Yesterday, I was doing some research for my official project, when I came across a really old BBC report. The title was ‘Special Report- Muslims in Britain’. Out of sheer curiosity, I opened that report. The report was shedding light on the condition of Muslims in Britain in the 90’s.
In 1990’s, Muslims in Britain faced high discrimination, when it came to job opportunities. Their long-term unemployment rate was approximately as high as three times the unemployment rate of people from any other decent. Not only that, but in the inner cities of Britain, as many as half of these Muslims were out of work. Not only had that, but the report included some figures from the prisons of England and Wales. Muslim Population accounted for only 4% of the total British population, yet the percentage of Muslims prisoners in those prisons was 40%.
The report increased my interest in such issue, and I was eager to know the present condition of Muslims in Britain. I pulled up my sleeves and started my research. After some digging, I found rather shocking information.
The Muslims in Britain faced severe discrimination after the incident of 9/11. There were attacks on Muslims and their mosques. They were considered as terrorists. There were reports of several detentions and several arrests without any warrant or proof. The people that were arrested without any proof were released after some time, but by then, they had lost their jobs and homes, let alone the pride and self-respect. There are many live examples, but I will mention just one named Lofti Raissi. Raissi was an Algerian pilot and a flying instructor. He was arrested after 9/11 incident because being a pilot and a Muslim meant that he fitted right onto the profile the police was looking for. Police kept him in prison for 5 months, and eventually released him on 24th April 2004, but by then, he had lost his job and home, and his wife also lost her job.
Not only that, but the Muslim children also faced discrimination when it came to their education. In Britain, a third of all primary-school children were educated by religious communities, and the applications for state funding made by schools run by Muslims were repeatedly turned down. There were only 3 to 5 Muslim schools in Britain compared to 2000 schools run by Roman Catholics, but still the state stopped the funding of Muslim schools.
In addition to the problems faced by the Muslims in Britain, Muslims immigrants also faced many problems. The state scrutinized and tightened its security procedures. The immigrants were forced to watch homosexual videos and pictures at the security checking area. Parents were asked whether they will allow their daughters to take swimming lessons, and sex lessons in schools, to check their tolerance level. The UK government passed an Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act in 2001 after the 9/11 incident, which allowed internment without trial and suspended obligations under the ECHR- the European Convention on Human Rights. However, on 30 July 2002, the special immigration appeals commission ruled that the “Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 discriminated between foreign and UK nationals, and that the government had acted unlawfully” by interning 11 terror suspects – all Muslims – without charge. The panel ruled that these suspects’ human rights, under the ECHR, were breached.
The Muslims, no doubt, faced many problems in UK after 9/11, but if we look at their present condition, we can witness a drastic change in their conditions. They are not only well integrated in the society, but they prefer their British identities over ethnic or religious ones. There are many religious schools and centers working in collaboration with the British county councils. One such example is the ‘Cardiff centre for the study of Islam’ in UK.
Results of a survey were published in the Guardian on the 3rd of July 2012 which showed that Muslims in Britain express a high sense of belonging to Britain than their fellow citizens. According to this survey, 83% of Muslims were proud to be British citizens and 77% of the Muslims strongly identified themselves with being British. The survey also revealed that 53% of the Britons felt that Muslims were not a threat to Britain. Moreover, the Article 14 of ECHR provides minorities, like Muslims, protection from discrimination on the basis of race, color and ethnicity and allows them to enjoy their rights freely.
On a concluding note, I can proudly say that my research made me found out that there were a change in the condition of Muslims in Britain today. They are now well integrated with them. Although, they still face some problems and a little discrimination on being a Muslim, but that’s how life is in a foreign country. We need to accept that no place is like the mother land. British people might have faced the same problems, when they were in Muslim countries.
View the Original article
0 comments:
Post a Comment