Russian-speaking Muslims are already used to Islamophobic, to say the least, attacks from state and pro-government media, but they were surprised by a similar report from the opposition TV channel «Rain» from Dagestan entitled «Taking off the Hijab». And it is a mistake, but more on that later.
First of all, it should be noted that this report is both Islamophobic and illiterate, and it serves a completely different purpose. It is reminiscent of the Russian Aerospace Forces strikes against moderate opposition forces in Syria, which were presented as strikes against Jabhat al-Nusra* or even ISIS*. Similarly, the heroes and heroines of families where Islamic principles are violated, such as an alcoholic father or a husband who does not provide for his wife, forces her to work, and abuses her while she is pregnant, are portrayed here as apostates from Islam and its world.
Why is this seen as an attack on Islam, even though the journalist and the protagonists of the report repeatedly claim that they are not against Islam, but against its misinterpretation? It is because the authors of this report themselves decided to link it to Islam, starting with the title «Taking off the Hijab» and continuously emphasizing mosques, Muslim women dressed in Islamic clothing, etc. Although, in essence, these are stories of women who fled from dysfunctional families, similar to women from similar families of any religious or non-religious affiliation, where hundreds of thousands of such stories can be found, including in Russia.
Of course, in this case we cannot talk about objective professional journalism. Because if it were, the author(s) who wanted to link these stories to Islam would have given the floor to their experts and asked them to comment on these issues from an Islamic perspective, to evaluate what these women have faced, and to advise them on how to behave in accordance with Islam. However, only «others» — refugees supposedly fleeing from Islam and those who originally chose it as an object of demonization — speak about Islam, which definitely allows us to consider this report not as an attempt to understand the problem, but as one-sided propaganda.
Now let’s talk about why Muslims should not be surprised by such attacks from the opposition media, from which they expect not anti-Islamic propaganda, but an objective approach to their problems. We simply have to be realistic about this. At best, the liberal opposition media can cover the persecution of Muslims by the authorities, law enforcement agencies and related structures. This is already a good thing, because without non-Muslim media covering the persecution of Muslims, we are condemned to an information blockade. So, in such cases, it allows each side to solve its own tasks — Muslims break this blockade with the help of liberals, and liberals use every opportunity to criticize the government and turn society, including Muslims, against it.
However, this does not make Muslims and inward-looking liberals allies — deep down, the latter consider Islam, at best, to be the same evil as the Russian authorities, with whom they can interact as long as they do not have real power.
Let’s treat them the same way and understand that no one except us and our principled like-minded people and allies will present our or our friendly point of view. Therefore, if you want to read or watch Islamic or pro-Islamic content, support Islamic and pro-Islamic media that are capable of producing and distributing it.
* banned in the Russian Federation