Members of the Muslim community will also be used as a scapegoat when the British Prime Minister Βoris Johnson has to deal with the harsh reality of his pre-election lies as well – lies that do not have any relation with the fact that the UK will face very shortly the realities of Brexit.
Members of the Muslim community will also be used as a scapegoat when the British Prime Minister Βoris Johnson has to deal with the harsh reality of his pre-election lies as well – lies that do not have any relation with the fact that the UK will face very shortly the realities of Brexit.
The British elections summarized the significant issues that our societies are facing: populism as a mechanism of manipulation of the masses, and racism as the tool that cultivates to the masses an ideology of fear, anger, and non-acceptance of the members of the society that belong to a different social, racial and religious background.
Populism was the ideological mechanism that Boris Johnson used during the last elections as a tool for formulating a pre-election discourse that will assist him in his campaign. On the other hand, racism and, in particular, racism that targets the Muslim religion and the social ethics of the members of the Muslim community, is the political weapon that Boris Johnson will use during his premiership in stigmatizing members of the society.
Members of the Muslim community will also be used as a scapegoat when the British Prime Minister Βoris Johnson has to deal with the harsh reality of his pre-election lies as well – lies that do not have any relation with the fact that the UK will face very shortly the realities of Brexit.
Islamophobia and the rise of a neo-racist discourse that will target not only Islam as a religion but the Muslim identity as a whole is not anymore part of an isolated political group of the right-wing ideological spectrum. It is a reality that has upgraded to a fundamental political ideology of the new government and, in particular, the main ideological characteristic of the new Prime Minister. Τhe upgrade of Islamophobia to the center of Westminster is the most alarming factor that will generate plenty of negative results that will affect not only the political DNA of the UK, but the social cohesion of the country as well.
Is it obvious that something that started as a populist weapon from a populist politician will generate a wide range of consequences for British society – a society that will be in massive need of formulating a renewed discourse that will help unite them.
We have to understand that Islamophobia is not only a mechanism for generating political gains during an election period, but a strategic choice made by important political figures not only in the UK but in many European countries and in the United States of America as well. The target is obvious: to stigmatize Islam as the generator of the problems that the societies are facing. The stigmatization of Islam, however, is not only functioning as a mechanism for generating political gains, but also shows a phobia towards a religion that speaks for issues that are not only associated with theology but are in accordance with the needs of our society: solidarity for the people that need it the most, and a direct stance against the greediness of the rich and the way the banks are manipulating the financial environment of many countries.
The above mentioned social-related characteristics of Islam are maybe the fundamental reason why Islamophobia is the weapon of the political and media elite of our times, and perhaps the solidarity and the humanitarian stance towards the poor is the answer of Islam towards these very attacks.
Let’s hope that the need for solidarity and social justice will prevail against the rise in populism. Not because we want Islam to dominate, but because we want humanity to become human again.
