State-sponsored Britishness
At the moment, no one seems to really know what true `Britishness' is, but the emerging pattern from the public debate is that the government will define what Britishness is, and subsequently impose this view upon the masses. If we take secularism as a way of life the separation of religion from societal affairs such that the predominant social order of the day is run by rational human freedom, then we see that insincerity is slowly creeping in. Last week it was announced that compulsory classes on how "core British values" of democracy, freedom of speech, fairness and responsibility have developed down the centuries could be introduced into the national curriculum as part of a drive to better integrate Muslims into society, by the Education Minister Bill Rammell. If such measures were taken, the result would be that Muslims would be forced to believe in certain imposed values, they are going to be forced to convert.
On the surface, one may think this to be a docile measure taken against the appalling prospect of there being further disenchanted Muslims who take to committing acts of violence in this country. Such heinous actions must be stopped at all costs by the police and more importantly by the wider Muslim community, to make sure that this tiny minority of people have their thought processes sorted out. That measure of community cohesion that we should all strive to obtain has nothing to do with British values. It is a completely different topic, and one in which it is quite clear that Muslims do not have British values. Rather they only have Islamic values, which is precisely why the integration struggle has failed for the last thirty years. Luckily for all, there are many times when the two value systems do coincide.
No Muslim disagrees with the ideals of freedom under God given Law, fairness, civic responsibility or the process of voting, nor is a history lesson about British values misplaced in Britain, for we all need to know about the culture that we are living in. However, what is obvious is that there is no drive to present the history of Islam to the Muslim population. Is it silly to expect a British government to teach young Muslims, proactively, the life story of Mohammed (phuh), to learn about the Great Dynasties of Islamic History, to learn how we today can judge for ourselves which actions are permissible and which are forbidden? Where is the push for awakening the Muslims to see that their plight globally is intolerable?
Here are my British Muslim values: to live our lives as if we are constant pleasure junkies, not for ourselves but for the pleasure of Allah. To live, breath and act always in accordance with Islam, even if people dislike it. This means being the most learned, pious, just, fair, contributing and trustworthy in society especially towards nonMuslims. If we forgo these virtues, the virtues of Mohammed (pbuh) in Mecca when Muslims were a simple minority, then we risk the fate of bringing no-one to see the beauty of Islam. If we see an act against Islam from a Muslim, then we account them, be it in an action concerning social relations between men and women, economic affairs such as taking interest, stealing or false contracts, matters of law where a Muslim neglects good work that he can do to help the community, or effects a law that he knows Allah does not permit, but that the country may see as an established law of the land. With non-muslims we should act in the best of manners, to make them love Islam. There is to be no compulsion in religion, only wisdom and reason in discussion. There should be no isolation, but rather a healthy integration of company and of our collective thoughts. So what if I can't go to the pub, lets grab a coffee and chill out there.
Where loyalty comes into question, all I can simply say is that loyalty goes to God first, and to one's family, community and homeland second.
