LONDON

- The British government's decision to dismiss its advisor for defining Islamophobia, Qari Asim, sparked controversy among Muslims in the country, following a tweet in which he expressed his rejection of the movie "Our Lady of Paradise", which some cinemas announced to stop showing after demonstrations by Muslims.

Immediately after the Muslim official's tweet in which he said that the film "hurts the feelings of Muslims";

The government announced the dismissal of "Imam Qari", which caused a shock among the country's Muslims.

This comes at a time when the results of a recent opinion poll for the "Hyphen" website showed that 7 out of 10 Muslims in Britain are exposed to Islamophobia and prejudice against Islam in their workplace.

Assem said in a previous interview with Al-Jazeera Net that part of the media plays an important role in the "demonization" of Muslims, and stereotypes are fed with feelings of fear;

Such as promoting, for example, that there are Muslims who enjoy jobs that originally belong to the British, and take their homes as well as their country, which leads to a severe polarization within society, and increases intimidation of Muslims when there is a deliberate link between terrorism and Islam.

In this interview with Al Jazeera Net, Qari Asim talks about his position on the movie "The Lady of Paradise", the details of his dismissal from his position, and reveals the truth about the British government's handling of the file of hatred against Muslims.

  • What is your position on the movie Our Lady of Heaven?

I believe that the movie "Our Lady of Heaven" is provocative and biased and its content is controversial, and my concerns were about the content of the movie, which presents historical events in a completely subjective and inflammatory manner, which may lead to fueling extremism and tension between different religious groups in society.

My position on this film is the position of the large majority of Muslims, whether Shiites or Sunnis in Britain, who oppose showing this film in cinemas because of its content that leads to division and division, and that it contains violent content, which may lead to stimulating hostilities between different sects in society. British.

  • There are those who say that refusing to show the film is a restriction on freedom of opinion and expression?

I am fully convinced and believe in freedom of expression, but we must not neglect the existence of a long discussion and debate about the limits of freedom of expression in some topics, and because there is a possibility that this film will fuel extremism and incitement against any party, all I have done is conveying the feelings of Muslims towards this This is a democratic right to express your opinion and concern about a specific issue and to convey this feeling to the concerned authorities.

As for the issue of whether or not the film will be shown, this is a decision that is up to the cinemas, and I did not force these halls to ban its screening, nor did I organize or call for any demonstration in front of the cinema halls to prevent the screening of the movie “Our Lady of Heaven,” because my way of dealing is dialogue rather than protest, with My absolute support for the right of every citizen to protest and demonstrate.

  • Did you receive any communication from the government before the decision to dismiss you from your position?

The behavior of the British government was strange in not communicating with me even before announcing my dismissal, and it did not pay any attention to the values ​​of civility, dialogue and respect, in addition to my special relationship with the British government for previous years.

  • How did you feel when you learned of the dismissal decision from your position?

I wrote a letter to the British government, and I see that the issue of my dismissal is a secondary issue compared to the main issue from my point of view, which is that the British government, through this decision, decided to close the door in the face of efforts to reach a definition of Islamophobia, and this was my task.

The British government used what happened with the movie "Our Lady of Heaven" as a justification to cover up its abject failure to do anything to protect freedom of expression.

  • Is it possible to say that the British government closed the door to efforts to confront Islamophobia?

Yes, my dismissal closes the door on the existence of an official and clear definition of Islamophobia, and it also sends the impression to Muslims, especially that the government is not serious in fighting Islamophobia and confronting the hate campaigns against Muslims.

Qari Asim – who was removed from his role as a government adviser over his support of the banning of the film 'The Lady of Heaven' – says it's within people's "democratic right" to challenge. #KayBurley: https://t.co /iOm40vn1kt

📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/CwjEWW6KZb

— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 14, 2022

  • Is the decision to dismiss you a message to those who will come after you to avoid expressing their positions publicly?

What I have done is to exercise a democratic right to express my opinion, but it appears that all the government wants is a silent person who does not speak to it if he sees that there are things going wrong, and now the government will lose a voice alerting it to problems and dangers.

And the way in which I was dismissed sends a message that the government does not accept any difference of views, and therefore this restricts and censors freedom of expression, because if it relied on dialogue, it would hear different points of view on the subject and this is good for making the right decision.

  • Do you expect that the continuation of this film will cause more tension?

First, I confirm my position rejecting protest and call on Muslims not to protest, because from my point of view there are other ways of expressing opinion.

I believe that insisting on continuing to show this film will lead to more tension, however, I call on everyone to maintain calm, and avoid blasphemy, abuse or incitement against the Shiites, for example.

Supposed to have been in #London for #Parade #pageant but instead stayed in #Yorkshire to participate in #ThankYouDay events.


Wonderful events with incredible community spirit & #gratitude.#BigJubileeLunch pic.twitter.com/MRQF7uIuuW

— Qari Asim MBE (@QariAsim) June 5, 2022

  • From your experience with the British government, is it serious about confronting Islamophobia?

I believe that during the past three years nothing has been done in this regard, and the decision to remove me from my position without any dialogue shows that the government is closing the door on any efforts to reach an official definition of Islamophobia.

  • What is your message to the British government after the dismissal decision?

My message is that they should quickly appoint a new advisor to define Islamophobia, and provide all capabilities for this new advisor to complete the work and reach the stage of formally defining Islamophobia, in order to reassure Muslims in Britain that efforts are being made to confront the hatred against them.