The British Greens' anti-Islamophobia guide considers holding party meetings in the pub to be anti-Muslim.
The Muslim section of the Greens proposes internal sanctions for criticising Islam and demands that the party adapt its operations to Muslim practices.
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The Muslim Greens group, which brings together Muslim activists from the Green Party of England and Wales, has published a guide to identify Islamophobia within political training and incorporate it into its ethical and conduct framework. The document goes beyond insults and assaults against Muslims and lists behaviours, comments and internal decisions that it considers discriminatory. Among the examples are organising all the party's social gatherings in pubs, questioning the teachings of the Qur'an or expressing certain opinions about Islam and homosexuality. The guide, entitled Guidance on identifying Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate, you can consult the Official website of Muslim Greens.
Islamophobia in the pub and in criticism of the Qur'an
The document includes an extensive list of examples that its authors want the party to take into account when identifying Islamophobia. These are some of the behaviours and comments it highlights:
- Organise the party's social events in pubs or venues serving alcohol.
- To claim that the teachings of the Qur'an are backward or harmful to women.
- Not to provide spaces for prayer or quiet when it is reasonable to do so.
- Ignoring the needs of Muslims during Ramadan when organising activities.
- To present Islam as a religion based on hatred of homosexuals.
- To consider Muslims especially homophobic because of their religion.
- To portray Muslim men as chauvinistic or violent simply because they are Muslim.
- To assume that Muslim women are oppressed because they wear the hijab or niqab.
- Demanding that Muslims condemn cases of sexual exploitation gangs in which they have no involvement.
- Using expressions such as «invasion», «demographic threat» or «Islamic takeover» to describe immigration.
- To assume that Muslims are opposed to democracy or to LGBTI rights.
The recommendations are not limited to these examples. Muslim Greens proposes incorporating its definition of Islamophobia into the party's internal procedures., including whistleblowing mechanisms and possible disciplinary sanctions. It also calls for Mandatory anti-Islamophobia training for candidates and public representatives, and that the rules are applied to the militants' private WhatsApp, Facebook and email groups.
Homophobia in Muslim countries is the fault of the West.
One of the most surprising points in the guide is the explanation it offers about the persecution of homosexuality in Muslim countries. In a section dedicated to the so-called «homonationalism», The authors argue that laws against homosexuality in many Muslim-majority countries have their roots in British colonialism.. According to the document, the British Empire introduced to its colonies in Asia, the Middle East and Africa much of the legislation that still today penalises homosexual relations. For this reason, the guide considers it Islamophobic to portray Islam as a religion inherently hostile to homosexuals.
However, the guide downplays the fact that the condemnation of homosexual practices also It has been part of Islamic jurisprudence for many centuries before European colonialism.. The main traditional Islamic schools of jurisprudence consider them sinful, and some states, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, impose punishments based on interpretations of Sharia, not on British criminal codes.
The British Greens publicly defend the guide
The publication of the guide has generated criticism in the British press, but The Green Party has publicly supported the Muslim Greens initiative.. A spokesperson for the party described the document as ’exhaustive, well-elaborated and evidence-based« and explained that its purpose is to help local branches identify the different manifestations of Islamophobia. According to the party, the guide also helps to understand the rise in hostility towards Muslims in the United Kingdom and the responsibility it attributes to successive governments and the media.
The issue goes far beyond a simple awareness-raising guide. Muslim Greens proposes turning its definition of Islamophobia into a tool for control and censorship within the party., by incorporating it into the code of conduct, disciplinary procedures and mandatory training for representatives. This would open the door to sanctioning militants not only for insults or discriminatory acts, but also for certain opinions on the Qur'an, Sharia, immigration or Islamic practices. This is how the protection of Muslims from discrimination ends up becoming a protection of Islam from criticism., with the possibility of punishing ideological dissent within a party that publicly defends freedom of expression.
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