UK Muslim Research Center Issues Report On Islamophobia

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Gulf media has reported on a new report issued by the European Muslim Research Center painting “An alarming picture of the physical violence, intimidation and discrimination faced by many of Britain’s two million Muslims on a daily basis.” According to a report in a UAE newspaper:

An alarming picture of the physical violence, intimidation and discrimination faced by many of Britain’s two million Muslims on a daily basis, was portrayed yesterday in new academic research.The 224-page report from the European Muslim Research Centre, based at the University of Exeter, said that the bulk of incidents went unreported by communities who had lost faith in the authorities to do anything about them. Released at a conference yesterday at the London Muslim Centre, the report called for “urgent” government action to tackle the problem after years of neglect. Part of a 10-year study into Islamophobia throughout Europe, the report represented “an insight into the grim reality of a lived experience that is insufficiently acknowledged and understood outside of the communities where it occurs”. Authors of the report, Jonathan Githens-Mazer and Robert Lambert, the co-directors of the research centre, said in their introduction: “We argue in this report that much anti-Muslim violence in the UK is predicated on the rhetoric and practice of the ‘war on terror’ that George Bush and Tony Blair launched against ‘an evil ideology’ in the aftermath of 9/11.” Mr Lambert added: “Because the war on terror is viewed as a security risk, Muslims do not have the support that is now widely accepted in other areas of hate crime. Muslims are not requesting special treatment, just equal rights with their fellow citizens.” The report, “Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Hate Crime: UK Case Studies”, was based on teams of researchers interviewing members of the Muslim community throughout the UK…..John Esposito, a professor of international affairs and Islamic studies at Georgetown University in Washington, who attended yesterday’s conference, said the problem was that “a biased minority in the United Kingdom” refused to acknowledge the legitimate place of Islam in British society. “Islam is now a European and American religion,” he said. “Muslims are part of the mosaic of western nations; like people of all faiths and no faith, they are entitled to the same rights, duties, opportunities and civil liberties.”

The European Muslim Research Center (EMRC) at the University of Exeter in the U.K. was launched with funds provided by the U.K Muslim Brotherhood who also funded it’s recently released report on anti-Muslim hate crimes in the U.K. According to the Acknowledgements section of that report:

We also wish to thank the trustees of Islam Expo and the Cordoba Foundation who have provided the funding to launch the European Muslim Research Centre (EMRC) and enabled us to carry out the research for this report. Other groups and individuals have expressed the same interest in funding this research project as it develops throughout the UK and Europe and we welcome their generosity. Not least during an economic recession it behoves academic institutions to look beyond conventional sources of funding to facilitate important and original research. British Muslim businesses are looking to emulate British Jewish businesses that have supported research and monitoring projects concerning anti-Semitic hate crimes.

The Cordoba Foundation was founded by Anas Al-Tikriti who also serves as the Foundation’s Chief Executive. Al-Tikriti is a leader in the British Muslim Initiative and a former leader of the Muslim Association of Britain, both organizations being part of the U.K. Muslim Brotherhood. Anas Al-Tikriti is also the son of Usama Al-Tikriti (aka Osama Al-Tikriti), one of the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood in Iraq. As discussed in an earlier post, IslamExpo is an event that is strongly associated with the global Muslim Brotherhood and has been supported by organizations such as the British Muslim Initiative, the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE) the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) and the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB). It may have been funded by Qatari sources.

Five of the EMRC members of the advisory board are clearly tied to the Global Muslim Brotherhood:

1. Muhammad Abdul Bari is the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, a U.K umbrella group dominated by the U.K. Muslim Brotherhood.

2. John Esposito is a Georgetown academic who has at least a dozen past or present affiliations with global Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas organizations including having served on the advisory board of the Institute of Islamic Political Thought in the U.K, enjoyed a close relationship with the United Association for Studies and Research in the U.S., and has served with global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi on the Steering Committee of the Circle of Tradition and Progress. In 2005, Saudi prince Alaweed bin Talal, a financial supporter of the global Muslim Brotherhood donated $20 million to the Center for Muslim Christian Understanding at Georgetown, headed by Dr. Esposito.

3. Basheer Nafi (aka Bashir Nafi) was designated by the U.S. as a Palestinian Islamic Jihad founder and leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad living in the United Kingdom. He was also associated with the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), an important part of the U.S.Muslim Brotherhood.

4. Anas Al-Tikriti (described above)

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