Islamophobia: A Racial or Religious Discrimination? Why it Matters. Sunday 26th November

 

Brent-based charity, An-Nisa Society, calls for urgent investigation into institutional Islamophobia at Brent Council

 Guest post by An-Nisa Society

 

Two weeks ago, a young Muslim mother with her baby was attacked with Islamophobic abuse on the 260 bus in Harlesden. She was called a ‘jihadi,’ referring to her faith, and was sworn at in an unprovoked incident. No one, except another Muslim woman, challenged the man. Even more shocking was that the Mayor of Brent stood right next to the abuser and did not report the incident to the relevant authorities.

 

By chance, journalist Shamim Chowdhury was on the same bus, challenged the abuser and offered support to the woman that was being attacked. She was consequently threatened by him as well. What was particularly tragic, is that several passengers on the bus, rather than support the traumatised victim, raised their voices in support of the male abuser! This, despite, judging from the image, everyone on the bus and the abuser were people of colour!

 

Shamim managed to take a photograph of the abuser and posted it onto Twitter detailing what happened and also reported the incident to the police and Transport for London (TfL).

 

 

 

The tweet went viral, reaching and surpassing half a million views. Members of the public identified that the woman in the flowery top standing next to the abuser was actually the Mayor of Brent, Councillor Orleen Hylton. The issue is not that the Mayor did not challenge the abuser there and then, but that in her position and role as Mayor and Councillor, she did not later report the incident to the police and the relevant departments within Brent Council. It was her duty and moral obligation to speedily report the incident and take action, and we cannot understand why she chose to remain silent.

 

As a Brent-based charity that works for the welfare of Muslim women and families for the past 35 plus years, we were horrified with what had happened. We immediately asked Brent Council for a response. Working with Muslim women, we know that many live in constant fear of being attacked, as Islamophobic abuse is rife in Brent. We circumscribe our lives to avoid abuse, as we don’t feel safe. However, none of us can avoid going out or using public transport.

 

Sadly, we have had several reports of attacks on Muslim women in Brent and in particular on buses and bus stops on the Harrow Road route through Harlesden. It begs the question as to why this is happening on this route and it needs to be investigated.

 

Muslims suffer the highest levels of abuse and attacks across the UK, and these are greatly under-reported and not even recorded for a variety of reasons. Muslim women especially are on the frontlines of Islamophobic attacks.

 

In Brent we have had reports of many Muslim women being attacked. Road crossings seem to be a favoured place for attacks as well as on buses. Outside Islamia School in Salusbury Road, there have been several instances of attempts at running Muslim women over, usually with children in tow! One Muslim woman at another crossing, had a woman stop her car, get out and hit her on the head with, ironically, a bunch of flowers, while shouting anti-Muslim expletives.

 

So, you can imagine our distress and horror at this incident on the 260 bus. Hundreds of people on Twitter were also enraged at the attack, with many leaving comments and retweeting. The views of the photo that the journalist posted were rapidly increasing, reaching over 630k at the time of writing. On my personal LinkedIn page post of the incident, there are over 20,500 impressions today and rising, with numerous shares and comments agreeing that such attacks were rife and expressing shock at the Mayor’s lack of action. The Muslim community in Brent were also sharing the incident on WhatsApp and in person with each other, speaking about their shock and distress. Despite the upset the incident caused and the growing comments, Brent Council remained silent for five days.

 

We expected that there would have been a deluge of councillors expressing concern about the safety of women, there are 57 of them! But disappointingly, only a couple of Muslim male councillors responded and a new female Muslim councillor, Ishma Moeen, who expressed strong concern and gave a promise to work for change. Why is a Muslim woman being attacked locally, only a concern for Muslim councillors?

 

The response that eventually came from the council was shocking in its banality, basically a ‘fobbing off’ type of classic corporate statement. Clearly, they did not give the incident any importance. The response from the Mayor, whose ward consists of 27% Muslims, sounded uncaring and inconsistent. She said she was at the front of the bus, so denied that she saw or heard anything but also contradictorily added that she was intimidated, which is why she didn’t intervene! It seems highly unlikely according to journalist, Shamim Chowdury, that the Mayor did not see and hear what was going on as such a big ruckus was created on the bus.

 

The Mayor’s lack of action as a public servant is of grave concern. In our view, she displayed moral cowardice and lack of integrity. She has not even apologised at the very least for her actions. This year, funnily enough, the Mayor was appointed for her ‘service’ to the borough In her appointment statement she “assured the community that she will work tirelessly…to surpass expectations and deliver the best results for Brent’s diverse communities.” As a result of her actions, how can the community trust the Mayor to fairly represent their issues with understanding and vigour, if she ignores abuse that she’s been a witness to? She has lost all credibility. She has failed in her duty to Brent residents. The moral and right thing for her to do is to resign. Or failing that the council should sack her. 

 

However, neither has happened, she continues to be a guest of honour at events in the borough, shockingly so soon after the bus incident. There was the Mayor’s Fun Day, in Wembley on Saturday 16 September, organised by Brent Health Matters, which is a council initiative, and she was seen laughing and enjoying herself, as well as being given status and kudos.

 

On Sunday, she was guest of honour at Queens Park Day, where she was spotted by a Muslim Harlesden resident, whose daughter was performing there. The resident approached the Mayor, and politely told her that ‘her response to a woman being verbally abused was disappointing.’ She replied, that a statement had been issued. He asked if she could tell him the main points of the statement as he had not seen it, and whether she had written it herself or if was it delegated. At that point, security stepped in and whisked her away! The Harlesden resident was very disturbed by the incident and Brent Council’s lack of robust response. He told me, “The Mayor has a responsibility as a representative of the community to model the behaviour we ask of our kids.” He added, “I have a daughter, who will soon be travelling to school alone on local buses and if the Mayor can’t take action to keep the local area and buses safe, then we are very concerned.” 

 

 

 The Mayor at Queens Park Day

 

So, not only has the Mayor not resigned or been suspended, she continues to merrily carry out her duties at local community events in total disregard for the huge upset amongst the community. This behaviour is symptomatic of the lack of moral integrity in local and central government, and politics generally.  It also sends signals that Islamophobia and attacking vulnerable Muslim women is okay.

 

Meanwhile, the council’s statement did not answer any of the questions that we posed, other than it had been reported to the police (not by the Mayor obviously)!  We had asked the council for specifics to let us know who in the police is dealing with this incident; what are they doing about it; we asked for figures on Islamophobic attacks in Brent; what are the monitoring processes; how are these attacks recorded. There was radio silence and still is. We do not accept their condescending statement, and want tangible and measurable actions so that such attacks are stopped.

 

We also wanted to know what the council is doing to ensure the safety of Muslims, particularly Muslim women. Apparently, there is  a Brent Council Community Safety Team, surely, they should be aware of and have policies to deal with Islamophobia? But when we have asked for it, the council ignores the request and does not provide the information which should be readily available. Instead, the council has proposed a disingenuous offer of hosting an event for Islamophobia Awareness Month. The event was a big flop last year and had no strategic objective to deal with Islamophobia. And as far as we are concerned, without anti-Islamophobia measures being embedded in its policies and procedures, such an event is just window dressing and pointless.

 

We are convinced that if a woman had been attacked from any other community in Brent with the Brent Mayor present and ignoring the incident, it would have had a much more urgent and robust response. We feel that we, Brent Muslims are ignored and are treated with contempt by the council.

 

Institutional Islamophobia

 

Abuse and attacks and how they are mishandled by the authorities puts the spotlight once again on widespread Islamophobia in the public sphere. However, that’s not only where it exists. It is thriving in the public sector, which is supposed to cater equitably and sensitively for the needs of our citizens, who are tax payers. 

 

The way this attack has been so atrociously handled, demonstrates a clear example of institutional Islamophobia. Coincidentally, in a separate incident in a few days after the attack, a group of Muslim women set up a petition, due to institutional Islamophobia they suffered in Everyone Active Leisure Centres within Brent and Westminster, who demonstrated a complete lack of understanding or respect for the needs of Muslim women in sport. This type of insensitivity leads to Muslim women not taking part in sports, contributing to poor health outcomes.

 

To begin with, contrary to the incorrect popular belief, Islamophobia is not about racism (which is about colour). Islamophobia is about a hatred, prejudice and ignorance of Islam and Muslims, resulting in abuse, attacks and discrimination. It can be perpetrated by people of all colours against Muslims of all colours. Institutional Islamophobia is anti-Muslim discrimination in the public sector, both in its internal practices and service delivery, this can be deliberate or unintended, due to ignorance and lack of understanding.

 

To be clear, Muslims are a multi-ethnic, heterogenous and diverse community. We are not ‘Asians!’ Our values and most of our needs are influenced by our faith, whether we practise Islam a little or a lot. We are all as a group, also targets for abuse, prejudice and discrimination.

 

Brent is a good example, of how even in such a multi-cultural and multi-faith borough, both Islamophobic abuse and institutional anti-Muslim discrimination are thriving. As a charity that has been based in Brent for almost 40 years, widely known for being at the forefront of campaigning against Islamophobia, we have been saddened and disappointed by this council’s consistent indifference and lack of concern for its Muslim residents. We have been advocating and appealing to the council for decades to address the invisibility of Brent Muslims to the council and its own institutional Islamophobia. See our blog post on Wembley Matters about the Invisibility of Muslims in Brent.

 

Despite, the awards that Brent has won for its diversity, there is actually rampant institutional Islamophobia, which includes insensitive and discriminatory workplace practices and service delivery. Let’s just look at a few examples:

Muslims staff employed in Brent - By their own figures Muslim staff in Brent are underrepresented (10%) and are not commensurate to the large number of Muslims (21%) that live in Brent. Why is there an under-representation of Muslim council employees?  In addition, Brent Muslim employees have reported Islamophobic discrimination and abuse internally to us, which they feel afraid to report to the council due to repercussions and victimisation.

 

Public Services - The council provides a wide number of services such as child protection, children in care, health, housing, education amongst a lot of other services.  Insensitivity, outright discrimination and lack of understanding of Muslim needs are responsible for Muslim social exclusion; research and surveys repeatedly show Muslims have some of the highest levels of ill health and socio-economic disadvantage in the country, including Brent. From our own experience with Brent Council, over decades, through our interactions and the experience of our community, we believe we are ill-served by Brent Council.

 

While this was happening, the latest of numerous research reports showing Muslim specific disadvantage and inequalities, was published showing that Muslims had higher rates of death from Covid and, as significant numbers of worked in health services as essential workers, they faced greater exposure to the risks. This demonstrates that research using faith as a factor, alongside race and ethnicity, clearly highlight more accurately the true reality of the discrimination that Muslim specifically suffer.

 

We are not asking for special treatment or privileges. We are saying that the council needs to take Islamophobia seriously in all its forms. It needs to tackle Islamophobia as a priority, separate to race-based approaches. Race-based categorisations, identifying and delivering services to communities as racial groups does not work for Muslims. It has excluded us and

does not meet our faith-based needs and issues. We want Islamophobia to be recognised as a serious form of abuse that is a separate type of hate to racism, and is also a factor for institutional discrimination, although racism and Islamophobia can sometimes intersect. That is why we do not accept the toothless and incorrect definition of Islamophobia that it is a ‘form of racism.’

 

An-Nisa Society fought for decades for religious discrimination to be outlawed. Since the Equality Act 2010 came into force, Religion & Belief has been recognised as one of the nine protected characteristics; it is as important as racial discrimination. The public sector now has a statutory public sector equality duty to address discrimination based on religion and belief. By ignoring us, especially as we the community are demanding action that Islamophobia be tackled, they are effectively breaking the law.

 

 

 

 

Earlier this year, we launched our report. ‘Islamophobia - From Denial to Action’ about tackling Islamophobia in the Public Sector. The report presents a working definition of Islamophobia as a form of hate, prejudice and discrimination that emanates from a hatred of Islam and Muslims.  It goes into this issue extensively and makes practical recommendations for change. However, it was ignored by Brent Council. It might be helpful if the council would actually read it and implement the recommendations.

 

We understand, there is a review of Brent’s Diversity, Equalities and Inclusion (DEI) strategy underway right now. This seems an ideal time to overhaul the outdated DEI race-based classifications in identifying communities and strategies that are no longer, if they ever were, fit for purpose. It needs to ensure its own policies and procedures and service delivery meet the needs of all its communities, which means factoring in faith in such a faith-dominant borough.

 

Islamophobia is not harmless. We know that Islamophobia kills! Unless the council uses this opportunity to take Islamophobia seriously, we demand an independent investigation into institutional Islamophobia within Brent Council. If this tragic incident triggers a will from the council to address Islamophobia, then it will be something.

 

An-Nisa Society

Next Week: Hidden Heritage - An-Nisa Society in Conversation with author Fatima Manji on Britain's long-standing connection with the Muslim world. November 24th at The Yellow, Wembley Park

 

 

On Thursday November 24th 2022, Brent residents and those from further afield will be able to learn about Britain’s long-term links with the Muslim world. 

 

Fatima Manji, Channel 4 News presenter, will be talking about her ground-breaking book, ‘Hidden Heritage’.

 

The event, to mark this year’s Islamophobia Month, has been organised by Wembley’s An-Nisa Society, and will be held at The Yellow, 1 Humphry Repton Lane, Wembley Park, HA9 0JL, from 6-8pm.

 

TICKETS £5.98 BOOKHERE

 

Extracts from Reviews

 

"This is such an important, brave book that sheds a calm, bright light on the complexity of history at a time when simplistic assumptions have become the norm. It is truly brilliant" 

 Elif Shafak

 

"A timely, brilliant and very brave book" Jerry Brotton, author of This Orient Isle: Elizabethan England and the Islamic World

 

"A compelling read about a history of Britain rarely cited and one that enriches an understanding of our complex, intriguing and wonderful past" Daljit Nagra

 

VENUE

 The Yellow, corner of Harbutt Road and Humphry Repton Lane

 

Wembley Park Tube, 83, 182 and 206 bus or Wembley Stadium station (Chiltern Line)

Hidden Heritage - An-Nisa Society in Conversation with author Fatima Manji on Britain's long-standing connection with the Muslim world. November 24th at The Yellow, Wembley Park

 

 

Learn more about Britain’s long-term links with the Muslim world. Fatima talks about her groundbreaking book, ‘Hidden Heritage’

 

Thu, 24 November 2022, 6-8pm The Yellow 1 Humphry Repton Lane Wembley Park HA9 0JL

 

To mark this year’s Islamophobia Month, Fatima Manji will be joining us to discuss her book, ‘Hidden Heritage’. 

 

 

Channel 4 News Presenter, Fatima Manji explores Britain’s longstanding connection with the Muslim world in her groundbreaking book.

 

"This is such an important, brave book that sheds a calm, bright light on the complexity of history at a time when simplistic assumptions have become the norm. It is truly brilliant" Elif Shafak

 

"A timely, brilliant and very brave book" Jerry Brotton, author of This Orient Isle: Elizabethan England and the Islamic World

 

"A compelling read about a history of Britain rarely cited and one that enriches an understanding of our complex, intriguing and wonderful past" Daljit Nagra

 

TICKETS £5.98 BOOKHERE

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.

 

An-Nisa urge Brent Council to reject the APPG definition of Islamophobia at tonight's Council Meeting

Statement from An-Nisa Society

An-Nisa Society urges Brent Council to reject the All-Party Parliamentary Group's ill thought out and regressive definition of Islamophobia at the full Council meeting on Monday July 8th that has been tabled by for adoption by Cllr Ahmad Shahzad (Labour - Mapesbury) LINK.

An-Nisa Society rejects this definition which states that:

“Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” 

The definition and the arguments in the report are riddled with thinking that doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

We reject that Islamophobia is a form of racism. Rather, it is a deeply rooted historical hatred and prejudice of Islam as a faith and of its adherents, who are Muslims who are from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds. This manifests in prejudice, discrimination, abuse and attacks. It is a hatred of Islam and Muslims that drives the discrimination and attacks. This is not just the case in the West but also in places like China, India and Myanmar.

To subsume Islamophobia into racism, which is about colour and ethnicity no matter how much this definition is trying to manipulate it as a form of ‘cultural’ racism, is to minimise the alarming extent of the hatred of Islam. We cannot combat Islamophobia effectively if the root cause is not properly identified.

This definition of Islamophobia, like the Prevent policy and its Public Sector Duty, will do little to improve conditions for our local Muslim communities. It not only fails to identify the root causes but fails to address the most important issues that are about implementation and resources for implementation.  This report does not offer any guidelines how it will be implemented in practice.

If racism alone was the issue then the anti-racism policies that have been implemented for decades would be enough to tackle this social exclusion of Muslims and the hate crimes perpetrated against them. But they clearly haven’t.

While there is often intersectionality with racism Islamophobia is s specifically anti-Muslim religious discrimination. Unless this is understood and taken on board then adopting any definition that says otherwise is not only not fit for purpose and unworkable. It is also detrimental as there will be a false impression that something is being done, thereby preventing a more relevant and meaningful definition to be worked at,

The definition is regressive and undermines all the work that has been done since the mid 80’s to identify Islamophobia as faith based and not race based. The campaign to tackle anti-Muslim exclusion and anti-Muslim hatred began in the mid 1980s in Brent, led and initiated by An-Nisa Society as a call for the government and the anti-racist movement to acknowledge anti-Muslim discrimination as a specific discrimination separate but sometimes intersectional with race. It is ironic that a movement that started locally by Muslim women and taken on board nationally has never been addressed in it’s place of origin. (1)

Our Director has worked for Brent Council in its Race Relations Unit and has served as a Commissioner with The Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia and as a trustee for the Forum Against Islamophobia and Racism.

Getting the definition right should not be piggybacked on other existing recognised hatreds or as a defensive reaction to those who will attack the existence of Islamophobia. For example,

Pragmatism

“In this definition of Islamophobia, the link to racism is made for both pragmatic and theoretical reasons.  Pragmatically, many large organisations already have in place mechanisms and protocols for dealing with racism; therefore, by articulating Islamophobia as a form of racism, there is no need to invent new procedures to deal with complaints and concerns that arise. Theoretically, racism is understood to be a form of regulation based on racialization by which collective identities are formed and placed in hierarchies." (2)

If these race-based structures had worked for Islamophobia we wouldn’t have had to campaign for decades for separate recognition. And why should we be pragmatic? We have to be bold and courageous and chart our own experience of prejudice and discrimination and how to it need to be addressed.

Lazy thinking

Should the definition be an almost word for word copy of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-semitism?

“The authors of the report have taken the structure and content of IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism as their starting point and, in many places, done little more than cross out ‘Jew’ and insert ‘Muslim’ in its place. Most forms of bigotry have some common characteristics but diverge significantly in their details and form. Homophobia doesn’t take the same form as anti-Black racism. Transphobia isn’t identical to misogyny. If you start out with a definition of antisemitism and try to apply it to the sort of hatred that Muslims face, you will miss the mark.” (3)

Freedom of Speech & the Right to Criticise religion

And of course the issue of freedom of speech and the right to criticise religion. Yes we agree that any criticism of Islam that is made in good faith is welcome. What is not welcome where this is used as a cover to incite hatred of Islam and Muslims, either directly or indirectly leading to discrimination and attacks on Muslims. This needs to be addressed robustly through our laws around incitement to hatred, which at the moment it isn’t.

We urge Brent Council to reject this definition.


References

1) http://www.insted.co.uk/islam.html#concepts

2)https://www.criticalmuslimstudies.co.uk/defining-islamophobia/?fbclid=IwAR3cm0gC1VyFJSMTJAyxqS9R1OZq_jRtBZKXVy0-QevvUmKFHtwSmFGspUg

3)https://www.thejc.com/comment/comment/we-need-an-effective-definition-of-islamophobia-1.481712

'Nothing About Us, Without Us' - Statement on Brent's Time to Talk 'Extremism' discussion

This is the statement that Monitoring Prevent in Brent distributed at Monday's Brent Council discussion on Extremism:

“Nothing about us, without us”

Tonight (3 October 2016) Brent Council is holding the second of its Time to Talk series of events.
The Council believes ‘it is time to talk’. But for two years now, An-Nisa Society and other local organisations have been trying to raise our concerns about the Prevent Strategy and, in particular, the Public Sector Duty, which makes public sector employees liable to prosecution if they don’t report signs of perceived ‘extremism’ or ‘radicalisation’. Almost all of those referred are Muslim, often children as young as 10. Frustrated by months of silence from the Council, we held a public meeting on 10 December 2015.

With the help of Cllr Harbi Farah, we finally met the Leader of Brent Council, Mohammed Butt. Promises made by Councillor Butt to continue the conversation and to take some positive actions have not been followed up. As a result, we released a public statement on Prevent. (http://monitoringprevent.blogspot.co.uk/ ).

Serious questions need to be asked about the purpose of Time to Talk meetings. At the first one in July - a slick, well orchestrated ‘information session’ - we were left feeling that rather than a ‘time to talk’ it was in fact a time to be ‘told’ and ‘to listen’. The purpose of the workshop in the afternoon was unclear: it was really a theoretical tick box exercise. There were more officers and councillors at the meeting than ‘community’ and there was no opportunity to really scrutinise and question.
We view with extreme caution the meeting on ‘Extremism’. The speakers are once again highly qualified individuals who appear to have very little relationship to Brent. The programme offers little or no opportunity for local organisations to raise their concerns freely – the council has requested sending in questions in advance via email before we even hear the speakers.

So, what is presented as ‘community engagement’ and ‘community consultation’ appears to be a public relations exercise by Brent Council designed to validate and implement policies that impact on all our communities without any input from those most affected.

We call on Brent Council to engage transparently with individuals and organisations in Brent affected by government policy on ‘Extremism.’

Statement by Monitoring Prevent in Brent

Members include: An-Nisa Society, Brent Against Racism Campaign, Brent Stop the War, Brent and Harrow Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Email: MonitoringPrevent@gmail.com Facebook: Monitoring Prevent in Brent

LINKS:

• An-Nisa Responds to Prevent, the PSD and outlines our anti-Prevent campaign http://bit.ly/2cXE6ek
• Brent Council meeting on 'extremism' leaves community voices off the platform http://wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/…/brent-council-meetin…
• Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) & Prevent: A Muslim response by An-Nisa Society, 2009 http://bit.ly/2cLQIXA
• Anti-extremism drive puts British values at risk, says Greater Manchester chief constable Sir Peter Fahy who says government strategy could alienate Muslims and damage free speech and religious freedom, The Guardian, 2015 http://bit.ly/2amvIqD
• Andy Burnham calls for 'toxic' Prevent strategy to be scrapped - Shadow home secretary says policy is today’s equivalent of internment in Northern Ireland, Guardian, 2016 http://bit.ly/1UprOqA
• Edinburgh College drops Prevent from its staff training, 2016 – SACC http://bit.ly/2dLG1lj
• Anti-radicalisation strategy lacks evidence base in science, Letters, The Guardian http://bit.ly/2d7ZJGx
• Anti-radicalisation strategy lacks evidence base in science, Joint letter by academics and practitioners, The Guardian Letters, September 2016 http://bit.ly/2dd8WyJ
• Alienation and extremism, 2016, Prevent has merely institutionalised the process, which creates alienation and separation said speaker Imran Khan at a Wadham College Human Rights Forum roundtable discussion. http://bit.ly/2dDwuMm

A critical approach to Prevent in Brent

Following on from the Public Meeting on 'Prevent in Brent' on December 10th I accompanied members of An-Nisa Society to a meeting on Tuesday December 15th with Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, Cllr Harbi Farah and Chris Williams, Brent Council Head of Community Safety to express our concerns. This was the day after Brent Council Cabinet had approved the 'Stronger Communities Strategy' LINK  and just before the GLA Policing and Crime Committee issued its critical report on Prevent. LINK

An An-Nisa Society spokesperson issued the following statement after the meeting:

There was a frank exchange of views when we met with Cllr Butt and we made it clear that we thought the Prevent Strategy should be abolished and that a strong statement should be made by Brent Council about its short comings.

The top-down whole community model stereotypes the entire Muslim community, makes it open to surveillance and increases Islamophobia. Naturally this produces suspicion and fear and undermines an individual’s sense of self and belonging. We believe the emphasis should be on developing social cohesion and tackling inequality - not creating social division. While recognising this, Muhammed Butt said that the Council was limited by its statutory obligation and the threat of government takeover of local implementation if the borough was deemed not to be delivering Prevent properly.

The Council was not able to modify the WRAP (Workshop Raising Awareness of Prevent) training and had to keep secret much of their Prevent work. This lack of transparency is a concern we raised at the meeting and at the Public Event.

Arising from the meeting Muhammed Butt promised to issue a public statement on Prevent and to invite the Monitoring Prevent in Brent organisers to address cabinet and senior officers on their concerns. He would also help facilitate a meeting with Brent headteachers.

On Wednesday December 16th, Cllr James Denselow, Lead Member for Stronger Communities, published the following blog on the Brent Council website LINK :

The threat of terrorism isn’t new to Londoners but is now fresh in our minds following the rise of the self-proclaimed ‘Islamic State’ and the Paris attacks and the stabbing at Leytonstone tube station. 

Cases in the courts and in the news have highlighted Brits travelling abroad to receive terrorist training. 
We’re now awake to the concept of ‘lone-wolf’ attacks, by people radicalised over the Internet without having any solid links to organised extremist networks.

It’s worth remembering that there is as much of a difference between Islamic extremist terrorism and the faith of the vast majority of Muslims as there is between the Ku Klux Klan’s cross-burning lynching parties and your local Christian vicar’s tea party and charity tombola.

In addition to the threat of terrorism there is also the challenge of the pernicious growth in the number of random anti-Muslim attacks in the UK in the aftermath of extremist incidents.  
Let’s call them what they are – hate crimes.

Brent is Britain’s most diverse borough, so this isn’t an abstract worry for us – it is real, and immediate. In the 12 months up to this October, there were 509 racist and religious hate crimes recorded in Brent, up from 460 the previous year.  Ten a week makes this a substantial issue.

This is an issue all across London, and Brent is still a safe and welcoming place to live, with crime rates falling.  We’re determined to maintain and enhance that.

We know how events that happen on the streets of Raqqa can travel around the world from Syria to our part of North West London within minutes.  Social media and 24 hours rolling news have made a big world feel very small sometimes.

The risk of hidden extremism in our neighbourhoods is painfully real.  It’s no good just wringing our hands – it’s the job of those of us elected to public office to do something about this.

At a national government level, the strategy designed to stop individuals being radicalised, whether from right-wing extremists or, so-called, Islamic extremists is called Prevent, and it’s our legal duty as a local council to cooperate with central government, the police and others to advance its objectives.

It’s important though to remember that Prevent is not just about Islamic Extremism – it tackles radicalisation from whatever direction, including far-right extremism.  Indeed, around 30 per cent of ‘Channel’ cases (catching signs of extremism early amongst young people) are about far-right activity.

As ever, when there’s a tricky issue, the first step is to acknowledge that there is something real that needs to be dealt with.  Ignoring one wrong in the process of tackling a second wrong has never worked well in the long-term.

Whilst public services have a central role in dealing with these issues, we can’t deal with them on our own.  We need local communities, neighbourhoods, families and individuals to come together to tackle extremism, together.

We need communities – and faith groups in particular – to acknowledge that religious extremism is a real issue, and that some young people are at risk of being attracted to it.  We need this to be talked about in community centres – and yes, in Mosques too.  We need to challenge extremism if and when we hear it.  Many of our faith leaders are already leading the way.

We need families to accept that they have a responsibility too.  Do you know where your children are and what they’re up to?  Are they falling in with the wrong crowd?  Are they being taken advantage of, groomed even?  It happens rarely, but it should be as worrying if your child was being groomed and lured into religious extremism as if they were being groomed for drugs, gang violence or sexual exploitation.  Sadly, too often several of these threats go hand in hand.

It’s our job to support communities and families in this.

If a community leader has a concern, they need to know there is someone they can go to who will take their concern seriously, and look into it, but without overreacting.

If a family member or a neighbour has a concern about a young person being led astray, they need to know there is someone they can speak to who can offer practical help, but without labelling them a bad parent or their child a criminal.

We need to work harder, but we need this to be matched increasingly by our communities and every individual playing their part. 

Considering this all together, that’s why we’re trying something genuinely new here in Brent.

In our Stronger Communities Strategy which we agreed this week, we’re not just doing more of the same.

We’re not turning our back on Prevent – but we want to go much further, and to build an approach that our community owns and engages with, not one that some feel is being done to them by a distant government that doesn’t understand.

Our new approach in going further is to say to our communities: we’ll work with you to construct your own solutions.  If you’re uncomfortable feeling that you’re being done to – now’s the chance to take control and ownership yourselves.

This model of co-production has worked well in other areas of social policy – but this is the first time such an approach is being taken on the streets of London to an issue like tackling violent extremism.

In the meantime, we need all to accept responsibility for challenging anti-Muslim prejudice and violence.  Not only is it just plain wrong, but it also does more harm than good – throwing up barriers between communities that we ought instead to be breaking down.

Problems this big require solutions just as big.  These are problems that affect all of us, so we all need to be part of the solution too.

Let’s start by talking about it.

This does not amount to a 'strong statement on the short-comings of the Prevent Strategy but perhaps that is still to come.  There is certainly much to discuss, including addressing the issue of a community feeling under surveillance.  This is from the Brent Stronger Communities Strategy about the 'Community Champions' Brent intends to recruit:

The new Community Champions will form part of a small network of non-statutory partners who will help other partners to act as eyes and ears in the community relaying messages in both directions.

It is interesting to recall that in the 1980s the tabloid press railed against 'Spies in the classroom' when Brent Council 's DPRE was attempting to challenge racism in education. Now some are seeing the Prevent Strategy as a spying system with teachers and social workers in the role of intelligence officers.

In her statement on the GLA Committee report, Green Assembly Member Jenny Jones aid:

[Prevent] may hinder the development of the counter-narrative in classrooms and colleges as communities withdraw from discussions in those controlled spaces.

Meanwhile Monitoring Prevent in Brent will continue its work. It can be found on Facebook HERE