By now, everyone must have heard about the
Woolwich murder. Two men brutally murdered a man in the street, both
collectively having several weapons, including a machete and hand guns. As
usual, British people have turned to online media to express their opinions.
Some are condolences to the family of the victim, which are to be expected. However, a much larger proportion are
arguing amongst themselves about Islam after one of the murderers, straight
after their crime, said to somebody filming “We swear by almighty Allah we will
never stop fighting you. The only reason we have done this is because Muslims
are dying every day. This British soldier is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a
tooth”.
This backlash reminds me of the Mick Philpott case, the
father who burnt down his house with his children in it. Because of his
reliance on benefits and his 17 children, the case was cited by politicians as
an example of the “evils” of benefits. It was a disgusting example of poor
taste, using the deaths of children to further vilify benefits-claimants. I am
reminded of this because the Woolwich murder has also seen people using a tragic
event to further a hateful cause, all in poor taste. The worse perpetrators are
EDL members and BNP leader Nick Griffin. EDL members have burnt down mosques,
clashed with police after staging rallies in Woolwich, while Nick Griffin has claimed
it was the result of “mass immigration”. Social media has been alight with
people further stirring the anti-Islamic feeling, many calling for stricter
immigration policies.
A man’s tragic death has become a cause. Not just a cause
for two isolated, so-called “Muslims”, but for tides of ignorant racists
throughout Britain, and indeed, the world. A family, who may not feel the same
hatred towards Muslims, now see their loved one’s death become a spur to attack
Muslim people. The man’s death won’t become a moment of quiet remembrance as he
deserves, but a loud, angry protest inspiring others to bring tragedy to much
more people. How many more people will be killed not in the name of Islam, but
in the name of “defence”?
Of course, let’s not let the media walk away blameless. Their treatment
of these cases is very interesting when you look at race. For example, when a
white man commits any kind of murder, the case usually follows a similar
pattern. They will gain testimonies from those that knew the murderer, all
saying how he is psychologically instable, and later on investigations will be
made into his past. All will serve to prove that this one man is a lone individual,
not representative of all white people. A great example of this is Anders
Breivik. Throughout his case it was fiercely debated whether Breivik was
insane. In the end, he was declared sane and sent to prison. The press coverage
of Breivik’s possible insanity seemed largely in favour of him being insane.
Now take any other attack committed by a non-white individual.
All that has to be said is “Muslim” or “gang member” and that’s the extent of the
media’s interest. Of course, some investigation into psychological background
and the attacker’s history takes place, but without the desperation of other
cases. The main focus will be on their punishment. It’s too early to say
anything, but a look at the men’s skin colour and the word “Islam” signals to
me the same, tired treatment by the British media of people of colour.
That’s all I have to say on the matter for now. I’m
interested and at the same time terrified to see how this event will unfold. To
the family of the victim I send my condolences and to any British Muslim reading
this, stay strong and stay safe.
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