"Asian" or Muslim?
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Contents
How the Media Defends a Religion by Vilifying a Race
As most of us are painfully aware, Western media is inherently Eurocentric and rarely focuses on what happens outside of Europe, United States, Canada and Australia. This is nowhere more apparent than in its coverage of terrorism, or, to put it more specifically, Islamic terrorism.
A case in point would be the horrific March 2012 slaughter of innocent Jews and Muslims by an Islamic terrorist in France. The average person who rarely spends time on the net would think the extremists were in hibernation since the July 2011 mass killings perpetrated by Breivik in Norway. In reality there has literally been thousands of Islamic terrorist attacks in between these two incidents. Just browse through WikiIslam's collection of news articles on the persecution of non-Muslims, ex-Muslims, homosexuals and women, and ask yourself, "how many of these incidents were covered in the mainstream news?" The answer is, "very few".
In early 2012, I came across an infuriatingly ignorant forum posting which attempted to downplay and defend extremism within Islam by pointing out that the "last big terrorist attack was by Anders Behring Breivik". Apparently the November 2011 attack which left 150 Nigerians dead or the December 2011 attack that left 59 Afghans dead didn't happen.
Even when it comes to Muslim violence within these areas, the media does all it can to not focus on them or to obfuscate the religious nature behind them. In the United Kingdom this has manifested itself through the media labeling of Muslims as "Asians".
A good example of this is the UK media handling of the 2001 "race riots" by "Asians" in Oldham, Bradford and Burnley. In reality, these outbreaks of violence had little to do with race. The government was warned by the head of the Commission for Racial Equality, Gurbux Singh, that more violence was to be expected from "Young Muslims who feel disenfranchised" living among the many "Muslim" hotspots in the UK.
The same thing occurred amid the news of widespread grooming of young white girls by "Asian" men. It was eventually brought to light that these "Asians" were not only targeting white girls, but also young girls from Hindu and Sikh communities. Since these "Asians" of Pakistani heritage are targeting white, Hindu, and Sikh children, and Pakistan is 96 percent Muslim, wouldn't a more accurate description be "Pakistani Muslim men"?
Another good example would be how the UK tabloids reported on the "Asians" who spat on Remembrance Day poppies and the girl who was selling them. The only "Asians" who are offended by poppies, which they see as a reference to soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc., are Muslims, but this is not mentioned in the report. So, again, the use of "Asian" to describe the perpetrators behind these crimes is inaccurate because their race was irrelevant to their motivations.
Unlike in the United States, when people in the United Kingdom refer to "Asians", they mean South Asians specifically from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. So, not only is this poor journalism, but it is demonizing an entire "race", the majority of whom are not Muslim.
The real-world effects caused by this are disturbing. Maybe it's the beard, but since the revelation of "widespread grooming by Asian men", sometimes you can visibly see young girls quicken their step or cross over to the other side when you're walking by. You can't blame them for doing this. In fact, I advise them to do this. There is absolutely nothing more important than the safety of young children. Unfortunately it's nonetheless humiliating.
Another worrying development is support from a limited number of Hindus and Sikhs for the fascist British National Party (BNP). As I have noted in the past, yes, they pale in comparison to the extremism found within mainstream Islam, a belief system which (when followed) would execute Hindus and Sikhs (i.e. idolators/pagans) if they refused to convert, but fighting hate with more hate is never the answer.
Time and time again I also read hostile comments left by whites on news stories about "Asians" attacking innocent white people, including women and the elderly. In these comments, they often attack Asians for being backward and in need of deportation. Here's a newsflash for them; where you are born and what your ethnicity is do not affect your behavior. On the other hand, what you believe in certainly does. Every community has its own issues to deal with, but there is no history of Hindu, Sikh or Christian Asian gangs in the UK systematically going around beating up white people, they are too busy being beaten up, raped or murdered by Muslim "Asians".
Update to the Original Essay
A lot has happened since I first wrote this piece. Two of them involve the BBC, so I'll begin with those developments.
Near the end of May 2012, the BBC temporarily abandoned its policy of referring to Muslim rape gangs that target non-Muslim women and children, as "Asian" rape gangs. Instead they called the rapist an “alleged Muslim”. Unfortunately this development was not the result of the BBC's journalistic integrity. They were forced into the move when one of the victims of these religiously motivated sex-crimes turned out to be a teenaged Asian Sikh girl. They could hardly call it a racially motivated crime in this instance, could they?
Also in may, the BBC finally ran a story about groups representing Sikh and Hindu communities complaining about the media use of the term "Asian". As pointed out, the repeated use of the term "Asian" to describe Pakistani Muslims is playing into the hands of far-right racists such as the BNP. This gives them the ammo to scream "Look! See, we're right! All those brown people are the same. They just want to defile your innocent native British children!!!!" (as if only white kids can be "British").
In connection with the reports on the "Asians" who spat on Remembrance Day poppies and the girl who was selling them, the Bradford Telegraph and Argus has just reported that the young poppy sellers are to get minders after the abuse suffered last year. The most interesting aspect of this news story is the fact they now report that the 13-year-old white girl was only one of three teenagers selling remembrance poppies that day. Do you want to know the race/ethnicity of the other two young girls who were also abused? You've probably guessed it already... they appear to have been "Asians". Unsurprisingly this hasn't stopped thick-skulled racists from commenting on that article (e.g. "Skagbagger" and "fabricator666" referring to us as "feral Asian youth").
The Sun reported in May 2012, on the sentencing of a 9-man "Asian" pedophile sex gang. Those sentenced were eight Pakistani men and one Afghan. Can you guess which religion those nine "Asians" belong to? A clue would be the fact that one of the nine men was a Muslim preacher. The sentencing judge even stated quite clearly that the men had preyed on those young girls partly because they were from a different religion. The Sun article mentions this (as do others). But what catchy title do you think they chose to give this news story? It was titled, "77 years for Asian sex beasts...50 more on the loose". Let that sink in for a minute. A mainstream and popular tabloid referring to Asians as "beasts... on the loose" Now imagine if that title had read "Black sex beasts... on the loose", and how long it would have been before they were accused of overt racism in their reporting. Is there any wonder that racists see no problem with referring to us as "feral Asian youth"?
Finally, this is not a new development but more of an 'oversight' on my part. An interesting case dating back to 2009 in Bradford, the same place where the so-called race riots took place, when a Muslim teen stabbed a 51-year-old white non-Muslim male. The sentencing judge said it "seemed to have a racial motive." But the teen explained his motivations plain as day, "Manningham belongs to Muslims. We dont want whites. We rule Bradford. We are going to get you out." The attack was clearly racially and religiously motivated. If anything, there's a chance it was only religiously motivated (to most Muslim Asians, every white is assumed to be a Christian). I highly doubt this old man would have been attacked if he was dressed in recognizably Islamic clothing.
UK Muslims (aka. "Asians") and their Persecution of Non-Muslim Asians
This is just a small sample of what non-Muslim Asians (including atheists, Christians, Hindus and Sikhs) have to endure in the United Kingdom:
Race hate fear over attacks on Sikhs (The Telegraph)
"POLICE and community leaders say they are struggling to contain racial tensions in Derby after a young Sikh was badly hurt when ambushed by a gang of Muslims carrying hammers and crowbars.
Harjit Singh Sandhu, 22, was in hospital with a broken leg, ankle and nose and cuts to his face and head after being attacked for 20 minutes in the Normanton area on Monday.
About 50 Sikh youths went on to the streets to protest at the rising number of assaults by Muslim youths, but were dispersed by police. [...] Harninder Singh, a close friend of Mr Sandhu, said: "It was a totally unprovoked attack and the worst thing was he ran into a few Muslim shops for help and received none. When they had finished he was absolutely covered in blood. I was with him last Wednesday when Muslim lads mounted the pavement and tried to run him over."
Battered Stepney man in recovery (East London Advertiser)
"Monzur Rahman was left with a broken arm, damaged eye and lying unconscious in the street after the violent attack earlier this month.
The 39-year-old atheist claims he was brutally set upon by a pack of youths for failing to observe Ramadan. [...] He claims he was then approached by a group of around ten young men who asked him why he wasn’t observing Ramadan. When he replied that he was an atheist they are believed to have chased him to nearby Walburgh Street, attacking him outside his home.
Monzur was reportedly battered until unconscious and later taken to the Royal London Hospital. His left arm was broken and metal bolts later put in."
Minister beaten after clashing with Muslims on his TV show (Mail Online)
"A [Pakistan-born] Christian minister who has had heated arguments with Muslims on his TV Gospel show has been brutally attacked by three men who ripped off his cross and warned: ‘If you go back to the studio, we’ll break your legs.' [...] Mr Samuel, based at Heston United Reformed Church, West London, said: ‘He put his hand into my window, which was half open, and grabbed my hair and opened the door.
He started slapping my face and punching my neck. He was trying to smash my head on the steering wheel. Then he grabbed my cross and pulled it off and it fell on the floor. He was swearing. The other two men came from the car and took my laptop and Bible.’ [...] He said that he, his wife Louisa, 48, and his son Naveed, 19, now fear for their safety, and police have given them panic alarms. ‘I am frightened and depressed,’ he said. ‘My show is not confrontational.’"
Hindu girl tells of school hall hammer attack (The Telegraph)
"A TEENAGE Hindu girl who suffered a fractured skull when a gang of Muslim youths rampaged through her school with hammers and axes told of her ordeal yesterday.
Radhika Shukla, 15, was walking to the dinner hall at Derby Moor Community School when up to 10 youths burst in, smashing more than 40 windows and assaulting staff and pupils.
Radhika was chased, pushed to the floor and hit on the head with a hammer. She said: "I was crying and trying to roll up in a ball as he was hitting me. He was telling me he was going to kill me. I just closed my eyes and hoped he would stop."
She suffered a fractured skull, internal bleeding in her ear, a black eye and bruising on her back and shoulders. [...] Muslim youths had sprayed graffiti supporting Osama bin Laden on a school building, and even Muslim children from Derby Moor had joined in the attack. Two members of staff and four other pupils were injured."
Sikh man 'was beaten up by gang in street' (Leicester Mercury)
"A Sikh man told a jury he was beaten up by a group of Muslim-looking men who knocked off his turban and pulled off his necklace and religious pendant.
The 25-year-old alleged victim suffered a cut head and other injuries after being hit to the ground and struck with a weapon, possibly a spanner, it was claimed. [...] He looked out to see five or six Asian males, of Muslim appearance and dress, whom he did not know. [...] The court heard the necklace and religious pendant were later found and returned to the complainant.
Mark Achurch, prosecuting, said one of the witnesses claimed he heard members of the group shouting "Allah, Allah" during the alleged attack."
Five in court on shopkeeper murder (Daily Express)
"Five men have appeared in court accused of murdering a shopkeeper who was beaten to death during a robbery at his store.
Umare Aslam, 20, Muawaz Khalid, 20, Shoaib Khan, 18, Nabeel Shafi, 18, and Rehman Afzal, 18, are charged with the murder and robbery of Huddersfield shopkeeper Gurmail Singh.
Mr Singh, 63, died from head injuries after he was struck at least nine times with a weapon, believed to be a hammer, in the shop in the Cowcliffe area of Huddersfield on February 20."
Police protect girls forced to convert to Islam (Evening Standard)
"Extremist Muslims who force vulnerable teenage girls to convert to Islam are being targeted by police, Met chief Sir Ian Blair has revealed.
Police are working with universities to clamp down on "aggressive conversions" during which girls are beaten up and forced to abandon university courses.
The Hindu Forum of Britain claims hundreds of mostly Sikh and Hindu girls have been intimidated by Muslim men who take them out on dates before terrorising them until they convert.
Sir Ian spoke about the problem at a conference organised by the forum."
Wear headscarf or face death, woman told in Britain (IANS)
"A non-Muslim woman in Britain, who wears Western clothes, was told to wear a hijab or face death, a media report said Monday.
The non-Muslim Asian pharmacist in Whitechapel said she was told to cover up with a hijab headscarf or face boycott, the media report said.
She said that later a second man said: 'If you keep doing these things, we will kill you.'"
UK’s Hindu And Sikh Organizations Also Accused Muslim Groups Of Sexually Targeting Their Communities (Amritsar)
"A day after UKs’ former home secretary Jack Straw blamed some Pakistani Muslim men for targeting “vulnerable” White girls sexually, UK’s Hindu and Sikh organizations also publicly accused Muslim groups of the same offence. [...] Sikhs and Hindus are annoyed that Straw had shown concern for White girls and not the Hindu and the Sikh teenage girls who have been coaxed by some Pakistani men for sex and religious conversion.
“Straw does other communities a disservice by suggesting that only white girls were targets of this predatory behaviour. We raised the issue of our girls with the previous government and the police on several occasions over the last decade. This phenomenon has been there because a minority of Islamic extremists view all ‘non believers’ as legitimate targets,” said director NSO Inderjit Singh."
Minister to take legal action after radio show cancelled' (Herald Scotland)
"A minister is taking legal action against a radio station which allegedly cancelled his show because his defence of Christianity was offensive to Muslims. [...] The dispute arose during a show where Mr Masih and his co-presenter Asif Mall debated with prominent Muslim speaker Zakir Naik, who the pair said had patronised Christianity during a previous speaking appearance. [...] Mr Mall then accused the guest of having a "superficial knowledge" of holy texts, including the Bible and the Koran, and his comment is said to have offended followers of Islam.
Mr Masih made an on-air apology, he said, reading from a statement prepared by station manager Javed Sattar, but refused to apologise in person at Glasgow's Central Mosque because he did not feel he had anything to apologise for, and feared for his safety should he appear in person."
Muslim students preventing Hindus from using QMU's Multi-faith centre (RedHotCurry.com)
"A row has broken out at Queen Mary University, London about the use of its multi-faith centre. The National Hindu Students Forum (UK) claims that members of the Queen Mary’s Islamic Society have been physically preventing students of the university’s Hindu society from offering prayers at the multi-faith centre on the premises by standing 15 students at the door. The last Hindu prayer in the evenings is normally at 6pm, but the Muslim group who have a prayer session before the Hindus say that there is "no demand for the use of the multifaith centre by other faith communities" and they cannot therefore allow Hindus to use the premises even though they have a valid booking for its use.
The Islamic Society refuses to move out of the room even though we have a booking to use it for this week (13 March 2009). They did not even allow security to enter the premises and we were left standing outside the room unable to offer our prayers,” explained Kajal Valani, Chair of the National Hindu Students Forum. “The men who stood barricading the door issued verbal threats to us. We are going there again this evening, and we await to see if good sense will prevail.”
Minority Report: Freshers week 'seduction website' angers Sikhs (The Independent)
"Sikhs have angrily condemned a website (left) which appears to be run by young male Muslims and boasts about seducing Sikh women during freshers week at university.
The website contains pictures of at least 25 Sikh women which the site's administrators claim to have seduced alongside highly provocative remarks about the women and the Sikh religion.
Timed to coincide with the start of the university year - described in the site as a time when "[Muslim] soldiers go hunting for Sikh slappers" - the website's creators encourage friends and readers to send in pictures of Sikh women they have seduced during freshers week."
Machine-gun thug killed 'blameless' pair in a row over parking (Mail Online)
"After his car was blocked in by a van, Ayub Khan went to fetch a MAC-10 pistol capable of firing 1,000 rounds a minute.
Khan, then only 20, gunned down hotelier Amarjit Singh Tiwana and his nephew Rajinder Singh Tiwana at point-blank range.
He then turned the weapon on Amarjit’s daughter Harjinder but did not fire – possibly because the gun had jammed.
Khan fled the country after the attack but was extradited from Bangladesh in 2010. [...]
Harjinder Tiwana watched in horror as the gunman aimed the gun at her, before the gang fled with hoods pulled over their faces. In February 2004 she identified Khan as the gunman. She told the court: ‘I will never forget the face of the man who murdered my father.’
Mobile phone evidence revealed that after leaving the scene Khan repeatedly phoned another man, Abu Bakr Mansha Khan – who was later jailed for six years in 2006 for plotting to kill a decorated British soldier, Corporal Mark Byles."
19 year-old Pakistani Boy charged with assaulting Punjabi girl (Panthic.org)
"On Tuesday evening, hundreds of Sikh protesters rallied together and protested outside Luton Police Station after a Punjabi female teenager was allegedly sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old Pakistani male on Monday night. [...]
After meeting at Guru Nanak Gurdwara Luton on Tuesday evening, the Sikh community decided to protest outside the Police station after concerns that the local Police had failed to handle the incident properly. Some members of the community stated that “The Police are scared to upset a particular radical community. Even the media is scared of them. Every time their community commits systematic sexual grooming crimes the media and Police report the convicts as ‘Asians’. They are not just ‘Asians’ – but Pakistani radicals. When will the Police and media do justice?”
They further added, "We are do not consider Muslims as our enemies. It would go against our religion to do so. We respect all communities and religions. However, the Pakistani Muslim community needs to acknowledge and address they have a problem with their youth and that systematic grooming of young non-Muslims girls is happening throughout the UK."
See Also
- Rape - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Rape
- Racism - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Racism
External Links
- "Asian" or Muslim? Pat Condell's Video, "Tell the truth about Islam"
- Dr William Oddie: It’s not Race Which is the Problem, But the Confusion of Race and Religion
- Glen Jenvey: I Urge all British Asians to Complain to the Press Complaints Commission
- Hardeep Singh from The Telegraph: It's Time to Stop Using the Word 'Asians' to Describe Muslim Groomers
- Press Complaints Commission (UK)
