Fear or Fight? Islamophobia on Public Transport

THEY say Paris was only the beginning; that the November massacre was just the start of what was to come. The 130 deaths on that fatal night sparked a new wave of fear in countries across the globe, with one of France’s closest neighbours, raising it’s safety stakes.

The UK has made the controversial decision to bomb Syria, one of the hubs of Islamic State. Now the action against the terrorist group is set in stone and there’s no turning back.

Islamophobia has become more heightened than ever before, with Muslim men and women facing discrimination and anti-Muslim hate. Stories are not just in the pages of a newspaper or feeds of a social network, but even in the conversations of commuters.

Toufeik Rahim, 71, has not witnessed or been addressed with anti-hate on his daily journey to work, however is aware of the risks at hand. “Being Muslim, having my name, makes me cautious. I’m not worried about me but more for my family, especially the grandchildren. They take public transport often and I’m afraid of how they could potentially be treated.”

Though his family are not strict Muslims, they do not wear traditional dress but have very traditional names, makes them fearful.

The 7/7 terror attacks on London public transport in 2005, executed by Islamic extremists, left a lasting mark on the British public and people are worried transport could be threatened again.

With police filing through stations, placing themselves on the platforms and in and around bus stops and underground stations, this fear is being confirmed. There’s a layer of anxiety underneath all the rush of passengers during their commute.

Fears of attacks on public transport have been further heightened after a knife attack at the Leytonstone underground station on Saturday 5th December. Suspect, Muhaydin Mire, 29, attempted to stab a commuter in the station, after allegedly saying, “This is for Syria” before he did so.

After being tasered to the ground by police officials, a bystander who filmed the incident shouted to the suspect; “You ain’t no Muslim bruv!”

This statement became a trend on social media with even Prime Minister David Cameron addressed at a press conference in Derby. “‘You ain’t no Muslim bruv’ said it all much better than I ever could. Thank you because that will be applauded around the country.”

However this witness, only known as John, is fearful of retribution. His video has inadvertently made him famous for saying what others want to.

Another young man, Tyler Carew, 21, has stood up for a young woman on the train after witnessing discrimination, but could not believe that no one else had been doing so.

“It became clear at this point it must have been going on prior to us boarding the train as the carriage was watching tensely. I sat in between the two guys and the lady to calm things down, after a little confrontation about why I seemed to be looking at the guys so 'tensely'. After coming in between them and making it clear I wasn't going to stand for their behaviour the rest of the tube seemed thankful.”

Not all Muslims share this feeling of judgement as they make their daily journey from home to work and back. Speaking to BBC Two, Ayesha Malik, a mum of one said that she has not witness hostility but quite the opposite.

“I think there might be some apprehension, which is normal and natural. In fact some family members who have been in central London and Kingston recently, they felt that people were actually trying to be nicer to them. So I think as a community, we do need to remember that we do have human values that everyone celebrates and I think that when traumas like (Paris attacks) emerge, we get so embroiled in the “pointing-finger-wars” that we forget to ask why are we here and I think we need to keep that larger perspective in mind.”

Those people who do stick up for Muslims who are threatened have also made it to the surface of news stories. After his post on Facebook, which got deleted and reposted, Ashley Powys gained over 100,000 likes and around 39,000 shares, making it go viral.

During his journey home, surrounded by people, Powys encountered a young Muslim woman wearing a hijab sitting across from him being verbally abused by a man, who Powys then had to physically push away. After defending her, he sat by her side and stayed on the train with her until her stop, passing his own, and walked her out of the station to her friends.

“What shocked me most about my journey. Is that not one other person on that crowded train stood up for Yara. They sat in silence and allowed that abuse to happen. That's the problem with our society. Silence is our biggest weakness. We need to start speaking up and defending each other”, said Powys in his post.

Sarah Ghaibi, 20, is a young Muslim woman who, though may not dress traditionally, still feels for people of her culture and religion through this period of harsh judgement.

“People forget Muslims hate the terrorists as much as any other person and to be labeled as one of them is just unacceptable and horrible to deal with. Terrorists are misusing the name of Islam making our lives difficult, giving people the wrong idea. The extremists are ruining our peace- the faith of peace that people aren’t getting to actually know.”