We need you!

[Curly]

 

Following some discussions on a few threads here on sol and in other settings about the recent torrent of what can only be described as ‘outrageous headlines’ by the Times about Somali Muslims, I thought it was about time we got organised and help dispels this image. Our community has long been scapegoats and victims of the media and its quiet obvious that it’s all in aid of insighting hatred.

 

London Central mosque had an interesting presentation yesterday called “Islamophobia” delievered by Maqsood Ahmed who is an advisor to the Department of Communities, but is best known for his extensive work in prison chaplaincy.

 

 

In 1999, Ahmed was appointed as special advisor to Her Majesty’s Prison Service on all Muslim issues, for which he was awarded an OBE in 2003. For four years Ahmed struggled to change the Church of England-led chaplaincy into a multi-faith one. As an advisor he had the responsibility of appointing Imams to the Prison Service. Prior to that Maqsood Ahmed worked for Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary, and was the Director of Kirklees Racial Equality Council. Now living in Leicester, he is currently a member of various strategic steering committees and groups. He is Senior Advisor on the Muslim Communities both at the Home Office and Department of Communities & Local Government.

Maqsood is involved in the Muslim Safety Forum, which to be honest it’s the first I’ve heard of them and I’m sure that many other people haven’t heard about this forum.

 

The Muslim Safety Forum (MSF) is the key advisory body for the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and British Transport Police (BTP) on issues concerning British Muslims. We have been advising the police on matters on safety and security for over five years.

 

The MSF is made up of national and regional Islamic organisations including: Al Ershad Centre, Al Ikhlas Foundation / Muslim Prisoners Support Group, Al Khoei Foundation, Al Maghrib, Al Muntada Al Islami, Amal Trust, AMP – BTP, AMP – MPS, An Nisa Society, Bangla 2000 - 1990 Trust, Barnet Muslim Advisory Group, Basildon Islamic Centre, British Muslim Forum (BMF), Eritrean Muslim Community, FAIR, FOSIS, IFE, Iqra Trust, ISB, Islamic Cultural Centre, Kingswood Islamic Committee, LMC, MAB, MCB, Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre, Muslim Directory, Muslim Parliament, Muslim Voices, Muslimaat UK, Q News, Somali Muslim Community, Stop Political Terror / Cage Prisoners, The Avenue School, The Muslim College, UKIM, Women’s Relief, YMO.

This forum would give us the one clear and voice we need to express the concerns we have about a wide range of matters involving discrimination and Islamophobia in the media, government and in the public.

 

Find out more about what topic and issues that have recently been covered by the MSF on http://www.muslimsafetyforum.org/ and find out how you can help.

 

Another interesting site would be Islamophobia Watch http://www.islamophobia-watch.com/about-us/ which catalogues media coverage considered as Islamophobic. I suppose we should be cataloguing anti Somali media too. In fact lets start a catalogue here, if you come across anything anti-Somali or Islamophobic please copy and paste the link here.

[ailamos]

Islamophobia is definitely an issue post-911, the scare tactics have sunk to a new low and include the 'othering' of the Muslim community.

 

However, do you think simply reporting on negative incidents which involving Muslims constitutes Islamophobia? Also, does this initiative address the addressing problems that the Muslim community faces from within through education and outreach?

[Curly]

Originally posted by ailamos:

Islamophobia is definitely an issue post-911, the scare tactics have sunk to a new low and include the 'othering' of the Muslim community.

 

However, do you think simply reporting on negative incidents which involving Muslims constitutes Islamophobia? Also, does this initiative address the addressing problems that the Muslim community faces from within through education and outreach?

I don't have an issue with printing the truth; I'm only apposing fictitious headliners that sensationalise and insight hatred. That is why I refer to the forum which can serve as a panel to decide which articles or media coverage can be deemed discriminatory.

 

On the other hand I would also like to look into the demonization of the Somali community, yes I understand that these crimes and atrocities are happening and are being committed by fellow Somalis but if you pay close attention you'll see how there is nearly always an emphasise on nationality of origin whenever a Somali person is involved in crime or any other news worthy item. The only way we can prove this in the first instance is to collate examples of this and then think of away to tackle this problem.

 

I just want these issues to be dicussed in the right forum for once, which will bring about some real and practical solutions.

[Curly]

Here a few from the times, notice the theme.

 

 

Somali Britons with jihad training pose terrorist risk

 

Wretched, jobless, inivible: are Britain's Somalis the enemy within?

UK studen recruited for Somali jihad

 

An eye for an eye, as Somali boy executes father's killer

Somali student on trial for ‘failing to tell police of bomb plot

Somali radicals 'importing terror to UK' say intelligence analysts

[ailamos]

Originally posted by Curly:

Here a few from the times, notice the theme.

 

 

Somali Britons with jihad training pose terrorist risk

 

Wretched, jobless, inivible: are Britain's Somalis the enemy within?

UK studen recruited for Somali jihad

 

An eye for an eye, as Somali boy executes father's killer

Somali student on trial for ‘failing to tell police of bomb plot

Somali radicals 'importing terror to UK' say intelligence analysts

I see your point. If these were white people the headlines would not have been the same. Instead of pointing the nationality out or the place of origin of the perpetrator, the headlines would read as follows:

 

Jihad training pose terrorist risk

 

Wretched, jobless, inivible: are the poor Britain's enemy within?

 

UK student recruited for Jihad

 

An eye for an eye, as boy executes father's killer

 

Student on trial for ‘failing to tell police of bomb plot

 

Radicals 'importing terror to UK' say intelligence analysts

 

The media is wretched.

[Sherban Shabeel]

The media ARE wretched but they are a vital organ of mankind.

[Khayr]

Originally posted by Sherban Shabeel:

The media ARE wretched but they are a vital organ of mankind.

How are they vital?

 

How are gossipers a vital organ to mankind? Unless, it is agenda driven, headlines and sound bits that keeps mankind running? and if so, in what direction or is like a headless monster run a muck?

[Curly]

Khayr the media has a role in society and it when used correctly and it shouldn't be bias. However having said that freedom of speech is an important right and shouldn't be dominated by a few to implement their own agendas.

 

I don't know if anyone caught the Dispatched documentary on channel 4 this evening 'Britain's Islamic Republic' which with all my might I tried to watch with an open mind.

 

I'm not surprised at what was uncovered because I've always felt some Islamic organisations like the Muslim Council Britain has never really represented me. What I was presented with this evening has made me question their ethos and strengthened my view that we need to speak up.

 

Another small interesting detail was that Mayor of Tower Hamlets was mentioned, who happens to be Somali.

The uncover reporter asked this IFE supporter about the mayor and when asked if he was muslim he said "sort of". I didn't really understand why he would say that, as many of you may know Ahmed Omar is a practicing Muslim lol. I don't think they have an issue with him, just that he's in the way and they want to get a directly elected Mayor in who would have far more control and IFE backing.

 

 

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/episode-guide/series-54/episode-1

[Curly]

BTW the programme also highlighted that the IFE was on the MSF board...lol.

 

I'm really intrigued now, I'd better do some unbiased reading up...I suppose that'll be a stretch!

[BiLaaL]

Sherban, mankind always had means of transmitting news and information. The Media, in its current format, is anything but vital. The notion that it is vital is nothing but a myth propagated by individuals/special interest groups with goods to sell or ideas of their own to advance.

 

The Qur'an cautions believers against transmitting news which has not been verified, in order to avoid harming people in ignorance. All people, believers and non-believers, would support an honest media. But no media is worth having unless it conforms to or bears some resemblance to the basics of proper verification of news and accuracy in reporting.

 

Curly, this is a worthy campaign. I'm not a resident of the UK but I support the aims of your campaign. All the best.

[Curly]

Thank you Bilaal!

 

If I haven't made it clear already, I'd like to press the point that I hope to present these concerns to Maqsood Ahmed who will hopefully raise this at the MSF.

 

Please contribute anything you might have come across in the British media, that you would deem as discrimination.

 

Aliamos, I'm glad you see my point, in fact earlier today I did a little research into an article published on the metro (a free London newspaper) back in 2005/2006 I'm not completely sure of the year. The article was about a Somali man who was convicted of intentionally infecting two women with HIV, as you can imagine the fact that he was a Somali immigrant was made very clear! I was even under the impression that it was the only ever case where a person was convicted for such a heinous crime. My search for this article uncovered a multitude of similar convictions but do you think the nationality or ethnicity of the criminals were made so abundantly clear?

 

The last article I posted 'Wretched, jobless, invisible: are Britain's Somalis the enemy within?' Pertains that we are an invisible community which in my view is a complete contradiction. Considering that their is over 58 million people living in the UK and 6% are ethnic minority, how much of that do you think the Somali community makes up? Yet we dominate the newspapers, whether it's for terrorism, benefit fraud or piracy.

 

I understand that there is a number of social and environmental factors that have adversely effected the Somali community and I am the first to speak out against that but in reality it's no more than that of other poor immigrant communities.

[ailamos]

I'm not sure what would be the way around this predicament that has engulfed the Somali immigrant community in the UK. This is similar to the situation of the Turkish in Germany/Austria, the North Africans in France, the West African migrants in Spain and Italy and the African Americans/Arabs in the United States. But the question here is "what can our community do to shed this negative image?" I understand that injustice and discrimination leads one to shun society altogether and stay in the seclusion of one's people/community and perhaps to commit violent acts (against that society) that is not inherent in him/her, but that is seldom the solution. I think the way out is through education and outreach, the solution lies in the fostering of the 'good citizen' mentality in the minds of the young generation as well as in the hard-headed and stubborn older generation.

 

I've noticed that the Indian community doesn't have as bad of a reputation as the Pakistani or Somali communities do, why do you think is that? Are they harder working? Are they more integrated? What are the Indians doing differently?