No matter what Muslims do, Britain refuses to accept us
The Islamophobic rhetoric is now getting out of hand. More out of hand than it was before? Yes. A recent poll found that 44% of Britons (from a sample group of 4,094) believe Muslims are incapable of integrating. The poll was commissioned by human rights activist Sara Khan and Professor Matthew Goodwin, and published under the title, “Britain Under Strain: The Broken Social Contract, Democratic Distrust and the Mainstreaming of Extremism”.
Conspiracies, Assumptions, and Misrepresentation
Much of the problem with this survey is that most Britons don’t understand what Islam is and what it constitutes. Much of the understanding surrounding the religion comes from popular culture and social media. It’s hard to pose serious questions to a public that has little knowledge of the subject — nor cares to — in a climate where right-wing extremism is continuously knocking on the door, fuelled by conspiracy theories like “Islamification of Britain”.
Filtering through comments online, it’s clear that very few understand Islamic values and the nuances surrounding them. It’s fair to say that many Britons confuse cherry-picked media, foreign news, and cultural attire with not being able to integrate. So, is the problem with Muslims? Or is it with Britons? It isn’t fair to make assumptions when much of the UK’s population gets their education from isolated quotes, opinions, and Netflix.
With very little representation on the global stage, it doesn’t surprise me that Britons feel Muslims cannot integrate when they’re being blasted with laughable misrepresentations of adherents to the faith. One comment online wrongly attributed the death penalty to apostasy, when in reality, it’s simply not true.
So, in the case of integration, perhaps it’s Britons who need to integrate more. After all, they’re continually anti-social, fostering friendships with fellow Brits, starting fights in the streets, talking behind our backs, writing absurd headlines of hate, starting riots, chasing couples with a chainsaw, and most recently burning places of worship atop bonfires. Oh, wait, you say that’s not true? I guess lies and assumptions aren’t nice, are they?
When all is said and done, like Japan, which is similarly averse to immigration, the United Kingdom is an island nation with a population shaped over centuries by fears of invasion. No matter how many times I say “hello” and try to shake hands with someone, it always pays off on the 100th time. Muslims could be tap dancing, doing the Lambeth Walk, singing “Come On Eileen“, playing football for the country and winning a World Cup in the process. However, the truth is, nothing will satisfy Britannia. Nothing.
Photo credit: Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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