Tuesday 6 January 2009

"Pushed to the Edge" Radicalization of Muslim Youth in England

In The Name of God


The question of integration has become an increasingly scrutinized topic over the past decade, as the Muslim populations of various European countries increase. Certainly in England it has been a highly politicized event that has been subject to much media coverage. The percentage of British-born Muslims is on a constant increase, nevertheless they hold on to their faith and Islamic lifestyle and Muslim identity, and this act has sparked many a debate on why Muslims are “impossible to assimilate.”[1] Of the estimated 2 million Muslims living in Britain, over one-third are under the age of 16,[2] whilst over half of the total are British-born Muslims;[3] this is un-ignorable demographic reality, a reality that has startled many westerners in so far that it has led to talk of an inevitable World War III between Islam and the West.[4] How then is the mentality of a young Muslim growing in such a condition whereby his religious affiliation is thought of as synonymous to terrorism and extremism? Certainly there is significant pressure to opt for one of two options: either abandon one’s own religious and cultural heritage and ‘integrate’ into a secular Western lifestyle, or to hold on strongly to one’s own identity and become marginalized from mainstream society. This problem is a direct result of what one would call diametric opposition of the secular Western and adherent Islamic lifestyles. The purpose here is to discover the reason for the ‘radicalization’ of British Muslims youths (if such an event is taking place); whether it is religious extremism or whether there are other reasons behind this tendency; such as poverty, poor education and discrimination.


The answer to the question as to are young British Muslims becoming radicalized, and if so why are they becoming radicalized hinges on the crucial definition of what is meant by radicalization. From a Frenchman’s perspective a radical Muslim could be one who refuses to take of her hijāb, whereas this is the religious duty of every observant Muslimah. If by radicalization is meant desiring to be ruled by sharī’ah law, then again this too should be the will of every observant Muslim[5], as per the verse: “…and whoever did not judge by what Allah revealed, those are they that are the unbelievers.”[6] Thus these images of what is a radical Muslim must be abandoned and left to the likes of Geert Wilders, for his conclusions about Islam are the only possible result of such irrational fear.[7] Rather by radicalization one means Muslims who view the killing of innocent westerners living in their own country as legitimized course of action. This attitude is tantamount to the same ignorance of westerners who feel the slaughter of innocent people in Iraq, or Afghanistan or Palestine is perfectly justifiable. These are the sort of radical attitudes that have led some to consider as Huntington that we are headed towards a “clash of civilizations”[8], although there is nothing civilized in such senseless violence.


Firstly it is important to realize that such an attitude is far from widespread amongst Muslims. According to the survey published in the Telegraph only 1% of Muslims felt that the London bombings were justified,[9] it is this type of attitude that will here be considered as ‘radicalization’. So what has led some young Muslims to adopt an attitude of enmity towards their own country of birth? There are three significant factors at work here.


One is the fact that Muslims are the most underprivileged section of British society: they are the least educated, the most unemployed, have the worst housing (with the exception of the small Buddhist community), and experience high levels of segregation.[10] It is these conditions that have prompted Tariq Modood to comment concerning British Muslims: “If a racial underclass exists in Britain, here it is.”[11] It comes hardly as a surprise that one experiencing such social inequality would perceive the larger society as being hostile towards them, and begin harbouring hostility towards society in return. When one feels outcast by society it is easy to quickly perceive oneself at odds with them, and desperation often is fertile ground for seeds of extremism. Certainly these factors cannot be ignored as a contributor to radicalization.


The second is the negative and hostile portrayal of Islam by the media. Islam has become increasingly associated with negative values and being portrayed as extremist and terrorist. To demonstrate in a detailed fashion the media’s concerted effort to link Islam with terrorism is beyond our scope here, rather other sources must referred to[12] in order to fully illustrate the extent of such activities. However, to cite a few examples one can consider how Bill Maher of ABC has gone on air stating: “… I do not separate Muslim fundamentalism from terrorism.”[13] The media is quick to attribute crimes to Muslims even before the evidence is in (much as was the case with blacks in the U.S. not long ago) the prominent example of which is the Oklahoma bombing that was unceremoniously declared to be a Muslim act of terror and a Muslim man was even arrested,[14] long before any concrete evidence; a textbook example of ‘trial by media’.


The anti-Islamic stance of the media has steadily increased[15] in the post 9/11 attitude of fear-mongering and juxtapositioning of West vs. Islam. This antagonistic attitude of the media has gone to such an extent that the European Monitoring Center of Racism and Xenophobia stated that there is a real danger of Islamophobia becoming an acceptable form of discrimination.[16] The feeling of Muslims being branded the enemy is further fuelled by the defence of the media’s aggression by Western powers. The knighting of Salman Rushdie, a man who’s highest merit has been the shameless slander of Islam, being an easy example.[17] UN secretary-general Kofi Annan perhaps said it best: "When the world is compelled to coin a new term to take account of increasingly widespread bigotry -- that is a sad and troubling development."[18] It is therefore only expectable that a youth whom to the rest of society around him is the “enemy within”[19] will feel marginalized and thus find acceptance in radical elements.


Finally the most important reason for Muslims radicalization is the political actions of western powers. It is precisely the foreign policy decisions of the British government, and their dutiful obedience to the tyranny of the United States, that has caused so many Muslims to feel outraged at Britain. “Islam has nothing to do with the Muslims’ attitude towards the West”[20], the anti-Western attitudes are only fostered due to sympathy for fellow Muslims who suffer globally due to oppression by the western powers. Opinion polls show that Palestine is still the most important issue to Muslims personally[21], Muslims are still constantly suffering due to western neo-colonialist wars, Muslim nations still suffer under the yoke of oppressive governments installed and supported by the West. Any attempt to affect change, democratically or otherwise, is labelled as a “threat”[22] to the western ‘way of life’, which must be imposed on others whether they like it or not.[23] “Thwarting participatory politics by cancelling elections or repressing populist Islamic movements fosters radicalization,”[24] not Islamic teachings, and it is these radicalist thoughts that then filter into western Muslim circles. The list of wrongs committed against Muslims by western powers is long indeed, one of only which would suffice to foster resentment; what Muslim can consider the one million Iraqis killed on the western ‘crusade’ and, seeing the careless attitude of British citizens whose country is partaking in such genocide, and not feel bitterness?


It is easy to understand then why one-fifth of British Muslims, while condemning the actions of the 7/7 bombers, sympathize with their “feelings and motives”.[25] In conclusion, a young British Muslim who grows up seeing his fellow Muslims, if not himself, suffer under poverty in Britain, and tyranny in Muslims countries, and is vilified by the media as being an enemy to society around him, will feel disengaged from British society and be attracted towards radicalization. It is thus that he is pushed to the edge, and left alone and cornered anyone will fight back.



[1] Demant, Peter R., Islam vs. Islamism: The Dilemma of the Muslim World, p. 70

[2] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/08/population.islam

[3] Nielsen, Jørgen, Muslims in Western Europe, p. 42. See also: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4385768.stm

[5] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1510866/Poll-reveals-40pc-of-Muslims-want-sharia-law-in-UK.html the article details, as the heading details, that 40% of British Muslim wish sharī’ah law to be enacted in parts of the UK

[6] Qur’an, Al-Māidah 5:44

[7] Geert Wilders is a Dutch politician who demands the banning of the Koran and describes Islam as being a “facist religion”. See: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/17/netherlands.islam

[8] Huntington, Samuel P., The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order

[10] Peach, Ceri, Muslims in the UK, in Tahir Abbas (ed.) Muslims in Britain: Communities Under Pressure, p. 26-28

[11] Modood, Tariq, British Asian Muslims and the Rushdie Affair, James Donald and Ali Rattansi (ed.), Race, Culture & Difference, p. 261

[13] Jan, Abidullah, A War on Islam?, p. 61

[14] Bennet, Clinton, Muslims and Modernity, p. 9

[15] http://www.canadianislamiccongress.org/mc/media_communique.php?id=580 CIC reports of the usage of anti-Islamic language by media in their annual reports

[16] Anwar, Muhammad, Issues, Policy and Practice, in Tahir Abbas (ed.) Muslims in Britain: Communities Under Pressure, p. 31

[17] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6756149.stm a vivid non-British example of this is Ayaan Hirsi Ali of the Netherlands

[19] Abbas, Tahir, British South Asian Muslims: before and after September 11, in Tahir Abbas (ed.) Muslims in Britain: Communities Under Pressure, p. 24

[20] Jan, Abidullah, A War on Islam?, p. 57

[21] Esposito, John L., Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam, p. 154

[22] Ibid. p. 148-150

[23] Jan, Abidullah, A War on Islam?, p. xviii

[24] Ibid. p. 125

[25] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1510866/Poll-reveals-40pc-of-Muslims-want-sharia-law-in-UK.html


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