Islamophobic violence
The presence of fear
Right or privilege?
FEAR FOR SAFETY
Safety is said to be one of the most non-negotiable human rights, but one that many Muslim communities have learned they cannot afford. September 2001 saw an extreme surge of global violence against Muslims and ethnic minorities associated with Islam. In 2016 upon the election of Trump as the US President, hate crimes against Muslims surpassed those after 9/11, reaching a record high.
Since this escalation, Muslims continue to fear for their safety in many public situations. Families are threatened, hijabs are pulled off, mosques are vandalised, men women and children are brutally attacked and sometimes lives are lost. There are countless occasions around the world where Muslims suffer specifically for their religious identity and are severely impacted by such trauma.
Mind the gap.
Since 2012, it has become a trend for Muslims to be pushed onto train tracks, sometimes before an oncoming train. This form of Islamophobic behaviour has caused serious anxiety and fear amongst the community, especially among Muslim women who wear the Hijab, a clear symbol of the Islamic faith, who seem to be the primary target of these attacks of violence.
Public transport is seen by most as a mundane act of everyday life, but for Muslims, train tracks have become a location to be wary of. The fear of being deliberately pushed onto the dangerous tracks continues rapidly throughout London and New York City, two of the most famous underground subway systems in the world, which is where most of these attacks took place.
Guilty ‘til proven moderate.
FEAR OF ASSOCIATION
Fear of backlash grips the global Muslim community due to constant associations in mass media and politics. Muslims undeniably feel the need to publicly detach themselves from acts of terrorism. The purpose is to protect others in the community from being attacked as victims of hate crimes, for events in which they played no part.
Backlash is to be expected after any tragic event, although it can escalate quickly and harm those who have no responsibility or connection to the original offence. Interestingly, it is rare to find statements of detachment from other religious or racial majority groups as responses to school shootings, hate crimes or other acts of violence.
Hate crimes that follow a terrorist attack almost always target the terrorist’s background, which is the fate that many Muslims suffered, and continue to do so. However, it was found that after the Christchurch Mosque shootings of 2019, an increase in hate crimes did not occur against Christians, white communities or any of the groups that the terrorist belonged to. Instead, a rise in violent attacks against Mosques was found throughout the world, almost always referencing the Christchurch terrorist as a source of inspiration behind these attacks.