Freedom of Prejudice and Speech

In extreme cases such as that of stereotypes against the Islamic community, such ascription of a
collective mentality may amount to de-personalised perceptions of human beings, possibly with
devastating dehumanizing repercussions.
- Heiner Bielefeldt, UN Special Rapporteur on
freedom of religion or beliefs.

From the genocide in Bosnia (Serbia), to the Chechen- Russian conflict, to the Kashmir issue, to
Chinas Xinjiang conflict to 9/11, to the Israel- Palestine conflict, to bombings in Syria, to the
Arab Spring to the murder of Charlie Hebdo there is only one entity that has been shouldered
with the onus of being the harbinger of death and chaos, Islam and its followers.
Have we ever stopped and asked ourselves, is there another side to this story or just the one all
over the newspapers and television, every single day?
Lets consider the case of the hostages of ISIS, difficult to forget the names, or the images, of
James Foley, Steven Sotloff, David Haines, Alan Henning and Peter Kassig. The barbaric
beheadings between August and November 2014, in cold blood and on camera, of these five
jumpsuit-clad western hostages by the self-styled Islamic State, or Isis, provoked widespread
outrage and condemnation.
However, we should also remember the name of Didier Franois, a French journalist who was
held by Isis in Syria for ten months before being released in April 2014. Franois has since given
us a rare insight into life inside what the Atlantics Graeme Wood, in a recent report for the
magazine, has called the hermit kingdom of Isis, where few have gone . . . and returned. And
it is an insight that threatens to turn the conventional wisdom about the worlds most fearsome
terrorist organisation on its head.
There was never really discussion about texts, the French journalist told CNNs Christiane
Amanpour last month, referring to his captors. It was not a religious discussion. It was a
political discussion.
According to Franois, It was more hammering what they were believing than teaching us about
the Quran. Because it has nothing to do with the Quran. And the former hostage revealed to a
startled Amanpour: We didnt even have the Quran. They didnt want even to give us a Quran.

But wait a second, we only saw the videos and decided that Islam was barbaric in its being, isnt
it?
In other words, religion is only one of many salient features of Muslim cultural background.
Indeed, a person could define herself by her Muslim origin or Muslim cultural background
without considering herself as a religious person.
Islamophobia has become so mainstream in world that people have been trained to expect
violence against Muslims - not excuse it, but expect it. And that's happened because you have an
Islamophobia industry in this world devoted to making the Non Islamic states think there's an
enemy within.
After attending an interview for a summer job with a telemarketing agency, Yaminawas told:
Your application was not successful; removing your headscarf is the least you could do.
I tried to look for employment in the telemarketing sector because it is where women wearing
headscarves have more chances to be hired as no direct contact with clients is required. All these
restrictions constrain our employment opportunities and result in segregation Yamina told
Amnesty International.
These are a few instances from countless instances given by the muslim minority around the
world. The question is what can we do to protect the rights of these minorities?
We need to give more attention to the dire state of Muslim minorities around the world and bring
about a change in the thinking of those who hold stereotypes in each every arena of life.We on
behalf of the Muslim minority must speak out and explain who they are, what they believe in,
what they stand for, what is the meaning of their life. They must have the courage to denounce
what is said and done by certain Muslims in the name of their religion.
I hope to see you bravehearts take on the onus of religious tolerance upon your shoulders and be
the change.

AnanyaBhadauria
(OIC-Substantive Director)