Guest Post - Lifting the cloak of Muslim invisibility in Brent; Tackling the Hindutva threat

Guest post by Khalida Khan

 

In recent weeks, an attempt was made by the Indian Hindutva movement, who have a fascist anti-Muslim ideology, to provoke communal disturbances in Wembley. The abysmal way this was handled by the local MP, police and council is a textbook of how authorities are being manipulated by a far-right organisation trying to import Hindutva into the UK.

 

Whilst scrolling Twitter, I was extremely disturbed to see a poster, mobilising Muslims to a demonstration outside a Hindu Temple on Ealing Road.

 

 The fake poster

 

Even at first glance the poster seemed suspect. It allegedly came from an organisation called ‘Apna Muslims.’ In Urdu this is incorrect use of language and bad grammar, and it contained many other inconsistencies which convinced me this was fake.

 

I searched this account to see what was going on. Twitter said no such account existed. However, the poster was already out there, being tweeted and retweeted by Hindutva supporters along with horrendous Islamophobic comments attached. Suddenly, my local MP Barry Gardiner, issued a tweet, the wording of which was upsetting and inflammatory against the Muslim community. He implied this alleged threat from Muslims was real, even though many people in the thread questioned whether he had verified that this was so. Almost instantaneously Barry Gardiner had informed the police, who responded with patrols outside local temples and mosques. Brent Council followed suit, filming a video with Muslim and Hindu religious leaders outside the Ealing Road Temple calling for community calm and cohesion. 

 

 

None of these authority figures seemed to have questioned the authenticity of the ‘Apna Muslims’ tweet. Just by clicking on the tweet itself as I did, for it not to have an account any more would have made anyone suspicious. Within minutes on Barry Gardiner’s tweet thread itself, Valent Projects, a consultancy who have been shortlisted for awards for investigating misinformation, had very quickly found the source of the original tweet and confirmed to him that it was fake, emanating from foreign accounts. Yet he made no effort to clarify the situation. 

 

 

 

I alerted Brent Council, the police and Barry Gardiner about the Valent investigation expecting that they would issue a statement with the true facts, and to reassure both the Muslim and Hindu communities. But my appeal was ignored.

 

These ill-advised tweets and actions from our ‘leaders’ were causing more panic in the community and unleashing threatening anti-Muslim hate tweets by Hindutva supporters. The MP’s, police and council’s immediate response in accepting this tweet as genuine, without proper checks is very worrying. It is an indication of how inbuilt anti-Muslim tropes and stereotypes exist in people’s minds and engender anti-Muslim prejudice. These influences have a discriminatory effect  because they effect how Muslims are viewed and treated institutionally, particularly by government agencies and public sector.

 

The Hindutva movement and ideology are hugely concerning to the Muslim community. We are watching with horror how Muslims in India are being subjected to eradication, rape, lynching, destruction of mosques and homes, and much more violations and abuses. Anyone who speaks out about this, receives venomous and abusive trolling on social media and even violence. Our local leaders’ shameful responses to the  social media Hindutva attack on Muslims in Brent, confirm that there is no understanding of the threat or empathy with the fear felt by Muslims that this atrocious ideology was coming to the UK. Rather, their actions added to the fear and demonisation of Muslims.

 

The fake call for a ‘Muslim’ demonstration outside the Hindu temple in Ealing Road was an extension of the recent events in Leicester. Hindutva supporters arrived in a large gang in Leicester to terrorise Muslims and cause community tensions.

 

Leicester police sent out messages that false accusations made against Muslims, such as burning of temples and acid attacks on Hindu women were fake. Why was this approach not replicated in Brent? Instead the police, Barry Gardiner and some local councillors took the stance of enveloping the Hindu community with protection and support in their festival of Navratri. This gave the impression that there was a real Muslim threat and their sympathies lay with the Hindu community.

 

The failure of these authorities to act robustly and without prejudice has motivated me to restart An-Nisa Society’s work to give a voice and representation to my community. We are the second largest faith group in this borough and still growing, yet we are invisible to the council. During my work I have personally been told that Brent doesn’t do faith, both by officers and councillors, although in reality the only faith they have an issue with is Islam and Muslims.

 

For decades Brent Council has focused on race-based identities, and deliver services around race. They fail to understand and accept that Muslims are a multicultural and multi-ethnic community who identify according to their religion. As a result, they ignored the needs and aspirations of our community. This is exactly what institutional Islamophobia is about.

 

I have lived in Brent for 60 years, and I have run An-Nisa Society, a Brent-based charity working with Muslim families for over 35 years. Over this period, I have witnessed Brent Council’s favouring of certain communities in the way they deliver services and the giving away of public land for places of worship, schools and centres. On the other hand, Muslims have always been neglected and ill-served by those who are supposed to serve EVERYONE in this borough. As the recent Al Jazeera’s #LabourFiles investigation shockingly confirms, Muslim needs are right at the bottom of the scale. In addition, when it comes to addressing Islamophobia, and particularly institutional Islamophobia, this concerning discrimination is virtually non-existent in the hierarchy of discriminations that authorities actively work to address.

 

In the six decades of living in Brent, I can categorically say that Brent Council has been negligent in its understanding and dealings with the Muslim community. We have never had Eid sponsored by Brent Council or a massive street procession. My kids and grandkids have never had the joy of a public celebration of Eid, in the way that Diwali or Christmas is celebrated.  In the much-promoted year of ‘Borough of Cultures’ there was not a single event from the Muslim culture! I am aware that applications to deliver Muslim cultural projects were rejected because they contained the word ‘Muslim’ and of course as we know the council does not support faith! The streets are thronging with Muslims of all races and ethnicities, yet we are still invisible to the council.

 

Muslim children and young people deserve better. We have been running a supplementary school in Brent since 1986, and have raised thousands of Muslim children, nurturing them to be upright young people and to develop a positive sense of self. For these kids, this is the only space to express themselves as Muslims. There are hardly any spaces for them out there, especially none provided by Brent Council. Muslim young people have to navigate Islamophobia, the securitisation of the community by Prevent and surveillance. In recent weeks, Muslims are now terrified about the Hindutva threat on the streets on Brent.

 

The followers of Hindutva are nothing like the Hindu community I have lived peaceably amongst for 40 years. Most of them are just as appalled as Muslims are. We must distinguish between the hateful ideology of Hindutva and Hinduism in general.  

 

The incident in Brent in the past weeks has been prejudicially handled by Brent’s leaders and authorities. We feel under threat and unsafe in this borough and beyond. As a community leader, I do not want our children and young people to live under the shadow of all these negative threats, without any support from the authorities. We call for those in power to understand the growing threat of Hindutva and devise a strategy on how to deal with the imminent danger and protect our community. For a starter, we expect a strong statement that Hindutva will be not tolerated  in our borough and that all communities deserve to live in peace and free from fear.

 

Khalida Khan

Director

An-Nisa Society

 

 

What is Hindutva

 

Hindutva is a right-wing nationalist ideology dating back to the 19th century. In its contemporary form, Hindutva promotes hatred towards all religious minorities especially Muslims and is inspired by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a paramilitary movement: the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the current ruling party in India has been referred to as the political wing of the RSS.

 

 

 

Barry Gardiner’s post and comments on it can still be viewed on Twitter on this LINK.