Anti-Muslim Hostility – What Power Does Language Have?
Last month, the government published “Protecting What Matters: Towards a more confident, cohesive, and resilient United Kingdom” report which included a definition for Anti-Muslim Hostility. A non-statutory definition which seeks to define the prejudice, discrimination and violence that Muslim communities have long faced. There has been wide-ranging discussion around this, from questions around who was part of the consultation, to the impact it may have on free speech.
The definition is laid out over three paragraphs, and says in full:
- “Anti-Muslim hostility is intentionally engaging in, assisting or encouraging criminal acts – including acts of violence, vandalism, harassment, or intimidation, whether physical, verbal, written or electronically communicated – that are directed at Muslims because of their religion or at those who are perceived to be Muslim, including where that perception is based on assumptions about ethnicity, race or appearance
- “It is also the prejudicial stereotyping of Muslims, or people perceived to be Muslim including because of their ethnic or racial backgrounds or their appearance, and treating them as a collective group defined by fixed and negative characteristics, with the intention of encouraging hatred against them, irrespective of their actual opinions, beliefs or actions as individuals.
- “It is engaging in unlawful discrimination where the relevant conduct – including the creation or use of practices and biases within institutions – is intended to disadvantage Muslims in public and economic life.”
What interests me more is not in what is said, but in what is missing. Two words in particularly – Islamophobia and racism. The United Nations uses the term Islamophobia, and it is marked with the International Day to Combat Islamophobia. What has this word become loaded with? What does it mean to people? How have global issues which are framed within the Muslim identity- the genocide in Palestine, the war in Iran, the civil war in Sudan – impacted how Muslims are viewed in the UK?
And secondly, the word racism is interestingly not used, although Muslims are not a “race”, they are racialised. Islamophobia/anti-Muslim hostility is rooted in racism and the othering of people. In Britain there is still such a struggle and resistance to accept the everyday manifestations of racism faced by people of colour. It is not simply in the subtleties of language, presumptions of our past and present, shifts in body language, inappropriate questions cloaked in curiosity, and the list goes on. This isn’t restricted to the individuals and the everyday – this is institutional and systemic. It is easy for us to suggest that anti-Muslim hostility is simply an issue of the far-right. However, this is deep-rooted in our politics, education system, prison system, media, books and the news. This is in the questioning of Muslims by journalists, the surveillance of Muslim children and families, the eerie music played during a scene of Muslims praying in a film, this is about politicians brazenly speaking negatively about community Ramadan events, this is about social media algorithms pushing extreme views. This is about the embedding and normalisation of language, culture and mindset that prejudices and discriminates against Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim.
I am glad that a definition was arrived at, but we need to ask: what’s next? There has been funding allocated for social cohesion programmes and increased security for mosques and community spaces. But how do we undo the damage that has already been done, and continues? How do we ensure that anti-Muslim hostility is met with statutory consequences? How do we teach a generation of young people to develop respect and acceptance- not just of each other but also of themselves? How do we build a culture of allyship, understanding and respect?
For me, the answer is always in learning and developing our critical thinking skills. And learning about anti-Muslim hostility requires us to understand our colonial history. Consider the articulation of communities and people from different parts of the world, Shakespeare for example referenced people from different parts of the world in his plays. Reading Orientalism by Edward Said gave me an introduction and contextualised the experiences of diaspora and faith communities. Said argued that the portrayal of the “Orient” was seen through “a veil of prejudice” and that this framework and patterns continue in modern society. In GLL’s anti-racism training, we reflect upon the historical context of racism in the UK today because we have to ensure that we are equipped with the knowledge and understanding of these issues in order to create positive change.
– Reflection by Faaria Ahmad, Head of Global Learning London
