Islamophobia

Living in Egypt, religion is ever present in my daily life. Just about any street I walk down, I am bound to see a church or a mosque. Five times a day (provided I'm awake) I will hear the Islamic call to prayer broadcast over loudspeakers from a nearby mosque. If I'm traveling while this is happening, I will hear a chorus of calls to prayer from several different mosques. A majority of the women around me wear hijab or the niqab. It is not unusual to see people praying in the streets, or in empty classrooms.

It's not scary. It's not threatening. Nobody is trying to convert me. The mosques and churches and monasteries are beautiful. The call to prayer is beautiful. The women living in the dorms with us all wear hijab or niqab, they pray daily, and they are fun, kind, hilarious, and generally just wonderful to be around. Being here has just confirmed what I already knew before I ever set foot in the Middle East: Islamophobia, that is, the fear of Islam, is bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit. Apologies for the profanity, but that's exactly what it is. If it were isolated, and not creeping into law and policy around the world, it would just be in the realm of the ridiculous and unfortunate, which is where it rightly belongs, but it turns out this fear and hatred is being codified in laws all over the world. If you watch the news, you can see that people are even trying to move in that direction in America. The so-called 'Ground Zero Mosque' controversy, proposed Quran burnings, warnings against Sha'ria law in the U.S., these are all episodes of Islamophobia in our own country. Here are some of the most horrible examples from other countries:

Swiss Minaret Ban

What it is: A law in Switzerland banning the construction of minarets

What is a minaret? It's a spire that is constructed as part of a mosque, a Muslim house of worship.

See the tall, pretty towers in the background? Those are minarets. Offensive, right? Yes, very, very scary architecture.

Another mosque with a minaret

So, moral of the story, these are now illegal in Switzerland. Or at least, no new minarets can be built. Guess how many minarets there are in Switzerland? There are 8. In the whole country, there are 8 minarets...but they were such a threat, that they are now banned. How on earth did this happen? Are the Swiss afraid of architecture? No, this ban passed by a 57% margin because of fear mongering, and very effective use of propaganda. How effective? Have a look at this:

This is the propaganda poster used by the pro-minaret ban party. Pretty terrifying, huh? Don't those minarets look like missiles? And the threatening woman in the niqab, I think maybe she's a terrorist! Right. Let's all just ignore the fact that there are nearly as many minarets in this picture as there are in all of Switzerland...Let's also ignore how the imagery here is obviously suggesting that minarets=islam=terrorism/violence. You have to admit, the image is very striking, and it was definitely effective in getting a country to ban a bit of architecture.

The French 'Burqa Ban'

What is it?: A law in France with a misleading name. Not only does it ban the burqa, but also the niqab. I guess 'The Niqab Ban' just didn't have the same ring to it...This law follows an earlier law that bans all forms of religious symbols in schools. This law means that French Muslim women that want to be able to attend school in France must forgo wearing hijab, something that is very important to many, many Muslim women. Now, for a crash-course in Muslim religious attire.

Hijab

This is the Hijab, the most common form of veiling among Muslim women. It covers the hair, and the neck/chest area

Niqab

The Niqab covers all but the area surrounding the eyes



Burqa

The Burqa covers pretty much everything, with only a mesh opening over the eyes

These last two are now outright illegal in France, and if caught wearing them, a woman will face a hefty fine. Here's the real zinger. How many women in France actually wear the Niqab or Burqa? Let me give you a hint: I am in Egypt. I have not seen any women wearing the Burqa. It is estimated that about 2,000 women in France wear the Niqab or Burqa. As of January 1st, 2010, the estimated French population was 65.4 million people. Math, anyone? That figures out to about .003% of the French population that this law is targeting. Not even one percent. Not even half of one percent. .003% of the population is so damned scary that France needed to pass a law aimed specifically at them. This is ridiculous. Keep in mind, this is France and Switzerland we're talking about, not some wacko dictatorships.

These are just two examples of Islamophobia manifesting itself in national laws. There are many other examples throughout Europe. They are all based on hate, fear, and ignorance. Pay attention, folks. Let's not let this mess happen in our country.

If you've got any questions about Islam, laws regarding Islam, or anything else, really, feel free to get i touch with me, I'll be happy to talk.

Rant. Over.