Prime Minister of Britain, David Cameron recently took a jab at the country's multiculturalism in a recent speech, according to The Guardian’s Patrick Wintour (2011). The Guardian covered this story many times and likely from a left-leaning perspective. However, I have a left-leaning bias and so it is difficult for me to support extreme right-wing racist beliefs or see them objectively. The Guardian supports multiculturalism by dedicating space to issues of race, gender and class. However, I fail to believe that all right-leaning individuals would feel racializing and stereotyping entire groups of people is not acceptable.
The speech itself assured listeners that even non-violent Muslim groups of Britain are unclear about British values like gender equality, integration and democracy. The speech not only stirred up anger in many people around the world but so did its impeccable timing. A right-wing group called the English Defence League, stationed in Britain, held their largest march on the day of Cameron’s speech. Much criticism was felt as Cameron did not criticize the English Defence League or EDL who are openly islamophobic or disliking of Muslim people (Wintour 2011). Instead of seeing the positive aspects of multiculturalism, Cameron spoke of segregation and some sort of “reverse” racism:
"We have even tolerated these segregated communities behaving in ways that run counter to our values. So when a white person holds objectionable views – racism, for example – we rightly condemn them. But when equally unacceptable views or practices have come from someone who isn't white, we've been too cautious, frankly even fearful, to stand up to them." (Wintour 2011:2).
Instead of attempting to blame all non-British groups of such segregation, he openly admits that terrorism lies within Islamist extremism. However, he tries to state that the ideology is separate from Islam and that despite many Muslim people’s non-violence; they still pose a threat to Britain. The threat, according to Cameron’s speech, is the unwillingness of the Muslim community to accept, what Cameron calls a “real hostility towards western democracy and liberal values” (Wintour 2011:2). Cameron calls for governments not to merely tolerate this apparent extremism, but to openly confront all extremism.
This article reveals a clear representation of racial segregation that is happening all over the so-called developed world. Groups of individuals are being lumped together and stereotypes have been and are stemming from this type of classification. The British Prime Minister had no words for any other non-white or non-british group, just the Muslim people. Any time that anything occurs in the Middle East, like the recent uprisings in Egypt, Islam gets mentioned. David Cameron used his speech to almost mirror the far-right groups like the EDL and support ideas that people with differences should just integrate into one culture. This is an atrocious and dangerous concept, especially coming from a country as prominent as Britain. It comes down very simply to the issue of race and perceived differences between people. Cameron is telling his country, from his position of power, that people are different, so we must attempt to make everyone part of the same group. British people, according to Cameron, have the ideal lifestyle so everyone else, but mainly the Muslim people, should embrace it.
Multiculturalism is about various cultures, not just Muslim people. Unfortunately, David Cameron used his time to focus on only one group, leading to the recent cries of disgust from the general public. I am shaking my head and checking my calendar to make sure it is really 2011. It is difficult for me to grasp the sheer racism that exists within the minds of those in positions of power. How will society accept other people and respect differences if leaders of the supposed “free world” are placing all Muslims under one bigoted stereotype? It is clear to me that, ever since the horrible attacks of September 11, the Muslim world has been under assault. Racism has been sprouting up all over the West and Europe since that terrible day, but many do not view it to be racism but rather an issue of religious tolerance. This kind of lumping together of non-violent and violent Muslims is destructive. Cameron is basically telling them to leave their religious beliefs at the border, extremist or not, because all people should integrate into British culture. Not only is this ethnocentric, but it is downright mirroring of a white-supremacist regime that believes only one culture can be appreciated – the dominate one.
A major issue for me as I was reading this news piece was regarding Cameron’s idea that white people are somehow oppressed by Muslims (Wintour 2011). This idea that the ruling class, which is almost always white, can somehow be oppressed by a group of people that the ruling class has already labelled as inferior, is obscene. This rationale holds no real ground and when considered by any compassionate human being, sounds downright ridiculous. Powerful people like Cameron can cause destruction when they call for an “integration” of other cultures into white culture. Muslim people are viewed as “the other” in many regards – the US, for example, views Muslim people as the antichrist to American life. Muslim people exist only when compared to the dominant group. In popular media, we only receive one idea of a Muslim – the terrorist who oppresses women. In the West and Europe, Muslim people are always linked to their skin colour or place of origin. I doubt that many people believe the fact that white Muslims exist. However, our society thinks of Muslims as simultaneous with Arab descent, as if there is something wrong with Arab people. There is some discomfort in the idea of someone not being born in the West or Europe, some internalized racism that seems to seep from mouths of the powerful. Stereotyping of Muslim people is stereotyping of Arabs, as well as they are all grouped together. Everyone has to fit into some box, some form of classification, it seems. Why are we so uncomfortable with other people’s beliefs and choices? It is not acceptable to tell other people what beliefs they should hold, or what kind of lifestyles they should lead. That is called fascism and it has no place in our world.
