British Expatriate Network

Terrorist V Terrorism
According to British writer and lecturer, Karen Armstrong, the west is deeply Islamophobic and the Islamophobia is the result of a long process of prejudice, dating back to the Crusades. The recent events have strengthened the prejudiced belief that “Islam is the religion of the sword”. Islamophobia can manifest itself directly in verbal or physical attacks on Muslims but also indirectly in negative images of Muslims presented by the media. Islamophobia was worsened by anti-Islamic policies, publications and activities in Europe and the US. Islamophobia is not only a cause of discrimination against Muslims but also an open threat to world peace. The western media and intellectuals play a significant role in spreading Islamophobia. Hate-mongers have come out of the woodworks in full force. Now, not a day passes without the newspapers, magazines, radio and TV talk shows, Hollywood movies, computer games and even children’s cartoons and the myriad of internet websites and chat rooms, attacking Islam and Muslims. Muslim communities in the western world and its so called leaders have taken the Ostrich-approach. They have buried their heads in the sand hoping the problems would go away. It is not going to go away. The neck of the Ostrich will be cut. Entire Muslim communities living in the west are under attack. According to a survey, 70% of Americans do not want to see Muslims living in their neighborhood. There is not a single day when Islam and Muslims are not attacked by the mainstream news media outlets. Muslims are referred barbarians who must either be civilised or banished before they pollute the egalitarian societies in which they were born or now live. According to a survey in Scotland, half of Scots see Muslims as a ‘cultural threat’. Scotland would lose its identity if more Muslims went to live there. According to DEMOS, British public is more worried about violent crime and immigration, but the British establishment has focused too heavily on terrorism.

Masajid and Muslim organizations are regarded as training centers for terrorists. Thousands of innocent Muslim youths are being searched in streets and hundreds of them are behind the bar with out any trial. No religion advocates terrorism. However, West has directed its anger against Islam and Muslims by inventing Islamic Terrorism. It is the western extremism which is portraying Islam as an evil. It is the extremism in France, Turkey and other European countries where Muslim women are not allowed to cover their heads. Now the Turkish education chief wants headscarf ban lifted. In Britain, there is a social and economic pressure on Muslim women not to cover their heads. Despite international outrage and the US authorities’ own stated wish to close Camp Guantanamo is still holding detainees illegally… in cruel, inhuman and degrading conditions.

There is an undeclared World War III going on in the name of War on Terrorism. The fact of the matter is that Islam is all peace and hence this war is war of terrorism and not against terrorism. Deception and lies are frequently part of the wars and with powerful Hollywood film tools and other media communications devices people of the world are thoroughly fooled, deceived and made confused. The war in Iraq and Afghanistan is an unmitigated disaster that had brought the west generally into disrepute. Inter Milan, the Italian foot-ball team played with an Istanbul team, wearing a strip with “Crusader-Style” red crosses which is offensive to Muslims. The red-cross brings to mind one thing the symbol of the “Templar Knights”. The cross also symbolised “western racist superiority over Islam”. Inter Milan had manifested in the most explicit manner the superiority of one religion over another. Many EU countries are against Turkey joining EU on the ground that majority of Turks are Muslims with secular constitution. Widespread ignorance and Right-wing groups is the main culprit behind the demonized image of Islam in the west. Islamophobic west has become politically motivated. Western media and politicians are portraying Muslims as “satanic figures”. A recent British study has found that a torrent of negative and imbalance stories in the British media demonize the sizeable Muslim minority and their faith by spreading prejudices and portraying them as the enemy within. Many people in the west, including researchers and those working in the media, unintentionally provide a blemished image of Islam because they are ignorant about Islam and Muslims. The republication of Danish cartoons clearly shows the prevalent ignorance about Islam. The United Nation wanted to introduce a universal law to protect Muslims from Islamophobia, which is spreading like wildfire, but the so-called civilised western establishments, voted against it. It is the fundamental duty of Muslims settled in the west to raise awareness of the spirit and core of Islam.

One by one all Muslim Organizations are going to be classified as ‘Terrorists’. BBC Newsnight has already branded world Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) as terrorist. According to TES, dated 1st Feb2002, Muslim teacher’s website has been condemned for links to militant Islamic groups. It is absurd to brand Muslim teachers website as a terrorist. Its aim is to provide guidance, share experience and discuss every day issues and problems facing Muslim teachers. It is also going to help British teachers to learn to respect and understand Islamic culture and most misunderstood British Muslim community. Racism in schools is alive and well was recognized by the Focus Institute on Rights. Staff in many schools is unwittingly racist but in my view, all British teachers are chicken racist. Racism is rife in National Curriculum. There is no mention of Muslim contribution in the world. Schools reinforce the racism that has been promulgated for centuries. The curriculum is supposed to encourage respect for different nationals, religious and ethnic identities and encourage pupils to challenge injustice. A report on teachers from the minority communities found that racism coupled with a lack of support and career progression is holding some back. Even teacher trainees were encountering racism at placement schools. They would like to discuss their worries more, but only if the senior management team was visibly open and supportive. The management at schools was very defensive about any mention of racism, so the issue could not be discussed in any meaningful way. If a teacher in English school calls a teddy bear Jesus Christ, there would be seriously hostile comments in much of the media. While in Sudan a British teacher was tried and imprisoned for insulting Islam for fifteen days but was pardoned by the President and released after eight days. She said after her release that she encountered nothing but kindness and generosity from Sudanese people. She was treated well in a Government Villa instead of a prison cell. She could have been imprisoned for six months and forty lashes. It is a fact that British teachers have no respect for Islamic faith and subsequently Muslim community, according to research by the University of Derby.

All the Masajid and Muslim organizations are there for humanitarian, educational and youth works. None of them promotes acts of terrorism or support so called Islamic Terrorism. They are busy in those aspects of education, which are neglected by state schools. They satisfy the needs and demands of the Muslim children and teenagers, which were denied by state schools and LEAs. Without their support and guidance the young generation of Muslim would have lost its Islamic Identity crucial for mental, emotional and personality development. Their contribution will be more effective if all Muslim pupils attend Muslim schools with Muslim teachers. It will help to develop positive co-relation between school and home resulting in raising the standard of education of future Muslim generations. For this purpose, I have a proposition that those state schools where Muslim pupils are in majority may be designated as Muslim Community Schools, managed and controlled by Muslim Educational Trusts and Charities. They are in a better position to educate Muslim children according to their needs and demands. A study by the National Foundation for Educational Research confirmed that all faith schools had better results than their secular counterparts. Conservative spokesman on education has praised schools affiliated to religious groups, saying Muslim schools deserved “support” not suspicion.
Iftikhar Ahmad
http://www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk

Wow, thanks for that. o o o Are you the original author?

Are you an expat?

Hope you feel better now having posted that .keep taking the medication

Most fair minded people know that Muslim extremists are the problem and not Muslims in general. I think prominent Muslims and the Muslim community need to take a more visible stand against extremism.

"A study by the National Foundation for Educational Research confirmed that all faith schools had better results than their secular counterparts."


I would like to see this study. My research has suggested that, with all things equal, secular schools produce better results both academically and of course socially. Religious schools of any "faith", by forcing a certain belief in metaphysically entities, produce confusion, reaction or withe the more weak minded, obedience, not something that produces broad-minded and well-balanced children.

Salaam

Muslim schools are not just faith schools but bilingual schools also. Muslim children need to be well versed in standard English to follow the National Curriculum and go for higher studies and research to serve humanity. At the same time they need to be well versed in Arabic, Urdu and other community languages to keep in touch with their cultural roots and enjoy the beauty of their literature and poetry.

State schools with monolingual teachers are not capable of teaching English to bilingual Muslim children. They need state funded state schools with bilingual Muslim teachers as role models.

A Muslim is a citizen of this tiny global village. He/she does not want to become notoriously monolingual Brit.

I think schools that preserve or foster a sense of community or reinforce culture are fine, its just when the powers to be try to inculcate religious or spiritual beliefs. To me, that's tantamount to child abuse.

I think state schools should be secular and any religious teaching should be voluntary and not paid for by taxpayers. If they want, they can use school buildings, but it should not be part of the official school curriculum. As for learning Arabic, Urdu, etc, thats fine and should be an option alongside any other language.

Let me ask you an off topic question - I've read differing views on this - do Muslims believe that Jews and Christians go to heaven by virtue of them being "People of the Book"?

Why would you let these nutcases use public/state school buildings to preach their gobbldygook?

Freedom of religion, freedom of speech. People should be free to use public buildings as they so wish provided its approved by the school.

i agree somewhat but id sooner keep ALL RELIGION out of all public funded schools .

that brave women refered to below was the main reason we got religion banished form our schools in the first place.

Religious dogma should be taught at public funded schools only ( thats any religion )
and of course at sunday school i have no problem with that .

once its allowed back into public institutions like a cancer it will creep slowly over all the place students , teachers , buildings etc and eventully we wil be back where we started .



Madalyn Murray O'Hair was one of the litigants in the case of Murray vs. Curlett, which led the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 1963 decision, to ban organized prayer in public schools. The decision made O'Hair the country's most famous atheist and such a controversial figure that in 1964 Life magazine called her "the most hated woman in America." O'Hair founded the group American Atheists in 1963 and remained its leading spokesperson until 1995, when she and two of her adult children vanished after leaving a note saying they would be away temporarily. The trio appeared to have taken with them at least $500,000 in American Atheist funds; one private investigator concluded that they had fled to New Zealand. Eventually suspicion turned to David Roland Waters, an ex-convict who had worked at the American Atheist offices. Police concluded that he and accomplices had kidnapped the O'Hairs, forced them to withdraw the missing funds, and then murdered them. Waters eventually pled guilty to reduced charges and in January 2001 he led police to three bodies buried on a remote Texas ranch, which proved to be O'Hair and her children.

Extra credit: The children who disappeared with O'Hair were Jon Garth Murray, her son, and Robin Murray O'Hair, her granddaughter by another son, William. O'Hair also had adopted Robin Murray, making her both her daughter and her grandchild... O'Hair's son William announced his conversion to Christianity on Mother's Day in 1980 and became an outspoken evangelist for his new faith... A rumor continues to circulate online that the FCC is planning to ban religious broadcasting based on a petition by O'Hair; that rumor is not true.

I still appreciate the Religous Education we had at school, covered all major world religions from an academic viewpoint. Interesting subject matter including a lot of cultural history.

I think this would be harder to have here than simply no religion, as somone form nearly every religion would be 'offended' that their religion is considered academically and not as the one true faith.

exactly right Beast .

every religion IN every COUNTRY thinks thier chosen religion is the ***** right one ****.
the major religions expecially will never compromise , they cant of course it would leave a door open and there POWER over thier followers would be greatly diminished .


thats why i say leave religions our of public schools and let the person choose what religion he /she would like to abopt and be versed in the mantra in a privatly funded school .

NO liberterian thinking person would object to that. a person should be able to their time and money as they please , if a person need a religion as a crutch to help them thou life then be all means let them spend there money for that aim .

but leave my income alone in my own pocket for my choice of how to spend it .

dont want govt nanyism to tell me what i should believe in ......

Following on from what Beest says, the secular teaching of major religions in schools is good because you can then clearly see how they are all related and also draw from earlier, pagan or polytheist religions.

This shatters the illusion that a lot of folks are under that THEIR religion is original or the only one with any credibility. In fact, they all lose credibility when you consider a lot of the legends, stories and parables are from earlier Babylonian or even as recent as Roman/Greek religions.

I don't believe it is harder here. Our kids are taught about different religions. It is done in social studies and is done on a country by country basis. They go from the origins, and it is mixed in with the general history of the country and area. It isn't done the same way as it is in the UK and like you I appreciated having a broad based religious education in school. There were many aspects that were covered in school (for both when I was there and when my children attended british schools) that a parent would not be able to cover, I'm sure. And just like in the UK, the bias will show itself depending on the teacher and school. For example, here there is a large Jewish community and so when the Jewish part of social studies is covered, they spend a lot of time on it and go into great depth, much more than they do with say Islam or Hindu.

And as far as Karen Armstrong is concerned - she does point out that the west comes across as being islamaphobic, but she also points out that Europe is anit-Jewish, Britain was anti-catholic and still has traits left, and nuns were viewed in the past in the same way as muslim women wearing the hijab are today. All humans fear what they don't know or don't understand - feed this fear with false information creates more fear. No different today as it was 100, 200, 300 years ago.