Islamophobia makes British Muslims feel increasingly
'isolated' in their own country
By Maxine Frith, Social Affairs Correspondent
22 November 2004

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=585399

Muslims in Britain are suffering soaring levels of
Islamophobia and discrimination based on their faith,
rather than the colour of their skin, a report
published today says.

Experts warned that significant numbers of British
Muslims, particularly young men, are being
marginalised by the inequalities they suffer compared
with white and other ethnic groups. Of British
Muslims, 80 per cent said they had suffered
Islamophobia.

The study, published to launch Islam Awareness Week,
calls on the Government to do more to tackle
discrimination and engage the Muslim community in
society.

Sher Khan, a spokesman for the Muslim Association of
Britain, said: "There is a real potential for Muslim
people to become increasingly isolated within Britain,
which goes completely against the idea of trying to
create a more cohesive society. It is not going to be
possible to achieve integration unless the concerns of
British Muslims are addressed by the Government."

But he added: "It has to be a two-way process. British
Muslims have got to build bridges and be proactive in
terms of integrating with the rest of society."

The report, by the Open Society Institute, found that
since the 11 September attacks 80 per cent of Muslims
said they had been subjected to some form of
Islamophobia.

Two thirds of British Muslims felt they were perceived
and treated differently from other groups, and 32 per
cent said they had been discriminated against at
British airports because of their religion.

Between 2001 and 2003, the number of Asian people
stopped and searched under the Terrorism Act rose by
302 per cent, compared with 230 per cent for black
people and 118 per cent for whites. The report warned:
"The high number of stop-and-searches, and the gap
between the number of searches and actual arrests,
charges and convictions, is leading to a perception
among British Muslims of being unfairly policed, and
is fuelling a strong disaffection and sense of being
under siege."

One in three Muslims felt that the Government was
doing too little to protect the rights of different
faith groups in the UK.

The report also found that as well as suffering overt
verbal and physical attacks, British Muslims are among
the most economically and socially disadvantaged
groups in the country. They have the lowest employment
rate of any faith group, at 38 per cent.

The unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds runs at
17.5 per cent for Muslims, compared with 7.9 per cent
for Christians and 7.4 per cent for Hindus.

One in three Muslims of working age has no
qualification, the highest of any faith group. Four
out of 10 Muslim children live in overcrowded
accommodation, compared with 12 per cent of the
population as a whole.

Two-thirds of the Muslim population live in the 88
most deprived districts of England, and as a faith
group, they have the highest rates of illness.

There are 1.6 million Muslims in the UK, 3 per cent of
the population. The Muslim community is also one of
the youngest; one-third of those who follow the
religion are under the age of 16, compared with
one-fifth of the population as a whole. The average
age of Muslims is 28, 13 years younger than the
national average.

Years of social and economic disadvantage, coupled
with the suspicion they have come under after the
terror attacks in the US, has led to the increasing
demonisation and isolation of young men, researchers
say. The report concludes: "While policy is moving in
the right direction, progress is still not enough to
enable some of the real and rapid changes now
required.

"Muslim young men have emerged as the new 'folk
devils' of popular and media imagination, being
represented as the embodiment of fundamentalism.

"To be a British Muslim is defined solely in terms of
negativity, deprivation, disadvantage and alienation."

It calls for better representation of Muslims in
public life, such as the education and criminal
justice systems, and more targeted policies aimed at
narrowing the inequality gap between the Islamic
community and other ethnic groups.

The report also suggests offering Arabic as a modern
language option in schools, and including Muslim
civilisation in history lessons.

For the majority of Muslims, the issue of their faith
is more important than their ethnicity, the report
says.

The high commissioner of Pakistan urged British
Muslims to do more to fit into society. Dr Maleeha
Lodhi said better integration would help to "beat the
extremists" - in terms of both racism towards Muslims
and Islamic fundamentalism. "You can integrate without
assimilating, so you are part of British society," she
said.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'They were glaring at me and then picked up some
stones'

By Maxine Frith

Dr Sara Saigol, a hospital doctor, lives in Manchester
with her husband, Khalid Anis, a dentist, and their
three children.

She was born in Britain and had never experienced
Islamophobia until one terrifying afternoon last
summer. As she walked along a main road in Manchester
with her children, three men on a building site began
shouting "Paki" at her.

"They were glaring at me, and then started picking up
stones and looking as if they were about to throw them
at me," she said. "I had a double buggy and my
daughter skipping behind me, so I couldn't go very
fast.I was very intimidated and completely shocked.

"The majority of British society is nothing like that
but I couldn't believe that these men were doing this
on a main road, and in a multicultural place like
Manchester."

She went on: "It is difficult to know ... whether it
is racism based on the colour of my skin, or
Islamophobia based on the fact I was wearing a hijab,
but I think it was based on the way I was dressed.
There has been a change in the way Muslims are
perceived since 11 September 2001, and the way we are
portrayed."

Her husband agrees: "Our local mosque was vandalised
recently and people I know have been abused in the
street.

"The discrimination can be very subtle. If there is a
bomb attack, it is always described as Islamic
terrorism, but when Amir Khan was boxing for Britain
in the Olympics, he was described as being a Bolton
lad; nothing was mentioned about him being a Muslim.

"People ask me if it is possible to be British and a
Muslim. Of course it is. I find the question
ludicrous."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Report: 'Islamophobia' growing in Britain

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20041122-092047-5746r.htm

London, England, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Eighty percent of
Muslims living in Britain claim to have been
discriminated against based on their religion, a
report published in The Independent said Monday.

Published by the Open Society Institute to launch
Islam Awareness Week, the report called on the
government to do more to tackle discrimination and
engage the Muslim community in society.

The study said between 2001 and 2003, the number of
Asian people stopped and searched under the Terrorism
Act rose by 302 percent, compared with 230 percent for
black people and 118 percent for whites.

Two thirds of British Muslims felt they were perceived
and treated differently from other groups, and 32
percent said they had been discriminated against at
British airports because of their religion.

However, Sher Khan, a spokesman for the Muslim
Association of Britain, told the newspaper Muslims
bear some responsibility to address what the report
dubbed "Islamophobia."

"It has to be a two-way process. British Muslims have
got to build bridges and be proactive in terms of
integrating with the rest of society," Khan said.






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