Use online resources in the struggle against rampant Islamophobia
Published: Mar 8, 2012 02:14 Updated: Mar 8, 2012 02:14
According to the British Runnymede Trust, Islamophobia “is a useful shorthand way of referring to dread or hatred of Islam — and, therefore, to fear or dislike of all or most Muslims.”
Islamophobia is a form of intolerance alongside xenophobia and anti-Semitism and these days it’s not difficult to find online. Hate mongers spout vitriol against Muslims on Facebook, YouTube and BlogSpot. Just returned from an internal OIC workshop held in Brussels to discuss Islamophobia, Ahmed Rehab, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Chicago Office, asserted that Muslims must do more to fight this scourge.
“Islamophobia is rampant online. There is almost a monopoly by the Islamophobes on Islam and Muslims online,” remarked Rehab. “What we’re trying to do is to encourage others to be more active online. People need to start blogs and have websites that engage in commenting on Islam and which link to positive material that is informative about Islam and Muslims. It is necessary to push back against this onslaught of Islamophobic attacks.”
Rehab noted that Islamophobia is getting worse in the sense that there’s more blatantly bigoted information online that’s readily available and that Islamophobes are regularly engaging in online sharing with others where they push their agenda of intolerance. Even where websites and social networks have a policy of prohibiting hate speech, it is very difficult to remove Islamophobic postings as sites do not want to impinge on people’s freedom of expression.
“Our policy is not to call for shutting things down but rather to have more speech that responds to the Islamophobic material,” said Rehab. “Pretty much anything goes online, even if it’s hate speech. Because the online world is unmoderated for the most part, that’s what makes it such a successful venue for anyone that wants to engage in Islamophobia. Unfortunately, a lot of the Islamophobic materials that are posted online then get into mainstream media such as radio and TV.”
Islamophobia has become a business. Rehab advised that many Islamophobes are well known, although there are some who do use pseudonyms or are anonymous. These Islamophobes have made a name for themselves and in some cases have enriched their bank accounts by bashing Muslims. While hate speech is nothing new, the Internet has made it much easier for bigots to get out their disgusting messages.
http://arabnews.com/variety/science_technology/article584664.ece
Categories: Asia, Behaviour, Human Rights, Human values, Islam, Islamophobia, ISLAMOPHOBIA, Saudi Arabia
That is what we at The Muslim Times are trying to do – and more!
by ‘and more’ I mean that we are not only ‘on the defensive’ but on the ‘constructive offensive’… (peaceful one!)