Reading the newspaper nowadays is heavy going if you are a British Muslim. Headline after headline and opinion after opinion drive home the message that we British Muslims are a problem. We need to work on our "cohesion" and our "integration." Our dress code is up for public debate. We are suspected of harboring terrorists within our midst and of being in need of English lessons and citizenship classes in order to ram "British values" into our suspect skulls. These values are hard to pin down, but things like fairness, equality, and a fondness for dogs come to mind. Our communities are deprived and lagging in aspiration and attainment. Our religious schools are under suspicion of not encouraging integration or respect for other faiths. Little wonder then, that a recent headline in the Daily Mail declared that "most Britons feel threatened by Islam," saying "increasing numbers think 'a large proportion' of British Muslims feel no loyalty to the UK and are ready to condone or even carry out terrorist atrocities."

Stereotypes

Under this barrage, I start to feel how Chinese intellectuals must have felt during the Cultural Revolution when they were harangued during a process of "reeducation" into self-loathing and conformity. But then I catch myself — the Muslims I know do not fit this description! Admittedly, many are not happy with British foreign policy, but that does not mean that we condone terrorism. The media images that stereotype us are just that — stereotypes. I know Muslims with scant English but a great attachment to England. I even know two Muslims in my town who love dogs so much they breed them. Maybe they would be interested in reading the 10th-century work by Ibn Al-Marzuban called The Superiority of Dogs Over Many of Those Who Wear Clothes. The Muslims I know work hard, are honest, look after their families, and do not get into trouble with the police. They do not gamble, drink, or have affairs. In fact, you could say they exemplify traditional British values. Let's look at some of the good things about Muslims and Islam, which benefit rather than threaten Britain.

The biggest benefit Muslims can bring Britain is the message of the Qur'an. The continued existence of and respect for other faiths is enshrined within it. As for equality, the Qur'an speaks up for women's rights, disabled people's rights, and the rights of people of every class and nation, rich and poor, male and female. The Qur'an even has something to say about animal rights. And it tells us Muslims to think and study (a key strand of the citizenship curriculum) and to decide our affairs by consultation. What other scripture has so many teachings that are so ecumenical, so postmodern, and so compatible with "British values"?

Islam Has the Solution

If we look at it from another perspective, and examine the major problems affecting Britons today — such as debt, alcohol abuse, depression, and lonely senior citizens —, it is evident that Islam has solutions for these problems, and thus, Islam far from being a threat, can be a panacea for what ails us.

According to research by Age Concern (self-described as "the UK's largest charity working with and for older people"), nearly a million older people feel isolated and trapped in their own homes. More than a third of pensioners live alone, and a quarter of over-75-year-olds stated that they were "more or less alone and socialise with very few people." More than half a million old people stated that in the past year, they felt "like no one knows they exist." Loneliness is not a significant issue for older people within the British Muslim community, where older people generally live with their family and feel valued, in accordance with Qur'anic injunctions to be kind to parents.

On the other hand, among young people depression and suicide have been rising rapidly. Adolescents are under increasing pressure. A quarter of young people have had intercourse below the age of consent, although the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles 2000 found that 5 out of 10 young women wished that they had waited longer before having sex. Sexually transmitted disease (STM) rates in teenagers doubled during the 1990s, and the UK's teen pregnancy rate was one of the highest in Europe, with 90,000 pregnancies each year, 15,000 of which ended in terminations. Had these teenagers been following the teachings of Islam, these sad statistics would not have existed.

Western Lifestyle

Stress levels of people living a Western lifestyle have been rising generally, with suicide rates more than doubling since 1970 in Britain. Studies indicate that any religious faith has a strong protective effect against depression, and increases the rate of recovery in patients with depression. A case can be made that Islam can make people happier and give them better mental health — something which many Britons could benefit from.

One of Britain's biggest problems is alcohol. About 22,000 people a year die from alcohol-related causes, and over ten times that number receive hospital treatment due to it. Heavy drinkers also visit their general practitioner twice as often as others. There is a clear link between suicide and depression, and alcohol is a factor in one-third of accidents and two-thirds of cases of domestic assault. It is estimated that nearly a million children live in families where one or both parents misuse alcohol, and heavy drinking plays a role in half of all child protection case conferences. The problem is worsening, with Judge Graham Cottle recently complaining that drink-fueled murders were endemic and the symptom of a "rapidly deteriorating society." As Islam forbids the consumption of alcohol, this is another way in which more Islam could benefit Britain.

One of the factors that drive Britons to drink and fuels depression, is rising debt. Total consumer debt was £700 billion in 2001 and is still rising. It is difficult to decide where to point the finger of blame for this debt: at the interest-based financial system that has ensured that our money supply and economy depend on debt in order to function; at the unscrupulous lending practices of the high street banks; or at the consumers who so easily allow themselves to be persuaded to rack up mortgage debt, credit card debt, and personal loans. Islam believes that transactions are better based on mutual cooperation and honesty within a moral framework rather than on naked self-interest and unfettered greed. Were Islamic practices to govern the British economy, British consumers and businesses could breathe easier.

British Muslims could do no greater service to Britain than to learn and discuss the teachings of Islam with others. In that way we can dispel ignorance and distrust of Islam, and help Britain be a happier place. And we must remember the Arabic saying "Ma aflaha man aflah illa bil-adab," "No successful person is successful without good manners." The good manners of the Muslim and the English gentleman have common roots, in Prophet Muhammad's ethics and practices that were developed into the chivalric code of Muslim knights and later brought to Britain by the Crusaders.

Halima Columbo embraced Islam in 1990. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in philosophy, politics, and economics from Oxford University, she worked as a researcher in local community and economic development, with a particular interest in holistically interpreting and managing social change. She can be reached at European Muslims mail.

 

Source: islamonline.net