Are We Heading for Troubled Times?

From Southport to the Middle East, Muslims are Public Enemy #1

I know I said the next post would be about buying property in Antalya and sharing what I've learned so far, and I will get to that, insha-Allah, but I just had to talk about what's happening in the world right now.

Let's start with the UK, which is still home (for now).

This weekend, there are dozens of marches planned by the far-right in the UK against Muslims.

In case you’re not aware, what sparked the trouble on this occasion was a recent incident where a young boy - just 17 years old - tragically murdered three young children and injured others. Rumours quickly spread on social media, claiming that the perpetrator was a Muslim immigrant. It wasn't true, but that doesn’t matter to the far-right; of course, they’re just looking for any excuse.

So far, riots have broken out, mosques have been attacked, a police station was set on fire, and a Muslim has been stabbed in Liverpool ahead of a far-right demo.

A Pattern in History

This isn't an isolated incident, and things have definitely been getting worse over the past few years. However, we’ve been through troubled times before.

When I was a kid in the 1980s, we caught the tail-end of similar troubles - people slightly older than me have countless stories about those difficult times. After 9/11, things got quite bad again, and now it seems to be happening once more.

But this time feels different.

We're witnessing political shifts across Europe and the West, where everything seems to be moving further to the right. Whether it’s the US, the UK, Germany, or France, the discourse on what’s politically acceptable regarding Muslims and Islam has shifted dramatically. In the UK, politicians have been pandering to the far-right narrative; even our current Prime Minister talked, during the election run-up, about sending Bangladeshi immigrants back home.

Economic Turmoil and the Spectre of War

Historically, things get bad during economic hardship. People want someone to blame, and the powers-that-be prefer not to take that blame themselves, so they play into the narrative and point fingers at minorities, and people buy into it because they don’t know or seek the truth.

Western powers are on the decline. We've shifted from a unipolar world, where the US was in charge post-World War II, to a multipolar one with China, Russia and the ‘Global South’ rising to challenge the status quo. The UK economy isn’t in the best shape (to put it mildly), the US isn’t in the position it used to be, and there's fear of a US recession impacting economies worldwide.

Over lunch with a couple of ex-colleagues this week, I mentioned how fortunate we've been in the West to live in relatively peaceful times over the last several decades. Our governments may have fought, instigated, or perpetuated wars elsewhere, but we haven’t directly suffered as a result.

However, it’s worth remembering that WWI and WWII weren’t that long ago, and so many other people across the world have suffered the horrors of war since then. Some of us have just been the lucky few not to have experienced war, but we’re starting to see countries become more insular and hawkish, talking up conflict. As many political commentators have noted, declining empires typically don’t go down without a fight.

It feels like the world is heading towards increasingly troubled times.

Is Moving Abroad the Solution?

Moving abroad isn’t the right solution for everyone.

Some can’t afford it, and others have commitments that keep them rooted. Those of us who have the option to move (if we choose to) are in a very privileged position.

There's a debate to be had about whether moving is the right thing to do (Islamically speaking), whether it’s “hijrah”, etc. We can delve into that another time, insha-Allah.

However, we must remember that the rest of the world isn’t necessarily safe either. Just this morning, I read about how the US is bolstering its military in the Middle East due to escalating tensions. Moving to Türkiye, Dubai, or elsewhere might not be the safest option if those regions become embroiled in the conflict.

You might think about moving further away, to countries like Malaysia, for example. But the reality is that the world is interconnected in complex ways, and there's talk of the real possibility of another world war (God forbid). Unlike the previous two, we now have nuclear weapons, making the prospect petrifying.

So what can we do?

Some might see moving abroad as the right step for various reasons, while others believe staying is the best course. Many will have no option but to stay where they are.

Whether you’re staying or going, it’s time for action. We can’t continue living insular lives, only worrying about ourselves and our families. There are bigger things at stake.

What can we (as Muslims) do to mitigate against the challenges that we’re already facing and those that are coming, regardless of where we’ll be living? This is a serious question.

The petty squabbles need to stop. We need to come together to have serious conversations.

I heard a scholar say something many years ago that is still as relevant today as it was then: “The house is on fire, and we’re arguing about which TV channel to watch.”

And, ultimately, we should all be concerned about strengthening our imaan so we can pass the difficult tests that will inevitably come, whichever land we find ourselves living in.

“Do people think that they will be left to say, "We believe", and they will not be tested?

But We have certainly tested those before them, and Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars.”

Al-Quran [29:2]