Islamophobia

Islamophobia Chris Allen ISLAMOPHOBIA Despite numerous sources suggesting that Islamophobia is becoming both increasingly prevalent and societally acceptable in the contemporary world, there remains a lack of textual sources that consider either the phenomenon itself, or its manifestations and consequences. There is no authoritative text that attempts to understand or contextualise what might be seen to be one of the most dangerous prejudices in the contemporary climate. Chris Allen begins by looking at ways of defining and understanding Islamophobia. He traces its historical evolution to the present day, considering the impact of recent events and their aftermath especially in the wake of the events of September 11, before trying to understand and comprehend a wider conception of the phenomenon. A series of investigations thematically consider the role of the media, the contemporary positioning of Muslims throughout the world, and whether Islamophobia can be seen to be a continuum of historical anti-Muslimism or anti-Islamism, or whether Islamophobia is an entirely modern concept. The issue of Islamophobia is considered from the perspective of the local, regional, and global. The incidence of Islamophobia, and the magnitude of the phenomenon and its consequences, is one that warrants a greater investigation in the world today. This book is both academically and socially relevant and necessary. For Ernie and Ivy; Ivy and Ron; Emily, Maisie and Harry; Rachel Islamophobia CHRIS ALLEN University of Birmingham, UK © Chris Allen 2010 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. Chris Allen has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work. Published by Ashgate Publishing Limited Ashgate Publishing Company Wey Court East Suite 420 Union Road 101 Cherry Street Farnham Burlington Surrey, GU9 7PT VT 05401-4405 England USA www.ashgate.com British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Allen, Christopher, Ph. D. Islamophobia. 1. Islamophobia. 2. Islamophobia – History. 3. Muslims in popular culture. I. Title 305.6’97–dc22 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Allen, Christopher. Islamophobia / Chris. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-0-7546-5139-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) – ISBN 978-1-4094-1757-6 (ebook) – ISBN 978-0-7546-5140-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Islam – Public opinion. 2. Muslims – Public opinion. 3. Islam and politics. 4. Muslims – Non-Muslim countries. 5. Islam – 21st century. I. Title. BP52.A38 2010 305.6’97–dc22 2010028981 ISBN 9780754651390 (hbk) ISBN 9780754651406 (pbk) ISBN 9781409417576 (ebk) Contents Acknowledgements vii PART 1 INTRODUCTION 1 The First Decade of Islamophobia 3 PART 2 HISTORY IN CONTEXT 2 Revelation to Reformation, Orientalism and Colonialism 25 3 From Revolution to Revival, Rushdie and the Clash of Civilisations 37 PART 3 A DECADE OF THE RUNNYMEDE REPORT 4 Recognition: A New Reality that Needed Naming 51 5 Runnymede: An Open and Closed Case 65 PART 4 ISLAMOPHOBIA IN CONTEXT 6 ‘They’re All the Same’: Islamophobia in the Context of the UK 83 7 Different Forms of Discourse, Speech and Acts: Islamophobia in Europe 101 PART 5 TOWARDS A NEW THEORY AND DEFINITION OF ISLAMOPHOBIA 8 What is Islamophobia? 123 9 Islamophobia: Comparisons and Correlations 139 10 Islamophobia: A New Ideology for a Media Generation 159 11 Towards a New Definition of Islamophobia 187 PART 6 CONCLUSION 12 Tentative Steps into the Twenty-First Century 193 Bibliography 197 Index 205 This page has been left blank intentionally Acknowledgements This book is the result of almost a decade’s worth of endeavour. Unsurprisingly, a good number of people deserve to be recognised for their part in making it happen. These are listed below in no particular order (and for those who I have forgotten or overlooked, please accept both my apologies and gratitude in equal measure): To Jorgen Nielsen for his support and guidance as my doctoral supervisor at the University of Birmingham and for the experience and knowledge gained through collaborating with him on the EUMC Islamophobia project. To Dilwar Hussain, Mohammed Siddique Seddon, Robin Richardson, Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Anas al Shaikh Ali for their support and encouragement over many years and in many different ways. To Musab Bora for far too many conversations and lunches over which this book, its contents and numerous other issues were discussed at length. To Deirdre Burke, George Chryssides, Ron Geaves and Steve Jacobs who, at the University of Wolverhampton, were the first people to set me on this book’s journey. To the Arts and Humanities Research Council for its recognition and financial support to undertake research into Islamophobia in the days when it wasn’t fashionable to do so. To Joy Warmington and everyone at BRAP (www.brap.org.uk). To David Stephenson, Karen Rowlingson and everyone in the Institute of Applied Social Studies at the University of Birmingham for their ongoing support into research in this area. To Sarah Lloyd and everyone at Ashgate for making this book happen. And finally, to the ones I love: To my parents Ivy and Ron and my grandparents, Ivy and Ernie, all of whom I hope are proud of what I have achieved. To my children – Emily, Maisie and Harry – for always offering hope and for a long time, being the reason to carry on. Believe in yourselves and you’ll achieve what you want. And to Rachel, for restoring my confidence and self-belief. This page has been left blank intentionally PART 1 Introduction This page has been left blank intentionally Chapter 1 The First Decade of Islamophobia The ‘first decade of Islamophobia’1 began with the landmark publication of the highly influential report entitled, Islamophobia: a challenge for us all: report of the Runnymede Trust Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia (‘the Runnymede Report’). Of course, this is not when the phenomenon of Islamophobia began: it was merely the year in which the first major report was published. Since then, Islamophobia has gained a far greater prevalence across both the public and political spaces. In the most vocal instances, claim and counter claim to Islamophobia typically emerges from bi-polar extremes, from those who decry and denounce any criticism whatsoever of Muslims or Islam as being ‘Islamophobic’ to those who actively and openly espouse a vitriolic hatred: both sides basing their views on a multitude of different causes and justifications. Between these poles a much broader and diverse range of far less obvious and explicit issues and incidents exist. On the one hand are the loosely veiled attacks on Muslims and Islam by those such as the personality-cum-politician Robert Kilroy-Silk2 and ‘Will Cummins’3 through to the more weighted comments of those such as Melanie Phillips in the United Kingdom (‘UK’). In Europe the same applies, from Geert Wilders’ internet-based Fitna film through various dialogues and diatribes by those such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Oriana Fallaci4 elsewhere. In the political spaces, high 1 I coined this phrase with the publication of a ‘think-piece’ entitled The First Decade of Islamophobia in October 2007. This piece continues to be available for download at http://www.chris-allen.co.uk. 2 In the Express on Sunday, 4 January 2004 ‘Kilroy’ as he is commonly known, penned an article entitled ‘We owe Arabs nothing’. Being one in a line of many controversial articles that Kilroy had written, following complaints from within Muslim and other communities, he lost his daily chat show of 17 years on BBC1. Robert Kilroy-Silk, ‘We owe Arabs nothing’, Express on Sunday, 4 January 2004. 3 Will Cummins, ‘We must be allowed to criticise Islam’, Sunday Telegraph, 4 July 2004; Will Cummins, ‘The Tories must confront Islam instead of kowtowing to it’, Sunday Telegraph, 11 July 2004; and Will Cummins, ‘Muslims are a threat to our way of life’, Sunday Telegraph, 18 July 2004. ‘Will Cummins’ was a pseudonym used by Harry Cummins, an employee of the British Council, to write four articles that were overtly anti- Muslim and anti-Islamic. Following the uncovering of his true identity, Cummins was fired from his post. A useful overview of the ‘Cummins affair’ can be found at http://bmcs.gotadsl. co.uk/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=60 (accessed 21 December 2004, updated 2 September 2004). 4 See Oriana Fallaci, The Rage and the Pride (New York: Rizzoli, 2002). 4 Islamophobia ranking voices describe Muslims as ‘whining maniacs’5 while others in France, the Netherlands and Switzerland initiate debates about the extent to which the niqab – face veil – and other visible aspects of Islam are barriers to integration and whether minarets should be allowed to punctuate European skylines. On the more extreme fringes of the political mainstream, there exist those who claim that Muslims intend to establish an Islamic republic in London by 2025 – citing the ‘super-mosque’ being built in East London as evidence of this – duly followed by the eventual overthrow of Christian Europe.6 Elsewhere, those such as Silvio Berlusconi openly differentiate between the superiority of ‘Western civilisations’ over and above ‘Islamic civilisations’. At the same time, these have been countered by a somewhat reciprocal process that has initiated a range of different legislative measures and various social policies being implemented. In addition to a number of Europe-wide reports being commissioned that consider the phenomenon, in the UK the growth of a burgeoning cultural awareness – read ‘Islam Awareness’ – industry that seeks to challenge and potentially halt the perceived growing acceptance of negative attitudes and ideas towards Muslims is beginning to flourish.

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