Racial and Religious Hate Crime
Hate crime is in many ways the most overt, visible, and undeniable symptom of the Islamophobia prevalent across certain segments of society. Over recent years, British Muslims have suffered from increasing levels of hate crime in conjunction with seemingly obsessive demonisation in the media and an increasing presence of online hate speech on social media platforms. Major socio-political events, such as terror attacks and the EU referendum, often mobilise acts of hostility towards Muslims and the impacts of these crimes are long-lasting, with many victims left feeling anxious and fearful for their safety.
In tackling anti-Muslim hate crimes, it is important to address the disparity in protections afforded by the Racial and Religious Hate Crime Act, 2006, on grounds of race verses the protections afforded to religious groups. At the same time, effective strategies and primary legislation need to be enacted to tackle online hate speech whilst protecting freedom of speech.
Youth and Education
Islamophobia in the education system is a serious problem which impacts Muslim children and their development in a wide variety of ways. From being bullied for to their faith, to being stigmatised and reported under the PREVENT strategy for views they may hold, and to being constantly questioned on their adherence to (thus far ill-defined) “British Values”, Muslim children are struggling to navigate this complex maze.
Meanwhile, controversies such as the apparent “Trojan Horse” affair and Amanda Spielman’s recent proposals to question schoolgirls who wear the hijab highlight the obsessive scrutiny and problematisation of Muslims within the sphere of education. The impacts of these experiences can be long-term, damaging their ability to achieve success in the employment sphere and inhibiting their participation in wider civic society and the political arena.
Economic Exclusion: Islamophobia and the Labour Market
It is necessary to examine Islamophobia in terms of its ability to economically exclude Muslims within the labour market, thereby furthering socio-economic divides. Indeed, numerous studies in recent years have researched the failure of Muslims to progress and reach levels of success in the workplace which their non-Muslim counterparts enjoy. These studies have pointed to a combination of Islamophobia, racism and discrimination as reasons for Muslims to be paid less than their non-Muslim counterparts, less likely to be in work, less likely to be in skilled and professional occupations, and less likely to break through the glass ceiling to access top level executive positions.
Securitising Muslim Identities: Security and Counter-Terror
The lens through which Muslims are repeatedly and forcefully portrayed as security threats is a narrative desperately in need of recalibration. As such, the damaging consequences that result from misguided policies predicated upon Islamophobic assumptions and discourses is an area that is in need of immediate address.
Processes of securitising Muslim identities have intersected with vague definitions of “extremism”, “radicalisation”, and “Fundamental British Values” to result in damaging policies such as the PREVENT strategy, which are based on flawed evidence and serve to stigmatise Muslims and marginalise their voices within democratic debates.
Crime, Policing and the Criminal Justice System
Institutional Islamophobia relating to discriminatory practices ingrained within the Criminal Justice System is particularly significant because of both its disruption to the lives of many Muslims and for its long-term consequences to their future social engagement as equal members of society.
While noteworthy and commendable steps have been made to improve equalities in the Criminal Justice System since the publication of the Macpherson report in 1999, Muslims and ethnic minorities remain over-represented and demonstrate lower levels of trust in the system. Furthermore, homogeneity within the Criminal Justice system needs to be examined as conduit for potential biases and as a hindrance to understanding the experiences of Muslim offenders, thereby obstructing meaningful strategies to approach Muslim socio-economic mobility and the driving forces behind criminality. As such, Islamophobia must be examined as a mechanism potentially maintaining inequalities at all levels of the Criminal Justice System.
Political Representation and Exclusion
Islamophobia should be understood as a mechanism which marginalises and excludes Muslims from being able to fully participate in social, political and civic life. While barriers have been broken by individuals such as Mohammad Sarwar, Sayeeda Warsi, Naz Shah, Yasmin Qureshi, Shabana Mahmood and Rushanara Ali, to name but a few, Muslim representation of 2% of the House of Commons still lags far behind what is proportional considering the population of British Muslims, which stands at 4.4% according to the 2011 census.
Furthermore, divisive security strategies such as PREVENT have been utilised by certain groups (such as the Henry Jackson Society and its project Student Rights) to shut down Muslim voices, particularly on university campuses which are intended to be the epicentres of critical debate and engagement of ideas. The result is that young Muslims in particular are actively discouraged from being politically active and engaging with the debates that are integral to a democratic society.
Moreover, it is essential that the Government’s policy of disengagement with credible mainstream Muslim organisations and be urgently reversed so that the relationship between Government and Muslim communities may be recalibrated.
Public Exclusion, Integration and Minority Rights
Britain has always claimed to embody a proud history of supporting multiculturalist principles advocating respect and celebration of the multitude of diverse ethnic and religious identities that have led themselves to a British identity built upon pluralism and collaboration. However, recent years have seen simmering resentments and debates surrounding national identity and a perceived “ghettoisation” of minorities.
In line with the development and consequences of moral panic, these fears have culminated in calls for the UK to reassess its policies towards multiculturalist principles. The result is an increasingly restrictive integration strategy, within which examples of Islamophobic assumptions and institutional racism can be readily witnessed regarding the treatment of Muslim communities.
The Government’s current approach towards integration heavily relies on the highly criticised 2016 Casey Review. As a consequence, its analysis and suggested strategies are inherently tainted by the same flawed evidence and lack of understanding. This has resulted in the infiltration of Islamophobic narratives and assumptions which have directed the development of this strategy, and therefore, limit its potential to make a positive difference.
Of particular concern are its overlap with counter-terror strategies, its prescribed views of “acceptable Islam”, the de-contextualisation of challenges facing minorities, and an absence of introspection concerning Government strategies such as “hostile environment” policies, austerity, cuts to healthcare and policing, or the cancellation of Leveson Part II.
Furthermore, despite the protections afforded by the ICCPR, the ECHR and the Human Rights Act, 1998, recent years have witnessed numerous controversies, scandals, and vicious public debates that have challenged Muslim religious practice and observance in the UK context. Particular public controversy has surrounded the right to halal meat, the building of mosques, and the right to religious dress, amongst other topics of public interest. Such debates demonstrate how religious practices, whilst protected by national and international legislation, can still be contested and the discourse around them used as a proxy argument to marginalise minority communities and Muslims specifically.
The model to tackle Islamophobia
To solve a society-wide problem, a combination of legislative change, Government and industry initiatives, Muslim community empowerment, and wider community engagement is required. As such, MEND humbly proposes the following initiatives and policy changes to tackle the causes, driving forces, and impacts of Islamophobia,
Press regulation: We call on policy makers to ensure the commencement of the second part of the Leveson inquiry. Furthermore, Leveson II should place explicit emphasis on including an investigation of Islamophobia in the press as a mandatory requirement.
Counter-Terror legislation: It is imperative that the Government commits to an independent review of PREVENT and all counter-terrorism legislation enacted since 2000 with a view to curbing the encroachment of counter-terrorism policies on civil liberties.
Incitement to Religious Hatred legislation: Considering the disparities between the protections afforded for racial and religious hatred, it is essential to review the 2006 Racial and Religious Hatred Act with a view to strengthening legal protection afforded to religion and equalise it with those granted to race.
Primary legislation to deal with social media offences and online hate speech: The Government should consider primary legislation to deal with social media offences and work with social media companies to protect free speech while developing an efficient strategy to tackle online hate speech online.
Government and industry initiatives
Racial and religious equality: In the context of current Brexit negotiations, attention needs to be given to supporting the principles of the EU Equal Treatment Directive to advance protection against discrimination on the grounds of religion to education, healthcare, housing, access to goods and services and social protection, within UK law post-Brexit.
Employment: The barriers to Muslim economic empowerment is an area that needs to be tackled by both governmental and industry initiatives designed to address religious, racial and gendered discrimination in the workplace through targeted interventions at all stages of recruitment, retention and promotion, including through the use of name-blind applications.
Media and broadcasting: There needs to be emphasis on promoting positive and normalised images of Muslims within media and broadcasting. It is also essential that support is given to educative and industry initiatives designed to attract Muslim and BAME individuals into the spheres of journalism and broadcasting.
Public exclusion: It is imperative that public figures show greater maturity and responsibility when discussing integration debates and take care not to cause hysteria for the sake of political popularity and agendas. Meanwhile, especially considering the unclear status of human rights commitments within Brexit negotiations, we must ensure that the tenants of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act are preserved within UK law post-Brexit.
Crime and policing: Areas in need of government support include:
- Tackling the high number of Muslim prisoners through schemes to facilitate rehabilitation, cut re-offending and develop pathways for social inclusion.
- Launching research into the underlying reasons for the disproportionately high numbers of Muslim prisoners, including issues of socio-economic deprivation and structural issues within the judicial system.
- Supporting educative and industry initiatives to attract BAME individuals into the police force.
Muslim community empowerment
The Government’s current disengagement policy is a clear barrier to British Muslim’s participation in social and political life. It is essential that the Government mends its broken relationship with Muslim communities by committing to engaging with and listen to a wider spectrum of representative Muslim grassroots organisations, such as MEND and MCB.
Muslims themselves have a responsibility to ensure that they are engaging with processes of democracy to overcome the challenges they face. As such, there are a number of ways in which British Muslim communities may be empowered to play their full role as civic actors. Strategies to achieve this include:
- Supporting educative and industry initiatives designed to attract Muslims and BAME individuals into the spheres of politics, the civil service, media, and broadcasting.
- Placing greater emphasis on educational programs aimed at empowering minority communities to be actively engaged within politics and media.
- Encouraging grassroots and community-led movements to overcome barriers to reporting hate crime and encourage maximum reporting of Islamophobic incidents to the police.