British Muslims and the UK government's ‘war on terror’ within: evidence of a clash of civilizations or emergent de‐civilizing processes?

Abstract

In the immediate aftermath of the September 2001 attacks on America, defending civilization was quickly established at the core of the 'war on terror'. Unintentionally or otherwise this incorporation of civilization connected with Samuel Huntington's 'Clash of Civilizations' thesis. Within the 'war on terror' the dark side of counterterrorism has become apparent through international practices like extrajudicial killing, extraordinary rendition and torture. The impact of Western governments' policies upon their indigenous Muslim populations has also been problematic but social and political analysis has been relatively limited. This paper seeks to help address the scarcity of sociological contributions. Hidden costs of the UK government's attempts to utilize violence and enhance social constraints within the nation-state are identified. It is argued that although counterterrorism strategies are contributing to a self-fulfilling spiral of hatred that could be considered evidence in support of the 'Clash of Civilizations', the thesis is unhelpful when trying to grasp the underlying processes. Instead the paper draws upon Norbert Elias's application of the concepts of 'civilizing' and 'de-civilizing' to help improve levels of understanding about the processes and consequences of particular Muslim communities being targeted by security forces. The paper concludes with an exploration of the majority of the population's acquiescence and willingness to accept restraints upon Muslims in order to safeguard their own security.

The effect of stereotypes and prejudices regarding gender roles on the relation between nurses and “Muslim fathers” in health institutions within the Community of Madrid (Spain)

“…Not all immigrant groups are perceived equally. After the New York terrorist attacks in 2001 and, more recently, the attacks in Madrid, London, Paris, or Brussels, islamophobia has increased against Muslims in various countries, such as the United States (Van der Ven, 2012), the United Kingdom (Vertigans, 2010), and France (Adida, Laitin, & Valfort, 2010). Furthermore, both in Spain (De Lucas Martín, 2012) and in the Netherlands (Smeekes, Verkuyten, & Poppe, 2011), stereotypes and prejudices against Muslims can be related to an idealized concept of the country that is based on Christian roots.…”

Ethnic and Religious Differences in the Attitudes of People towards Being ‘British’

“…The emergency legislation introduced since this time has served to define an entire population of Muslims in Britain as illiberal, ignorant and fanatical, perpetual semi‐citizens unable and unwilling to resolve the (assumed) inherent contradictions of their commitments to Islamic and British lifestyles (McGhee, ; Parekh, ). These policies and associated debates have been argued to ‘decivilize’ Muslim lifestyles and identities, in contrast to the secular and civilized lifestyles of the ‘majority’ (Vertigans, ; Mennell, ; Runnymede Trust, ; Meer and Modood, ). These discussions have also sought to lay the blame for these incidents entirely on these apparent cultural inadequacies, ignoring the role that other factors might play:

Now, I'm not saying that these issues of poverty and grievance about foreign policy are not important … [but these] are just contributory factors.

…”

Radicalization and counter-radicalization at British universities: Muslim encounters and alternatives

“…It seems almost trite to state that since 9/11 and the 2005 London bombings, Muslims in the UK are increasingly viewed through a lens of suspicion, cast as aliens and considered permanently vulnerable to 'radicalization' (Choudhury and Fenwick 2011;Jackson 2007;McDonald and Yaser 2011;Mythen, Walklate, and Khan 2009;Vertigans 2010). The impact on Muslims have been significant: increases in stop and searches, hate crime, prejudice and Islamophobia.…”