Islamophobia Watch
Islamophobia Watch is a website initiated in January 2005 as a non-profit project to document material in the public domain which, according to Islamophobia Watch, advocates fear and hatred of Muslims around the world and Islam as a religion.[1][2]
According to Islamophobia Watch:
Islamophobia Watch has been founded with a determination not to allow the racist ideology of Western Imperialism to gain common currency in its demonisation of Islam. Islamophobia, as a racist tool of Western Imperialism, is strongly advocated by the political right but has also found an echo in the left, particularly sections of the left in France and the countries that make up the United Kingdom. Islamophobia Watch will regularly report opinion columns and news items which match the editorial brief of the website, both articles that we believe advocate Islamophobia and those writers and organisations taking a stand against Islamophobia. [1]
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. Most of the posts now appear under the name of Martin Sullivan, which is rumoured to be a pseudonym.
Features
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, Oriana Fallaci, and Daniel Pipes. 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
Islamophobia Watch has been welcomed by sections of 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
Johann Hari, a journalist for The Independent, has criticised the use of the term Islamophobia by Islamophobia Watch to attack him and others. He writes: "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, 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 Lady Michele 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
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]
References
- ^ 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, Journal: Contemporary Islam, publisher Springer Netherlands, ISSN 1872-0218 (Print) 1872-0226
- ^ 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, 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
External links
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