The Prevent Duty Act Through a Teenage Girl in I Am Thunder

Year 2023, Issue: 71, 101 - 108, 28.12.2023

Alper Tulgar

https://doi.org/10.5152/AUJFL.2023.23111

Abstract

On July 7 and 21, 2005, the London transport system was attacked by four bombers. The 7/7 attack was the largest terrorist attack in the United Kingdom, resulting in 775 casualties and 52 deaths (four bombers not included). The 7/7 London bombings altered the policy of the United Kingdom’s counterterrorism policies radically because it was realized that within the country, those bombers were raised and radicalized. With the implementation of the Prevent Duty Act in 2015, the formal institutions of the government in the United Kingdom particularly educational establishments were asked to get involved to defeat organized terrorist attacks and to prevent young people from being radicalized and brainwashed. it has been shown that the Prevent act has had adverse effects on Muslim students by creating a “new suspect community.” Muhammad Khan’s novel titled I Am Thunder deals with how young Muslim British students are affected by these new precautions. Muslim students are considered to be potential terrorists and ready to be radicalized. The protagonist of I Am Thunder is a 15-year-old high-school student who is creative and smart but is constantly oppressed by her parents. islamophobia is a recurring theme in the novel since Muzna’s peers constantly criticize and mock her due to her darker skin and religion. Particularly after various terrorist attacks, Muslims are targeted and blamed of taking part in attacks, even though they are not associated with those attacks. The author aims to show the hypocrisy of people who takes advantage of people’s religious beliefs. At the end of the novel, Muzna succeeds in stopping a terrorist attack aiming to kill innocent people. She, in the end, accepts her British identity and learns how to practice islam regardless of other people’s thoughts.

Keywords

Britishness, I Am Thunder, islamophobia, Muslim identity, Prevent Duty

Genç bir Kız Aracılığıyla I Am Thunder Romanında Terörü Önleme Kanunu

Abstract

7 ve 21 Temmuz 2005’te Londra ulaşım sistemi dört bombacı saldırgan tarafından saldırıya uğradı. 7/7 saldırısı, Birleşik Krallık’taki en büyük terörist saldırıydı ve 775 yaralı ve 52 ölümle sonuçlandı (dört bombacı saldırgan dâhil değil). 7/7 Londra bombalamaları, Birleşik Krallık’ın terörle mücadele politikalarını kökten değiştirdi; çünkü bu saldırganların ülke içinde büyütüldüğü ve radikalleştirildiği anlaşıldı. 2015 yılında terörle mücadele yasasında yapılan değişiklikle Terörü Önleme Kanunu’nun yürürlüğe girmesiyle birlikte, Birleşik Krallık’taki hükümetin resmi kurumlarının, özellikle eğitim kurumlarının, organize terör saldırılarını durdurmak ve gençlerin radikalleşmesini ve beyinlerinin yıkanmasını önlemek için görev alması istendi. Terörü Önleme Kanunu’nun “yeni bir şüpheli topluluk” yaratarak Müslüman öğrenciler üzerinde olumsuz etkileri olduğu gösterildi. Muhammed Khan’ın I Am Thunder adlı romanı, genç Müslüman İngiliz öğrencilerin bu yeni önlemlerden nasıl etkilendiğini ele alır. Müslüman öğrenciler potansiyel terörist ve radikalleşmeye hazır bireyler olarak kabul edilir. I Am Thunder romanının başkahramanı, yaratıcı ve zeki ama sürekli olarak ailesi tarafından baskı gören 15 yaşında bir lise öğrencisidir. Muzna’nın yaşıtları koyu teni ve dini nedeniyle onu sürekli eleştirdikleri ve onunla alay ettikleri için İslamofobi romanda tekrar eden bir temadır. Özellikle çeşitli terör saldırılarından sonra Müslümanlar, bu saldırılarla ilgisi olmasa da saldırılara katılmakla suçlanmakta ve hedef gösterilmektedirler. Yazar, insanların dini inançlarından yararlanan insanların ikiyüzlülüğünü göstermeyi amaçlamaktadır. Romanın sonunda Muzna, masum insanları öldürmeyi amaçlayan bir terör saldırısını durdurmayı başarır. Sonunda İngiliz kimliğini kabul eder ve diğer insanların düşüncelerinden bağımsız olarak İslam’ı nasıl yaşayacağını öğrenir.

Keywords

İngilizlik, I Am Thunder, İslamofobi, Müslüman kimliği, Önleme Yasası

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