The Jihad word and ITV. by Ayman Ahwal

A couple of months ago Keith Wilkinson of Central itv made a short news piece on litter-strewn inner city Birmingham especially featuring Sparkbrook, Small Heath and Alum Rock, which are overwhelmingly populated by Muslims. 

He managed to find a few “white” faces to complain at the state of affairs of the streets, which must have been quite difficult as most inhabitants of these parts are non-europeans and predominantly Muslims. The impression was that the poor white people in the enclave feel victimized by Muslim thrown trash. In any case one is lead to believe that the Muslims simply don’t care. And he was right.



Whether this piece was meant as a slight on a Muslim majority to shame them for allowing such filthy conditions to prevail, is of little importance. If it was an accusatory finger pointed, It was entirely justified.

A subsequent community film “Clean Medina” was in fact a direct Muslim response to the Central ITV piece and to the state of the streets in “Muslim Brum” and exhorted the younger generation Muslims to rectify the situation by radical direct action. The film is in fact a romboisterous and humourous battle cry against waste and trash portrayed as a Jihad - which in fact it is - or should be morally speaking and from an Islamic vocabulary.

Of course, the director of the film realized that this could ruffle some ignorant feathers in certain places. Indeed the first shots of this were fired by a local Lib Dem (Muslim) councillor who was present at a shoot of “Clean Medina”, where a virtual “War (jihad) on waste” was enacted in the streets of Small Heath become Bollywood, as hordes of Muslim kids descended on the streets around a mosque in a clean-up operation. Inspiring enough, perhaps. But our irate Councillor Shawkat Ali, was not persuaded nor could be calmed albeit by half the Mosque committee and several other local dignitaries and respected Muslims. He was adamant.

“No, you cannot use the word Jihad - anything else but NOT Jihad!” he screamed as people tried to calm him down later. And the argument continued. Without doubting the honourable councillor’s religious convictions or piety, it must be said that he was not only wrong but seen to be wrong in the eyes of the majority of Muslims. Of course, and resoundingly so, it is a jihad to keep oneself and one’s environment clean. And I do not see any reason why for Muslims any other word should be used: crusade, war, struggle, the good fight, campaign, jihad: they’re all relevant depending on who you’re appealing to.



But probably what the councillor was scared about was not his own possible misunderstanding of the word ‘Jihad’ but of the crass (willful?) misunderstanding of Non-Muslims and the fear and offense that that misunderstanding causes them. Non-Muslims’ fear of this Jihad thing scares the living daylights out of our poor councillor who has to attend meetings everyday with such people, and who all the time has to convince his white colleagues that Muslims (i.e. himself included) are NOT this and are NOT that something or other else but are really very “nice” people quite capable of turning a worthy vote as much as any other decent BPH (British Passport Holder). What was he going to say when they might have said “Oh we hear that you are a supporter of (yes, the feared word) Jihad." Is it Coventry he would be sent to? - or Karachi?

To pass the buck again it is perhaps not even entirely the fault of these Non-Muslim councillors or by and large a substantial proportion of the Great British prejudiced public that the word has a bad image, a bad press and a considerable amount of fear factor. This is because the word has been abducted from the Islamic spiritual vocabulary by criminals, highjackers and whoever is supposed to have committed and/or organized those monstrous crimes referred to by numbers: 9/11, 7/7, and the like, and then claimed Islam as their motivation. They presume to hijack its vocabulary and even try to manipulate some aspects of Islam's ethical reasoning structures as justification for their crimes. 

Do bank robbers quote Jesus’ behaviour towards the moneychangers in the Temple to justify their acts and gain support from Christians? One might speculate, though, that this might justify some would-be “Christian” criminals claiming to be “born again”, “death cult” or some such fundamentalists if they had gotten it into their minds to fly planes with amazing grace into the twin towers as an assault on usury. Would they have called it a Crusade? But I am digressing....

Central ITV, having received a copy of “Clean Medina” called up the director of the film announcing that they wanted to interview him, show clips from the film and thus promote the film. This was seen as being very positive as it would have given some encouragement and motivation to all the many participants in the community, especially the younger generation of Muslims, in the making of the film and the clean-up operations.

Arrangements for the shoot were made to take place in a street cafe in Coventry Road. The day before the arranged shoot, head of Central ITV News Birmingham, Mike Dolan, called to say that the shoot was off but refused to give a reason. When questioned he asked if the film had yet been distributed to schools, and added that their newsroom would do a piece when that happens.

I began to wonder what extra scoop of news could be scraped out of the story and of course, it did not take long to see how. Rather than promote a local campaign and the film of it by showing the very community-based film, making the young people feel that they were doing something positive and dynamic - and getting on TV for it, the only “story” that can be conceived from the standpoint that bad news sells better than good news, especially when it concerns Muslims, lies in the forbidden word “Jihad”. Here the film obliges amply with it’s caricature OBL sitting in a floating chair in his secret lair in Lickey Hill, where he calls for an international Jihad on Trash. 

One can almost visualize the pitch: With a clip of a lookalike “Osama” in his lair - the story would be “Is this what Muslim schools and Muslim majority schools in Birmingham are being shown?” As people gasp in horror all around the country, more inter-communal damage is done, the streets remain filthy. Another scoop for the conceited screen: No news in praise, just demonize. 

So, alternatively... “Why bother, Oh! Muslims. The White people (i.e the Government) will do it, we pay our taxes and they hate us any way, unless we’re like them.... We tried in our own way to no avail. Perhaps they can get robots...... etc, etc” Freedom and responsibility of the Press, yes, indeed or as the film itself raps: “Free meals for the Media Rats!”

Doubtless schools leaning in ever so many directions so as to be seen as PC, like our backwards and sideways leaning councillor will be frightened to death of the forbidden word too and will not show the film. Perhaps Muslims as perceived "guests" in this country should present cleaning up the streets as a nice head-wagging operation performed by obsequiously bowing, scraping and be-turbanned ex-imperial house servants now come to sweep the streets of the motherland as truly patriotic BPH's.  These “Mujahiddin” in the Film are wearing Hi Res BCC jackets, though! The kids say “Wow!”, “Wicked!” or “sick!” at the film in the jargon of the day. But their enthusiasm is to be stifled by presumed political correctness and false piety of the secular variety.

As a Muslim writer I just say to ITV and the rest of the press “Give us our vocabulary back to use as we please!” It’s the trash that’s the problem not the jihad.


Ayman Ahwal