2>
<p>This attack, as the Metropolitan Police were quick to note, has all the hallmarks of a terrorist incident, and it is being <a href="http://news.met.police.uk/news/incident-in-seven-sisters-road-247036">investigated as such</a>. More details about the attacker’s motivation is likely to emerge as the investigation continues. </p>
<p>There is a blurry line between hate crime and terrorism. And it is difficult to impute any kind of causality between far-right extremists and such an attack.</p>
<p>What is clear, however, is that irresponsible sensationalism and the growth of Islamophobia inspires fear, anxiety, and hate towards Muslims. A <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/home-affairs-committee/inquiries/parliament-2015/inquiry7/">report published in May</a> from the Home Affairs Select Committee showed that social media is an important medium for sharing and distributing these sentiments. Platforms such as Facebook and Twitter provide an environment in which cliques of users normalise and legitimate anti-Muslim ideologies.</p>
<p>It is important that the Finsbury Park investigation questions whether or not the attacker was influenced by extreme right-wing opinions disseminated online. However, it is also crucial to see if this individual was influenced by the press when he selected Muslims in the Finsbury Park area as his target.</p>
<p>Whether or not this incident is considered a terrorist attack should not distract us from the bigger problem: the failure of politicians and the media to effectively counter Islamophobia has caused Muslims to become targets of violence on their way home from prayer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79682/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bharath Ganesh's research at the Oxford Internet Institute receives funding for analysing the dynamics of online extremism as part of the VOX-Pol Network of Excellence, funded by the European Union. He was previously Senior Researcher at Tell MAMA.</span></em></p>A man has been arrested after driving a van into worshippers near a mosque in north London.Bharath Ganesh, Researcher, Oxford Internet Institute, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/704292016-12-14T14:01:41Z2016-12-14T14:01:41ZMuslims Like Us is more Geordie Shore than a real challenge to stereotypes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150107/original/image-20161214-32218-19gsd1d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ten Muslims but none with exactly the same beliefs or values.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In my filter bubble, the diversity of Muslims in Britain is already a given. It certainly doesn’t merit a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b085zxxk/muslims-like-us-episode-1">two-part “constructed documentary”</a> that brings ten Muslims with a liquorice all-sorts of dispositions together in one house, complete with camera crew and a producer who asks questions periodically to provoke interesting television.</p>
<p>But my bubble, as 2016 keeps reminding me, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-check-if-youre-in-a-news-echo-chamber-and-what-to-do-about-it-69999">is not the only bubble</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-12-12/what-is-a-muslim-asks-a-new-bbc-documentary">Muslims Like Us</a> wears its social importance like an ironic t-shirt slogan: many people in Britain are <a href="https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/g3s9r5ugah/BBCResults_160526_MuslimsLikeUs.pdf">still uncomfortable with Muslims</a>, and the programme is handcrafted to challenge stereotypes and make people think again.</p>
<p>This challenge is delivered using the factual entertainment format or, as it is still known despite the term’s limitations, “reality television” – though “reality” it is not. There is no reason for this group to come together in this way except that they have been invited to do so. The show has been labelled “Muslim Big Brother”, but that is only one venerable example, and Muslims Like Us lacks its competitive quality. The elegant euphemism <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1527476412462246">“structured reality”</a> describes what programmers are up to; dubbing it “Muslim Geordie Shore” might better capture both the extremity and banality of the programme.</p>
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<h2>No extremes please, we’re British</h2>
<p>The extreme is indeed on the menu in the house. Most <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/04/muslims-like-us-bbc-gives-big-brother-a-twist-out-go-evictions">advance press</a> hinged on the <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2277930/bbc-slammed-callous-irresponsible-for-reality-tv-show-giving-air-time-to-henchman-of-hate-preacher-anjem-choudary/">decision to include Abdul Haq</a>, a convert and former boxer who spent time with <a href="https://theconversation.com/banning-extremist-groups-is-more-political-symbolism-than-effective-counter-terrorism-70296">convicted hate preacher Anjem Choudary</a>. Abdul Haq tells the camera in the first episode that if the Home Office hadn’t seized his passport, he’d be in Syria right now.</p>
<p>Cue the outrage: why give this non-violent extremist the oxygen of publicity? Defending, producers said Abdul Haq is <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4023374/IS-supporter-BBC-important-voice-insists-TV-boss-Production-chief-defends-decision-include-despite-incredibly-offensive-comments.html">not the only one to hold the view</a>, and it would distort current debates not to include someone like him. Does Abdul Haq represent one tenth of Muslims in Britain? <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/terrorism-security/2015/0113/How-many-Muslim-extremists-are-there-Just-the-facts-please">No</a>, but the purpose is to demonstrate a range, not to satisfy a representative logic.</p>
<p>Abdul Haq comes into the house armed: he has leaflets outlining scriptural justifications for his expectations, such as no free-mixing between the sexes (a belief he displays at the opening of the first episode by presenting print outs of his interpretations of sayings from the prophet Muhammad to two of the women entering the house, sitting at the other end of the room, not making eye contact with them). He has a banner and leaflets for a <a href="http://www.muslimpopulation.com/library/Call%20and%20Caller/What%20is%20Dawah.pdf">da’wah stall</a>. But then, all the participants come armed. Naila comes with tank tops and plans for a night out at the karaoke bar. Ferhan comes with a beard brush and an awkwardly delivered script about being gay. If Abdul Haq is provocative, so is Nabil with his jacket supporting war against terror NGO CAGE and the Black Lives Matter t-shirt he wears as he calls the house to prayer. Certain viewers will be upset by these various displays. But they aid the performance: they signal how each resident has cast herself or himself for the cameras. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150111/original/image-20161214-32212-c9nwkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150111/original/image-20161214-32212-c9nwkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150111/original/image-20161214-32212-c9nwkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150111/original/image-20161214-32212-c9nwkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150111/original/image-20161214-32212-c9nwkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150111/original/image-20161214-32212-c9nwkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150111/original/image-20161214-32212-c9nwkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Abdul Haq spent time with convicted hate preacher Anjem Choudray.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC</span></span>
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<p>Though each resident has a measure of agency, editing puts control back in the producers’ hands. Whether it was deliberate or felicitous timing, the first person we meet is school teacher Mehreen with lavender nails and strappy yellow heels, and she is shortly joined by Abdul Haq. Throughout the first episode, they appear wary of and indignant to each other. They are the oil and water of the programme, and a reductive reading of Muslims Like Us suggests we are meant to choose between them.</p>
<p>In the intense second episode, clusters gather around them. Mehreen positions herself “in the middle” between groups that are either “clear-cut” or unsure of where the boundaries lie between halal and haram. But the people she gravitates to after a truly ridiculous fight triggered by onions are the “liberal” ones, the ones who hug freely.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this reading places the rest of the residents in the “orthodox” camp with Abdul Haq – who earlier in the episode condemned all Shi’a as “five-star grade-A kuffar” – an aggressive term for a non-believer. When Zohra, sitting across the table from him, says that her father’s friend was killed in a massacre at a mosque by people who shared that opinion, Abdul Haq weasels his replies, ultimately refusing to condemn sectarian killing. It was a genuinely shocking scene in an uncomfortable but often predictable programme. No one shared his views, and several intervened.</p>
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<h2>Artificial life</h2>
<p>So, better not to see Muslims in Britain as occupying one of two binary positions. They don’t. Nabil is accused of male privilege for dominating conversations, but he accuses Saba of white privilege for denying him the chance to speak about racism. Baraa tries to have a dialogue with a young man who says he’s part of the English Defence League outside a karaoke club, yet he doubts the compatibility of Ferhan’s sexuality and his faith. There is not one Islam or two Islams <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20685738?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">but ten</a>, and that’s just in one house in York.</p>
<p>This was the producers’ purpose – this, and to display <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1e8BjMW36CMNc4-qc9UNQku0blstZSzp5FMtkdlavqzc/edit#gid=0">Muslims condemning extreme views</a>. To that end, job done, but the vehicle leaves much to be desired. The artificiality of the enterprise contradicts the pose that the programme is a window into authentic Muslim lives. This is most apparent with the introduction of four non-Muslims. The staged encounters exacerbate tensions in a house full of people weary from fighting their corner in front of the cameras.</p>
<p>The presentation of their presence also undermines the project’s stated aim. The narrator relates that “the locals arrive for their second day of exploring the British Muslim experience”, but there is no single British Muslim experience. It may be that their impression, suggested on camera and reflected by many viewers on Twitter, is of a house full of people shouting. That’s not very British, is it? It is rather Geordie Shore, though.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70429/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Munnik has received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council.</span></em></p>Reality television is never going to properly portray the true experiences of Muslims in Britain.Michael Munnik, Lecturer in Social Science Theories and Methods, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/667862016-10-12T09:03:53Z2016-10-12T09:03:53ZWhat does Islamophobia feel like? We dressed visibly as Muslims for a month to find out<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141205/original/image-20161011-12023-rt9vpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Roberto.Trombetta/flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Britain is a nation of real diversity, tolerance and multicultural vibrancy. But for those who have suffered hate crime, it can be an alienating and terrifying place. Police figures have shown that <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/brexit-hate-crime-racism-reports-eu-referendum-latest-a7106116.html">hate crime surged</a> in the UK in the weeks following the EU referendum vote, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/sep/07/hate-surged-after-eu-referendum-police-figures-show">still remains</a> at significantly higher levels than a year ago. </p>
<p>But two covert research experiments we undertook showed that even before the vote in favour of Brexit, animosity and hatred towards Muslims was considerable. In two independent research projects, we spent four weeks each living as “visible” Muslims. </p>
<p>In 2015, Imran grew a beard, wore the <em>jubba</em> (male Islamic dress) and Islamic cap in public places in Birmingham, while in 2014 I wore the full veil – including <em>jilbab</em> (long dress), <em>hijab</em> (headscarf) and <em>niqab</em> (face veil) – in public places in Leicester. Our goal was to examine how our perceived identity as Muslims made us vulnerable to Islamophobic victimisation. The level of hatred and vitriol we experienced was startling. </p>
<h2>Imran Awan: wearing the jubba</h2>
<p>I am a Muslim but I am not visibly identifiable as one from my appearance. In 2015, while <a href="https://policypress.co.uk/islamophobia">interviewing some participants</a> as part of another research project, one of the male participants challenged my status as a non-visible Muslim. He told me: “Look Imran, you don’t dress as a Muslim, you simply don’t know how it feels like.” </p>
<p>In light of this, between August and September 2015, I decided to adopt a “visibly” identifiable Muslim identity in public spaces in order to research Islamophobia. I grew a beard and wore the <em>jubba</em> and Islamic cap as part of my daily routine in Birmingham.</p>
<p>My experiences of harassment and intimidation as a result of altering my appearance included name-calling, swearing and threats of physical violence. I was persistently either stared at or pointedly ignored in public, sneered and sworn at, and called a “f**** terrorist”. </p>
<p>In light of my Asian background, I also suffered verbal abuse such as “P**** terrorist”, indicating both Islamophobic and racist attitudes. I felt embarrassed, humiliated and in some cases started questioning whether I really was accepted in this country as a British Muslim. </p>
<p>On one occasion I parked my car and went to a nearby shop to get a cold drink as it was a very hot day. As I was walking towards the shop, I heard a loud noise from a car and two men shouting: “You terrorist scum”.</p>
<p>Another time, I was walking down a busy street and two teenage girls walked past me and shouted: “Get them out of our country.”</p>
<h2>Irene Zempi: veiled in public</h2>
<p>I am not a Muslim, I am an Orthodox Christian. For my <a href="http://library.college.police.uk/docs/theses/ZEMPI-unveiling-Islamophobia-2014.pdf">PhD research</a>, I examined the experiences of veiled Muslim women who had been victims of Islamophobia in public spaces. I did 60 individual and 20 group interviews with veiled Muslim women. </p>
<p>During the interviews, some participants suggested that I wear the veil in order to see for myself the level of abuse and hostility that they suffered on a daily basis. They felt this was important so that I could accurately interpret their stories, and represent their “voices” regarding the nature, extent, and impact of Islamophobic victimisation. I decided to wear the veil for four weeks as part of my daily routine in public places in Leicester. </p>
<p>My experiences included name-calling, swearing, threats of physical violence and derogatory forms of humour. Underlying all these forms of verbal abuse was a clear sense of anti-Muslim hatred and hostility, made apparent through the language used by the perpetrators. Typical examples of name-calling included “Muslim terrorist”, “suicide bomber” and “you lot are terrorists”, indicating that the perpetrators perceived veiled Muslim women as a security or terrorist threat. </p>
<p>The comments and gestures that perpetrators made were often threatening. On one occasion, I was walking on the street in Leicester when a white man came up close and started making explosion sounds at me. He asked me: “How many people have you lot killed in the name of Islam?” </p>
<p>I also experienced verbal and non-verbal sexual harassment in public. For example, unknown men on the street made sexual comments, often followed by sexual noises. In some cases, these individuals shouted: “Take it off!”</p>
<p>As these experiences demonstrate, the wearing of the veil carries connotations of gender inequality, religious extremism, lack of integration, and for some presents a threat to British and Western ideals. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141206/original/image-20161011-12034-k8pnpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141206/original/image-20161011-12034-k8pnpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141206/original/image-20161011-12034-k8pnpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141206/original/image-20161011-12034-k8pnpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141206/original/image-20161011-12034-k8pnpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141206/original/image-20161011-12034-k8pnpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141206/original/image-20161011-12034-k8pnpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Hate crime has a long-lasting impact.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ms Jane Campbell / Shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<h2>Tackling hate crime</h2>
<p>Our experiences were similar to the Islamophobic victimisation experienced by those men and women whose appearance is visibly Muslim. That said, we both realise it is not possible for “outsiders” to ever fully grasp the experience of being visibly Muslim and so vulnerable to Islamophobia on a daily basis. The emotional, psychological and physical impacts on them will be exponentially deeper.</p>
<p>We have made a number of new recommendations in a <a href="http://www.bcu.ac.uk/news-events/news/new-criminology-research-highlights-experiences-of-islamophobic-victimisation">short briefing</a> about our research, starting with the need for the public to intervene and assist victims of anti-Muslim hate crime. During our experiences we both saw bystanders who saw us being harassed but did not intervene. Victims of such hate crimes do not necessarily want physical action – just a phone call to inform the police what they have witnessed. </p>
<p>We also believe that frontline workers in the criminal justice system should be trained in how best to respond to victims who have reported a hate crime. They need to have better awareness of what hate crime is and how to help reassure victims. </p>
<p>For both of us, we were more likely to be victimised on public transport and on the street and so argue that public transport staff should be given appropriate training on how to help hate crime victims. Taxi drivers, restaurant owners and others who work at night should also be better linked in with crime prevention teams. A campaign of powerful stories and posters against hate crime could be used on trains and buses.</p>
<p>Much more work should be done to better understand the causes and drivers of anti-Muslim hatred. Public services such as the NHS need to help support those suffering emotional stress and anxiety after a hate crime. A local approach is necessary to see how best these services can be used to reassure targeted communities. </p>
<p>While conducting this social experiment, we were both subjected to verbal abuse, harassment and potential physical attacks. The EU referendum campaign was <a href="https://theconversation.com/mood-around-immigration-has-made-britain-a-nastier-place-61234">marked by</a> divisive, anti-immigrant and xenophobic rhetoric. In its wake, the number of Islamophobic attacks is likely to remain at high levels, with victims suffering in silence and perpetrators getting away with it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66786/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Two researchers were subjected to harassment and intimidation when they adopted Islamic attire in public.Irene Zempi, Director of the Nottingham Centre for Bias, Prejudice & Hate Crime, Nottingham Trent UniversityImran Awan, Associate Professor and Deputy Director of the Centre for Applied Criminology, Birmingham City UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/662482016-10-11T09:50:23Z2016-10-11T09:50:23ZIs Muslim sectarian violence a new reality for Britain?<p>Debates on Islam in the West have tended to centre on the compatibility of the values and lifestyles of Muslims and non-Muslims. But two recent murders in the UK have highlighted the need for debate on the compatability of those who hold different Islamic beliefs. As British Muslim communities become more religiously and ethnically diverse, sectarianism could also become more commonplace. </p>
<p>The victim of the first murder, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-36733744">Asad Shah</a>, a Glasgow shopkeeper, belonged to a group of Muslims called the Ahmadiyya. They do not believe that the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, was the last and final prophet – a view considered heretical by many Muslims and blasphemous by Sunni Muslims. Ahmadiyya believe that the religious leader Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who died in 1908, was the Mujaddid (renewer of faith), a Messiah sent to guide Muslims back to the true essence of Islam. Sunni Muslims do not share this belief.</p>
<p>In August 2016, Tanveer Ahmed, a Muslim taxi driver from Bradford <a href="http://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/tanveer-ahmed-jailed-27-years-11723829">was sentenced</a> to 27 years in prison for Shah’s murder. Ahmed was a <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Islamic_Britain.html?id=cgqGAAAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y">Sunni Barelwi</a> (a populist form of Islam), who said he’d murdered Shah because he had “<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-36733744">disrespected</a>” Islam. Ahmed had driven to Scotland to confront Shah about his beliefs. In a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-36732596">statement released</a> by Ahmed after his conviction, he asserted that the murder was in defence of the prophet: “Asad Shah disrespected the messenger of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him.”</p>
<p>Shah’s murder was <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-36733744">inspired</a> by another murder in another country some five years earlier – the assassination in Pakistan in 2011 of the governor of Punjab, Salmaan Taseer. The man convicted of the crime, Mumtaz Qadri, a police officer and Taseer’s former bodyguard, was sentenced to death and hanged in February 2016. Qadri had assassinated the governor for wanting to reform the Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and for supporting Asia Bibi (a Christian) who had been sentenced to death for insulting the Muhammad. Qadri believed that in murdering the governor he was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/29/pakistan-hangs-mumtaz-qadri-who-killed-blasphemy-law-governor">defending the honour of the prophet</a>. Qadri’s funeral was attended by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/01/funeral-pakistani-mumtaz-qadri-executed-salmaan-taseer">thousands of mourners</a> and today, he is revered by some Sunni Muslims as a martyr and <a href="http://www.dawn.com/news/1105513">a saint</a>.</p>
<p>The web of who is and who is not a true Muslim is complicated further by these transnational connections and linkages. Tanveer Ahmed was one of those who considered Mumtaz Qadri a martyr, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37032419">writing to him</a> in prison while Qadri was awaiting execution. Despite their violent acts, both men were Sunni Barelwis, ordinarily associated with the spiritual aspects of faith. They are often the ones persecuted for not being “proper Muslims” because their populist branch of Islam includes practices such as devotional Qawwali music and the following of saints. These rituals are considered out of the bounds of Islam by some groups of Muslims, such as Wahhabis and Salafis, followers of a more literalist strand of the religion.</p>
<p>Sunni Barelwis have been targeted in the UK too. In a second murder in 2016, a 71-year-old Barelwi originally from Bangladesh called Jalal Uddin was targeted by two men in their early 20s and murdered as he made his way through the streets of Rochdale. The assailants were <a href="http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199333431.001.0001/acprof-9780199333431">Salafis</a> who believed Uddin’s practice of <em>ta’widh</em> (amulets containing passages from the Qur'an used as protection against the evil eye) took him outside the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/26/imam-trial-jury-shown-photo-of-mohammed-hussain-syeedy-in-stab-proof-vest-jalal-uddin">fold of Islam</a>. One of the assailants was <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-37388073">sentenced to prison</a> for a minimum of 24 years, while the other suspect fled to Turkey and is believed to have crossed the border into Syria to fight for so-called Islamic State. </p>
<h2>Communities becoming more diverse</h2>
<p>That the perpetrator of the first murder was of the same faith as the victim in the second highlights the complexities of sectarian divisions within Islam. Barelwis revere Muhammad and have killed to defend his honour. Salafis detest such reverence as false idolatry and link Barelwi customs to black magic. This sectarianism within Islam in the West is a recent development and can be traced to two key factors: greater diversity of those Muslims settling in Europe and the mobilisation of sectarian divisions via the internet.</p>
<p>Long-term immigration into Western Europe is forcing Muslims to confront different ways of practising Islam. Muslim communities in the UK, for example, have changed rapidly in the past 20 years. Changes in patterns of migration have contributed to the development of a highly diverse Muslim population. Between the 1950s and the late 1980s, migration of Muslims to the UK <a href="http://www.palgrave.com/la/book/9781137275158">consisted of many</a> primarily economic migrants from a few former colonial countries such as Pakistani and Bangladesh who settled in specific industrial urban locations. </p>
<p>During the past 20 years, fewer migrants from a larger number of countries have made those urban centres their home. New Muslim migrants from countries as diverse as Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Bosnia and Nigeria share mosques, halal butchers, Islamic bookshops and community centres. This “<a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01419870701599465">superdiversity</a>” is not limited to Muslim migrants, but reflects a wider development of diverse types of migration patterns. </p>
<p>It is the pace and scale of difference in the past two decades that has had an impact here, accompanied by religious information and sectarian mobilisation on the internet. Unlike many of the pioneer generation of post-war Muslim migrants, their descendants are fully literate and able to access theological material, particularly online. And they are much more aware then their parents’ generation of the theological differences within <a href="http://www.palgrave.com/la/book/9781137275158">Islam</a>. There is a real internal debate going on within communities, often with a streak of intolerance which was not as pronounced 20 years ago.</p>
<p>Research on established Muslim communities has argued that the encounter with <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369183042000245606">other Muslims</a> in the diaspora is crucial in the development of the religion. Mixing with other Muslims can inspire theological debate and has the potential to bear significantly on religious identity and the process of transformation across generations. But as the two recent murders have shown, it can also lead to sectarianism and violence.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66248/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Parveen Akhtar has received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council and the British Academy </span></em></p>Two murders in 2016 shine a spotlight on divisions within British Muslim communities.Parveen Akhtar, Lecturer in Political Science, Aston Centre for Europe, Aston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.