Spare a thought for progressive UK Muslims, of multiple identities and allegiances. We are many, but you wouldn’t know that. We follow Islam (in our own ways), yet are keen advocates of secular democracy, the separation of state and faith in all matters. Our equality struggles, anti-racism and human rights activism extend to community and religious subjugation.
That maddens racists as well as conservative Muslims. We are caught between the Devil and the deep blue sea. Criticism of fellow Muslims is seen as treachery because it encourages racism. Furthermore, reasonable, well-integrated Muslims are regarded with suspicion because they disrupt the well-rehearsed script of Britishness, of them and us.
For the sake of a quiet life, most have stayed out of the feverish disputes about Islam, Muslims, integration and all that. This willed silence has only emboldened reactionaries. [inews.co.uk] Read more
