Islamophobia In The World

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The United Nations investigator on racism on Friday condemned a rising trend of Islamaphobia, especially in Europe, where he said it was being exploited by some right-wing political parties.

Doudou Diene, U.N. special rapporteur on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, also accused Switzerland's most popular party, the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), of inciting hatred.

He urged the withdrawal of the party's controversial campaign poster calling for expulsion of foreigners who commit serous crimes, depicting three white sheep booting out a black sheep under the headline "For the Security of All".

"In the current context, Islamaphobia constitutes the most serious form of religious defamation," Diene said in a speech and report to the U.N. Human Rights Council, whose 47 member states were holding a debate on religious defamation.

More and more political leaders and influential media and intellectuals were "equating Islam with violence and terrorism," and some were seeking to "silence religious practices by banning the construction of mosques", Diene said.

Pakistan, speaking for the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), called the rise of Islamaphobia "alarming".

"Recent acts of defamation in the shape of blasphemous sketches in Sweden and posters in Switzerland reinforce this conclusion. Such blasphemy should not be encouraged in the name of freedom of expression," Pakistan's envoy Masood Khan said.

He said the 57-nation OIC, which represents 1.3 billion Muslims, condemned terrorism in all its forms.

"The international media continues to use the misguided actions of a small extremist minority as an excuse to malign the entire Muslim world, as well as the religion of Islam," he said.

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Diene, a Senegalese lawyer, said in his 21-page report to the Council that Islamaphobia had grown since the Sept 11 2001 attacks on the United States.

Worldwide, an increasing number of traditional democratic parties were "resorting to the language of fear and exclusion, scapegoating and targeting ethnic or religious minorities in general, and immigrants and refugees in particular", he said.

In Europe, Muslims faced growing difficulties to establish places of worship and carry out their religious practices such as dietary regimens and burials, according to the U.N. envoy.

"Political parties with open anti-Islamic platforms have joined governmental coalitions in several countries and started to put in place their political agendas. In sum, Islamophobia is in the process of permeating all facets of social life."

The Swiss SVP/UDC has launched a referendum to ban construction of minarets in the Alpine country, home to 350,000 Muslims. A similar move is underway in Cologne, Germany.

Switzerland's delegation defended its system of direct democracy, where multiple issues are put to referendum each year, saying it showed great political transparency although "sometimes with exaggerated, regrettable views being expressed".

"The Swiss government has repeatedly stated its commitment to fight racism and the Swiss government will continue to take a clear stance against all forms of discrimination and xenophobia," Swiss ambassador Blaise Godet said.

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Hey people...you want to become famous and get attention?

Well, it seems that one of the easiest way to fame in 2008 is Islam bashing.

Recent attempts at fear mongering, hate, and uneducated characterizations of Islam include the newly released Dutch films, "Fitna the Movie: Geert Wilders' film about the Quran" and the cartoon, "The life of Mohammad," by Iranian-Dutch politician Ehsan Jami. Both of these directors are public figures in the Netherlands.

It seems that anyone who once dreamed of gaining fame can simply generalize Islam as a hateful religion and make negative and offensive comments.

I have to point out that criticism of people's ways is fair. People make mistakes and go astray. We intrude on one another's forms of pleasures and step on one another's rights as human beings. And pointing out the flaws of others for the sake of devaluing them is not a difficult task.

To be constructive, however, is a much more daunting but valuable endeavour, especially for artists and public figures who want to practice freedom of speech and make the world more livable for all human-kind.

I believe that it is unfortunate and shameful on the part of weak artists who strive to gain attention under the pretext of freedom of speech.

I celebrate freedom of speech, but I speak within the realm of constructive and positive feedback. I speak within the realm of love, of dialogue, of discussion.

I have met some Muslim fanatics in my time at various Mosques and religious centres. However, instead of making fun of them and offending them, I have tried to understand them and make them listen to my interpretations of the Quran.

I believe that the distinction is the difference between freedom of speech and "freedom of hate speech."

I believe that Islam, after all, is simply a way of life. Bringing up fanatical and misguided interpretations of any way of life - including Islam - and using those exceptions as a fear mongering tool is the undertone of Islam-bashers' new line of business: they sell hatred, not love; they want to separate people instead of bringing us together.

If the Dutch film makers were really educated intellectuals who sought to make the world a better place; and if they truly wanted to express themselves, I suggest that they should have simply sought to take the best things out of every religion and every philosophy and changed their own selves instead of bashing others' potential for wrong doings.

I will change the world by changing myself.

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Islamophobia: Insight Into the Prejudice Muslims and the Religion of Islam Face in the United States

By: Karen L. Hernandez-Andrews

Prejudice sentiment in America is a very delicate subject. With so many issues surrounding prejudice today, involving so many different people from varied backgrounds, it seems to always be at the forefront of our society. From the election of our first African American President, to the immigration issues surrounding legal and illegal immigrants in to the United States, prejudice has changed, increased, and in some cases, decreased, around many groups of people.

Before moving on, it is important to have a common, simple definition of prejudice. Prejudice is defined as, “Unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, especially of a hostile nature, regarding a racial, religious, or national group.” When referring to this definition, prejudice in America began long ago, with the colonizers who first came over from across the Atlantic. Beginning with slavery; then with the decimation of the Native American people, forcing them from their land to live on reservations; to segregation of blacks; to internment camps of Asian-Americans during World War II - the groups that faced and face prejudice today are Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Latin Americans and many other immigrant groups. The violence these groups faced and still face today, range from lynchings, to mass killings, to blatant hate crimes involving not only death by guns, but also by rape, torture, dragging deaths, bombs, and burning people alive.

Since the 1970’s, when America began to see the first massive influx of immigrant Muslims, many who fled Afghanistan after the Russian invasion in 1979 - the fear of and prejudice against Muslims and the religion of Islam has existed in the United States. With different clothing, a different color of skin, different foods, different cultural customs and several different languages, it is safe to say that this fear, now coined as “Islamophobia,” has existed in America for quite sometime, and since 9/11, Islamophobia is at its highest awareness ever.

Many may wonder - what is Islamophobia? Where does this term stem from? The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) states, “Islamophobia refers to unfounded fear of and hostility toward Islam. Such fear and hostility leads to discrimination against Muslims, exclusion of Muslims from mainstream political or social process, stereotyping, the presumption of guilt by association, and finally, hate crimes. In twenty-first century America, all of these evils are present and in some quarters tolerated.” CAIR continues by stating, “Islamophobia as a term and as a phenomena gained currency in part due to the popular thesis developed by Francis Fukuyama and Samuel Huntington that argued about an impending clash of civilization between Islam and the West. When 9-11 happened, the people, already predisposed to viewing Islam with suspicion, jumped on this bandwagon and through a multitude of outlets have been successful in creating a climate of extreme prejudice, suspicion and fear against Muslims.” CAIR further explains that Islamophobia has resulted in the general and unquestioned acceptance of the following:

 Islam is monolithic and cannot adapt to new realities.
 Islam does not share common values with other major faiths.
 Islam as a religion is inferior to the West. It is archaic, barbaric and irrational.
 Islam is a religion of violence and supports terrorism.
 Islam is a violent political ideology.

The fear and prejudice of Muslims and the religion of Islam that grips America is a fear that is brought on by many existing factors. It is my opinion that mass media is one of the biggest parties in the negative portrayal of Islam and Muslims. When I refer to mass media, I am referring to everything from news shows, to television shows, films, images and even the internet. The fact is that it is almost impossible to not turn on the television every night and hear of yet again, another terrorist attack or suicide bomber. What we don’t hear along with this report is the moderate Muslim speaking out that day, condemning terrorism, in many places around the United States and the world, issuing statement after statement – statements that are rarely and mostly never carried in the news. My reaction to this is that reporting on the existing “War on Terror” and the killing of innocent people in the name of religion is much more “sexy” than the Imam, the CAIR representative, or the Muslim woman activist talking about how Islam does not justify the killing of anyone - ever.

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Unfortunately there are many organizations and groups that support and encourage Islamophobia in the US. An event sponsored by one of these groups is held on college campuses around the nation. Called, Islamofacist Awareness Week, this is an in-your-face event, meant to slur, promote hate and exacerbate prejudice about Muslims and the religion of Islam. Sponsored by the David Horowitz Freedom Center – which is also the creator of the Terrorism Awareness Project, which formed in response to 9/11, the Terrorism Awareness Project was created as the umbrella organization to run Islamofacist Awareness Week. In regard to this, The Freedom Center states: “After conferring with students from several universities who were concerned about both the ignorance about the objectives of Islamic fascism among their fellow students and also the “unholy alliance” between campus leftists and jihadists seeking to undermine the War on Terror, the Freedom Center has launched a Terrorism Awareness Project.” It further explains the project by stating, “This Project will provide conservative students with an intellectual toolkit containing all the elements of the truth about jihad: a speakers’ bureau featuring figures such as Steve Emerson, Daniel Pipes and Robert Spencer; DVDs of films such as “Obsession” that dramatically underline the threat we face; printed material about the Islamists’ objectives and the successes they have had in penetrating Western culture and its institutions. The Terrorism Awareness Project will work in cooperation with Students for Academic Freedom, which now has chapters in over 150 college campuses, to help conservative student activists to demand equal time—in the classroom as well as at campus-wide events—whenever the left presents its propaganda about the war and the intentions of those who regard America as ‘the Great Satan.’”

On the Terrorism Awareness Project website, in the About Us section, it states, in part: “The war against the Islamic jihad and its religion of terror will be decisively won if we both understand the nature of the threat that confronts us and have the will to face it. The Terrorism Awareness Project will assist in achieving both these objectives. Under its banner, college students across America can take their place in defending America, which is under siege both abroad and at home.”

Last October, seventy-nine universities (some as far as the United Kingdom), took part in Islamofacism Awareness Week. In the update available online, the Terrorism Awareness Project states: “Our two previous IFA Weeks included demonstrations that involved thousands of college students, and it became evident how deeply embedded pro-Islamist Muslim student groups had become and how influential they were in making sure there was no meaningful dialogue on the War on Terror in our universities. Therefore, the Terrorism Awareness Project decided to focus Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week III on how to ‘Stop the Jihad on Campus.’ In particular, we wanted to educate others about danger represented by the growing power of the Muslim Student Association, a group which, as documents captured by the FBI have shown, is part of a network of ‘front groups’ established in this county two decades ago by the Muslim Brotherhood (godfather organization to al Qaeda) to wage a ‘stealth jihad’ of subversion against American institutions paralleling the armed jihad it was waging against American troops abroad.”

Prejudice is defined as, “Unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, especially of a hostile nature, regarding a racial, religious, or national group.” As illustrated above, the prejudice that Muslims face in the United States is “Islamophobia” at its worst. Islamophobia is real; it is tangible; it is ugly. Until we, as human beings, see beyond the labels, see beyond our own fears, and see beyond our own insecurities and view our neighbors as human beings regardless of the color of their skin and their religion, our society will remain in this status quo of prejudice and dehumanization. I find that unacceptable. I hope you do as well.

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Karen Hernandez-Andrews graduated from Andover Newton Theological School in 2007 with an M.A. Theological Research in Christian-Muslim Understanding. Her thesis entitled, Christians and Muslims: Their Tumultuous Historical Relations, Their Theological Differences and Their Inherent Beliefs—What Does This Mean for Our Future? includes her field work in India where she lived for two months in the Summer of 2006 researching Christian-Muslim relations in Banaras. Karen graduated from Wellesley College as a Davis Scholar in 2005 with a B.A. in Peace and Justice Studies with a concentration in Islam. At Wellesley she studied Islam extensively and wrote her thesis on Al Qaeda and how they misuse religion for political gain. Currently, Karen teaches and lectures at colleges, high schools and churches, as well as with various organizations about Islam, global Christian-Muslim understanding and relations, Al Qaeda, Theological responses to terrorism, Islamophobia, and Discrimination Against Muslims Post 9/11. In March, Karen traveled with a peacemaking delegation from Christian Peacemaker Teams to Israel and Palestine where she learned first hand about the efforts on the ground to end the conflict. Karen has authored and published an academic paper for the Women’s United Nations Report Network entitled, Talaq, Talaq, Talaq-Women Suffering In India Because of the Misuse of Triple Talaq, and she is also working on publishing a curriculum on Islam. In September, Karen begins work on a Master of Sacred Theology in Religion and Conflict at Boston University School of Theology, where she plans to develop a theory on theology and conflict that has yet to be explored. In her “spare time” Karen is a choreographer, loves to row, hike, swim and more, loves spending time with her daughter.