The ‘It’s Alright To Attack Muslims Because They Are Not A Race’ Myth

The Myth

It’s not racism to verbally abuse Muslims, as Islam isn’t a race.

The Truth

Although Islam is not a race, racial and religious hatred is covered by the same law, so you will be prosecuted under the same law and convicted under the same law as you would for racial offences. Legally speaking there’s no difference between hating someone due to their race and hating someone due to their religion. That being the case it’s not unreasonable to say hatred of Muslims is a form of racism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_and_Religious_Hatred_Act_2006

“The Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (citation 2006 c. 1) which creates an offence in England and Wales of inciting hatred against a person on the grounds of their religion”.

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2006/ukpga_20060001_en_1

“The Public Order Act 1986 (c. 64) is amended in accordance with the Schedule to this Act, which creates offences involving stirring up hatred against persons on religious grounds”.
“A person who uses threatening words or behaviour, or displays any written material which is threatening, is guilty of an offence if he intends thereby to stir up religious hatred”.
You can still ridicule a religion though as long as you aren’t deliberately stirring hate. So the use of language like ‘Muzzies’ that is directed at Muslims rather than criticism of Islam, could be deemed as incitement.

“Nothing in this Part shall be read or given effect in a way which prohibits or restricts discussion, criticism or expressions of antipathy, dislike, ridicule, insult or abuse of particular religions or the beliefs or practices of their adherents, or of any other belief system or the beliefs or practices of its adherents, or proselytising or urging adherents of a different religion or belief system to cease practising their religion or belief system”.

In fact the whole idea that it is morally acceptable to attack Muslims really seems to be as a form of proxy racism. Various disgusting remarks are made about them by BNP and EDL members, who then defend themselves against accusations of racism by insisting that Muslims aren’t a race. In other words they are still trying to say the same racist things, but are doing it in such a way that they can deny being racist.

Also they’ll claim that you can choose your religion but not your race, so Muslims deserve to be insulted for choosing to be Muslims. This is a somewhat contradictory argument, because it says you are free to choose your religion in the UK…as long as the BNP and EDL approve of it, at which point you should renounce it.

In this light it therefore seems obscene that the BNP and EDL claim that Muslims are forcing their way of life on the UK. Such we’ll all have to live under Sharia Law and women will all have to wear burkhas, which is of course an extreme overreaction with no basis in fact. Despite the claims that burkhas are oppressive, this seems to be a Western attitude that is not universal. In actual fact the BNP and EDL are attempting to force their way of life on the Muslims in telling them what to wear, that Muslims can’t have their own rules that are perfectly legal under UK law and saying they shouldn’t be allowed to have their own places of worship. The ridiculous EDL claim that there should be no more mosques in the UK because there aren’t any churches in Muslim countries, further demonstrates their utter ignorance.

Both the BNP and EDL are most vocal about how the UK should be a Christian country, with no other religions and no other laws. This of course is supposed to refer to Islam and Sharia Law, but by definition would also include all other minority religions and their rules covering their adherents’ religious practices. The insistence on one country, one religion, one law is so ridiculously fascist it’s surprising no-one seems to pick up on it.

© One Million United