Between Critical and Uncritical Understandings: A Case Study Analyzing the Claims of Islamophobia Made in the Context of the Proposed ‘Super-Mosque’ in Dudley, England

Abstract

Abstract:Research highlights how usage and claims of Islamophobia tend to be simplistic and without nuance. Using a case study approach, this article considers the claims of Islamophobia made in relation to the proposed Dudley ‗super-mosque'. Setting out a narrative of the ‗super-mosque', this article draws upon primary and secondary research to consider the claims and discourses of the major actors in the Dudley setting: the Dudley Muslim Association, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, the far-right especially the British National Party and the English Defence League, as well as individual political figures. Considering each in detail, this article seeks to evaluate the extent to which each of the actors and the claims of Islamophobia made against them might be valid. As well as exploring claims of Islamophobia within a ‗real' environment, this article seeks to critically engage the opposition shown towards the mosque, the way in which the opposition campaigns were mobilized and engineered, and how the ideological meanings of Islamophobia was able to be readily utilized to validate and justify such opposition. In doing so, this article concludes that the claims and usage of Islamophobia was weak and that a more critical and nuanced usage of the term is urgently required.

Political Approaches to Tackling Islamophobia: An ‘Insider/Outsider’ Analysis of the British Coalition Government’s Approach between 2010–15

“…Accordingly, they refer to interventions having an impact at the micro level rather than the macro. Applying this to contemporary manifestations of Islamophobia, it is likely that any political mechanisms or policy interventions will have the greatest impact on curbing the activities of those perpetrating street-level Islamophobic attacks (Allen 2014), as opposed to what Allen (2010bAllen ( , 2013a terms 'Islamophobia thinking': what people commonly 'think' and 'know' about Muslims and Islam. This is because Islamophobia thinking (macro Islamophobia) is-in line with other discriminatory phenomena-extremely complex, given that it has evolved out of centuries of asymmetric power relations (Allen 2010b;Sheehi 2011).…”

“…As with New Labour, there was resonance between the discourses of the Coalition and some within the far-right milieu (Allen 2013a). A good illustration of this is Prime Minister David Cameron's 2011 speech in Munich.…”

Islamophobia and the Problematization of Mosques: A Critical Exploration of Hate Crimes and the Symbolic Function of “Old” and “New” Mosques in the United Kingdom

“…Common to these is a more critical approach to how Islamophobia is both conceived and understood. Both Allen 43 and Sheehi 44 for example conceive Islamophobia as an ideological phenomenon in that what is known and understood about Muslims and Islam is embedded in variously complex systems of signifiers and symbols which shape and inform the social consensus 45 . Accordingly for them, Islamophobia is not restricted to any specific action, practice or discrimination but is instead evident in a vast array of different social, political and cultural processes whereby the identification and recognition of Muslims and Islam as both 'Other' and 'problem' are routinely consumed without question or contestation.…”

Anti-Social Networking

“…As the findings from the West Midlands case study noted (Allen, 2010b), many Muslim community leaders believed that local people in Dudley and the surrounding areas overwhelmingly supported the proposed mosque. Maybe somewhat misguidedly, they believed that opposition emanated from "outside agitators" who were opportunistically promoting and voicing opposition as a means of creating divisions (Allen, 2013a). Because of the limitations of the sample group, it cannot be categorically concluded that this is not the case.…”

“…More problematic was the recognition that many of these sites were also disseminating highly explicit and inciting Islamophobic content. As the research highlighted, both had been catalyzed by the unfolding situation in Dudley where since the late 1990s, some of the town's Muslim communities had been engaged in an ongoing campaign to build what opponents describe as a "super-mosque" (Allen, 2013a). While Allen's (2010b) research paid considerable attention to the prevalence and manifestation of Islamophobia across the West Midlands region, the nature of the presentation-a civil society report targeting policy audiences-meant that although these two extremely interesting findings were highlighted, they were not fully investigated.…”