This is a guest post by Ibn Khaldun
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Are Muslims a ‘special needs’ case?
An increasing amount of attention and tax payers’ money is being paid towards initiatives which focus on Muslim issues. Muslim participation in politics, Muslim achievement in education, Muslim women’s participation in mainstream life etc. etc. No other faith group or ethnic group is being lavished with such attention and funds. We now even have the YMAG (Young Muslim Advisory Group) which allows young Muslims in sit in on government consultations and put their views directly to Ministers. There is a whole plethora of initiatives to train Imams, to teach them English and about British society in general.
All of this is of course a result of 7/7, in the aftermath of which a decision was made to focus more resources on Muslim communities since they had not managed to make the best of all the opportunities afforded to them. Many in the community continue to moan about how rampant Islamaphobia is holding Muslims back and preventing them from fulfilling their potential. Meanwhile other faith groups are beginning to look at their local Muslim communities with envy, asking themselves what they have done wrong.
Which goes back to my original question: Are Muslim in this country a ‘special needs’ case? Like the small groups of children in every year at school that are a bit ‘special’ and need extra help to catch up with the rest. If so then why? If not then why are they being treated as one?
2 Comments
The Daily Mail contingent of the media, contributed to by Melanie Philips and her friends, have added to the glut of cheap stories dealing with Muslims demanding special attention.
These were the stories of “Islamicisation” roughly of the ‘Muslim busdriver stopped the bus to perform his prayers’ or the ‘Muslims are taking over KFC by vending halal chicken wings’ or the ‘Muslims want to ban Christmas’ type. All which have been run to fever pitch by the tabloids and have played directly into the hands of the BNP.
The other kind of special needs is the kind that Ibn Khaldun mentions which is to do with direct engagement by the government because of additional provisions to Muslims, afforded sine qua non. This may include the encroaching levels of exclusivist religiosity imposed by Islamist groups with the agency of local government on publicly funded facilities and events.
Certainly an interesting question, though I’m not sure ‘special needs’ is a particularly useful term as it comes pre-laden with negative connotations. Perhaps it would be better to ask whether Muslim people, using the examples you provide, are taking part/doing as well as non-Muslim people in the UK:
1. Muslim participation in politics (are Muslims represented in political institutions based on relative populations of Muslims and non-Muslims?)
2. Muslim participation in education (do Muslims perform/achieve better, worse or equally to non-Muslims?)
3. Muslim women’s participation in mainstream life (do Muslim women participate in mainstream life as much as non-Muslim women do?)
With answers to these questions – probably best answered with qualitative and quantitative data – then perhaps a discussion could be had around how to best ensure Muslims are involved in life in the UK as they should be – that is to say, do they have the same opportunities as non-Muslims.
If it is the case that Muslims do not have the same opportunities then, I would argue, a case could certainly be built for providing funding to ensure Muslims are given a better chance to take part in life in the UK on a fair and equitable basis.
Unfortunately, although money can help in certain circumstances, it cannot directly deal with the root causes of inequality – that is to say, it cannot deal with peoples’ bigoted and hateful opinions and actions – a much more nuanced solution is required to solve this issue (which is not helped by the idiotic rants contained within a majority of the British mainstream press). Frankly, I would prefer to see solutions coming from society and communities directly, rather than having politicians and bureaucrats decide what is best for us – they are often wrong and often end up spending a lot of money for nothing.
I think the real question, therefore, is how, on a grassroots level, do we increase positive interaction between Muslims and non-Muslims in the UK. There is so much culture and knowledge we could be sharing instead of seeing difference (which in turn results in unnecessary fear).
Anyway, enough of my waffle. It was good for me to clarify my thoughts on this. Feel free to let me know what you think!
Kind regards, Oliver