Abdelwahab El Affendi

Abdelwahab El Affendi Osman is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster and coordinator of the Centre's Democracy and Islam Programme. The majority of our conversation centered on the topic of identity. According to Mr. Affendi, many conflicts between religious groups are not actually a direct result of religious differences as we often assume. Instead, he says there is often a different cause and religion is merely adopted as part of the group identity (rather than the root cause). As an example, he cited the conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. While many people might categorize this conflict as a religious one, Affendi says that, in fact, for many in Northern Ireland, their Catholic or Protestant identities are generally inherited rather than chosen: “it becomes just like ethnicity—just like black and white in America. I was born black. I was born Catholic. That’s how I am.” He claims that many “Irish Catholics” are actually Marxists who have little religious belief at all. Thus, religion in this case is not a cause of conflict but merely an identity adopted by conflicting groups.

Similarly, Mr. Affendi suggests that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not based on religious difference but rather “a struggle over land, an ethnic struggle…There are atheist Jews and there are also Marxist-atheist Arabs that don’t believe in Islam but fight on the Palestinian side—not as much as a result of religion but because of identity, ethnicity. So in this regard, you can’t say that it is religion that is dividing people in this sense.” Affendi claims that the Palestinians initially wouldn’t have cited Islam as their creed, that most of them were actually Marxists and some of the earlier leaders were Christians. As a whole, the Palestinians saw themselves as Arab rather than Muslim and would have been more sympathetic with the communist Soviet Union over some other Arab countries. More recently, as Hamas has gained power and become more effective in fighting Israel, Palestinians have identified themselves as Muslims: “not because of its ideology but in spite of it…they say well okay, in the past we followed these Marxists but it wasn’t good now let’s see what these Islamists can do for us.”

…I think the idea that warring groups may adopt a religious identity that contributes to (though is not the cause of) their mutual antagonism is an interesting one and could be accurate to an extent in many situations throughout history. As far as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I think Mr. Affendi is right in categorizing it as a struggle over land. However, my understanding of the situation is that this particular land has a deeply religious significance for both groups and thus the conflict is inextricably linked to religion—which in this case, seems to be extremely divisive.

Next we turned to the topic of the identity crisis faced by many immigrants today. Most immigrants to Europe and the States are presented with the difficult and confusing challenge of juggling multiple identities. This often comes in the form of both an internal struggle with oneself over questions of loyalty and belonging as well as an external struggle and negotiation with society. There is a tendency in host countries to over generalize and to ignore, intentionally or not, important differences in background, country of origin, and cultural heritage. There is often a clash or disconnect between the way an immigrant defines himself and the way his new society defines him. Mr. Affendi pointed out that prior to arriving in England, many immigrants have a more nuanced conception of themselves which may be completely ignored by society in favor of a broader generalization. For example, someone might be Pakistani or Indian, or a specific ethnicity within India, but once in Europe, they all fall under the broad and undifferentiated category of “Muslim.” In the same way, someone from Africa might be a Nigerian, and within Nigeria, he may be Yoruba or Hausa. “But then he comes to Britain or America, and everyone says, ‘No, you are black and that’s your identity.’” In the face of discrimination, immigrants that previously had no ties to each other may ultimately come together under the umbrella of the identity imposed upon them by the dominant society. Affendi says that British immigrants from Pakistan or India would not necessarily feel that they have anything in common. However, discrimination and generalization by the host society begins to create a British-Muslim identity that serves to bind them together.

The societal formation of and individual adjustment to this new identity can serve to strengthen the immigrant’s ties to Islam. Mr. Affendi explained that many Muslim immigrants who previously drank alcohol or neglected prayers have actually become more pious after arriving in Europe. Many are embracing their Islamic identity and are now wearing the hijab and participating in other Muslim rituals whereas before “they wouldn’t have really thought about it.” For some, Islam has become a positive way to establish an identity and find a sense of belonging in a pluralist society. However, others embrace radical forms of Islam as a reaction against discrimination and feelings of alienation by mainstream society. This is especially the case among second and third generation young British Muslims. Affendi explains that “if you went to a Yorkshire school in Leeds and spoke with a Yorkshire accent, you’d think that you were a Yorkshire person just like your white classmates. But then if somebody tries to show you that no, you are not, you are inferior, you are an immigrant…then if somebody else comes to you saying, well, you are a Muslim and Islam is the greatest religion in the world and we are better than these people who are unbelieving and ignorant,” you might find that to be very appealing. In that sense, young British Muslims that feel neither fully British nor Pakistani or Indian or whatever are especially susceptible to recruitment by radical Islamic fundamentalists that provide them with a higher calling and a feeling of belonging in a worldwide battleground in which they can play an important role.