Muslim Ghettoisation
From:
Iftikhar ahmad
Date:
May 17 15:46 UTC
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Established
1981
London School of Islamics
An Educational Trust
63 Margery Park Road London E7 9LD
Email: <email obscured>
www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk
Tel/Fax: 0208 555 2733 / 07817 112 667
Muslim Ghettoisation
We live in a shrunken world and millions of people are on the move; one of
our biggest challenges is how we learn to live in proximity to difference -
different skin colours, different beliefs and different way of life.
According to a study by COMPAS, Muslims born and educated were given the
impression of outsiders. The perception among Muslims is that they are
unwelcome in Britain is undermining efforts to help them integrate into
wider society. Most of them say that they have experienced race
discrimination and religious prejudice. Muslims and Islam is promoted a
fundamentalist and separatist by the western elite, which have negative
impact on community and social cohesion. The number of racist incidents
occurring in London Borough of Redbridge's schools have reached their
highest levels since record begin.
A City or a locality, where Muslims are in majority is a ghetto. There is a
tendency for people of similar backgrounds to live together in
neighourhoods. The term"ghettoisation" is inappropriate. The original
ghettos in Europe during the middle ages were set up by law to confine the
Jewish population to one area of a city. According to a research by an
Australian academic that Muslim communities in Britain are being
increasingly ghettoized in a trend that set back hopes of assimilation by
years. Britain has now eight cities in the top 100 most ghettoized cities.
The people from the Pakistani community in Bradford and Oldham and Leicester
had trebled during the decade. A report by an academic Dr Alan Carling, that
Bradford risks becoming a front line in the global clash between the West
and Islam. But Islam and Muslims do not clash with the concepts of
pluralism, secularism and globalisation. The native flight from Bradford's
inner-city wards showed clear evidence of an increase in segregation in the
city since 1991. Native parents are avoiding sending their children in state
schools where Muslims and other minorities are in majority. The dominance
of Pakistani Muslims in the city has meant that Bradford has become
bi-cultural.
Immigrants are the creators of Britain new wealth, otherwise, inner cities
deprived areas could not get new lease of life. The native Brits regard such
areas as ghettoes. Integration is not religious and cultural, it is economic
and Muslims are well integrated into British society and at the same time
they are proud of their Islamic, linguistic and cultural identities, inspite
of discrimination they have been facing in all walks of life. According to
UN, 80% of British Muslims feel discriminated. They are less burden on
social services. Immigrants made up 8.7% of the population, but accounted
for10.2% of all collected income tax
It is often quoted by the Western media that Muslim schools ghettoizse the
children, and even lead to their radicalisation if they are not integrated.
There is no evidence that faith schools lead to a "ghettoized education
system. In British schools, pupils are encouraged to focus too much on their
similarities rather than their differences. The integrationist approach
merely results in Muslims feeling that their faith, language and culture is
not respected.
Iftikhar Ahmad
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