Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Islamofobia e libertà

http://www.newsocialist.org/index.php?id=746
Islamophobia and the Cartoons
Piers Mostyn
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Today the background is one of a febrile global atmosphere of imperialist
wars on Muslim countries, Islamophobia stoked up by the media, a wave of
physical attacks on the Muslim community, the incessant witch hunting of
"extremists" and draconian state assaults on civil liberties directed
against that community. Behind this lies a political polarisation in which
the far right has gained strength and mainstream political discourse
(incorporating social democratic as well as rightist parties) routinely
includes xenophobia, repression of migrants and so forth.
In this context the objective dynamic of the cartoons and their continued
republication is one of racism against an oppressed community.
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In present circumstances the duty of all who oppose the war and racism and
stand for civil liberties is to defend the Muslim community. This remains
the case irrespective of the fundamentalist character of some of those who
have protested against the cartoons or reactionary states that have hijacked
the issue ­both of which should be denounced.
The current climate is fuelled by right wing, racist elements that have
jumped on the bandwagon of Islamophobia and are deliberately using a
legitimate "freedom of the press" as a Trojan horse for their own
reactionary agenda. The rest of the establishment has either encouraged this
or been powerless to confront it ­ due to it's complicity with or failure to
oppose the recent imperialist wars and authoritarian attacks in which
precisely the same community has been the prime target.
Part of this rightist agenda that needs to be challenged is the implication
that the Muslim communities are in some way responsible for the racist
tirade. As though "extremists" can have some how provoked it. To accept this
is to ignore the political context. It is as wrong as to claim that the 9/11
attacks provided some justification for the invasions of Afghanistan and
Iraq.
It is simultaneously necessary to defend freedom of speech. Again this is
not an abstract question and cannot be done outside of an anti-racist
perspective that acknowledges the political context. Censorship of the
media, particularly by the state, must be opposed.
There has to be freedom of speech on religion as on all questions of
politics, philosophical outlook and morality. This is why it has been
necessary to oppose the legislation proposing to criminalise the incitement
of "religious hatred" that is currently being debated in the British
parliament. This is not the solution. Censorship and criminalisation will
only strengthen the very state power responsible for stoking up the
Islamophobia in the first place.
The way to combat such racism and bigotry is through mass organisation and
united front mobilisation, learning the lessons of the anti-war movement's
defence of the Muslim community and civil liberties. This will marginalise
and discredit those peddling it.
Mobilisations should be around slogans that will maximise mass support and
unite communities ­ through opposition to racism and Islamophobia, defence
of minority communities and linking these questions to opposition to the
"war on terror" and attacks on civil liberties of which they form an
integral part. Slogans that restrict defence to support for Islam or a
particular interpretation of it will exclude all those from other faiths and
those with none, as well as ignoring the fact that all faiths and
communities comprise many different strands and are not homogenous.
There should be no curb on freedom to criticise Islam (or other religions)
including by those within that community. All religions include elements
that are reactionary and oppressive ­ in particular to women and those of
different sexual orientation. This needs to be challenged. It is also right
to challenge the involvement of religion in the state and in education-to
defend secularism.
But it is perfectly possible for such debate to respect the right of all to
practice their own religion, to have pride and dignity in their culture,
community and identity whilst standing firm against the racist and
Islamophobic agenda and defending the Muslim community.

chi ama la libertà non può che detestare gli islamici....