Film: Islamaphobia - The Accusation That Silences Dissent

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Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe FILM: ISLAMAPHOBIA - THE ACCUSATION THAT SILENCES DISSENT https://archives.battleofideas.org.uk/2021/session/islamophobia-the-accusation-that-silences-dissent/ Film screening followed by a discussion. The term ‘Islamophobia’ is accepted by many as an objective description of hostility and hate aimed at Muslims. The accusation has been levelled at those in the highest echelons of political life – including the prime minster – for comparing women wearing the burka to letterboxes. High-profile allegations of Islamophobia continue to haunt the whole of the Conservative Party. More broadly, many Muslims feel there is a generalised prejudice aimed both at individuals and at Islam in general, on a par with racism. Others, including liberal Muslim voices, object to the way that widespread accusations of Islamophobia can stifle debate about Islam, even critiques of political Islamism. This, it is said, effectively ring-fences a religion by affording it protected status. It may be understandable that some Muslims feel targeted for their religious views when the government is accused of fostering a hostile environment by policies like the Prevent duty for higher-education institutions. Defenders of the policy insist it is necessary to combat the influence of radical Islamism. But while supporters of Prevent claim it combats radicalisation and recruitment to extremist or terrorist organisations, it has been denounced as unfairly targeting devout Muslims for no more than their conservative religious attitudes. In educational institutions it is perceived that it encourages teachers and lecturers to spy on their Muslim students, unfairly viewing them as objects of suspicion. On the other hand, some argue that it has become impossible to criticise Islam or indeed do or say anything that might be perceived as offensive without being labelled an Islamophobe. Many worry that fear of being accused of Islamophobia has allowed a brand of religious intolerance to become unchallengeable. This was illustrated starkly when a teacher at Batley Grammar School was subject to large protests – and threats – for showing a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad in a religious education lesson. The school, seemingly sensitive to the concerns of local Muslim parents, suspended the teacher who then went into hiding for fear of his life. For some, this brought to mind the horrific murder of the French teacher Samuel Paty, who showed a similar cartoon in a lesson on free speech. While the teacher at Batley was belatedly reinstated, the school insisted it would never use the offensive image again. Some argue that the sensitivities of religious groups cannot be allowed to interfere with the delivery of the curriculum, but others say that, given the prevalence of racism and Islamophobia, we need to be especially careful to avoid offending deeply held religious views. Regardless, the absence of public support for the Batley teacher from trade unions, politicians and public figures suggests a chilling effect of the promiscuous use of the Islamophobia label, or an accommodation to a default blasphemy law for Islam. In its short film Islamophobia – the accusation that silences dissent, Don’t Divide Us, a campaign group which opposes the ‘divisive obsession with racial identity’, talked to a variety of Muslims including Ruby Ali and Khadija Khan, asking them what Islamophobia means to them. Speakers Ruby Ali teacher, religious studies; co-host, TeachMeet Religious Studies Icons; speaker, Don’t Divide Us Christopher Beckett religious education teacher, Holy Family Catholic School; writer; educationalist Khadija Khan journalist and commentator Chair Dr Alka Sehgal Cuthbert head of education and co-ordinator, Don't Divide Us; author, What should schools teach? Disciplines, subjects and the pursuit of truth