Where are Muslims really safe?

Despite Islam being the world’s second largest religion and called “the religion of peace,” Muslims all over the world suffer every day. Reports show hate crimes against Muslims spiked by 500% after 9/11. 20 years later, the hatred and hostility towards Muslims remain rampant. Muslims continue to be physically assaulted and called “terrorists.”

Even Bangladesh, being a religiously-tolerant country, couldn’t escape an attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in July 2016. The people who could recite verses from the Quran were spared and the ones who couldn’t were killed. Is that what Islam teaches us? 

Nowhere is it mentioned in Islam that it’s okay to kill. Most punishments that are carried in the name of Allah aren’t written in the Quran. They are a product of culture and have nothing to do with Islam or any other religion. These extremist groups are nothing but terrorist organizations and their treatment of people of other faiths, women, and children can never be considered Islamic. 

The Taliban recently named China as one of their most important partners. So it’s alright to work with a country that has tortured and beaten Muslims, but women can’t show their faces? Despite most Muslims condemning such behavior from extremist groups, this hasn’t stopped bigots from seeing all Muslims as threats.

Islamophobia continues to be a huge problem in many countries. Just in 2021 alone, recently a Canadian man killed an entire Muslim family, leaving behind the sole survivor — a 9-year-old boy who has to now grow up without a family. France has voted to ban the hijab, ignoring thousands of pleas and demands of Muslim women asking against it. Muslim people are being beaten up by Hindu mobs in India. In the past years, China has tortured millions of Uyghur Muslims, despite other countries’ disapprovals on the matter. 

The UN has done very little to help the victims; given the nature of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), it is very easy for the permanent five members (or otherwise known as the P5) to help themselves in these situations. China has vetoed resolutions on the matter, allowing them to get away with their horrific human rights violations.

We’re all aware of the Rohingya genocide, the crisis which left thousands of Muslims tortured, beaten, raped, and murdered. A million Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar, and the situation is still horrible for them. They have faced countless diseases, malnutrition, bad living situations, all the while dealing with the losses of loved ones and processing both the mental and physical trauma of the genocide. 

 However, the issue could reach a quicker solution if it went to the UNSC, who could directly order Myanmar to not only stop the genocide but also ban microaggressions, abuse, and the mistreatment of the Rohingya altogether. 

 The world isn’t safe for Muslims, with countless hate crimes and extremist behaviour within the community. As Bangladeshis, we are fortunate to be in a country that is safer in terms of both practicing religions and hate crimes. Despite this, we should always be learning and raising awareness for Muslims who are not as fortunate. 

There should be a better sense of unity between Muslim nations where we all help each other in times of need and speak up against Islamophobia. The United Nations has to fix its flawed structure that helps countries to get away with crimes as terrible as genocide. Hate crimes will sadly always exist but working together against it will go a long way to help us.

 Arpita Zaman is a freelance contributor. She can be reached at arpita.zaman@yahoo.com.