“We sat and wept”, said the leader of the Somali Bravanese community to Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg of the New North London Synagogue after a fire burned to the ground the al-Rahma Islamic Centre that had been used for prayers, celebrations and educating children. It is not just the Somali Bravanese Muslims of Muswell Hill who are the victims of this suspected hate crime, but all British Muslims who experience fear and intimidation when their religious community is the target of violence. Hate crimes also undermine the sense of safety, security and belonging of all racial and religious minorities, such as Sikhs, Hindus and Jews. But in this particular case, fear was quickly replaced by calm. Abubakar Ali of the al-Rahma centre was overwhelmed by the support he received from the rest of the local community: “When it [the fire] started I was shocked. I was emotional. But when I saw the crowds yesterday I was relieved and I was happy. It gave me assurances I have family, friends, neighbours – everyone was behind us.” The importance of this immediate support by local synagogues and Jewish groups cannot be overstated: it challenges popular assumptions of intractable tensions between British Muslims and Jews. It is important for Muslims and Jews to form alliances because as non-Christian monotheistic religious minorities they face similar forms of prejudice. British Jews have a long history of experiencing state-sponsored persecution, violence and expulsion that is more extreme than the contemporary situation facing Muslims in Britain. Nevertheless, Muslims can learn important lessons from the extensive experience of British Jews in their fight against racism. The Community Security Trust (CST), which safeguards British Jews, was set up as Jewish voluntary community group without public funding, at a time when the criminal law, the police and statutory agencies did not prioritise the fight against violent racism. The CST has generously shared its experience with other racial and religious minorities, including most recently the newly formed Mama Project (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) that records anti-Muslim attacks, provides community-based advice and supports victims. What exactly can Muslim communities fighting racism learn from British Jews? The experience of the CST confirms that a strategy has to involve three stakeholders: the individual, the community, and statutory agencies. First, therefore, it is important to build individual confidence among Muslims that encourages them to report rather than endure anti-Muslim hatred. Even minor incidents, such as name-calling on Twitter, should be reported. Second, community groups such as Mama need support because they are uniquely placed to build trust and respond sensitively. Third, individuals and community groups should work constructively with the police and statutory agencies. These days, the police are better placed to safeguard Muslims than they were in the past, since hate crimes now cover religion as well as race, and post-Stephen Lawrence policing reforms ensure a greater (albeit not optimal) institutional capacity to fight hate crimes and support victims. Some suggest that it is safer for ethnic minorities to take the protection and policing of their communities into their own hands – the plans of the jihadist gang jailed for plotting to bomb an EDL rally seems to stem in part from that kind of flawed logic. If the EDL continues as an anti-Muslim “street movement”, the police must stop the cycle of violent retaliation between extremist groups. This requires strengthening links between statutory agencies and local Muslim organisations that have deep roots and legitimacy in their communities. More generally, those who argue for self-policing underestimate the resources needed to fight racism. Moreover, it is not realistic to expect Muslims, an economically deprived and socially excluded group, to have the internal resources to record incidents, support victims or tackle jihadists. Community-based initiatives such as Mama, valuable though they are, cannot replace the work of national statutory agencies, especially for Muslim communities.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:31:16 +0000
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