[Guest essay] Virulent Islamophobia is far more dangerous than any mosque

Posted on : 2023-02-03 17:49 KST Modified on : 2023-02-03 17:49 KST
A group calling itself the “Daehyeon Neighborhood Anti-Mosque Emergency Action Committee” held a “barbeque party” on Dec. 15, 2022, near the construction site of a planned mosque in Daegu. (Kim Kyu-hyun/The Hankyoreh)
A group calling itself the “Daehyeon Neighborhood Anti-Mosque Emergency Action Committee” held a “barbeque party” on Dec. 15, 2022, near the construction site of a planned mosque in Daegu. (Kim Kyu-hyun/The Hankyoreh)
By Han Seung-hun, religious studies scholar at the Academy of Korean Studies

On Sept. 16, 2022, the Korean Supreme Court rejected a demand by residents of the Daehyeong neighborhood in Daegu that construction be halted on a planned mosque in the neighborhood. A legal judgment was made that Islamophobia was not sufficient grounds to interfere in a community’s religious activities.

This ruling was meaningful in that it confirmed constitutional principles on religious freedom and the prohibition of discrimination amid widespread hatred and harassment towards religious and racial minorities amid a society that is being called to become multicultural.

However, even after the ruling, some locals and forces opposed to the mosque have taken to protesting using bizarre methods. One such method involves holding pork meat feasts in front of the mosque’s construction site. By taking advantage of Islam’s ban on eating pork, this demonstration is an act of hate that, in a country with an anti-discrimination bill, would be punished.

Such actions started taking place after the Supreme Court ruling. One of the first acts involved holding a pork belly barbeque near the construction site and wafting the smell and smoke of pork over toward the mosque.

More recently, a barbeque company was called in so that “protestors” could eat a 50-kilogram pig that had been roasted whole on a spit. These actions call to mind the “gorging protests” by the far-right in which they stuffed their faces in front of bereaved families of the Sewol ferry disaster who were on a hunger strike.

According to the participants, this is an act of protest against the rancid smell of lamb that wafts through the air when Muslims gather for barbecues. As a lover of lamb meat, I can say that I don’t understand how the smell of lamb, which is met with thriving applause in many restaurants around the country, can be considered “rancid.”

Of course, their real intention is to bully Muslims. By using food that is taboo in their religious practice, the “protesters” are threatening Muslims by making them feel as if they are not welcome in Korea.

Another preposterous method of “protest” involves hanging boiled pigs’ heads, legs, and tails around the construction site. The neglected pig carcasses rot, smell putrid, and are ridden with flies. According to a report by the Yonhap news agency, the resident who first started this ridiculous act stated this: “Since everyone involved in the construction of the mosque says that we should live together harmoniously, since pork is a big part of our culture, it should be respected,” and “if Korean culture doesn’t sit right with them, the mosque should be relocated.”

As far as I know, nothing in Korean culture makes people hang boiled pork in front of a house and leave them to rot. This is nothing more than an act of violence meant to threaten Muslims and mock their culture.

More worrisome is that there are an increasing number of people online who sympathize with this method of “protest” and openly express their xenophobic attitude towards foreigners. This is a problem that has already been pointed out by many others, and I have also spoken about this issue through this column, so I will refrain from repeating myself. I do want to add that opposing the construction of a mosque in this fashion does not benefit anyone.

We judge things based on many criteria. The values that decide what is right or wrong vary so much that it is difficult to reach a consensus with a specific ethical premise in mind. As such, many social conflicts are judged through legal criteria. Aside from ethical or legal standards, there is also an economic aspect, where one thinks about the gains and losses.

The prediction that the mosque will affect real estate prices negatively is probably a factor that locals fear the most. However, housing prices do not plummet in areas where people of different races, nationalities, languages, religions, and cultures coexist peacefully without being separated. An area known to be full of people who do not respect various people will not likely prosper.

The claim that Muslims are no different in nature, whether they be international students, refugees, or terrorists, and therefore should be excluded from Korean society, is one that is so far from reason that refuting it logically is no use. Rather, it is necessary to point out the more practical risks resulting from such a stance.

A situation in which Islamophobia is rampant and bullying is routine is one that gives birth to terrorists. Religious terrorists do not rely on faith for motivation. Their real purpose is to unleash terror onto an unspecified number of the public to achieve a political goal. In some areas, the fact that Muslims are oppressed can act as a good excuse.

As a “symbolic” act of terrorism like hanging boiled pig’s heads around a mosque’s construction site can lead to a “physical” act of terrorism, it is clear that such actions are incredibly dangerous and risky.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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