Workplace Islamophobia

According to a recent survey, a staggering 69% of Muslims currently employed in the UK deal with some form of Islamophobic behaviour. The 1,503 British Muslims that were interviewed stated that such behaviour was prevalent during work-related engagements including interactions with customers and other people (44%), at social events (42%), and when seeking promotions (40%). It gets worse when the statistics indicate that 58% were black Muslims who claim to have experienced more intense reactions.

While the overall participants believe that Muslims today enjoy more acceptance in the UK in general, one cannot ignore that ingrained racism and religious bigotry have pervaded all levels of society after being systematically and institutionally normalised. The increasing resentment and their reasons are rather clear. The one major event that pushed Muslims to the very top of the enemy list was the unfortunate incident of 9/11, after which hatred was so rampant that people of other beliefs like the Sikhs suffered physical attacks and discrimination. Since then, with extremism on the rise, Muslims all over the globe have been deemed as a terrorist cult. This hatred has showed no signs of abating. The second major reason does not directly have to do with religion. Instead, it was the West’s own doing that led to a consequence that they did not predict. Following wars in the Middle East and South Asia, refugees began leaving in droves towards Western soil. There, a fear has been ignited within the locals that these refugees will take over their land and their jobs. This resulted in an enormous pushback as countries started promulgating anti-immigrant policies to curb the inflow of migrants.

These sentiments have fused together and added fuel to fire. Thus, Islamophobia has taken an implicit form in the Western workplace. The Muslim community must raise their voice against such discrimination. Western countries need to protect their minorities, and the Muslim world must urge these countries to enact workplace laws that prevent such forms of hate.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2022.

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