john_mcdonald Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Okay, lately there's been a lot of fear-mongering going on here in Europe involving the religion Islam and of the people who follow this faith. I am wondering whether anybody here knows what's the best way to counteract Islamophobia in our modern western society? It's a serious problem here and it has sparked fear and caused people to act/behave violently towards minority groups. What can governments do to help stop it? Are they doing enough to stop it? Will Islamophobia ever stop? I feel as though there is too much fear-mongering going on in our Western society from global warming to Halal meat. Anybody got any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJBruce Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 (edited) What can governments do to help stop it? Are they doing enough to stop it? Besides not condoning it there is nothing a government can or should do. A government cannot dictate the emotions of people, and so all they should do is not condone the behavior. Will Islamophobia ever stop? The more general question is will xenophobia always exist? In my opinion probably not. Edited June 2, 2011 by DJBruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemur Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Okay, lately there's been a lot of fear-mongering going on here in Europe involving the religion Islam and of the people who follow this faith. I am wondering whether anybody here knows what's the best way to counteract Islamophobia in our modern western society? It's a serious problem here and it has sparked fear and caused people to act/behave violently towards minority groups. What can governments do to help stop it? Are they doing enough to stop it? Will Islamophobia ever stop? I feel as though there is too much fear-mongering going on in our Western society from global warming to Halal meat. Anybody got any ideas? I have followed a little of what Geert Wilders (Dutch politician) has said about Islam. He said that it goes beyond being a religion to being a whole lifestyle culture and, for this reason, it takes away people's freedom to live as they choose that is so central to western democracy. I think this view can be criticized by pointing out how various ideologies of national secular culture prescribe everything about how to live from what people eat to how they should dress to what kind of relationships they should have, etc. Western governments can promote freedom but they should not focus on muslims or other cultural ideologies without acknowledging how mainstream conformism undermines freedom as well. Beyond that I think Islamic cultural practices should just be understood and criticized the same as any other culture or religion. Part of the problem, however, is that journalists can be good at overdramatizing things that have shock potential instead of looking for deeper meanings that reduce that shock value. So, for example, even though some women would cover their breasts voluntarily at a beach where it is allowed for women to go topless, those women will not be criticized for being prudish victims of female subjugation whereas women who wear headscarves are. In reality, people could simply accept that headscarves are considered an attractive accessory because of certain fashion traditions instead of focussing on them as a marker of difference. There are many ways in which Islamophobia could be reduced, but the question is whether people really want to normalize European muslims, which I think many people simply don't want to do out of territorialism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Rayon Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 (edited) Hmm...yes I've looked into this issue as well, there's definitely a fair bit of Islamophobia going around in Europe. However it seems to be an isolated case, in Australia for example it's almost unheard of. As for counteracting Islamophobia, perhaps including more Muslims on TV whether it be for live religious debates between the Abrahamic religions or just generally the inclusion of more Muslim characters in our favourite television programs would help. Edited June 2, 2011 by Mr Rayon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemur Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Anyway, if something serious is not done I see the next 20-30 years to be a very grim and dark time for the Muslims. Why? What do you expect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imatfaal Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 ... However it seems to be an isolated case, in Australia for example it's almost unheard of. ... The Cronula disturbances made it into the news in England - how can you have not heard of them in Oz? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zapatos Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Besides not condoning it there is nothing a government can or should do. A government cannot dictate the emotions of people, and so all they should do is not condone the behavior. What about the banning of full veils in public in France? Perhaps what governments should do is ensure their laws do not impose restrictions on religious dresscode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 ! Moderator Note Religion/politics discussions do not belong in the lounge. Since the thread starter cannot yet post in either of those areas, this is closed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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