Muslims blame media for Islamophobia
Regional-UK, Culture, 7/18/2006

British Muslims feel that the biggest problem they face is the negative media coverage, according to a new survey published today.

An overwhelming 92 percent feel the media coverage is either a very significant or significant problem, more than twice as high as the rest of the population.

The study, carried out by Global Market Insite, Muslim Voice UK, Queens University in Belfast and the University of Liverpool, found also that Muslims are most concerned about Islamophobia, Western foreign policy and human rights violation of Muslims.

Some 40 percent of Muslims blamed anti-Islamic feelings on the media, while 74 percent of non-Muslims blamed Islamophobia on the 9/11 bombings.

Director of Muslim Voice UK, Shaista Gohir, said that deomestically Muslims also have concerns about not being accepted as British and discrimination in employment and by the police and government.

"Non-Muslims acknowledge that Islamophobia is a threat to social cohesion, but do not recognize the discrimination faced by Muslims.

Instead, they are more concerned about the lack of integration that they blame on Muslims," Gohir said.

She said that the findings suggested the underlying cause of many of the problems was the "lack of understanding of the other side's perspective and misconceptions about Islam." "There is shared concern amongst respondents that Muslims and non-Muslims don't understand each other and there is recognition of the fact that promotion of the 'clash of civilizations' creates divisions in society," the Muslim Voice director said.

She argued that it was essential to gauge attitude with a view to resolving the current climate of strained relations between Muslims and the West due to 9/11, the Iraq and Afghanistan war, the London bombings and the Danish cartoon row.

Gohir set out recommendation including community and police action to break down barriers, tackling discrimination, protecting human rights, more responsible media reporting and reviewing British foreign policy.

"It was striking that Muslims feel more strongly about international issues than say, their treatment by police or discrimination in the UK," she added.

She also warned that "Islamophobia, Western foreign policy and human rights abuses of Muslims are contributing substantially to the alienation of UK Muslims." Colin Irwin from the Institute of Irish Studies, who was discussing the findings in the House of Lords Tuesday, drew parallels between the division of UK Muslims and non-Muslims and the Catholic-Protestant conflict in Northern Ireland.

"A failure to identify and deal with the problems at the heart of conflicts can lead to increased violence as the UK Government knows from the Troubles" in Ireland, Irwin said.

Previous Stories:
  Not charging UK police over innocent killing condemned   (7/17/2006)
  UK Muslims join churches remembering the harmed by bombings   (7/8/2006)
  Police report blames Iraq war for instigating terrorism   (7/8/2006)
  UK terror laws equivalent to Muslim witch-hunt: IHRC   (7/6/2006)
  UK poll used to demonize Muslims   (7/5/2006)
  Islamic cultures festival opens in Britain   (1/30/2006)

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