Ruining a Community - a Cyclical Process

Wednesday, 28 March 2007

Written by Ataullah Parkar

If a tree falls and the media doesn't see it, did it really happen?

Muslims in the UK have been extremely assertive over the past two decades in dismissing media representations and stereotypes which seek to demonise Islam. I there is ever to be a decline in this representation! it will commence with the demise o negative representations o "ritish Muslims as America and "ritain#s international agenda has only $ust begun. %he demise o negative domestic representations o Islam! however! does not mean an increase in accurate representation. What I propose it means is radicalisation! alienation! urther under&achievement and lack o participation. %he experiences o members o the a ro&'aribbean community in the UK and the current experiences o "ritish Muslims are not symmetrical! though they are extremely analogous. %he most important analogy at present is that they are both minorities and are both the moral panics in society. %argeted communities are sub$ected to the (show business) experience in that i you are worth the story! you are given constant coverage* the media ren+y begins to disperse only a ter it has contributed to destroying you. , course! media coverage emphasises! i not creates! moral panics! but what lessons can we learn rom the a ro&'aribbean experience.ince the rise o immigration rom the West Indies in /012! the a ro&'aribbean community in the UK has been sub$ugated to overtly institutionalised racism! and principally! its youth have been demonised as a threat to a cohesive society./ %here is no shortage o literature on this matter! so I#ll avoid dwelling upon established history. It is evident that assimilative policies and extremely heavy policing during the /023s and /003s led to the marginalisation o black youth by the police! and

conse4uently changed the role o the police rom local bobby on the beat to (stop and search the black man) operations.5 %he youth were stereotyped in schools and became the sample o which the sel & ul illing prophecy o was hardly any di erent7. .ociologically! it seems that the Muslim community is destined or a similar course experienced by the A ro 'aribbean community. 8ates o underachievement! criminality! ine4uality o employment and #ghettoisation# have made no signi icant changes. In act! in some cases they have increased. %he anti&racist movements that existed at the time o negative black representation produced a polarisation within the a ro&'aribbean community. ,n the one hand! there were those organisations that were actively involved in promoting the anti&racist agenda! who largely seem to comprise o the middle class o the black minority dictating what the black person should be! though this notion is re$ected by most as a #plastic black man# or (sell out). %he organisations that they endorsed appeal only to like&minded middle class black children! who are brought up in very much white 6but black7 middle class homes. ,n the other hand! a ro&'aribbean children who are raised in working class amilies su ering poverty! deprivation and poor housing continue to exist as victims o government policy and police activity. 9ocal initiatives about embracing culture! having an appropriate identity! and being an assertive black person in society! is to most black people the promotion o a (white) black man! and so is re$ected. What has developed over the last /: or more years is a distinct working class black culture. ;owever! the creation o this culture o garage music! gangs! male (machoness) and increased uninhibited sexual activity is a reaction and re$ection o the initiatives o the government in encouraging certain segments o the black community to promote their de inition o #blackness#. While the #elite# o the black community managed to secure streams o unding! the ailure and underachievement mani ested itsel 6the Asian experience at that point in history

media and government think that the problems will solve themselves. %here has been negligible mention concerning the genuine problems within the black community! even though such evidence emerged rom the recent shootings in 9ondon! the riots in "irmingham! and o course! the tragic death o <amilola %aylor. %he media has ailed to cover the issues! perhaps because they were not as entertaining! or possibly because they are the same problems we were aware o a decade ago. "ut that also has meant lack o public awareness! and a lack o in luence on the activities o the government in addressing these issues. , course! it raises

the 4uestion o who actually runs this country! and the responsibility that the media should take. "ut it also raises another important issue. When the media choose to ocus upon a certain community due to government policy or other actors! it contributes to the demonisation and rein orcement o negative characteristics o that community. .o much so! that the very people within that community believe that the misin ormed representation is actually an accurate one. %he whole process is cyclical! and it means consistent rein orcement o these communities as moral panics! ensuring a lack o class mobility. It begins with the sensationalisation o threatening ringe activity and leads to the demonisation o the very characteristics that the whole community stands or! whether it be their ethnic or religious belonging. A ter one or two decades o alienating the community! the whole ramework o understanding it! even by academics and youth&work organisations within the community! is tainted by an ill&de ined idea o what is really going on. .ubse4uently! the media and government abandon the community! leaving the organisations that have adopted their ramework o understanding to implement identity shi ts within it. While this process has already happened in the a ro&'aribbean community! the recent crimes will results in an increase in the same activity. 'ommunity organisations will now be given the opportunity to engage with the youth! and a certain criteria o #blackness# will need to be adopted in order or these organisations to receive local regeneration unding. ,n the ace o it o course! black people delivering black programs seems a romantic picture! and so the process is rarely ob$ected to. =ot surprisingly! the same process is under way within the Muslim community. >uite ironically to many Muslims! %he Muslim 'ouncil "ritain 6M'"7 was recently named as an organisation not worthy o government unding! perhaps because it was emphasising the wrong issues! like the illegality o the war in Ira4! that is! rein orcing the wrong element o #Muslimness# in the community. .imilarly! recent new youth& work organisations promoting sel &identity! sel &esteem and sel &con idence in Muslims* who provide li e skills and #spaces to explore their spiritual identity#! promote a very le t&wing! liberal universalistic and individualistic approach to Muslim identity. Members o the Muslim community! $ust like those o the a ro&'aribbean community! su er rom institutional problems such as education! housing and poverty! and not rom personal problems such as sel &esteem and lack o exploration. %o denigrate the problem to youth identity is to shi t the blame rom

institutions ailing to engage these young people! to the communities themselves! who have allegedly ailed to integrate because o their cultural! religious or even pathological tendencies. "ased upon the model I have proposed! the next phase or the Muslim community will be abandonment by the media and government as i the community has ceased to exist. %his will rein orce the current social problems it has already su ered rom! with added demonisation and alienation due to the #war on terror#. Meanwhile! local initiatives rom organisations will attempt to re&shape Muslim identity with the unding it receives! delivering government initiatives! but ailing to address the institutional problems imposed upon and rein orced within the community. %he community will be le t to decay! and in years to come! crime and prison percentages! gang a iliation! anti&social behaviour and increased levels o underachievement will be highlighted in random spotlights by the media. %his will only serve to repeat the cycle! as is currently occurring with the a ro&'aribbean community. =ew initiatives arise promoting a new middle&class elite Muslim identity! shaping the work o #Muslim# organisations and academia! and re&alienating already troubled communities. I believe that this has already begun in the Muslim community! whereby Muslims are demonised and new initiatives have arisen promoting a (moderate) "ritish Islam. ;owever! it is more dangerous or Muslims! as variations in promoting #Muslimness# can involve grave conse4uences or a aith community. ?outh work and regeneration organisations have already adopted the promotion o identity I have described. I don#t think they can be blamed or this! as they are simply trying to implement solutions to the perceived problems. ;owever! even more ha+ardous are religious sects and Muslim #academic theologians# using the situation or sel &promotion at the cost o others! in what is supposed to be one and the same community. Perceived to be the opinions o Muslim academics by many ollowers! it seems they are even guiltier o promoting a superior and elitist Muslim version o #blackness# 6i.e.! "ritish (Muslimness)7 that developed in the a ro&'aribbean community some years ago. What may seem to be inevitable during this process urther indicates a gloomy depiction o the uture. ;owever! it should serve to highlight 4uestions members o the community should be asking & who is shaping my identity! and how@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ =otesA

/. .ee! or example! literature on Immigration o West Indian 'ommunity. Citizenship and Immigration in Postwar Britain 6;andell ;ansen! 53337 is a good introduction to racist policies surrounding immigration and non& white settlement. 5. .ee Bilroy#s work into "lack culture and the #inherent# link with crimeA There Ain t no B!ac" in the #nion $ac" 6/02C7.