Stand Together – Islamic Research and Information Center (IRIC) https://iric.org Mon, 17 Jun 2024 18:12:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.14 https://iric.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/iric-favicon.png Stand Together – Islamic Research and Information Center (IRIC) https://iric.org 32 32 Thank you, Muslim voters, for injecting principles and decency into British democracy https://iric.org/thank-you-muslim-voters-for-injecting-principles-and-decency-into-british-democracy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=thank-you-muslim-voters-for-injecting-principles-and-decency-into-british-democracy https://iric.org/thank-you-muslim-voters-for-injecting-principles-and-decency-into-british-democracy/#respond Fri, 07 Jun 2024 13:45:52 +0000 https://iric.org/?p=38036
Far from being ‘the enemy within’, as seen by most UK media, Muslims who rejected the rotten two-party system in the local elections were voting patriotically and deserve praise

For many years, the mainstream media and political class have portrayed Muslims as an “enemy within” which refuses to engage with British democracy and cultivates a separatist agenda.

That line of attack has always been false, and last week was decisively proved wrong.

Thank you, Muslim voters, for injecting principles and decency into British democracy
British Muslims made a massive intervention in the May elections. They abandoned Labour, voting instead for independent parties which support a ceasefire and have condemned Israeli atrocities in Gaza.

British Muslims made a massive intervention in the May elections. They abandoned Labour, voting instead for independent parties which support a ceasefire and have condemned Israeli atrocities in Gaza.

By doing so they sent out a message to Keir Starmer that his slavish support for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may cost his party dozens of seats in the looming general election.

‘Foments hatred’

Take for example the splash headline in the Daily Mail: “Dozens of pro-Gaza activists elected.”

In the words of Chris Doyle, the respected director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, this was “one of the worst most dangerous front pages ever on a British publication” – one that “foments hatred and risk lives”.

The Daily Mail failed to mention in its coverage that over 34,700 Palestinians have, according to Gaza’s health ministry, been slaughtered over the last seven months.

Thank you, Muslim voters, for injecting principles and decency into British democracy
In such terrible circumstances, it’s only natural that Muslim voters should rise up against Starmer and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s cross-party coalition in support of Israel’s far-right prime minister, Netanyahu.

In such terrible circumstances, it’s only natural that Muslim voters should rise up against Starmer and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s cross-party coalition in support of Israel’s far-right prime minister, Netanyahu.

And, of course, it’s not just Muslims who are horrified by the line taken by our two main party leaders. So are countless other Britons, including many Jews.

Principled opposition

In this terrible moment in the history of the Middle East, there’s nothing wrong with being a “pro-Gaza activist”, to use the clumsy Daily Mail formulation.

In fact, the phrase is surely synonymous with support for human decency and principled opposition to the indiscriminate slaughter being carried out by the Israeli army.

Thank you, Muslim voters, for injecting principles and decency into British democracy
The Labour Party is in an “uncomfortable position on Gaza and it is not just Muslim voters”, one expert said.

Do not forget that Islamophobia is rife within Starmer’s Labour. Ali Milani, Labour’s candidate against Boris Johnson in Uxbridge in 2019, highlighted this inconvenient fact in a devastating interview with Middle East Eye.

The Martin Forde KC report into racism inside Labour confirmed that Labour has a serious Islamophobia problem. Though not as dreadful as Sunak’s Conservatives.

Patriotic

As I set out in a series of investigative articles for MEE, the Conservatives persistently smear and target Britain’s Muslim minority, always operating in alliance with a poisonously Islamophobic mass media.

This does raise the urgent question: how should Muslims vote at a time when the two main political parties have turned virulently against them? It would have been entirely understandable had British Muslims recoiled from a democratic system that has treated them with disdain and contempt.

They did not reject British democracy. Instead, they turned their back on a rotten two-party system that has chosen to target and despise Muslims rather than give them a voice.

To sum up, British Muslims have voted in a patriotic way. Over the last few months, most voters, though not the political and media classes, have supported an immediate ceasefire.

Thank you, Muslim voters, for injecting principles and decency into British democracy
To sum up, British Muslims have voted in a patriotic way. Over the last few months, most voters, though not the political and media classes, have supported an immediate ceasefire.

Most important of all, their votes have had an effect. Recently, Starmer, who for so long saw his role as Westminster point man for Netanyahu, suddenly changed his tune.

He demanded that Netanyahu should abandon plans for a Rafah offensive, and called for an immediate ceasefire.

This was new language from Starmer. It would never have happened but for last week’s Muslim vote.

Source: Middle East Eye

]]> https://iric.org/thank-you-muslim-voters-for-injecting-principles-and-decency-into-british-democracy/feed/ 0 The effects of bullying on Muslim students https://iric.org/the-effects-of-bullying-on-muslim-students/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-effects-of-bullying-on-muslim-students https://iric.org/the-effects-of-bullying-on-muslim-students/#respond Sat, 02 Mar 2024 13:16:26 +0000 https://iric.org/?p=35482 Bullying is a pervasive issue in schools, affecting students from various backgrounds. However, Muslim students often face unique challenges due to their faith and cultural identity.

Bullying against Muslim students is happening all across the United States. It is real, it is ugly, and it is happening way more often than you might think.

According to a 2022 survey by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding:

– 48% of Muslim families reported that their child had been bullied because of their faith.

– 20% of Muslim students experience bullying nearly every day.

The effects of bullying on Muslim students
Bullying against Muslim students is happening all across the United States. It is real, it is ugly, and it is happening way more often than you might think.

Muslim students encounter various forms of bullying, including physical attacks, verbal threats, and social isolation. These experiences can leave them feeling threatened, frightened, and disconnected from their school community. Some common examples of bullying reported by Muslim students include:

Having their hijab pulled off without reason, being targeted with jokes and unfairly blamed, facing offensive questions about terrorism and bomb-making.

Bullying and racism have far-reaching effects on Muslim students such as:

– Emotional Impact: Anxiety, depression, insomnia, and low self-esteem are common consequences.

– Identity Struggle: Some students feel torn between being a citizen of their country and being Muslim.

– Cultural Disconnection: The feeling of a deep gap between the student and the society in which he lives.

In order to take action, we need to pay attention to the critical role of the educators. First, they should train to recognize the address biases. Then, they can raise the awareness about the contributions of Muslim Americans to dispel stereotypes. Providing moral lessons to educate students in terms of morality can be helpful as well.

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