Islamophobia Watch
| Part of a series on |
| Islamophobia [] |
|---|
 |
|
Opposition
|
Islamophobia Watch is a website which was initiated in January 2005 as a non-profit project to document material in the media, and in society at large, which it perceives to advocate Islamophobia.[1][2]
The website was set up by two non-Muslim socialists, Eddie Truman and Bob Pitt.[3] Truman was at that time press officer for the Scottish Socialist Party group at the Scottish Parliament, and Pitt worked as a researcher in the office of the then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone.
Contents |
Features[edit]
Islamophobia Watch is described in the paper "Cyber-Islamophobia? The case of WikiIslam" as representing Muslim efforts against Islamophobic discourse on the Internet.[4] Its homepage contains information about outbursts of anti-Muslim opinion expressed in modern society. Discussion including issues relating to "anti-Muslim opinions related to the veil, the London bombings, leftist groups, liberalists, multiculturalism, secularism, right-wing extremism and so-called women’s issues" are presented in detail. The homepage also provides specific information about various authors, including Tariq Ramadan, Yusuf Qardawi, and Oriana Fallaci. It also possesses a "News Digest" which provides readers with coverage of "the top issues in the media relating to Islamophobia and racism in the UK."[4]
Support[edit]
Islamophobia Watch has been welcomed by the Muslim community, who see it as a useful resource in combating anti-Muslim bigotry. It received an honourable mention in the "Best Non-Muslim Blog" category in the 2005 Brass Crescent Awards.[5]
Criticism[edit]
Johann Hari criticised the use of the term Islamophobia by Islamophobia Watch to attack him and others. He wrote: "If Muslim women and Muslim gays are going to have any kind of decent life, the [Muslim] liberals need to receive solidarity and support – but slap-dash charges of Islamophobia intimidate people who could offer it" ... "While Islamophobia Watch talk about defending Muslims, they end up defending the nastiest and most right-wing part of the Muslim community – the ones who are oppressing and killing the rest."[6]
Martin Bright, former political editor of the New Statesman and author of the Policy Exchange pamphlet When Progressives Treat with Reactionaries: The British State's Flirtation with Radical Islamism, has drawn a parallel between Islamophobia Watch and the extreme right. Responding to an article by holocaust denier Lady Michèle Renouf that denounced him as part of a "Zionist conspiracy", Bright commented that Renouf's piece was "almost indistinguishable from the attacks on me from supporters of Ken Livingstone and the likes of Islamophobia Watch".[7]
Controversy[edit]
During the 2008 London mayoral election campaign Islamophobia Watch came under attack from the London Evening Standard. An editorial complained that the website had attempted to discredit Ken Livingstone's Conservative challenger Boris Johnson by highlighting the fact that the far-right British National Party had called on its supporters to cast a second-preference vote for Johnson.[8][9] An accompanying article by Keith Dovkants claimed that Islamophobia Watch was seen as "a tool of Ken's political machine" because it gave favourable coverage to Livingstone's role in combating Islamophobia.[10]
Split[edit]
For reasons that have not been made public, in 2013 Truman and Pitt parted ways. Truman continues to run the original site at http://www.islamophobia-watch.com, while Pitt has established a new operation at http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk
References[edit]
- ^ Islamophobia in Europe (2005) European Network Against Racism Shadow Report
- ^ Islamophobia: Meaning, Manifestations, Causes (2005) Dr. Mustafa Abu Sway. Palestine-Israel Journal of Politics, Economics, and Culture Vol 12, Issue 2,3.
- ^ Statement by Eddie Truman GupShup Forums, March 16, 2005.
- ^ a b Larsson, Göran (2007). "Cyber-Islamophobia? The case of WikiIslam". Contemporary Islam 1 (1): 53–67. doi:10.1007/s11562-007-0002-2.
- ^ Brass Crescent Awards 2005
- ^ Don't call me an Islamophobe Johann Hari, Attitude magazine, June 6, 2006
- ^ Where the hard left and extreme right meet Bright's Blog (New Statesman website), September 8, 2008. Cf. "Not so Bright", Islamophobia Watch, September 15, 2008.
- ^ Ken's friends Evening Standard, April 16, 2008
- ^ Back Boris urges BNP Islamophobia Watch, April 4, 2008
- ^ Embracing Islam gives Ken new election hope Keith Dovkants, Evening Standard, April 16, 2008
