Islamophobia, a grave challenge

Munaza Kazmi

Initially, Islamophobia is a prejudice, aversion, hostility, or hatred towards Muslims and encompasses any distinction, exclusion, restriction, discrimination, or preference against Muslims that has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.

April 29, 2013 Mohammed Saleem, an elderly man of 82 from England, was stabbed to death on his way home after prayers by a PavloLapshyn who later planted bombs outside mosques.

In September 2017, Zainab Hussain, a Muslim mother from Leicester, was taking her daughter to school when Paul Moore ran over her with his car. Moore then proceeded to hit an eight-year-old girl in a hijab, before returning to the scene where Zeinab lay injured on the floor and running over her again.

Stories such as these are obvious indicators of Islamophobia in our society. However, there are also cases that are much harder to detect. Let’s say, the CV that is passed over because it boasts a Muslim sounding name, or the British-Pakistani man who is repeatedly assumed a threat at the airport on the basis of his beard, or a young lady in American society facing harassment only because of wearing hijab, or  the child who feels unable to ask questions in class because she is worried she may be swept up into the apparatus of PREVENT.

Till date, Islamophobia remains a contested term amongst political and academic debates. However, some deny Islamophobia exists at all, and others resist attempts to define it for fear that it would be elevated to such a position that it cannot be ignored.

Islamophobia is not just hate crime and abuse, but must also it excludes Muslims from all realms of civic life, whether that be through workplace discrimination, or through institutional Islamophobias that silence Muslim voices within democratic debates.

Today 1.3 billionMuslimslives in this world, out of which millions of Muslims are living in different countries of the world, in European countries, in America asminorities. Islamophobia since 9/11 has grown at an alarming pace, from centuries human communities are living together, and it should be understanding but islamophobia is creating a division.

Muslim women wearing Hijab, however hijab is not a strange practice, historically it was practiced in different dynasties by ladies of honor, but today it has become an issue in some countries. A woman can take off her clothes in some countries but cannot put on some more clothes. A man with name starting from Muhamad or having beard is considered as threat, why? because of Islamophobia after 9/11, since the west had blamed a Muslim group in the suicide attack, however why they had forgotten before 9/11 there were a lot many of suicide attacks being practiced by a Hindu gang, then why only Muslim name got attached with terrorism.

Because certain western leaders equated terrorism with Islam, Islamic terrorism and Radical Islam. And on top it is the failure of Muslim leadership in addressing this issue, instead they adopted a different aspect of modern Muslim, by wearing western clothes and speaking western language.

In London, New York or any other place, how a Muslim is being distinguished, a modern Muslim and a radical Muslim. What is this two types of Muslims and two types of Islam, when there’s only one Islam, Islam of Prophet Muhammad PBUH, who laid the foundation of first welfare state Medina, where equality was made the principle rule, where woman and widows had given proper rights, where slavery was ended, where justice was ensured, where taxes were imposed on rich and care was guaranteed to poor, where caste color and creed had no dictionary, whose own wife was a prosperous business woman, who stood up when her daughter step in and the west talk of women slavery.

Muslims had been marginalized in west andwe all know marginalization leads to radicalization, some people who end up as militant in Syria, Kashmir or Palestine are marginalized Muslims. All human community is liberal, or radical it’s not Islam, Hinduism or Judaism, since every religion teaches compassion, love and peace that differentiates us from animal kingdom.

I should point out it’s the fault of Muslim leadership of not letting the world for our sentiments for religion and Prophet P.B.U.H, it was only Prime Minister Imran Khan who took this responsibility and courage to speak in United Nations for the issue of Islamophobia.

Today, the UN has finally recognized the grave challenge confronting the world: of Islamophobia, respect for religious symbols and practices and of curtailing systematic hate speech and discrimination against Muslims, only it needs to understand by the very commoner.

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Munaza Kazmi holds MPhil in Management Sciences (Bahria University Islamabad, 2020). She’s a travel writer, an author, & co-author of scientific contributions in national & international publications. Her main areas of research include tourism & quality management.

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