Category Archives: Identity Politics

What Muslim Women Want

By Guest | Published: July 17, 2009

This is a guest post by Lucy James, a research fellow at Quilliam

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South Asian Muslim women are the most economically disadvantaged group in terms of religion, ethnicity and gender in the UK today. A recent poll of unemployed South Asian Muslim women showed that not only are they disadvantaged, but that they are misunderstood and not being given sufficient support in order to break a cycle that, given the chance, will transmit similar attitudes on to future generations. The poll— published in Quilliam’s latest report Immigrant, Muslim, Female: Triple Paralysis [pdf]— established what these Muslim women want: they want to work. Over 600 women were interviewed, 57% of which said that they wanted a paid job. This figure is really positive. Although 39% said that they didn’t want to work, many of these women may have said so because of a lack of confidence rather than as a downright refusal to work.

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Also posted in Feature, UK Politics, Your View | Tagged , | 10 Comments

What are you?

By Guest | Published: July 1, 2009

This is a guest post by Raziq

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“You are not British, Pakistani, Indian, Bengali, Arab or African.  These are colonial identities, you are only a Muslim and that’s what god wants you to be” (Member of Hizb-ut-Tahrir)

After the Second World War issues of national identity began to change.  The introduction of foreign cheap labour (from former colonies) brought with it foreign cultures and traditions.  The newly arriving immigrants retained a desire to one day return to their home nations as ‘rich men of high statuses’.  This mindset encouraged them to lead a non-confrontational life here in the UK.  They tolerated discrimination and soft-racism mainly because they did not intend to stay in the UK permanently.

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Also posted in Islamism, Your View | Tagged | 7 Comments

The “Arab Street” is One-Way

By Faisal | Published: June 20, 2009

Rafia Zakaria makes a profoundly necessary point about Obama’s “muslim speech” in Cairo. Not the content of it – that’s been done to death – but how muslim reactions to it throws particular Arab perceptions of Southasian issues into stark relief. In particular, this is a comment on how Arab muslims interpreted the parts of the speech that was directed at the Arab World to be of far greater import than the sections the President dedicted to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Given the reaction of some Arab commenters, you could well think Islam is all about the importance of being an Arab muslim. Unfortunately Arabs and Southasians are both guilty of promulgating this racist quackery.

While the speech itself was careful to include Pakistanis in the “Muslim” world, it was interesting to see the responses of several Middle Eastern anchors and commentators. Not only did many insist on focusing on the “Arab” portions of the American president’s speech but several insisted that the speech was in fact targeted exclusively to Middle Eastern Arabs.

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Posted in Identity Politics | 12 Comments

Why not to use the “Muslim World” term

By Faisal | Published: June 10, 2009

In the much-vaunted delivery to Muslim delegates in Cairo last week, President Obama’s speechwriters scored a small but significant point. They did this by making the conscious decision to have Obama avoid using  the term “Muslim world”, wisely replaced instead by other terms like “Muslim majority countries” or “Muslim communities”.

To me this is just good style, an attention to detail and a healthy sign that the US administration is cognisant that the useage of “Muslim world” is a shoe-horning into one easy-to-pack term the totality of 1.5 billion people all speaking dozens of languages and dialects from every possible racial background and political stripe and stratified into untold numbers of of spiritual sects and sub-sects. If Obama’s address to Muslims, which has global repurcussions, can make a respectful nod to their localised diversity, it can only be a good thing.

Mehdi Hasan, a senior political editor at the New Statesman, does not agree.

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Posted in Identity Politics | Tagged | 15 Comments

Europe’s faith hinges on its secularism

By Houriya | Published: June 6, 2009

The question: Is Europe’s future Christian?

[My piece was originally posted in Guardian's Comment is Free: Belief]

The influx of people from a variety of cultures to Europe has seen Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and others practicing their faith as they see fit. Coupled with these relatively new religious practices there is an increasing sense of a lack of faith amongst Christians.

Before the 17th century, Christian religious wars tore Europe apart. Partly, this bitter history has meant that Europe’s post-Westphalian political order has been based on secular and liberal visions for the organisation of society, intended to eradicate the prospect of religious conflicts. Disagreements between peoples of different faiths and belief systems are no longer defined and debated in theological terms, but on the democratic plane.

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Also posted in Freedom of Expression, Secularism | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Obama: A new beginning

By Zorro | Published: June 5, 2009

Obama has completed the third and final leg of his “Islamic World” ‘Odyssey’.  In his speech from Turkey he stated that America was not at war with Islam. He visited Saudi Arabia, the ‘birth place of Islam’, for advice from his majesty, King Abdullah, on how to address the “Islamic World” on issues including but not restricted to, Democracy, Womens rights and tolerence.

He ended his tour, in Cairo, where extreme security measures were undertaken, where students were pre-emptively arrested, detained and huge security measures enforced in the City leaving the city with one of the most densely populated cities in the World, with empty streets.

Whilst many commentators have welcomed his open approach, his olive branch to Iran on Nayruz, to the Arabs and Muslim majority countries calling for mutual interests and murual respect to be reknewed, his shift from militant rhetoric, his recognition of Muslim contributions to America and the World at large, and his  assertion  that he will close  down  Guantanomo bay  etc, other commentators have rasied legitimate concerns.

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Also posted in Democracy, Human Rights, International Affairs, Islamism, Politics | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

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