Article Review: While Muslim sexual predators have been jailed, it is white Britains hypocritical values that are

to blame - Melanie Phillips

By Mazaher Muraj

INTRODUCTION
Islamophobia is a growing concern in some western societies whilst the events of 9/11 and the 7/7 London bombings, to name but a few, have only played a part in increasing this tension. The perception of Islam in some corners of Britain is becoming an increasingly negative one to the extent that an ordinary man donning a beard is viewed with suspicion and treated with caution. This sense of Islamic hatred is further fueled by certain voices from the political spectrum of the far right and as a consequence has led to an unhelpful reactionary response to media pressure. A recent example is the arrest and pending deportation of cleric Abu Qatada [1]. Although some may argue that this negative behavior towards Islam is the fault of a few Muslims, and rightfully so, there are however some sections of the media playing an opportunistic game by associating the negative actions of criminals with the tag that is the religion of Islam unnecessarily. One such example is Melanie Phillips and thus the article under review has been chosen in order to determine the credibility of her argument that Islam, not people, is the problem. In this review, I will analyze an article written by Phillips in 2011 regarding the involvement of men with Asian backgrounds sexually abusing young British girls however the angle from which the article has been written hints at an element of Islamophobia from Phillips. Thus the review seeks to examine whether the angle from which the article has been written is credible or not and in order to do so I will examine the following; (1) the authors approach and (2) the authors style. Having done so, the conclusion will consist of a combination of the two points in order to determine the credibility of such an article. The article under review can be found at the link given in the reference below [2]. Author Melanie Phillips is a journalist known for being a columnist on the Daily Mail as well as a writer. Among some of her works is Londonistan the title already suggesting some spite towards the Asian population of London in which her apparent dislike of Muslims is expressed in the form of youths adopting extremism. Having appeared as a panelist on the BBCs Question Time, Phillips is known for her views on the IsraeliPalestinian conflict as well as being considered to be an open Islamophobe.

REVIEW
Authors Approach When considering the approach of the author, it is important to consider the following; (a) the aim of the author and (b) the authors regard towards Muslims. By viewing the article from these angles we may be able to determine the authors conception towards Muslims and the reason for writing the article. (a) Aim of the author Although not clearly identified, Phillips tries to draw the readers attention the problems caused by individuals who just happened to have a Muslim background, calling it a Muslim problem in British society whilst arguing that due to fear of being called an Islamophobe or a racist, people may not refer to crimes committed by this group of society as a Muslim issue, rather referring to it as a failure of multicultural integration. It can be seen that the author has an issue with Britains Muslim population because the word Muslim is used a total of 18 times in this column in a finger pointing fashion, in an attempt to associate this sort of crime sexual abuse with the religion of Islam and Muslims as opposed to calling it a deficiency of moral traits within all humans. From a more critical perspective, Melanie Phillips may also be attempting to create social tensions between Muslims and the rest of society by labeling all Muslims as criminals. However, the aim of this article is dependent upon every readers interpretation and thus the article will present a different message for each individual. The Daily Mail is a British tabloid and is regarded as the United Kingdoms second best selling newspaper. Known for its conservative as well as controversial political views, the newspaper is read by millions across the country each day and is also available in an online format. Thus the audience for this type of article could be described as anyone falling into the literate middle class society [3]. (a) Authors regard towards Muslims Phillips has spoken extensively at her disapproval of the rising population of Muslims in the UK and Europe in both television talk shows and in her writing. Her views are often described as those originating from the far right and anti-Muslim. This has led a number of

politicians and political writers such as Baroness Warsi and Mahdi Hassan (of the New Statesmen) respectively to describe her as a soldier on a crusade against Islam [4]. Thus having known to publicly hold such views against all Muslims, it is not surprising that the angle in which the article is written seems biased and consists mainly of a rant. This may be due to a number of reasons however William Dalrymple, a historian, while critiquing her book, Londonistan, correctly states that Phillips is someone who shows no evidence of having spent any time in Muslim company, or having set foot within the Muslim world [5]. Authors Style Consideration of the authors style is necessary in order to determine the success at which the author presents her view to the audience. In order to assess this, it is important to consider the following points; (a) complexity and (b) the authors use of evidence in order to give weight to her claims.
(a) Complexity The column by Phillips stems from comments made by Jack Straw regarding a section of the Asian community, namely Pakistani, sexually abusing and grooming young girls. Phillips criticizes Straw for not being real and stating that this is a Muslim issue however the first paragraph of the article makes a claim that Straw was directly referring to the British Muslim community. Further into the article though, when quoting from him, it is clear that Straw was referring to a wider Asian community which was not religion specific. This portrays a sense of inconsistency from Phillips part to a reader whilst also suggesting that Phillips is jumping on the blame Muslims bandwagon.

In another area of the article Phillips tries to associate the act of sexual abuse towards young girls (and children) exclusively to Muslims calling it a Muslim problem whilst conveniently omitted the fact that sexual abuse of an under-age nature also exists within the Christian and Jewish communities [6] [7]. There are two flaws in Phillips assertion; (1) the men convicted played no part in their being born into a geographical region or family with a Muslim background thus the problem is not a Muslim one, it is a people one and (2) just because they carry the tag Muslim due to their name and other reasons, does not mean that Islam permits nor encourages such behavior, rather it is prohibited and the penalty is high. However to the authors credit, she rightly states that ordinary Muslims would feel disgusted by this act however at the same time may mean that some Muslims would not. Thus in her presentation the author is seen to be inconsistent and also inaccurate.

 (b) Authors use of evidence Since the article under review features in a newspaper, there may not be a need to provide sources or references in any form. However the article appears on the internet and thus a useful measure to direct readers towards further reading is via the use of hyperlinks. This is mainly done by bloggers and various political writers however there is no sign of this on Phillips article. However it may be possible that the column was not primarily intended to feature on the online platform and thus the author felt no obligation to do so. However Phillips makes many unfounded claims in her article such as Muslims seducing women because they wish to separate themselves from the Kafir (unbelievers). Such statements have the potentiality to cause hate and ridicule the religion of Islam. Whether it is true or false, a reference to such a statement, in my opinion, is necessary because unfortunately where a reader who is unfamiliar with Islam may carelessly accept what the author is preaching hate.

CONCLUSION
In this review I have sought to determine the credibility of Melanie Phillips article in a column from the Daily mail which seeks to point the finger at Muslims for the crimes committed by a sum of Asian men. In order to determine this, a number of points have been considered; (1) the authors approach and (2) the authors style. Having considered both points, I can conclude that the article written by Phillips lacks credibility for a number of reasons; (1) The authors background is known to be an anti-Muslim one. Although this should not deter anyone from writing an article about Muslims, it can be seen from the very initial stages that the article is very biased and is more of a rant than an academic discussion. However, since the article appeared as an opinion column in the Daily Mail, maybe a rant was the intention of the author. (2) The author is inconsistent in her article when quoting from certain political figures e.g. Jack Straw. This may be an attempt to direct the article in favor of her argument however, on a rational level, her argument is inaccurate i.e. Just because a person with an Eastern or Muslim name born into a family or geographical region associated with Islam commits a crime, does not mean that Islam is the problem rather the person has a deficiency in their character. (3) Phillips use of evidence to make wild claims is nil. Therefore having evaluated the above points, it can be said that the article lacks credibility. A positive that can be drawn from the article is that it highlights that no religion is devoid of problems created but this is because of its

supposed followers interpreting the religion in a manner which pleases them and not due to the religion itself. Unfortunately, Phillips possibly due to being misinformed attempts to associate the crime of sexual abuse as an exclusively Muslim issue, which is clearly not the case.

REFERENCES
[1] BBC. 2012. Abu Qatada refused bail by judge. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18230673. [Accessed 16 July 12]. [2] Daily Mail, M Phillips. 2011. Muslim sexual predators jailed white Britains hypocritical values are to blame. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1345687/Muslim-sexualpredators-jailed-white-Britains-hypocritical-values-blame.html. [Accessed 09 July 12]. [3] Wikipedia. Daily Mail. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Mail. [Accessed 17 July 12]. [4] The Guardian, N Watt. Sayeeda Warsi takes on critics in the rightwing press. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jun/23/sayeeda-warsiinterview-critics. [Accessed 17 July 12]. [5] Wikipedia. Londonistan: How Britain is Creating a Terror State Within. [ONLINE] Available at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Londonistan_(book)#Critical_reception. [Accessed 17 July 12]. [6] BBC. Vatican 'probes Legion of Christ priests over child abuse'. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe18037361. [Accessed 18 July 12].

[7] The Age, J Topsfield. Rabbi ignored warnings on sexual abuse, say parents Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/rabbi-ignoredwarnings-on-sexual-abuse-say-parents-201205071y96m.html#ixzz22GQkx3tV. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/rabbi-ignored-warnings-onsexual-abuse-say-parents-20120507-1y96m.html. [Accessed 18 July 12].