The discussion of Muslims in relation to contemporary anti-Semitism is all too often polarised into two extremes. On one side are those who scream that it is an illegitimate subject for examination. On the other are those who claim Islamification is the main problem facing the West. The challenge is to find the right balance in the discussion.
The charge that even discussing the topic is “Islamophobic” should be rejected. It is a subject that should be open for examination and debate. That is emphatically not to argue that most let alone all Muslims are anti-Semitic. But there is clearly an element among the Muslim population which is vehemently anti-Israel and anti-Semitic. Assessing the scale and nature of this phenomenon is an important task.
On the other hand, the attribution of rising anti-Semitism largely to the Muslim population is overdone. For one thing Muslims only made up about 6.5% of the population in England and Wales, according to the 2021 census. The figure is probably a little higher now, owing to migration and faster population growth, but it is still a small percentage of the total.
It should also be remembered that the Muslim population is diverse. It comes from many different countries, speaks different languages, consists of different traditions in Islam and belongs to different social classes. Some support Islamism as a political movement but others do not. For these reasons it is a misnomer to talk about “the Muslim community” as there is a multiplicity of contrasting communities.
It is clearly true that there are some high-profile anti-Israel political figures with a Muslim background. That includes some within the Green party and Your Party. But there are high profile non-Muslims in this milieu too including some Jewish ones.
That then begs the question of why many place so much importance on the Muslim element. A closer examination shows that this is the result of the progressive character of contemporary politics rather than “Islamophobia”.
Think for a minute about the main premises of what today passes for left wing politics. Contemporary progressives define themselves as on the side of the oppressed. In their world view mainstream society is dominated by racism and white privilege. From their perspective it is necessary to stand up to these forces.
This is a less worthy goal than it might at first seem. Progressives typically see the mainstream white population – that is most Britons – as riddled with backward ideas. Supposedly enlightened anti-racism is infused with an elitist disdain for the majority who are routinely derided as far right. In their own way progressives have reinvented the idea of a section of the population as a race apart. Only this time it is the white population that is denigrated.
This still leaves the Jewish population as problematic for progressives. Anti-Semitism, at least in its traditional form, is difficult to square with the left’s professed anti-racism.
One part of the solution, from a woke perspective, is to fashion themselves as anti-Zionist rather than anti-Semitic. Left wingers can claim they are engaged in principled opposition to the Israeli state rather than expressing a loathing of Jews. They deny the reality that anti-Zionism is a form of anti-Semitism.
Here is where the section of the Muslim population that is anti-Zionist, and sometimes explicitly anti-Semitic, unwittingly provides the left with a solution. Progressives can feel more comfortable in their anti-Jewish animosity because they can claim to be siding with the oppressed. This removes the inhibitions they might otherwise have in expressing open hostility to Jews. On the contrary, it becomes part of the overall leftist mission.
In sociological terms anti-Zionism within the Muslim community is providing a permission structure to leftists. It provides a justification to change their professed beliefs – in this case opposition to anti-Semitism - while maintaining the appearance of a principled consistency.
In that sense it does not matter if the number of Muslims they are looking to is only a small minority. It need not be the bulk of that population. As long as progressives can claim to be siding with a downtrodden element among Muslims it serves its purpose.
That helps explain why the direct contribution of Muslims to the rise of anti-Semitism is often overrated. More important is the way progressives take it as signalling that animosity to Jews is acceptable. It provides a mechanism which allows the expression of ideas that were previously regarded as taboo.
It is of course true that a section of the Muslim population is anti-Semitic. And proportionately it is probably higher than among the general population. But it is the broader progressivist culture which provides the environment in which such poisonous ideas can flourish.