Opinion - News Analysis   

Blair can no longer deny terrorism-policy link

Tariq Ramadan

Rather than insisting on Muslims' own duty to integrate, British society must reconcile itself with its self-professed values.

LET US look closely at recent developments in British government policy toward Muslims. The British Muslim reaction to the July 7 attacks was exemplary, as Ken Livingstone pointed out, and this was proof that they were well integrated into society. A policy of constructive engagement would have spared no effort to make the best of these tragic events.

Instead, the British Government has adopted an attitude of double denial, at home and abroad. Obsession with the "terrorist threat" rapidly colonised debate and drove the Government headlong into an approach restricted to the "fight against radicalisation and extremism." Though it appeared normal to deal with the issue, the "Muslim question" could in no way be reduced to one of security. Further, this policy was accompanied by a demeaning — and frequently paternalistic — argument on the necessity of "integration." Muslims, so it went, must accept those British values (liberty, tolerance, democracy, etc.) that make up the essence of "Britishness."

This reductive argument is dangerous on two counts. First, it tendentiously associates terrorism with integration. It is common knowledge that the authors of the terrorist acts were thoroughly integrated: they were educated, held jobs, and were culturally westernised. Secondly, in today's social and political debate it normalises a formula that only parties of the extreme Right once dared to articulate: that Muslims, on the whole, have a problem with western values and must offer more convincing "proof" that they accept them. On December 8, 2006, Tony Blair called on minorities to conform to "our essential values," stating that they had "a duty to integrate." The Muslim community, perceived as "badly integrated," has become suspect.

Terrorism requires analysis of the religious rhetoric and the political strategies of its authors; they must be confronted firmly. It is equally clear that an accurately targeted security policy is a necessity. But this cannot justify sweeping measures applied to an entire segment of the population on the basis of a misdiagnosis. The vast majority of British Muslims have absolutely no problem with the British values cited above. Their cultural and religious integration is already a fact, as proven by the millions of citizens who live peaceably in this country. The problem today is not one of "essential values," but of the gap between these values and everyday social and political practice. Justice is applied variably depending on whether one is black, Asian or Muslim. Equal opportunity is often a myth. Young citizens from cultural and religious "minorities" run up against the wall of institutionalised racism. Rather than insisting that Muslims yield to a "duty to integrate," society must shoulder its "duty of consistency." It is up to British society to reconcile itself with its own self-professed values; it is up to politicians to practise what they preach. —

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2007

(Tariq Ramadan is the president of the think tank European Muslim Network and author of The Messenger, The Meanings of the Life of Muhammad.)

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

India's military manpower crisis
Harmonising health standards
Leveraging climate change concerns
The case for a caste-wise census
Bangladesh fighting to contain bird flu
Blair can no longer deny terrorism-policy link
Corrections and Clarifications
Act of expediency
Matter of concern
Review reservation
Regressive

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu