Hate Politics

While hate politics is on the rise, especially in France, where blasphemy against Islam is becoming dreadful, experts feel that this anti-Islamic sentiment has been linked more to political rhetoric than any terrorist events. The last FBI data showed that in 2015 there were 257 hate crimes against Muslims in the United States, the highest level since 2001 and a surge of 67 per cent over the previous year. Not only did cases of anti-Muslim crime rise in absolute numbers, they also grew as a percentage of all hate crime. They currently account for 4.4 per cent of all reported hate crime even though Muslims are estimated to be a mere 1 per cent of the population.

A joint report by the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the University of California-Berkeley, shows that more than $200 million was spent by various organizations towards promoting “fear and hatred” of Muslims in the United States between 2008 and 2013.

The incident in New Zealand exposed the gravity and danger of dreaded blasphemy and how it might harm Muslim populations across the world. The growing surge of extremism in various parts of the world, ranging from Myanmar to China, cannot be ignored.

There has been no real accountability for the atrocities committed at the height of the ethnic cleansing campaign in Myanmar. The United Nations’ human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein has stated that an act of genocide against Rohingya Muslims cannot be ruled out by state forces in Myanmar. The Rohingya, who numbered around one million in Myanmar at the start of 2017, are one of the many fastest diminishing ethnic minorities in the country. According to analysis of satellite imagery by Human Rights West, areas inhabited by them were partially or totally destroyed by fire in northern Rakhine state after August 2017. The images show many areas where Rohingya villages were reduced to smouldering rubble, while nearby Rakhine villages were left intact. Additionally, the security situation in northern Rakhine is deteriorating, and humanitarian access, already highly restricted, is being further curtailed.

In China, the government has established 28 detention centres described by Amnesty International as comparable to “wartime concentration camps” for eradication of Uighur Muslim identity. Those detained at the camps are subjected to psychological and physical torture to force them to renounce their faith and pledge allegiance to Communism.

Indeed, there is need for a concerted effort from Muslim leaders, the Organisation of Islamic Conference and the United Nations to curb extremism and religious persecution emanating from Islamophobia. The Muslim world also needs to turn its attention to the grave humanitarian crisis now emerging from Syria and Yemen in terms of food insecurity, child protection, displacement and political and security turmoil.

Muslim youth are especially hard hit. According to the UN, about 80 percent of Yemenis under the age of 18 are facing threat to their health and survival. The war has destroyed Yemen’s fragile economy. About 1.25 million public servants have not received salaries since August 2016. This has not only affected their ability to provide for their families, but also contributed to a breakdown of basic services like water, sanitation, healthcare and education, putting additional pressure on humanitarian organizations.

Indeed, the best way forward lies in spread of education, providing humanitarian assistance to those in need. Inequality in development and distribution of wealth surely fuels extremism.