Summary:
In the post-9/11 West, we have seen the worrying growth of a paranoid, bigoted approach to Muslims which increasingly views them as an undifferentiated mass, as an inherent Other, and as a powerful fifth column conspiring to destroy the West and enslave it to Sharia law.
Islam has invaded our culture, Muslims are on the verge of taking over Britain and creating an Islamic State. ‘Islamisation’ surrounds us, creeping Sharia is upon us. For many people today, such notions form an integral part of their world-view, but are they grounded in reality?
In this report, I seek to counter the arguments of the proponents of the notion of ‘Islamisation’ by comparing these messages of doom with the reality of the situation in Britain today. I argue that the ‘Islamisation’ myth is a myth precisely because it is simply isn’t based on credible evidence.
In Britain, militant anti-Muslim bigotry has now reared its head in the form of the English Defence League, an organisation founded with the explicit aim of combating ‘Islamisation’. The EDL is an organisation that has been set up to fight a mythical enemy and, in failing to find this enemy, it seems inevitable that the next phase of the campaign will be to target Muslims as a whole, and there are strong indications that this is already happening.
The ‘Islamisation’ myth is a dangerous myth, and a myth that must be repudiated if we are to develop as a nation and articulate a positive vision for the future.
