What is Islamophobia?
I don’t observe the Islamic faith, or any faith for that matter, and I must be honest that my knowledge of religious identity (across all religions) is definitely lacking. So, I’m not going to pretend to have all the facts.
Instead, I want to share with you the steps I have personally been taking in the past 10 days to listen, to educate myself, and to prepare myself as an ally. Because I believe that our right to live peacefully and in safety, in a way of our own choosing is too important to do nothing.
Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. A quarter of the world’s population observe the Islamic faith, and in the UK it’s around 1 in 20 people.
Right out of the gate I’m going to challenge our stereotypes. Because when we think of a Muslim person, we will likely have a particular image that will come to our minds. But let’s bust that wide open by reminding ourselves that Islam is a religion, and Muslim is a religious identity. It’s not about race. Muslims are people of all colours, from all continents.
Including Riz Ahmed, Nadiya Hussain, Zayn Malik, Ice Cube, Shaquille O’Neil, Bella Hadid, Dave Chapelle, Malala Yousafzei, and Muhammed Ali - to name but an impressive few!
Islamophobic bullying and harassment occurs frequently.
It can range from physical assault to verbal abuse and harassment, to workplace discrimination. Sadly, in researching this topic I found a significant number of articles and posts that outlined the experiences many Muslims’ have had.
All of what I read was horrifying.
Being associated with terrorism
Being shouted at, or called offensive and reductive names
Being ignored or refused service
Discrimination in the workplace
Being physically approached, cornered, prevented from going about their day, or prevented leaving the situation
Being physically attacked, touched, or having clothing removed
A lot of these examples were also cited as taking place in front of their children, or even towards their children.
Take that in for a minute.
You’re doing your shopping on a Saturday morning with your two kids. You reach for a broccoli, and as you do a woman approaches you and begins calling you names, swearing and telling you to remove your clothes because she feels threatened by you. She raises her voice drawing attention from all around, your kids are starting to cry, you’re terrified as you have no idea what will happen next. People are staring. And no-one is helping you.
How did that make you feel?
What about this…
You’re visiting relatives with your brother. You step off the train and, with no warning at all, you’re grabbed by police and bundled into a van. You’re taken to a re-education centre. You’re told it’s because you’re wearing unsuitable clothing.
This is exactly what happened to 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on 13th September. Mahsa was with her brother in Tehran and was wearing the compulsory hijab (head scarf) loosely over her head as she emerged from the subway with her younger brother, Kiarash. Some of her hair had been showing and she was taken by Iran’s morality police for wearing “unsuitable attire”.
The re-education centre she was taken to exists to instruct women how to comply with the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code. Her brother was told by the police that she would be released later that night. She wasn’t.
Three days after her arrest, she was dead.
Various reports are stating that Mahsa Amni fell into a coma after being beaten by police and was declared brain-dead in hospital in the days that followed. I’ll let you do your own research on this one, there’s plenty out there, but a few articles from the Guardian are here:
Iran president says death in custody of Mahsa Amini must be investigated
How the death of a Kurdish woman galvanised women all over Iran
Why is this event significant?
For me, this feels significant because of the double bind that Muslim women in particular face in observing their faith.
They choose to wear a hijab and they face abuse and laws in certain countries that force them to remove them. They choose not to wear one and they face abuse and laws in certain countries that can see them detained, as in the case of Mahsa Amini.
Either way, the choice to observe their faith in a way that is deeply personal to them can result in their physical safety and humanity being threatened.
You can read more examples of how Muslim women are impacted in this Washington Post article.
This is about a woman's fundamental right to choice when it comes to her body, her faith, and her life. Just like the discussions that were present earlier this year in relation to women's reproductive rights, this is yet another example of enforced control over the rights of women to exist in peace and in safety.
The decision to wear or not wear a hijab should be a personal one. No-one should face discrimination over these choices, and their decision should certainly never result in their death. We should all be talking about this and understanding more about how Islamophobia is present in our own spaces, and particularly for Muslim women, and what we, as allies, can do about it.
What did I do about it?
Firstly, I chose not to let this slip past my consciousness.
I read a lot of articles, listened to my Muslim friends and connections talking about this topic, and I amplified their voices so that other could do the same.
I reflected on ways in which I may have caused harm in the past.
Have I been guilty of staring at women who wear a fuller covering, such as a Niqab? Yeah, I’m sure I will have.
What feelings will I have noticed? Not only about my guilt for staring but around why I was staring. What is being triggered in me that I need to deal with?
What stereotypes have I played into?
What situations have I been present for that I could have intervened in, but chose not to?
What made me choose not to?
I also enrolled on a Bystander Intervention course, provided by Right To Be.
I did this because as much as I believe I would be able to notice Islamophobic harassment when I saw it, I wanted to be sure. I also wanted more confidence in knowing what the right thing to do was if I did see something!
I know enough about allyship to know it’s not about being a “saviour” and that perhaps my idea of intervention in a situation would not always be the best form of intervention for the victim.
The course I attended was a 1-hour long webinar, that was excellently and expertly hosted by Hitomi Katsumi of Right to Be, and Sufyan Sohel of CAIR Chicago. I learned an awful lot about the experiences of Muslims, and how Islamophobia presents itself in many situations. I also learned their 5 D’s model for intervention, which is an incredibly helpful tool in understanding the different ways we can help and support, in a myriad of situations.
Their training is free!
So rather than me share their resources and advice, I strongly urge that you book yourself on a session and get the full picture and experience first-hand. If you do, you can also make donations directly to support them – which of course I strongly advocate for!
The course I attended was Bystander Intervention to Stop Islamophobic and Xenophobic Harassment, and these run regularly. Along with other great courses and events on other Bystander Intervention topics.
I shall be continuing my own learning on the topic of Islamophobia, and if you have your own resources you would like to share with me, I welcome your input and feedback in the comments.