Islamophobia is a crime against humanity

Islamophobia is a crime against humanity 

By Ibrahim Kalin

Asharq alawsad

The tragic attacks in Norway show the high cost of sleeping over the rising tide of Islamophobia and its dangers. The Norwegian massacre has falsified the claims that Islamophobia, unlike anti-Semitism, does not involve violence and thus is a matter of freedom of speech and right to criticize. After the murderous act of Anders Behrig Breivik, the 32-year old Norwegian responsible for the attacks, and the ideology behind it, Islamophobia can no longer be taken lightly. Like anti-Semitism and racism, Islamophobia is a crime against humanity and should be criminalized. 

The Norwegian massacre has brought to the fore some painful and uncomfortable facts. First of all, incitement against a religious or ethnic group can lead to violence and terrorism. This is exactly what happened after the terrorist attacks of September 11 in the US. The American Muslim community became the target of numerous attacks and policies of suspicion and intimidation. But what was more alarming was the rise of an underground movement that pitted Islam and Muslims against the West and advocated a clash of religions, cultures and civilizations all at once. Promoted by a string of American Islamophobes and their cohorts in Europe, the new Islamophobia was picked up by populist politicians, the Tea Party goers, right-wing TV commentators and others who saw the future of the Western civilization and American way of life threatened by Islam and Muslims.
The developments in Europe have been giving similar signals. The rise of conservative, anti-immigration, right-wing political parties has become the main trend of European politics over the last few years and found an alarmingly strong base in France, Germany, Holland, Austria and even Switzerland, considered the heartland of European liberalism and multiculturalism. Furthermore, Switzerland surprised everyone with the infamous referendum on the banning of minarets. The referendum was immediately taken up by Europe's prominent Islamophobes including Geert Wilders, who has been calling for a similar referendum to bar Muslims from entering European countries. The "Stop Islam(ization)" campaign has become the most visible face of Islamophobia in Europe but European governments and political leaders have practically done nothing to stop it. 

Instead, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the British Prime Minister David Cameron all declared that multiculturalism is dead in Europe. What they proposed in place of their failed policies of multiculturalism is not clear. By contrast, the Turkish Prime Minister has been calling for action against Islamophobia and attacks on Turks and Muslims in Europe. It is high time that European leaders act to stem the rising tide of racist and anti-immigration politics. 
Otherwise, it would not be a stretch to say that Breivik would become a model for others. As a matter of fact, Breivik is reported to have defended himself in the court by saying that "I did it in order to save Europe from Islam". He believed he executed his bloody plan for the sake of Europe, a Europe in which he wants to see no trace of Islam and Muslims by the year 2083, the 400th anniversary of the 1683 Second Vienna Siege. How does one go to this extreme? The answer is simple. The kind of Islamophobia that has been spreading in Europe and the US incites hatred against Islam and Muslims and thus can easily turn violent at a time of identity crises, misplaced fears and political opportunism. 

So what are the punch lines of Islamophobia? They are the well-known stereotypes and prejudices about Islam and Muslims: Islam is inherently violent and bent on overtaking and destroying Western civilization; Islam wants to subjugate Jews and Christians; Islam cannot tolerate pluralism; Islam oppresses women; Muslims cannot integrate but want to dominate in the West; Muslims seek to convert everyone by force; Muslims are potential terrorists and should be watched, monitored, profiled; Muslim minorities in the West cannot be trusted because their primary loyalty is to the ummah, not to the countries in which they live. These and similar diatribes against Islam and Muslims are forged out of ignorance, fear and hatred as well as deliberate ideological choices. Its deceiving power stems from its ability to combine irrational and sentimental elements.

Some commentators are trying to present Breivik as an isolated case of one person's insanity. But this is totally false. Breivik is a result of something larger and more dangerous than one deranged person's bloody act. The Islamophobic network from which Breivik derived his ideas and action extend from the US Islamophobes such as Robert Spencer, Bat Ye'or and their colleagues to racist European political groups. This network of individuals and underground groups should now be exposed and investigated. Their potential danger should be clear to everyone now. It cannot be seen as one sad isolated incident.
If the Norwegian attacks were carried out by a Muslim, the so-called terrorist experts and commentators have established by now all sorts of international links and networks from Norway to the Arab world and Southeast Asia. The person would have become the symbol of a world-wide network of like-minded terrorists, etc. But none of this 'critical' approach is being applied to the Breivik case. Even in the face of the most obvious Islamophobic terrorism, prejudice against Islam and Muslims continues.

A distorted history, a misguided heroism, and misplaced fears can easily turn violent. We have seen this done against Jews, Blacks, Chinese, Japanese and others in the past. The logic and the manner in which old racism and anti-Semitism has been fostered and organized is similar to the way Islamophobia is making its way into mainstream politics and society in Europe and the US.
Europeans and Americans can no longer pretend that Islamophobia does not pose any threats. Like anti-Semitism and other forms of racism, Islamophobia is a crime against humanity and should be dealt with accordingly. We cannot wait for another massacre before we act.