Disaffected Muslims

by Masuma Rahim


Muslims are the largest religious minority in the UK,
making up 3% of the population. We live, work and
socialise in one of the most diverse cities in the
world. Many of us were born, and have been educated,
here. As recently as ten years ago Britain was
the paragon or racial integration, an ideal the rest of
the world aspired to. We had none of the racial tension
ever-present in the USA or other regions of
Western Europe. So when, and how, did it all go
wrong? Have we entered an age where suspicion and
fear preside? Or are we only now seeing the social
problems that have resulted from 50 years of mass
immigration?

A recent UNICEF report highlighted the plight of
young people in Britain. Despite having the 4th largest
economy in the world the rich-poor divide is increasing.
The number of divorced or separated individuals
has soared to 3 million, whilst 8% of children live in
households where neither parent is employed. Immigrants,
unfortunately, are all too often educated to
only the lowest level and tend to come to Britain for
economic reasons, in order to make a better life for
their families. It is therefore no coincidence that the
least affluent parts of the UK tend to be those with
the highest levels of ethnic minorities – East London,
Blackburn, Burnley and Oldham. And it is these places
which have seen the greatest racial tensions over the
last five years.

It is unusual for areas with high poverty levels to have
outstanding academic institutions. This leads to an
entire generation of children lacking basic skills. The
widespread poverty of the areas they live in also encourages
them to leave school at the age of 16 to
work, either for themselves or to contribute to the
family. Furthermore, if the is little chance of studying
past the compulsory age due to finances, children are
less likely to concentrate their attentions on academic
performance. Whilst such an attitude is understandable
it leads to a situation where the population of a
poor area will always remain poor, undertaking the
low-skilled jobs which command the least pay. The
cycle cannot break and relative levels of poverty rise.

In Tower Hamlets, an area with a large immigrant
Muslim population, there are 143,000 individuals over
the age of 16. Of these, 49,000, well over
, have no
qualifications at all. 35,000 are unemployed. Without
basic GCSEs regular employment will be difficult to
come by. These people are destined, at best, for a
lifetime of menial work; at worst, as criminals.
The lack of resources such as social housing leads to
high competition for government assistance from all
members of society. Whilst all citizens have an equal
right to such assistance, if a white Briton sees
‘foreigners’ obtaining benefits they feel they have a
greater right to, tensions run high and an ‘us’ and
‘them’ mentality develops. Equally, if an unemployed
white Briton sees immigrants with high incomes and
extravagant lifestyles, they will understandably be
angry. Whilst the view that immigrants exploit the UK
and its generous welfare system may be unfair, the
lack of resources ultimately breeds only anger. The
same is true of employment quotas, be they in the
army or state-funded schools selecting a candidate
because they are an ethnic or religious minority–the
ethnic majority are automatically deprived of the jobs
and education they would receive if the admissions
system was based purely on potential and excellence.
It is unsurprising that we live in a society divided.
Whilst it is imperative that Muslims do enter all fields
of work, we must show that we are capable of raising
talented individuals who genuinely deserve the positions
they aspire to. A failure to do so will lead to a
perception of us as being given a helping hand to progress.

We shouldn't need such helping hands.

Second and third-generation immigrants may well
count Britain as their home, but in the current political
situation are liable to be treated as outcasts. Non-
Caucasians are more likely to be stopped by police
than their white counterparts and our way of life is
regularly scrutinised, often unfairly or by those unqualified
to comment. Barely a day goes by without
the topic of racial integration being discussed in the
mainstream media. We are surrounded by images of a
society in breakdown, images further emphasised by
the rise of the far-right in British politics.
And then there is the issue of British foreign policy.
Muslims feel persecuted, both at home and abroad.
We're angry, and we're tired of being the scapegoats.
We're fed up of constantly having to defend our beliefs.
We want to live in peace, and allow our fellow
citizens to do the same. We experience social problems
that are rarely spoken of, be they alienation
within families, clashes between the culture of our
parents and the culture of the land we live in or domestic
violence. We face breakdown from within our
communities and harassment from without.


But what happens if we ignore the issues of race and
religion and look at the state of Britain as a whole?
We are left with a generation of individuals who live
in an exceptionally discontented age. Young people
from every section of society experience familial
breakdown, mental health problems, substance
addiction and poverty. The housing shortage affects
not only one ethnic group, but all of us. The capitalist
ideology, once revered, is starting to show its
cracks. We have bred a culture of selfishness and
lack of concern. Race isn’t the problem, our indifference
to our fellow man is. If every single one of us
stepped away from our ethnic, religious and political
identities we would find that we have more in common
that we realise. Every single person in the UK,
and the world, is my brother, and yours, in humanity.

There is no doubt that Muslims suffer at the
hands of others, but that is precisely why we need
to forge links within and across communities, in
order to make strengthen ourselves. It is easy to
blame the government or the media for our woes.
But when Imam Ali (as) and his followers were persecuted
by the enemies of Islam they refused to act
as second-class citizens. They held their heads high
and did what was right, not only for Muslims, but for
all people. Prophet Muhammed (saw) said, “None of
you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what
he wishes for himself”. He didn’t specify Muslims, or
Arabs, simply ‘your brother’. If we truly are his
followers it is our duty to follow this maxim.
So how can we show that we are ready to participate
in all aspects of life? We need to vote in elections.
We don’t need to vote only for the George
Galloways of this world who appeal to our religious
sympathies, rather for those who promote a fairer
society, who stand for the principles the Ahlul Bayt
stood for, whether they are of our faith, another or
none. That holy family spent from their own wealth
to feed all those in need, but today our biggest priority
is a government which lowers taxes, no matter
what the cost to society. We may not live in an
Islamic state but we can still vote for those who
govern according to Islamic ideals.

But there is more to be done than simply voting.
We need to get involved politically, be that by
standing for office or simply by making our voices
heard. We need to be knowledgeable about the
issues of the day, taking an interest in all topics. We
need to understand global history and economics
before we can understand what kind of future we
want and to achieve it. We need, perhaps most
importantly, to protest for our rights. Not simply
our right to practice our religion freely but for the
rights of all people. We need to speak out against
the laws banning demonstrations on the steps of
Parliament. We need to campaign against the corrupt
arms trade and fight for the just treatment of
all prisoners, be they in Guantanamo or Pentonville.
And we need to show that, as Muslims, we care not
only for ourselves but for all people; we need to
accept that our co-religionists are capable of perpetrating
crimes as heinous as any. Whilst the victims
of events in Bosnia, Chechnya and Palestine must
not be forgotten, there are many others whose
cause needs to be spoken about. We must accept
that millions of Christians have been slaughtered by
Indonesian Muslims. We have to acknowledge that
Muslims kill other Muslims, often for no good reason.
Because whilst we deny, or ignore, these
charges, we are colluding with the guilty, we show
ourselves to be indifferent to others and we bring
our entire faith into disrepute.

But integration doesn’t mean assimilation. I can be
British, wear hijab, and go to Hajj. I can fight against
unfair laws whilst enjoining the good and forbidding
the evil; indeed, campaigning for the rights of the
downtrodden is beautiful in the eyes of Allah (swt).
Our faith does not restrict us from being active
members of society. We may feel under attack from
the powers that be, but the only way we can win is
by fighting back, in earnest. If every single Muslim in
this country made the change from passive observer
to active participant we could change the world.
We are at a crossroads. We can continue to live
our lives as individuals, or we can mobilise ourselves
into a force to be reckoned with. If Islam is to survive
we need to radically change the way we think
about both ourselves and others. We are an ummah
divided, unable to unite on the basic points of our
faith. We live in a global society, and remaining insular
will do us more harm than good. Unless we
forge links with those outside our own religion we
will crumble. The opportunities for change are
manifold. Interfaith groups, universities and the
Internet are open to us. We are lucky to have freedom
of speech in this country, a freedom that many
of our brothers and sisters can only dream of. We
need to utilise that freedom, to use it to its utmost
potential. We have something to say, and we need
to say it. For whilst we, in 21st century Britain, may
face more difficulties than our parents ever did, we
have the means to change the world. Not to do so
makes a mockery of both us, and our faith.