Islamophobia: A British Reality

In May 22 2013, Lee Rigby a British soldier in the Royal Army Fussillers was brutally murdered at the Woolwich Barack by two-self-proclaimed black Islamists.

This led to an escalatation of an anti-Muslim assaults across the UK, causing the government to address the issue of rising Islamophobia in the country. These attacks are seen as a heightened reaction, graver than since the London bombings in 2005.

Many have blamed this upsurge in anti-Muslim behaviours on the media stoking anti-Muslim hatred through exaggerated versions of Islamophobic reporting. Politicians are also said to have manipulated these events to gain political mileage.

But as Britain open its doors to millions of immigrant Muslims, Britons themselves begin to see the invasion of Muslims into their own backyard. The changing landscape of their once cosmopolitan lifestyle is what probably gave a rise to these sentiments.

But how real is Islamophobia as seen through the eyes of a normal Muslim in Britain? Are these sentiments normal to Britons living in the midst of a charging landscape? How do Muslim communities cope with rising tensions among other residents in their daily lives?

We will look at the largest Muslim ethnic group, their Pakistanis, who have long assimilated in UK but are not seen to have integrated into an environment so susceptible to a racial tension? How much are they imposing on the lifestyle of British society?

We will also feature views from native British citizens who have learnt to accept Muslims and feel at ease with living amongst them.

This documentary will try to portray the views from two sides of the equation and bring forth some answers to the growing concern of Islamophobia.