{"id":5542,"date":"2015-07-31T15:17:27","date_gmt":"2015-07-31T14:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=5542"},"modified":"2015-07-31T15:17:27","modified_gmt":"2015-07-31T14:17:27","slug":"british-muslim-womans-letter-to-david-cameron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/british-muslim-womans-letter-to-david-cameron\/","title":{"rendered":"British Muslim woman\u2019s letter to David Cameron"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Camer\"<\/a>This controversial\u00a0 letter written by Seima Iqbal was in fact a response to British Prime Minister, David Cameron declaration of war on Islamic Extremism. The letter went viral on Social Media and even some news medium went ahead to publish the letter\u00a0 including The Guradian UK and Gulf News. Here is the letter:<\/em>
\nDear Mr Cameron,
\nWhat did your speech on radicalization this week actually mean to someone like me?
\nDespite being born in Manchester, growing up here and being a proud Mancunian (let\u2019s overlook my support for Liverpool FC), for the first time in 37 years I feel as though I don\u2019t belong. And yes, I am Muslim. Just a British Muslim.
\nI used to hear the term \u201cMuslim community\u201d and think of a peaceful hard-working community who settled in the UK to create a better future for generations to come. Now I hear that and it paints a picture of a misunderstood, frightened community under attack and feeling the need to continually apologies and defend its religious beliefs.
\nThere have been many responses to your speech, and some well-researched analyses. But I need you to listen to someone like me. I need to have confidence that the person shaping my children\u2019s future has an understanding of the impact of legislation imposed by you and your government.
\nLet\u2019s start with the proposal regarding passports. You said this week that parents will have the power to confiscate their child\u2019s passport if they fear they will travel to Syria or Iraq to fight for Isis. No parent wants their child to do that \u2013 and not just Muslim parents. Why anyone would join Isis is beyond my comprehension, so having the ability as a parent to stop my child ever coming to harm would be welcome. But just out of curiosity, if my child\u2019s passport is confiscated, would they then be labelled a \u201cnon-violent extremist\u201d and, if so, what would be the consequences for them?
\nThere is a lot of talk at the moment of \u201cideology\u201d. To be clear, \u201cideology\u201d doesn\u2019t make me feel isolated. \u201cIdeology\u201d doesn\u2019t drive radicalization. Islamophobia, foreign policy and double standards make me feel isolated and scared and, I suspect, are the real driving force behind radicalization.
\nLike others before you, including Tony Blair, you say your objection isn\u2019t to Muslims and Islam but towards violent jihadism. It\u2019s difficult for me to believe in your sincerity though, when you\u2019ve created a society where just talking about certain aspects of Islam is now considered extremist.
\nMuslims and Islam have been vilified and demonized by society and the media. Islamophobic attacks are on the rise. And no, I haven\u2019t been the target of an Islamophobic attack yet, but I\u2019m also not naive enough to think it won\u2019t happen to me just because I don\u2019t wear a headscarf or because my clothing is more westernized. I dread opening my news app in case there\u2019s another unfair, biased headline for which I will then have to apologies, whether it\u2019s about child grooming or a violent killing.
\nI was pleased to hear you mention Islamophobia, but what have you done to counter it? Did I miss that in your speech, David? Prior to the general election, Theresa May proposed Islamophobia being recorded as a separate crime, but is this actually going to happen?
\nThe media\u2019s prejudiced use of the term \u201cterrorism\u201d has created the link between the word Muslim and terrorism, embedding it in people\u2019s minds and propagating hate towards the Muslim community. Anders Behring Breivik was labelled a terrorist until he was found not to be Muslim; then many chose to brand him a \u201cmass murderer\u201d instead. Dylann Roof was described by many people simply as a \u201cshooter\u201d, despite having a manifesto of hate. Had they been Muslim, both would surely have been straightforwardly deemed \u201cterrorists\u201d. Why should I have to stop my children from watching the news or reading the papers? The media is using the actions of a few \u2013 who quite clearly do not understand the meaning of Islam \u2013 to tarnish 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide and demonize a peaceful religion. The media needs to take some responsibility for the way in which Muslims are being treated in the UK and for the rise in Islamophobia.
\nDavid, you need to ensure the media is fair in its reporting. This double standard, inadequately monitored by the regulator Ipso \u2013 the supposedly independent body created after the Leveson inquiry \u2013 contributes towards people\u2019s lack of a \u201csense of belonging\u201d and to radicalization.
\nYou completely failed to mention foreign policy. Do you really believe we didn\u2019t notice the huge elephant in the room? I am not going to go into the politics of the numerous bombings that have been embarked upon, but how do I explain to my children that 519 Palestinian children were killed last yearand the UK did nothing, while approximately half a million people were killed in Iraq on the basis of a hunt for weapons of mass destruction that didn\u2019t exist? Can you come and explain that to my two boys?
\nI wonder what the future holds for them. Will they be able to practise their faith or will they have to do it discreetly for fear of a teacher reporting them under the current Prevent legislation? Will any signs of increased religious practise be seen as a sign of \u201cradicalization\u201d under this legislation? This same legislation was called a failure in an open letter to a major national newspaper this month by British academics, not just Muslims. Any human being, regardless of whether they are a teacher or doctor, would stop harm happening to others. As a GP I don\u2019t need legislation to tell me to report someone I feel will harm others: I find that insulting. Do you think I have spent the past 12 years of my career allowing harm to occur?
\nWhat will the job opportunities be like for my children? You expressed disgust at those who believed \u201cMuslims were taking over the government\u201d when all they would like to do is engage with the system \u2013 and surely this fits in with \u201cBritish values\u201d. But how will you ensure this happens fairly? You failed to mention how you will tackle the discrimination currently faced by Muslims in the workplace. Where is the policy intervention to address this issue so Muslims feel like they \u201cbelong\u201d?
\nYou say you want to \u201cempower\u201d moderate voices among British Muslims. I welcome that wholeheartedly. So when will you be replacing the Quilliam foundation with people who represent me and have some credibility and respect among British Muslims? There are \u201cmoderate\u201d practising Muslims and organisations who are willing to work with you to tackle the threat of radicalization and who are representative of the 2.7 million British Muslims living in the UK.
\nThe thoughts and worries are endless. This is the reality of being a Muslim in Britain at the moment. If you are genuine about tackling \u201cextremism\u201d talk to the people who matter and address the issues that really count.
\nI await your reply. -Source: The Guradian<\/a><\/p>\n

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