The attitudes of British muslims and non-muslims toward each other

[LordChaverly]

food for thought here:

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,,1804078,00.html

[Jabberwocky]

Doesnt surprise me in the slightest.

[JoeP]

I belong to an informal eating clup called 'The Curry Crew', of which half the members are Muslim / Pakistani, a quarter Christian / Atheist / White, a Sri Lankan and an Indian chap (Hindu) and a couple of Hong Kong Chinese.

 

This started some years ago when we all worked in the same place, and has survived the Iraq War, 7/7, etc. In our group, relationships are excellent. We call each other whitey, ****, infidel, heretic, chinky...in other words, all the names and labels that we're not supposed to use. We genuinely get on well, we exhibit a healthy interest in each others faiths and beliefs and we won't avoid discussing them when appropriate.

 

My Muslim friends all attend Friday prayers, they abstain from alcohol (though don't mind the ones of us who do drink having a beer) and also have no problems about sharing a table with people who may eat pork. (And, in my case, sharing desk space with me when I used to wander in bearing bacon sandwiches.)

 

In other words - there are significant differences, but we accept them as being what makes us individuals.

 

From my personal experience, with these friends and in the wider community, I've not experienced anything bad. Perhaps it's because I've tended to treat people with some degree of respect, and also have dealt with professional people on the whole. It would be interesting to see the socio-economic breakdown of the groups questioned. I would think that just as the poor, unskilled disaffected whites tend to be targetted by the far-right, it's quite posisble that teh similar group in Muslim communities are targetted by their head bangers.

 

Joe

[Jimbob1989]

Although your group does sound reather inspirational Joe, I've had muslims make comments about me eating pork in the same vacinity, making comments about how its discussting and wrong, I don't tell them their food is discusting and wrong, I don't tell them that I think how they slaughter their animals is wrong

 

my opinion is split a little.

[Jabberwocky]

I must admit that when I worked in Leicester where there are a lot of muslims I saw more than my fair share of nasty, Anti-British little toads with chips on their shoulders that you could park a bus on, but on the other hand, the majority of Asians etc. were lovely, decent people who would go out of their way to be friendly. I was invited to more than one festival and celebrationbut when I mentioned it to my colleagues and bosses, they STRONGLY suggested that I stay well away! They went so far as to arrange my shifts to prevent me from going to them in my own time. I was fresh out of Parson Cross at the time (2003) and the only contact I`d had with muslims and the like were from the owners of corner shops so I was naturally curious. Its a wierd world, innit?

[Jabberwocky]

On the other hand though...

There was a woman in Leicester a few years ago who collected ornaments. Pot and ceramic pigs. She had them all over her house and on her window sills--in fact the pigs were her passion! Then one bright and sunny day a neighbour, a muslim was passing her house and noticed the pigs.

A few weeks later she was threatened with eviction unless the pigs were removed immediately.

Its a strange world innit?

[melthebell]

tbh i think that articles like the above, no matter how truthful some of the details are, are part of the problem

 

they cause distrust and hate on both sides. White british people start to harbour feelings against british muslims and vice versa.

both sets of exteme groups then work on these feelings to garner more recruits.

and the cycle carries on getting bigger and bigger.

 

the only way to stop it is for both sides to start working together, listening together, speaking together and errrrrrrm eating curry together to learn how to live together again, cos lets face it they arent going anywhere and niether are white brits. We have to try and iron out these feelings of distrust and hatred on both sides which came to the masses after 9/11

 

joe that sounds excellent ........proper multiculturism in action

[Jabberwocky]

I utterly agree with you there meltthebell, we have more to gain from a friendship/relationship with people of other cultures, and people on both sides of the fence need to realise this. The pig in the window DOES sound a little contrived though doesnt it? Trouble is, my partner personally knows the lady in question and can tell me negative things that happened to her when she lived in Leicester.

There are bound to be misunderstandings between indiginous populations and immigrants, its natural.

[Martin Dust]

Although your group does sound reather inspirational Joe, I've had muslims make comments about me eating pork in the same vacinity, making comments about how its discussting and wrong, I don't tell them their food is discusting and wrong, I don't tell them that I think how they slaughter their animals is wrong

 

my opinion is split a little.

 

 

But you could get the same comments for a veggy, you need to think about the context and not twist it. Have you spoken to them about their comments?

[LordChaverly]

I must admit that when I worked in Leicester where there are a lot of muslims I saw more than my fair share of nasty, Anti-British little toads with chips on their shoulders that you could park a bus on, but on the other hand, the majority of Asians etc. were lovely, decent people who would go out of their way to be friendly. I was invited to more than one festival and celebrationbut when I mentioned it to my colleagues and bosses, they STRONGLY suggested that I stay well away! They went so far as to arrange my shifts to prevent me from going to them in my own time. I was fresh out of Parson Cross at the time (2003) and the only contact I`d had with muslims and the like were from the owners of corner shops so I was naturally curious. Its a wierd world, innit?

 

'Asian' is not of course a synonym for 'muslim'. The majority of Asians in Leicester are in fact Hindus or Sikhs, although the muslim population there is growing fast. The last census in 2001 recorded a percentage of around 19% for Hindus and Sikhs compared to around 11% for muslims (a very different picture compared to the previous census, when muslims were a small minority).