The Muslims across the world where they are in minority are facing tough times and that too, just because of the beliefs they possess. In addition to this, the unfortunate story is, these kinds of stories are coming out from societies that consider themselves as progressives who claim to give rights to their citizens to freely practice whatever they want.
But the latest example from Britain has shocked the civilized world. Besides the sacking of a government minister for her ‘Muslimness’, the survey analyzed by Birmingham University has made shocking revelations. It says Muslims are three times more likely to face prejudice than those from other religions. Over 25% of the Britishers have highly negative views on Muslims and their religion, and prejudice against Muslims is prevalent in the upper, upper-middle-class, lower classes, working-class, and even the ruling party. This demographic cuts across classes and groups that harbor hate and prejudice based on wrong interpretations of Islam.
The report indicates that hatred of Muslims in Britain seeps deeper, though it may be difficult to pinpoint the actual purveyors of hate and prejudice. Any broad analysis of the increasing prejudice against Muslims in Western countries should take into account both internal and external dynamics of the issue before pinning blame on governments and societies. Undoubtedly, vested interests are promoting a toxic narrative for their own narrow ends.
The report draws government attention to the need for regulating criticism of religion — through a combination of legislation and raising awareness about the dangers of harboring religious prejudice. The government should also focus on building better bridges between communities, as religious, ethnic, and other kinds of prejudices largely prevail due to misunderstanding and lack of interaction between groups and communities in multi-religious, multicultural, and multilingual societies. An instance from an earlier report on Islamophobia in the British media is worth citing here. It reveals how rampant is Islamophobia in the UK media. Nine out of 10 slanderous stories against Muslims in the media were found false after investigations.
Amidst these kinds of uncertain and pessimist scenarios, the statements of the Russian President and the latest of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are encouraging and appreciable.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been very loud about this issue and cautioned the world not to play with the sentiments of Muslims and also address the growing hatred, popularly known as ‘islamophobia’ towards Muslims, which is dangerous for global peace.
The world leaders, especially those who have influence must come forward to speak up about the issue and must put hands together with Russian Putin and Canadian Trudeau to protect the harmony among the humanity and sentiments of the Muslim world.
