Islamophobia can best be described as an irrational fear of Islam and Muslims. The term was originally coined in the late 1980s, but became commonly used after September 11, 2001. Much has been said about the so-called “Ground Zero” mosque proposal in New Your City as of late.  RELATIVITY Online’s The Brady Report has seen Kyle Brady chime in with his own well-informed position on that matter as well.

What has often been left out of all the discussion is that the mosque is in fact already there and has existed for decades, pre-dating the former World Trade Center Towers themselves. Such is an example of how the malleable American public has been force fed a fear campaign by those who oppose much of anything to do with Islam and many are swallowing it whole. With that said, there are those who see the opposition of the mosque for what it is; most notably The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart. The Jewish Comedian turned trusted news source has championed the effort to reveal the ridiculousness and hypocrisy fueling all those who oppose the mosque, which is actually being renovated into a cultural center. Once again, Stewart reminds RELATIVITY of why we see him as America’s best News Anchor. Wonder if we could convince to do a guest editorial?

The town of Roubaix, located in northern France, has a problem. The problem is turkey bacon. Turkey bacon, it seems, is grounds for discrimination in France. The town council has filed a formal complaint against a chain of fast food restaurants known as Quick that serves only meat conforming with Islamic dietary laws at their local branch. Roubaix’s Mayor declared, “This is discrimination against non-Muslims.”

Witch hunts and Islamophobia are alive and well in the land of Pepe Le Pew. Vive la France!

As it turns out, the Roubaix Quick location is one of many branches that took pork off the menu and made all meat products halal /  kosher.  The chain made the decision to take a bacon hamburger off the menu at several of its more than 300 branches, replacing it with a halal version that comes with smoked turkey. Their target: to test the “commercial interest and technical feasibility” of introducing halal menus in France, home to the largest Muslim community in all of Europe, some five million strong.

Roubaix’s Quick branch has assured council there hasn’t been so much as a single complaint and there has even been a slight increase in business since making the changes.

Regardless, several deputies of French President Nicolas Sarkozy have condemned the decision. Vice-president of the National Front, Marine Le Pen, went so far as to warn France of “Islamisation”.

In Roubaix, Mayor Rene Vandierendonck, called for a total boycott of the Quick branch, and the town council has filed a discrimination complaint with a regional court. Wow… Who knew Turkey Bacon was so dangerous?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Vive Le France!

From David Anthony Hohol…

From Nora Fakim…

With today’s British society becoming more and more multicultural, this can sometimes lead to fear of the unknown and often racial tensions can start to develop such as Islamophobia. Many multi-faith organizations such as those at St. Ethelburga aim to reunite different faiths, help build peace and break down the barriers of resentment and ignorance.

St. Ethelburga is medieval church which was re-built in the fifteenth century after it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was most recently destroyed by an IRA bomb which exploded near by. Since then it has become a centre for reconciliation and peace.

A regular visitor of the centre is thirty year old Roksannaa, who converted to Islam five years ago. She came to this centre because she felt that she could reunite with different cultures without neglecting her European upbringing. She follows Sufism, a form of practicing Islam by chanting in a specific rhythm. Before becoming a Sufi, she was a Buddhist.

‘To me Islam made more sense and I felt I belonged to it and that is the reason why I converted to this religion,’ she said and also says Islam was a way for her to stabilize her identity.

The notion of identity comes up hugely in religion. The question is how can religion help build somebody’s identity? When we asked this question to Rouksanna, she said that people turn to religion as a form of identity because practicing it becomes their way of life.

She prays five times a day and sometimes at St. Ethelburga, where she meets other Muslims and they pray together. When asked whether turning to religion could lead to segregation amongst non practicing communities, she replied that those who turn to religion and take it to the extreme means that there is a reason as to why they are doing this. This reason may not necessarily be seen as morally correct but it can help make a human being feel ‘more secure within themselves’ according to Dr Riya Patel at the University College London Hospital. Tensions amongst Muslims in the West have been more evident since September 11th attacks in 2001. According to a Channel Four’s documentary ‘London Mosque Uncovered,’ many Muslims have stayed more and more within their communities and have reverted to Islam greatly, because many do not feel accepted in English society. This can also be another reason as to why different communities stick to themselves. However this way of living is not necessarily beneficial from both sides of the spectrum. This can lead to ignorance, hatred and insecurity towards others who are not like them.

Rouksanna believes that a reason as to why she converted to Islam was because she felt that she was missing something in her life. “I lost my father at a young age and I did not feel complete.”

This again incorporates both religion and identity. What is unique about St. Ethelburga is that it has a very North African feel. This is why the centre has a great way of bringing people of different religions and cultures together through concert reunions, multi-cultural art and architecture. All this is a way of breaking down the fact that religion does not have to be the only factor which identifies somebody. And if this is the case, it can explain why terrorism can sometimes exist. The centre is the way forward as it brings out the positive elements such as peace, respect and love which sadly many extremists forget about.

‘Peace is not simply the absence of violence; it is the cultivation of understanding…’ (TNH)