Category: Islamophobia

Islamophobia by Naved Bakali is a novel about the anti-Muslim racism faced by Muslim youths in Canada and the challenges they have encountered since the 9/11 attacks. Bakali holds a “PhD in Educational Studies from McGill University, with interests in critical race theory, anti-Muslim racism and post-colonial theory.” (Bakali, 2017). This novel strives to retell the stories of marginalized youths within the systemically biased Canadian system and urges readers to work towards a more equitable society. I believe every Canadian youth should read this book because it gives a largely needed Muslim perspective to anti-Muslim racism issues and relays the personal experiences of Muslim youths in the Canadian secondary school system.

This novel examines the fear of Muslims since the 9/11 attacks and how societal beliefs have linked Muslims with terrorism and evil. Bakali defines the what factor within Islamophobia and goes on to examine why and how they have impacted Canadian beliefs and perceptions of Muslim peoples. He hypothesizes how racist behavior towards Muslim peoples in both society and political contexts have been facilitated through the War on Terror. Bakali incorporates race, gender, politics and media issues into the racist societal beliefs that exist regarding Muslims. The systemic biases have caused hostility and loss of opportunities for Muslim youths. The political debates and policies have increased the impacts of Islamophobia and institutionalized racism towards Muslims in Canadian society.

Bakali breaks down this novel into two parts: understanding and experiencing Islamophobia. Within the understanding portion of the novel, he defines Islamophobia and gives a historical context and the reason why the term has evolved to encompass the present-day negative connotations. The latter part of his novel focuses on Islamophobia within the Canadian secondary school setting. This setup is extremely effective in reinforcing and conveying his message because he eases readers who do not know much about Islamophobia slowly (into the content) by beginning with the definition – telling the background stories and origins of the term starting with the 9/11 attacks. Each chapter is relevant to the category/part it falls under, which largely increases the reader’s understanding and makes his message flow better – which ultimately helps effectively support his thesis.

A prime example can be seen in Chapter 4, which falls under the category of understanding Islamophobia. Bakali touches upon mainstream media and the negative perceptions of Muslim peoples due to depictions of terrorism and violence in Hollywood films. In Iron Man, the Muslim terrorists were seen to be incompetent – failing to prevent Tony Stark’s escape and were “unable to possess and handle Western technologies”. (Bakali 2016, 66). Using this film to demonstrate the existence of anti-Muslim racism in Hollywood films – and how it continues reinforcing Islamophobia – was effective because most present-day Canadian youths have watched Iron Man. Thus, they can easily relate back to the film and realize the striking differences between the portrayals of White and Muslim characters. The Muslim characters were depicted as evil and violent, causing much bloodshed and killing of the Afghan civilians. On the other hand, the White characters were heroic and smart – building technology to help them escape from the evil terrorists. The relevant and relatable example Bakali provides helps convey his message because it effectively proves how the media is negatively defining Muslims and reinforcing anti-Muslim racism. It motivates non-Muslim Canadian youths to consider reshaping their outlooks of Muslim peoples and correct the false assumptions the media portrays.

Bakali incorporates quotes from his interviews of Muslim peoples and their experiences in Canadian society, which gives life to his arguments and proves to the reader that Islamophobia is an ongoing issue. Reading about the experiences and struggles of Muslim youths gave a personalized touch and draws sympathy from readers. This strengthens Bakali’s thesis, as it is extremely difficult for anyone who reads these quotes to not feel inclined on removing the anti-Muslim belief. In Chapter 6, participants in a group discussion mention that their teachers were the most outwardly racist. Ahmad states that “I was balancing a book on my head and a teacher said, Ahmad, stop praying. He thought it was funny and a good joke.” (Bakali 2016, 107). Ahmad’s experience clearly depicts the systemic racism that exists in Canadian secondary schools, and Bakali uses these types of examples to support his arguments. He attempts to persuade the reader to work towards creating a more just and equitable society, and it is without doubt that any reader would find the teacher’s behavior to be offensive. Thus, they would lean towards taking the side of Muslim individuals and look through an unbiased lens to present them the opportunities they deserve in the future – leading to an equitable society.

The book was written with a lot of research to support Bakali’s stance. The large amount of citations (however) present a weakness, as individuals in high school would find it difficult to absorb the knowledge and thoroughly understand the points he is trying to convey. Even as a university student, the sophisticated word choice sometimes made it difficult for me to comprehend the message conveyed. A prime example was when Bakali explored class relations and Islamophobia, where he claims, “when a nation adopts a laissez-faire economic system in which its natural resources become liberalized that its political system…will be acceptable in the eyes of US hegemony.” (Bakali 2016, 39). Individuals without economic knowledge would find it confusing, since not knowing what the laissez-faire economic system means would confuse the reader. Despite this weakness, Canadian youths should still read this book because it provides insightful information and opinions on why a more equitable society should be created for Muslims in Canadian society.

In conclusion, I believe every Canadian youth should read this book because it gives a largely needed Muslim perspective to anti-Muslim racism issues and relays the personal experiences of Muslim youths in the Canadian secondary school system. The novel allows the Canadian experiences of oppressed Muslims to be revealed and the historical events that have caused lasting negative impacts on today’s society. Moreover, Bakali presents a well-researched and highly informative book that proves the existence of the systemic biases and motivates readers to rebuild a more just society. Overall, Islamophobia is a must-read that opens the eyes of Canadians who do not know of the systemic problems that exist.

The article I chose for this assignment is ‘The Racialization of Muslim Converts in Britain and Their Experiences of Islamophobia’, written by Leon Moosavi in 2014, and published in the ‘Critical Sociology’ journal. This article is about how Islamophobia negatively affects the lives of the majority of white converts in Britain. Their conversion to Islam can impact their family relationships along with their ‘membership’ from the dominant white majority. It also demonstrates the crucial connection between Islamophobia and racism. Moreover, the article highlights how even though physical violence is uncommon, Islamophobia can be expressive in a discreet manner. The reason I chose this article is because I am a Muslim, so I feel that I can relate to this article on a personal level due to the fact that I have a clear understanding of what it is like to be Muslim. Although, prior to reading this article, I believed I have not experienced Islamophobia myself, yet now I can recognize that I was a victim of elusive Islamophobia. I am able to comprehend how this hurtful behaviour can negatively impact people’s lives, especially Muslims. A few ways I analyzed and evaluated this article is by paying close attention to the use of key words and phrases and observing the references to see if they are reliable. In addition to this, I took notes and searched for definitions of words I did not understand in order to be able to fully grasp what the article is really about. Additionally, some noteworthy concepts of the article include how white converts can lose their ‘white privilege’ when they convert to Islam because Islam is perceived as a ‘non-white” religion, and that Islamophobia can be tough to distinguish because it often manifests in a very subtle approach. Ultimately, the article shines a light on racism against Muslims and white Muslim converts, and I believe that being educated on racism and racialization is important because it has affected history for thousands of years, and by expanding our knowledge, it can improve our self-awareness.

In the article, Moosavi does an outstanding job of getting the audience to have the ability to observe what Islamophobia is like from the perspective of a white convert. The sociological theory used to compose this article is the ‘social conflict theory’; an approach that analyzes society as a place where inequality is the cause that generates conflict and social change. Moosavi claims that white converts tend to lose their ‘white privilege’ as “their conversion to Islam can signal the end of them being racialized as ‘white’, and rather, they can begin to be considered as ‘non-white’ (Moosavi, 2013, pg. 43). The significance of this quotation is that it demonstrates how Islam can shape an individual’s ‘whiteness’. Muslim converts are then referred to as ‘Other’ even if they were a part of the dominant majority. This notion of white people converting to Islam is considered as a deviant act to majority of the people in Britain. This ‘re-racialization’ can be considered a role strain between ascribed status (white) and one’s religious beliefs. It is evident that the social conflict approach is exceptional to use in order to evaluate this matter of racialization faced by converts because it helps us better understand conflicts between dominant and disadvantaged people, in this case, the disadvantaged are the white converts. The social conflict theory addresses social issues and inequalities and does not disregard them. However, this approach believes all of society is dysfunctional, and it ignores how shared values and neutral interdependence unifies society.

This article was highly judicious with illustrating how the conversion of white people to Islam can reveal insights on race, racialization, and racism. Some strengths of this article is that Moosavi presents concrete examples to be able to fully support his claims and strengthen his points. He interviews a few white converts; which was a good idea, in my opinion, because it does not base his article on just research, but also real life experiences. He provides definitions to key words to help the readers better understand the context given. Additionally, by having a strong vocabulary and giving definitions, the article is easy to follow along, yet also very informative. The article used many well-grounded sources that were dependable, such as BBC News. Moosavi writing contained several great hooks that are able to keep the audience interested and engaged through his flow of sentences and choice of words. Lastly, his utilization of headings was organized and simple to apprehend. Moosavi’s article was very educational, nevertheless, there were a few weaknesses to it. Some weaknesses of this article is the repetition of words and phrases, such as ‘discreet’ and ‘whiteness’. Moreover, there is no ‘clear’ argument for this article and this was difficult for me when analyzing it because I was trying to understand what the main argument was. I do not think this article is meant to have an argument, but rather it educates readers on how Islamophobia is not a myth. Finally, Moosavi is Muslim, so there may be a slight bias to his research.

Moosavi mentions that the reason Islamophobia is considered a ‘myth’ to some people is due to the fact that Islamophobia “surfaces more frequently on a mundane and discreet level” (Moosavi, 2013, pg. 48). From this, it is evident that the majority of Muslim converts are not fully informed on the subtle racism they may experience every day. He states that there are several layers to Islamophobia, not just physical and violent. Consequently, it is apparent that Islamophobia is a form of racism and racial prejudice because it singles out and discriminates against a category of people that can result in tragic consequences. There is also a clear connection between being racialized and discriminated because the process of racialization can lead to discriminatory comments and behaviour from others. Furthermore, Moosavi proclaims that there are many racist jokes that can be considered as humor, however, if one applies Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic approach, one can see how these jokes are representations of a person’s subconscious ideas. All in all, Moosavi believes that white converts do not see the pervasive subtle Islamophobia because they are unable to recognize it due to the lack of knowledge on the subject, and I completely agree because I have experienced such jokes, but I have always brushed them off as good humor, though, now that I look back at those jokes, I realize that those jokes were in fact discreet Islamophobia.

In conclusion, this article by Leon Moosavi was very insightful and informative. He was able to fluently communicate his ideas and research in an orderly fashion that is easy to follow along. His examples and use of interviewees was especially a notable feature because it strengthened his work due to the fact that the information he provides in the article was not just research-based, but also from experiences told by real white converts. His weaknesses, however, were his lack of presenting a ‘clear’ argument, and that there may be a slight bias to his work because of Moosavi’s Muslim background. One idea that the author failed to shine a light on is how Islamophobia affects the lives of those who have been following Islam their entire lives. This contrast between Muslim converts and those who were born into the religion could have further strengthened the article.

Prejudice against muslims or Islam in the West mainly emerged upon 9/11 attack in the United States. On average, there have been around 145 anti-islamic hate crimes in United States from 1996-2013 (FBI reports, 1996-2013). The aim of this essay is to explain how “anti-muslims prejudice” is socially constructed and how it has affected certain groups. This essay analyses published studies to examine how media has constructed the issue. Firstly, I will explain what is social constructionism, its underlying basis and how it can be used in interpreting the social phenomenon. Secondly, I will explain how “claim makers” (media) portrayed muslims or Islam as problematic that led to westerns holding hatred towards muslims. Lastly, I will discuss how prejudice against muslims has affected muslims and whether media has represented reality.

Social constructionism was majorly established by Berger and Luckmann; they give credit to Mead, Marx, Schutz, and Durkheim on their thinking. Berger and Luckmann emphasize on construction of knowledge; they focus on how knowledge arises and how it appears to hold importance for society. They regard knowledge as formed through interactivity among individuals within a society. According to them, society exists in terms of both subjective and objective reality which is achieved through interaction of individuals to social world (Andrews, 2012). Social constructionism is a communicative theory which provides knowledge on the development of jointly established interpretation of the world that creates shared thoughts about reality (Kitchlew, Shahzad, & Bajwa,. 2015). When constructionists do research on social problem, they focus on how the issue is constructed. They question how and why some conditions became a social issue. A problem does not arise naturally on its own, it is defined by those who hold power in society. Social conditions (that are considered as adverse by some people of society) might exist but they do not constitute a social problem until they are interpreted as problematical and in need of being solved. Social problems are created by the action of claim-makers; for example, interpretation of media on certain incidents.

Claim-makers highlight the conditions that according to them are problematic, hence, existing unfavourable conditions which fail to comply with shared values affect certain groups and demand solutions (Michailakis & Schirmer, 2014). There are three types of constructionism, namely strict constructionism, contextual constructionism and debunking constructionism and moral panics. Strict constructionists are concerned with the nature of claim-making, they study social problems based on empirical reality. Contextual constructionists focus on situating claim-making within the context which consists of past events in a specific society and its claim-makers who target a specific audience. Debunking constructionists analyzes to what extend a social construction represents reality. The idea of moral panic lies in debunking constructionism; moral panic reflects the meaning of social construction in debunking constructionism (Thibodeaux, 2014) . Moral panic refers to “punctuated moments of alarm in which, more than sources of risk or harm, specific events and behaviors are perceived as threatening society’s normative foundations” (Walsh, 2017). Moral panics is commonly used by mass media to portray a condition as threatening. The theory can be used to explain how claim-makers (media) define social conditions to create prejudice against muslims. The debunking constructionism can be used to discuss whether media represents reality.

Media has portrayed muslims and Islam as terrorists, oppressive of muslim women, intiatiatave of war and threat to national culture. The September 11, 2001 attack on America received huge media coverage; media used words such as ‘terrorism’, ‘war on terror’, ‘terrorists’, ‘security’, ‘terror attack’, ‘global terrorism’ (Salih, 2009). These words or phrases used by media is an indication that media directed its focus on picturing muslims as terrorists as the 9/11 attacks were carried out by a terrorist group whose all members were muslim. Moreover, American media reported stories about the oppression of muslim women to portray Islam as an oppressive religion which leds to muslims becoming terrorists. “Lifting the Veil,’ ‘Free to Choose,’ ‘Unveiling Freedom,’ ‘Under the Veil,’ ‘Beneath the Veil,’ and ‘Unveiled Threat” were the headlines used by the media (Alsultany 2013). The study by Haque (2010) has also found that after 9/11, western media portrayed muslim women as the victims of oppression and in need of freedom from their religion which is seen as gender-oppressive. The 7/7 London terror attacks was another incident that led to media, particularly UK’s media to portray negative and destructive stereotypes against muslims, claiming muslims as terrorists and Islam the religion which promotes terrorism (Shaw, 2012). According to Alsultany (2013), media uses representational mode in which they aim to balance negative representation with the positive one. One of the examples of representational mode is Tony Blair’s statement reported by Hugh Muir and Rosie Cowan in The Guardian (8 July 2005). The statement was as following ‘We know these people act in the name of Islam but we also know the vast and overwhelming majority of Muslims here and abroad are decent and law-abiding people who abhor this act of terrorism,’.

This shows that media is portraying Islamic beliefs as terrorism as well as providing positive representation of muslims. Another focus of media was on wars within and between muslim countries. Iraq war was framed in a different way by the western media when compared to the Arab media; there was difference in language-use. Arab media described those who were fighting against occupying forces as “Iraqi resistance group” while western media described them as “armed pockets”, “terrorist groups” or “Saddam loyalists” (Salih, 2009, p.88). Portrayals of the 1991 Gulf war reported Arabs and Muslims as inferior, threatening and immoral; portraying Islam as a threat to democratic western societies (Muscati, 2002). Western media also focused on ethno-political consensus in which Muslim migrants were demonstrated as a threat to national culture (Hussain, 2007). Security threat and cultural threat were the main driving force in the media for creating prejudice against Muslims (Ciftci, 2012).

Media effectively creates common sense for its audience, causing them to hold negative and destructive stereotypes against muslims. The number of hate crimes grew dramatically in 2001, the year of 9/11 attacks (FBI report, 2001). It was the same year when media shifted its focus on portraying muslims as terrorists. The incidents such as “killing of Abdisamad Sheikh-Hussein”, “2016 Minneapolis shooting”, “Finsbury Park attack”, and “Brick Lane nail bomb” were committed by those who supported anti-muslim prejudice. The above incidents in UK and US were not framed as terrorist attacks by the media, instead, the headlines consisted of words such as “hate crime” and “islamophobia”, indicating a biased view of western media. According to Holbrook (2010), terrorist groups who claim to have Islamic motivation for their terrorist act justify it with their own interpretation of Islamic book which is Quran.

Hence, Islam itself does not possess beliefs of terrorism, it is misinterpreted by the terrorist groups as well as media. Moreover, the incidents caused by these terrorist groups do not only occur in Western countries, the highest number of these incidents occur in muslim countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan and Syria (Global Terrorism Index Report 2015). Furthermore, according to Halliday (2003), most muslims consider the act of terrorism as violation of Islam’s law. This shows that media has created misconception of muslims or islam; it has implied the deviant act of a certain group to whole muslim community. It is true that some terrorists claim to have Islamic motivations for their act but their misinterpretation of Islam does not make the religion inferior, threatening or terrorism oriented. Muslims are portrayed as terrorists by the media, but they are also victims of terrorism just like the non-muslims and as mentioned previously, muslims are against terrorism. Media has framed muslim women as oppressed and used headlines such as “Lifting the Veil,’ ‘Free to Choose,’ ‘Unveiling Freedom,’ and ‘Under the Veil”. Women in Saudi Arabia and Iran are legally required to wear the headscarf, but the rest of the muslim countries allow women to have the choice to wear or not to wear the hijab (Elgenaidi, March 6, 2018). Overall, media does not represent reality, it has created misconception about Muslims and Islam.

Social constructionism is useful in explaining and discussing how a issue is constructed. We can use the theory to explain how claim-makers define social conditions as a social issue. As discussed above, media has created prejudice against muslims by defining oppression of women, terrorist attacks and other social conditions as an issue. This essay also focused on debunking constructionism to demonstrate that media lacks representation of reality; media raised anxiety among westerns mainly post terrorism attacks and created misconceptions about muslims and Islam.

In conclusion, media has constructed prejudice against muslims or islam by portraying them as terrorist, oppressive of muslim women, and threat to democratic values. However, media lacked representation of reality as there was language difference in portrayal of terrorism against non-muslims and muslims as well as misinterpretation of muslims or islam which was based on terrorism attacks, oppression of muslim women and wars within and between muslim countries.

Discrimination and prejudice is a reaccuromg issue within the modern world, showing a predominant effect on the Islamic culture. Ethical views are diminished when citizens begin to experience Islamophobia. It does not only effect the day to day life of Muslims and people of the Islam faith but will subsequently cause detrimental effects to their mental health and stability. Awareness amongst the issue has yet to cause prominent changes but is slowly helping the change.When discussing the phobia it is important to understand the social sciences. Focusing on this will allow readers to understand the cause of this on a wide spectrum with understanding every perspective towards the issue.

“Significant percentages of several Western countries share this sentiment, saying that the West does not respect Muslim societies. Specifically, 52% of Americans and 48% of Canadians say the West does not respect Muslim societies.” ( Kurzman, Charles). This study, performed in 2011 gives specific percentage relating to Islamophobia, which include numbers that have only increased since then. To a devoted Muslim, it is hard to continue the practices of your beliefs when there are many people speaking negatively towards it. There are many rules within the faith, much like that of any other faith (example: the 10 Commandments). Following these already takes dedication and focus, but when these aspects are interrupted, the basic teachings of Islam become unattainable. The five pillars of Islam are very hard to follow during the western world. Although all the pillars except one aren’t truly affected by Islamophobia, their prayer (salat) is indeed changes because of those who discriminate. Muslims must pray five times a day while facing Mecca, at specific times of the day. Descimination is shown when, for example, a Muslim is at their job. They need to take a break to follow their teachings, but people around him/her begin to judge. They now feel uncomfortable to continue and stop their prayer because of the judgemental issues of others. This is only one of the many ways in which the Muslims are faced with issues in the Westem world.

Muslims are often equated with terrorists and for the victims and peers it can be extremely frustrating and disturbing. Psychologists are taking this issue and attempting to decipher the causes and effects of Islamophobia. It is known as a form of overt discrimination, meaning that is shown publicly and these scape goats are unable to hide or fight against the numerous allegations forced upon them. Due to the fact that Islam is not just a race or religion but is described as an ideology it is hard for those who are close-minded to respect opinions beyond their own. The rise of the issue is causing for it to be more visible to those who are not contributing to these harmful acts. The fight against these hate crimes are starting to be discussed and must continue to be shut down through public awareness, media, and educating people around the concepts of Islam. It stems from the ignorance theory studied in sociology. It is described as “the lack of personal and social experiences which causes them to make incorrect assumptions about others”. They refuse to learn about another group due to fear of unfamiliar practice. Resulting in these people to create hate and racism groups. Devoted Islams may question their faith because of the opinions of others. Sociology and psychology acts as a positive stepping stone in the influential discussion of Islamophobia.

Discrimination towards any human being rusults in several mental health issues. In a recent study performed in 2016 by the University of California they had discovered discrimination causes psycological effects such as, low self-esteem, anxiety and depression. Validity to this statement is shown through the following quote “We now have decades of research showing that when people are chronically treated differently, unfairly or badly, it can have effects ranging from low self-esteem to a higher risk for developing stress-related disorders such as anxiety and depression,” (Mays,Vickie) UCLA Fielding School of Public Health professor in the department of health policy and management.” Following the information found in this study, disrimination is an ever present factor in today’s society and is proven to cause detrimental mental health issues to an individual.

Diversity is considered as a positive, progressive aid in order for succession in a developing world. It is hard for this to continue when Muslims are constantly seen as less than, or treated poorly by the citizens of Canada. It has become so severe that people have labelled Muslims into categories of “bad Muslims” and “good Muslims”. Bad Muslims, to citizens of the west, are seen as those who wear hijabs, and/or have a niqabs and devote all their time to praying. Good Muslims are those who act as an American/Canadian. Those who have lost their connection with their faith and ancestors have now been given the label of “normal”. This disturbing label affects how Muslims view themselves. This can therefore cause Muslims to feel hate towards people within the West. A rivalry has now been created and people lose important social connections with each other as well as interpersonal skills.

Our world is becoming more disconnected every day. Personal morals are lost when the issue of Islamophobia begins. Sociology and psychology is and aid to discovering the true reasons to which people feel these negative emotions towards Muslims. Western views on Islam, impacted through sociatal views and stereotypes forces Muslims to feel isolated from the rest of the world. This form of discrimination can cause many severe health issues. It is important to teach people about why different religions, outside of their own, are equally important. It is hard for others to understand new concepts, such as Islam, and adapt to it, causing such a large issue to arise. People need to step out of their comfort zones and learn to love one another for who their are, no matter the religion, race, beliefs, and anything causing differentiation between others.

The term Islam phobia alludes to unwarranted hatred vibe towards Islam. It alludes additionally to the viable results of such threatening vibe in out of line oppression Muslim people and networks, and to the prohibition of Muslims from standard political and communities. The term isn’t, as a matter of fact, perfect. Pundits of it think about that its utilization panders to what they call political accuracy, that it disturbs real analysis of Islam, and that it belittles and vilifies any individual who wishes to take part in such analysis. At the point when our interview paper was first distributed, the Independent on Sunday (2 March 1997) ran a substantial feature in which we were blamed for wishing to be ‘seismically right’.

The term ‘Islam phobia’ has been authored in light of the fact that there is another reality which needs naming: hostile to Muslim prejudice has developed so extensively thus quickly as of late that another thing in the key terms is required with the goal that it very well may be recognized and acted against. Along these lines there was a period in European history when another word, discrimination against Jews, was required and authored to feature the developing threats of against Jewish threatening vibe. The begetting of another word, and with it the recognizable proof of a developing risk, did not in that case turn away possible disaster. By a similar token, the unimportant utilization of the new word ‘Islam phobia’ won’t in itself counteract heartbreaking strife and waste. In any case, we trust, it can play an important part in the long undertaking of remedying recognition and improving connections. That is the reason we use it ceaselessly all through this report issues.

In a liberal majority rules system it is inescapable and sound those individuals will analysis and contradict, at times vigorously, sentiments and practices with which they oppose this idea. It tends to be authentic to analysis approaches and practices of Muslim states and routines, for instance, particularly when their administrations don’t buy in to globally perceived human rights, opportunities and majority rule systems, or to analysis and censure fear monger developments which guarantee to be propelled by Islamic qualities. Additionally, it tends to be genuine to analysis the treatment of ladies in some Muslim nations, or the perspectives and mentalities which a few Muslims have towards ‘the West’, or towards other world religions. Discussions, contentions and deformations on every one of these issues that has the same amount of among Muslims, it is imperative to perceive, as among Muslims and non-Muslims. How, at that point, would one be able to differentiate between real analysis and difference from one viewpoint and Islam phobia, or unwarranted bias and antagonistic vibe, on the other?

So as to start responding to this problem it is valuable, I recommend, to draw a qualification between closed perspectives on Islam from one perspective and open perspectives on the , other. Phobic fear of Islam is the repetitive normal for shut perspectives. Real contradiction and analysis, as likewise gratefulness and regard, are parts of open perspectives. In a diagram structure, the couple of refinements which we draw among shut and open perspectives are to do with Whether Islam is viewed as solid and static, or as assorted and dynamic, Whether Islam is viewed as other and isolated, or as comparative and related; Regardless of whether Islam is viewed as mediocre, or as various however equivalent.

The four most important distinctions are

1. Whether Islam is seen as Monolithic and Static, or as diverse and dynamic
2. Whether Islam is seen as other and separate or as similar.
3. Whether Islam is seen as inferior or as different but equal
4. Whether Islam is seen as an aggressive enemy or a cooperative partner.

Whether Islam is seen as Monolithic and Static, or as diverse and dynamic

Closed perspectives regularly picture Islam as undifferentiated, static and solid, and as bigoted of inward pluralism and pondering. They are consequently harsh toward huge contrasts and varieties inside the universe of Islam, and specifically they are unfit to value that there are pressures and contradictions among Muslims. For instance, they disregard banters about human rights and opportunities in Muslim nations and settings, and about proper connections among Islam and other world beliefs, and among Islam and secularism. To put it plainly, discussions and contrasts which are underestimated among non-Muslims are neither seen nor heard when they happen inside Islam.

Clearing speculations are then made pretty much all Muslims, in manners which would not occur on account of, for instance, every Roman Catholic, or all Germans, or all Londoners. Likewise, it is simple in these conditions to contend from the specific to the general – any scene in which an individual Muslim is made a decision to have carried on seriously is utilized as an illustrative guide to denounce all Muslims no matter what.

Whether Islam is seen as other and separate or as similar.

Closed perspectives see complete distinction between Islam from one viewpoint and the non-Muslim world, especially the so called West, on the other. Islam is ‘other’, with few or no likenesses among itself and different civilizations and societies, and with few or no common ideas and good qualities. Further, Islam is viewed as hermetically closed from the remainder of the world, with no regular roots and no obtaining or blending in either bearing. The option, ‘open’ see sees similitude and shared qualities, as additionally unexpectedly shared issues and shortcomings, and furthermore numerous sorts of connection.

In the open view it is difficult to state that – for instance – Islam is ‘East’ and Europe is ‘West’ (or ‘Jude Christian’), with no between associations or shared traits. Despite what might be expected, the open view focuses on that there are close connections between the three Abraham religions. In the meantime it recognizes that there are noteworthy contrasts between Islam, Christianity and Judaism, and that everyone has its very own particular point of view toward what these distinctions are, and on how they ought to be overseen.

Whether Islam is seen as inferior or as different but equal

Cases that Islam is very surprising and other regularly include generalizations and claims about ‘us’ (non-Muslims) just as about ‘them’ (Muslims), and the idea that ‘we’ are prevalent. ‘We’ are cultivated, sensible, liberal, proficient, advanced, illuminated, non-chauvinist. ‘They’ are crude, brutal, silly, conspiring, disordered, and chaos. An open view rejects such disentanglement both about ‘us’ and about ‘them’. It recognizes that Islam is particularly extraordinary in noteworthy regards from different religions and from ‘the West’, however does not consider it to be inadequate or as less deserving of regard. Us/them contrasts, with ‘them’ seen as substandard, are normally communicated through stories – tales, bits of gossip, tattle, jokes and news things just as amazing accounts.

Whether Islam is seen as an aggressive enemy or a cooperative partner.

Closed perspectives consider Islam to be vicious and forceful, solidly dedicated to uncouth fear mongering, and intractably threatening to the non-Muslim world. Islam was once, said Peregrine Hawthorne in the mid 1990’s, ‘an incredible civilization deserving of being contended with’. However at this point, he proceeded, it has ‘deteriorated into a crude adversary fit just to be delicately oppressed’. When our discussion paper was distributed in February 1997, he again stated that all Muslims, everywhere throughout the world, endorse of fear based oppression and barbarities executed against the West, and suggested that they are ethically substandard compared to Christians: ‘How would Islam react if Saddam Hussein had succeeded in dropping nuclear bombs on Israel?

We wish to think about this announcement in some detail, especially since it was written in direct reaction to something composed without anyone else’s input and since it got prominent distribution. There are four central matters we wish to make. Initial, a semantic point which may at first sight appear to be fairly minor yet which is in certainty of impressive significance. Mr. Worsthorne seems to utilize the word ‘Islamic’ as an equivalent word for ‘Muslim’ – in addition to the fact that all are ‘Islamic individuals’ Muslims yet additionally, in his view, all Muslims are ‘Islamic individuals’. On the off chance that for sure this is his significance, his key explanation is just false. It is in no way, shape or form the case that all Muslims respect the strategies of, for instance, Saddam Hussein, or that all support of the exercises of psychological oppressor associations.

In any case, it might be that the creator is utilizing the word ‘Islamic’ to allude to what is here and there known as ‘political Islam’ as unmistakable from ‘religious Islam’. The more normal term, if this is his goal, is ‘lslamist’ as opposed to ‘Islamic’. It alludes to every political development, including majority rule developments focused on the standard of law just as psychological oppressors and onerous routines, which keep up that they are spurred by Islamic standards. The utilization of the word ‘Islamic’ to allude to psychological warfare or to abuse is profoundly hostile to by far most of British Muslims.

Regardless it is false to guarantee that all lslamists have a solitary political viewpoint. It is; in any case, exact to see that some lslamists bolster fear. In the event that (if) that is all that Worsthorne is stating, we have no question with the substance, as unmistakable from the tenor, of his intention.

This entire essay is just to enlighten people around the world that prejudice against Muslims and Islam around the world, is being taken so far. And is mostly fabricated in order to have someone to blame at the end of the day and that one is the Islam society. My claim is that people should not judge something or someone by their religion or their country but by their actions and so goes for a religion or a society.

Introduction

The term islamophobia sparks numerous emotions: fear, disgust, judgment and a desperate need to protect people. One may ask when it all started and perhaps we should start from the beginning by clarifying that Islamophobia is a form of religious discrimination that emerged most forcefully as a backlash against Muslims in the wake of the terrorist horros that occurred on 11 September 2001. However, the term has been present long before the latter. The term was originally coined in the late 1980s and had first been used some decades earlier at the start of the twentieth century (Tyrer, p.21). However, Islamophobia, in fact, is not a form of religious discrimination but a contemporary example of biopolitical racism. Islamophobia does not even exist other than as a cynically imagined political device designed to override the right to offend the weaker and different ones by assessing their beliefs and practices. Despite the fact that the term Islamophobia has a longer history than people often are aware of, the publication of Runnymede Trust’s report Islamophobia: A Challenge for Us All gave life back to the term and opened up a new political field by drawing attention to the phenomenon of discrimination against Muslims in a number of fields and that was increasingly visible in media portrayals.

This essay aims to look at modern-day west and its increasing discrimination towards Muslims. The paper will touch upon events, such as the attacks of September 2001, that forever changed the perspective about Muslims. The topic of xeno-racism and its affect on the Muslim community will be looked at, with specifically discussing the United States of America.

The Definition of Islamophobia

Defining islamophobia is at the same time defining the meaning behind being Muslim. The main question that is tried to be answered when defining islamophobia is: does it refer to a phenotype race, or to an essentially religious group (Tyrer, p.33)? This presupposes that identities and the notion of political meaning of a term can be differentiated by tracing the essential identities of its objects. However, when a practice is politicalized, the meaning is alternated. For example, the term political racism does not emerge from the skin color or the nationality of a person, but rather from the ways in which life becomes the object of power. As coined by Hesse, racism notes the emergence of a race as “a governing practice to distinguish between whiteness/Europeanness and non-Europpeanness/non whiteness”, which proves the fact that by adding politics to an issue, the meaning behind a term is changed. Once the political meaning of racism is accepted, any attempts to determine the phenotypal essence among its objects is problematic. That is why when Muslims are seen as “lacking proper raciality”, this does not mean they are seen as equal or that people are trying to see them as equal, but rather as a condition emerging from the racialized social settings, in other words the exact meaning of political racism. Because race and ethnicity are very closely related and even of help when distinguishing between the cultural and biological, when used in a religious context, they can be understood as terms supporting the terms of the political nature of racism. Thus, Muslims in the West are simultaneously a lack or an incompleteness, and yet an excess that was not able to be tamed or “integrated” into the prevailing white population of the country.

Xeno-racism And Its Effects On The Muslim community

Now that the ideology of communism is not seen as a threat for the West, a new menace is slowly building its way- that of 37.4 million people, living either temporarily or permanently outside their countries of origin (Fekete, S.,p.19). As western countries and some international organizations are mobilizing against migratory movements from “socially insecure countries with weaker economies”, a new popular anti-refugee discourse has gotten into the popular culture. According to Fekete and Sivanandan, the capitalist western world seeks to exclude the “different” ones in order to preserve the economic prosperity and national identity of the society/ies. (…) “It is racism that is meted out to impoverished strangers even if they are white. It is xeno-racism.” Therefore, the European Union has now imposed a system of “managed migration”, and opened up legal routes for migration. Looking at it like that, one may claim that Europe is unquestionably helping the ones in need. However, this “managed migration” has not only emerged as part of the strategic plan of Western countries to abolish the right to claim asylum, but also from the recognition that the global market-induced displacement of people cannot be left to market forces but must be managed for the First World’s benefit (Fekete, S.,p. 21). In order to understand how this strategy for managing global migration has led to xeno-racism, it is crucial to examine the scale to which international cooperation, when discussing migration issues, has come to the conclusion that seeking asylum is an illegal and a criminal act. Despite the fact that this global migration management may be using different strategies, depending on the location and the country, these power blocks share a common interest-they all aim at pooling information on migratory movement.

While it cannot be denied that exploitation plays a major role in these smuggling networks, it is often failed to address the issue of some governments which have prompted numerous requirements (visa requirements, certificate for being eligible to access the desired country) that have blocked the legal routes for those seeking asylum and have led them to fall into the arms of smugglers and traffickers. Interestingly, these countries refuse to comment on the latter and address the asylum seekers as people who seek illegal entry “after receiving daily images of the potential economic and … social benefits available in richer countries across the globe” (Fekete, p. 23). By giving this information to the world, international bodies adopt anti-trafficking measures to treat both traffickers and trafficked ones as being the same at fault. Asylum seeking has become so common that nowadays “the war against trafficking” serves the justification for some states to present asylum seekers in the public mind as “illegal immigrants”. Thus, it is no surprise to anyone why the world is becoming more and more xeno-racist, especially in recent years. In fact, the EU succeeded in shifting the meaning of the term refugee so that nations now treat asylum seekers not as people from particular countries and with an individual story but as a homogenous and undifferentiated mass.

What else could be argued is the policy regarding asylum seeking children. In the 21st century an emerging ideology is regarding children and prevention of hunger, as well as ensuring they are not sexually exploited or scrutinized. Yet when it comes to asylum-seeking children, the benefits for child protection are denied, leaving them to be treated as adults. This has resulted in plentiful organizations to start campaigns against violation of children’s rights, affirming more conscience regarding human rights, as well as put under challenge the racism inherent in public discourse.

Al-Qaeda and Why It Is So Hard To Fight It

The American government responded to the 11 September 2001 attacks with an aggression towards the Taliban regime and Al-Qaeda (Al-Qaeda means “the base headquarters in Afghanistan ”). Afghanistan is seen as a nation in ruins, a “failed state” with crushed social and political structure, with numerous towns and cities destroyed. According to Jeffrey Haynes’ paper, failed states, “are invariably the product of a collapse of the power structures providing political support for law and order, a process generally triggered and accompanied by anarchic forms of internal violence” (Haynes, p. 177). These circumstances and the slow destruction of the Afgan country, allowed for Al-Qaeda to set up bases within the country, which were approved by the Taliban. But what exactly is Al-Qaeda and why is it so important for the Western world? As defined by Collins English Dictionary, Al-Qaeda is a loosely-knit militant Islamic organization, established in 1980 from Arab volunteers who had fought against the Sovient troops and are known to be responsible for numerous bomb attacks in the West. It is useful to examine the development of Al-Qaeda’s ideology in relation to the beliefs of the Western world. By doing that, we will be able to enable Al-Qaeda’s ideology in the context of what its founders see as long-term, historically rooted, Western cultural, political and economic domination, involving a rejection of key “western” values: pluralism, liberal democracy, relativism and radical individualism (Haynes, p.185)

The idea of Islam as a body of religious and social thought can be first captured in the concept of Orientalism. Orientalism can be defined as a “style of thought based upon an Al Qaeda: Ideology and Action”. As claimed by scholars, many Western politicians and academics “essentialised” both Muslims and Islam into unchanging categories, which led to generalisations of the people with little or no foundation. When talking about Orientalism in Europe, one associates it with a person who generally acts, speaks and thinks in a manner exactly opposite to the European. These prejudiced beliefs led to Muslim dissatisfaction and madness in various European countries because they were seen as people who did not have the right manners for the society they were living in. Westerners often wonder why their countries are targeted and the answer is simple: because there are so many ideologies about what a European society should be like, as well as the strong believe that Westerners are above all, leaves minorities neglected and seen as a burden and a threat to the economic and non-economic development of the country.

Numerous attempts have been tried out to stop terrorists in Europe however, because of the strong ideologies and religious beliefs of the people in these organizations, it has been extremely hard to make the Western world terror-free. Historically, the use of violence has been used when the oppressed people did not have any other power to succeed in their cause. Even though most of the Western countries do not see Al Qaeda and other organizations as “rebellious”, the people in them see themselves that way (Davis, p. 4). What is more, terrorsim is difficult to fight because the people committing it feel like they have nothing to lose or because they are motivated by religion or other ideologies in which martyrdom plays an important role. As is now well known, bin Laden and other top leaders of Al- Qaeda are strongly driven by a particular image of Islam and its crusade against the infidels. Bin Laden may see himself as a prophet or at least as an instrument of God’s will. What also makes deterring terrorism hard is the fact that by attempting to stope terrorist organizations, nation’s only put fuel into their motifs. Moreover, terrorism is a way of life for the ones performing it, and the reason why these people attempt it is to acquire “positives”- a notable status, power, recruits and psychological rewards. What is more important than the above is that terrorism is the most important reason or purpose for one’s existence, and this makes disavowing it extremely difficult.

Sadly, violence and troublesome behaviours do not only exist in Afghanistan, but can be also spotted throughout most of the Arabic world. This can be seen as an issue because Americans in general do not like to stereotype people. American believe in universalist concepts such as those mentioned in the Constitution and concepts that are cherished by the United Nations- no racism and peace. Nonetheless, there is a clash of cultures in America which has brought the concern of whether this clash can be moderated or evolved so that everyone can live good and freely. What Americans believe in particular is in religious tolerance, whereas for the Islamic extremists violence is what they embrace. It is also important to understand that a large portion of the Arab-islaimc world have long lived with traditions in which power and violence are crucial. What happens when these cultural legacies are combined with social injustice and extreme versions of Islamic fundamentalism is that instead of decreasing the conflict, the latter is only reinforced. On the other hand, the cultures in which the terrorist leaders live in, oftentimes do not allow them to leave, threatening them with accusations of betrayal or even being killed. Individuals in these organizations do not have a way out because the subculture of fanaticism and violence requires them to show loyalty and not resign (Davis, p.6).

Ways In Which Terrorism Has Been Fought

Ever since the 9/11 events the United States has carried out a consistent first phase in the war of terrorism. The campaign has entered a more difficult phase as Al-Qaeda is adapting to the new circumstances and might also disperse, change names, merge with other organizations. Even if its leadership, structure, operatives, relationships and financing are slowly losing its power and supporters, the ability of this organization to survive in any form will lead to new terrorist operations (Jenkins, p.17). The Al-Qaeda enterprise cannot be easily deterred, that is why an attempt to disable the process of gaining resources for future attacks is the most important one at this point. The Western world is desperately trying to prevent another terrorist attack from the scale of 9/11 events. The Western world should keep in mind that the campaign against terorism will take time because these organizations have taken years and years of development. For example, Al-Qaeda itself represents more than a decade of organizational planning and development and has been working on its attacks on the United States since the mid 1990s. The thoroughness of the organization’s planning suggests that it has prepared for many scenarios surrounding the Western world’s attempt to destroy the organization, including laying low for a few years before striking again. The battle against Al-Qaeda could last decades before finding the right way to fight the organization.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is hard for the Western world to see Muslims with strict neutrality (in other words equal) because of the many historical and contemporary issues surrounding these people. As the conclusion from the article of Jeffrey Haynes says: “we blame everything on Al-Qaeda, but what happened is more dangerous than bin Laden or Al-Qaeda … The issue is ideology, it’s not an issue of organizations …” Because each country is having its own ideologies and beliefs, integration and equality are hard to achieve. As discussed in class, most restrictions that are imposed on Muslims are written in the Constitution which makes it impossible or very hard for the country to change the law and strive for integration procedures. What is more, because the culture and the prevailing religion of the country is also contributing to the problem, it is only natural for people from western countries to feel scared- human beings like comfort and when something is outside of their comfort zone, fear is automatically engraved. In order for the world to overcome its fear of Muslims and the potential terrorist attacks, the ideologies, built for years, of the countries should change, as well as the way in which Muslims are perceived from the West.

Bibliography

1. Davis P., Jenkins B., ‘Deterrence and Influence in Counterterrorism : A Component in the War on al Qaeda’ in: UBU Library, RAND Corporation, 2002 https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uunl/reader.action?docID=202776
2. Fekete L., Sivanandan A., ‘Suitable Enemy : Racism, Migration and Islamophobia in Europe’ in: UBU Library, Pluto Press, 2009 https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uunl/reader.action?docID=3386517
3. Haynes J., ‘Al Qaeda: Ideology and action’ in: Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, Vol. 8, Routledge Group, 2006 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13698230500108868?needAccess=true
4. Jenkins B., ‘Countering al Qaeda : An Appreciation of the Situation and Suggestions for Strategy’ in: UBU Library, RAND Corporation, 2002 https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uunl/reader.action?docID=202775
5. Tyrer D., ‘Politics of Islamophobia : Race, Power and Fantasy’ in: Decolonial Studies, Postcolonial Horizons, UBU Library, Pluto Press, 2013 https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uunl/reader.action?docID=3386745

Introduction

Phobia is defined as the “irrational or exaggerated fear or dislike of a specific thing or group”. So Islamophobia is defined as the “irrational or exaggerated fear or dislike of Islam”.

Islam is a religion and the people which follow it is called Muslims. Islamophobia is when Muslims are the victim of attack just because of their religion. Excessive terror and worry often lead to act of discrimination against Muslim. Therefore Islamophobia is the one of the major challenges faced by the Muslim Community now a day. This phenomenon is very strongly expressed in global and regional politics which threat the relationship between the Islam and western countries.

In this era Muslim are the one who are being the target most of time. If anything in this world bad happened they just put the blame on the Muslim. After some of the historical events in which the attacker claimed to be Muslim but according to Islam he is not. After those of incidents Islamophobia spread rapidly. Islam is a religion of peace. Islam teaches us to be polite and generous. Some people who hate Islam do propaganda against Islam. They misguide the non-Muslim about Islam. Muslim youth is adversely affected by Islamophobia. It ruined their social life and lead to the many act of discrimination. It result in the construction of the Anti-Muslim. It is quite clear that the misconception associated with Islam can lead to the self-exclusion and exclusion, with a noticeable effect on self esteem and social practices.

Causes of the Islamophobia

The act of Islamophobia takes place at both the individual and the institutional level and can take up many forms. Since 11 September 2001 Muslim across the world have had to endure the increasingly animosity from the West. The 9/11 terrorist attack in the U.S is the birth of Islamophobia in the West. The main reason behind Islamophobia is as follow:

• Terrorism
• Racism
• Stereotype
• Media
• Political figure

Terrorism

Terrorism is defined as the unlawful use of violence and threats, especially against civilians in the persuade of political aim. Terrorism is the one of the major cause of Islamophobia. After the 9/11 terrorist attack in the U.S ,the western people connect it with Islam. Many polls carried out after the attack found that there was widespread negative attitude toward Muslims. International media is depicting a medicated image of Islam to the world.

In the White Washington Post, Philip Bump’s writes that the term “terrorism” has become so central with Muslim is that associating it with the white people dismantle the entire lexicography of America (and Israel) political culture.

Muslims are not terrorists and Islam does not teach us to kill people. In the Quran Allah Almighty clearly mention that “Whoever kills a person…it shall be as he had killed all the mankind”. Islamophobia becomes the biggest challenge faced by the Muslim community. The term “Islamic Terrorism” can be better understood as an emotionally depoliticizing term which aim to make the public think less and fear more. Without having any evidence behind the terrorist attack they put all the blame on the Muslims without doing any investigation.

Racism

Racism is the practice of discrimination against people on the basis of race, national or ethnic background. Many scholars consider Islamophobia as a type of racism. A 2007 article in journal of sociology describes islamophobia as anti-Muslim racism and a continuation of anti-Asia, anti-Truks and anti-Arab racism. The ECRI defines Islamophobia as ‘the fear of or prejudiced viewpoint towards Islam, Muslims and matters pertaining to them’.

.Islamophobia is a violation of human rights and a threat to social cohesion. Muslim often faced discrimination in America. Americans are overwhelmed by hateful media, demonizing all of Muslims because of the actions of few. In American society there is a legacy of racist history against anything that is not WASP (white Anglo-Saxon Protestant), not only against Muslims. The United state has never been the religiously homogenous. Here is one of incident that occur in United State which show the rascim. After professing the Muslim faith, a Muslim cab driver has been brutally assaulted by the New York resident.(Siegel,2010.p1)

Stereotypes

Many Americas misinterpret Islam, and their confusion has become like myths that fuel Islamophobia. One of these stereotypes is Jihad. Jihad is a fight or Islamic Holy war against enemies of Islam.

The President of America Donald Trump expressed this stereotype when he said:

“Our country can’t be the victim of horrendous attacks by the people that believe only in the Jihad, and have no sense of reason and respect for human life”.

The fact is that Jihad is the word of Arabic language that means struggle, determination, or resisting. Holy Quran stipulate one condition for violet jihad when it said: “Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you, but don’t assault. Allah does not like the assaulters”. Muslims do Jihad to defend, not to attack.

Media

Some media in Europe have contributed to coverage focused on Prejudice and used the action of Islamists to stigmatize Muslim population. It is used as the larger platform of globalization to spread hatred, prejudices and racism against Islam and Muslims. The mass media usually describe Muslim as extremist. They call every crime committed by Muslim a “terriosm” but they don’t call the same crime “terrorism” if it is committed by the non-Muslim.

• According to the MediaTenor survey, 90% of Muslim and Islam news media is negative.
• The 416Lab report found that, in the past 25 year, the new York time has depicted the Muslim and Islam more negatively than they have done with cancer and cocaine.

Political Figure

Islamophobia is also a tool of popular coercion for generating support for the catastrophic wars and votes. They have been spreading Islamophobia and causing problem with intensive remarks such as:

• U.S Politician John R. Bennett said: “Their (Muslim) goal is destruction of western civilization from within. This (Islam) is a cancer to our nation that need to be cut out.
• New York Politician Peter King said: 85% of the mosque is controlled by Islamic extremists and that Islam is a political system, not a religion thus not protected by the first Amendment.
• The U.S President Donald Trump said: “Muslims represent an extraordinary influx of hatred and danger coming into our country”.

This can lead to the spikes in Islamophobia incidents as politician exacerbate and promote toxic anti-Muslim and anti-Islam discrimination.

Effects of Islamophobia:

The effect of Islamophobia is having a much darker impact on Muslim communities. Hating Muslim and Islam has become a common phenomenon in the Europe. Because of Islamophobia Muslims are faced with unequal opportunities. Islamophobia has a adverse effect on the Muslim life. Every day in Europe Muslim faced discrimination and racism. Let us consider the following example:

Attacking On Mosque

US-August 2016: A New York Imam and his associate are shot and killed on a busy street near their mosque in Queens. Police say it was a hate crime.

Canada-January 2017: Alexandre Bissonnettte 27 kills six Muslims and injures dozens of other ian an attack at a Quebec City Mosque during evening prayers.

New Zealand-March 2019: 24 year old Australian allegedly kills 49 people at two mosques in Christchurch. A single shooter with multiple weapon opened fire on people.

Targeting Muslim Students

Discriminations and bullying targeting Muslim students is a growing problem. Anti-Muslim bias and behavior demonize Muslim student academically and deprive them of the opportunity to develop the skills and self-confidence necessary for success. Few example is mention as follow:

• Six Muslim students at Queen University were attack by four men. One of the students suffered minor physical injuries.
• In Canada, a Muslim teenager was beaten in a “race-related” attack.
• Muslim schoolgirls were told to leave their careers at the Perth Convention and Exhibition center, after they said their “Muslim clothes” were make threats.
• A Muslim girl who was in the 6th grade also suffered from Islamophobia as an attacker cut her hijab with scissor.

These action create fear and divison among people, resulting in hatred. The more fear arises; the more hatred grows and becomes violence.

The case of Hijab

Anti-Muslims polices target the Hjab as a symbol of Islam. The specific government that is adopting the ban on Hijab reflects a deep-seated hostility towards Islam. In Germany, the Hijab ban is scheduled to come into force in August 2006. Muslim women faced number of attack on wearing Hijab. Muslim women are suffering the brunt of hate. Muslim women who wear the Hijab are most at risk. Here are few example of targeting the Muslim woman:

• In Canada, a 17 year old girl was punched in the nose that left her bleeding and her headscarf was pulled off.
• In France, a man attacked a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf with a box cutter after calling her the terrorist.
• In England, a 13 year old Muslim girl was burned and robbed by the three teenagers who shouted out anti-Muslim racists words.
• In U.S, two Muslim women were attacked while they were walking and pushing their children into a stroller. The accuser said: “This is the United State of America; you are not supposed to be different from us”.

Ways to Fight Islamophobia

Islamophobia is at once deeply personal issue for Muslim. Now it’s time for Muslims to fight for their rights and face racism with bravery and erudite. Muslims are well known for their knowledgeability and sensible way to tackles the things in every era.

There are some ways to fight Islamophobia which are as following:

• Our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) bear all the hardship with patience. He (PBUH) was subjected to horrible insult and hate crime in his lifetime. He remained firm, patient and tolerant in the face of this Islamophobia. We must follow his path. We need to model the same behavior durning the harsh circumstances. Allah (SWT) said: “Good and Evil deeds are not alike. Requite evil with good, and he who is your enemy will become your dearest friend.But none will attain this slave those who endure with fortitude and are gently favored by God”.
• We should start using the word Islamophobia to describe any kind of hate crime or speech against Islam and Muslim. Doing this will make the term uniform and ultimately, the accepted part of English language the same as the term “Anti-semitism”
• If any Muslim is involved in interfaith work. He should bring up the topic of islamophobia in his meeting. Doing this will help in address and condemn it.
• We should raise a generation who have the Knowledge of Islam. The person who will represent Islam need to know the Islam widely.
• We should rebuild those neighborly relations. We should help them and show generosity in harsh circumstances. Our Prophet (PBUH) said: “Jibril kept recommending treating neighbors with kindness until I thought he would assign a share of inheritance to the neighbors” (Bukhari and Muslim)
• We should faced this challenge strongly and with unity. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was clear and forthright in challenging all kind of injustice. We should not ignore instances of prejudice and discrimination. Allah (SWT) says in Quran: “And those who, when tyranny strikes them, they defend themselves”.

Conclusion:

Islamophobia itself is not new. Despite the fact that anti-Muslims and anti-Islamic exist today, they are many way to fight this hatred through communication, social media, community meeting, etc. We need to take a firm stand for ourselves. We must make the rebuilt of trust among people of different faith and cultures our highest priority. We all the Muslims should read and understand Quran so that we can help other in understanding Islam. We should faced this challenge bravely. Otherwise, discrimination will continue to tarnish many innocent lives and distrust may make it impossible to move forward with our ambitious agenda of peace and development.

Introduction

For my topic, “Terrorism, Muslims, and a Culture of Fear” I wish to investigate how and when the discrimination against Muslims commenced, the negative portrayal and manipulation of Muslims in the media, how much of an influence the media has on society and if it impacts people’s views on how they perceive Muslims.

By including relevant HSC concepts such as Belief Systems and Ideologies, Identity, Culture, Technology and by implementing certain methodologies it assists me to form my quantitative data. I have not commenced any primary research methods yet, however my Secondary Research Findings exemplifies the harsh biasness the media truly has against Muslims and how most terrorist incidents committed the media finds a way to connect it with to Muslims that might not have anything to do with it, therefore proving it to play a fundamental role in the macro world. Each media article researched played a crucial role in informing us about Islam and influencing how we respond. The research cumulated clearly presents how the media basically helped the terrorists achieve its goal by allowing them to become the representatives for Islam and Muslims in general. Therefore, it is clearly apparent that overly fabricated media coverage serves the Islamic State’s aim to turn Muslims and non-Muslims against one another.

Chapter 1 : Islamophobia

Islamophobia is defined as “ unreasonable dislike or fear of, and prejudice against, Muslims or Islam”. Islamophobic attitudes are usually due to the misinformation spread about Islam. On the account of incidents that took place over the past decades biased opinions escalated causing hatred for Muslims among society. The incident that stereotyped all Muslims to be terrorists in this case was the 9/11 attacks which completely changed the treatment of Muslims in society. As a result of the rise of Islamic extremism, misunderstandings occurred due to the complete change of people’s views on Muslims. On the morning of September 11th, 2001 al-Qaeda Muslim terrorists hijacked four American Airlines planes, and they flew two of the planes into in the World Trade Center buildings in New York City, while one crashed into The Pentagon, and the other crashed on a field in Pennsylvania these incidents caused the death of 2966 innocent people. The 9/11 attacks created a mass fear among society and this fear caused prejudice views on Muslims to spread.

Majority of the public believes not only terrorist groups like al-Qaeda, but Islam itself to be a threat to society. Aspects of hostility, violence, and terror are often tied in with Islam. Due to the hatred and fear presented by the public it increased the rapid growth of hate crimes in the world, even after 15 years of the 9/11 attacks. After the attacks, the “Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported a 1,700 percent increase of hate crimes against Muslim Americans between 2000 to 2001” (Anderson 2002).

Muslims are usually held responsible every time a terrorist attack occurs anywhere around the world even if there is no actual evidence proving that they caused it. Following the 9/11 attack, terrorism has often been linked with Muslims and Islam. The 9/11 incident caused extreme racism against Muslims to occur globally which still affects Muslims to this day.

Chapter 2: Media Manipulation

Islam is portrayed as populated by ‘an undifferentiated mob of scimitar-waving oil sup- pliers’ (Said, 1980: 19) or as a religion of irrational violence that subordinates its women (Said, 1980). In recent research, studies have found that the media repre- sents Islam as a monolithic, homogenized, or sexist religion (Korteweg, 2008; Mishra, 2007a). Muslims are often framed as heartless, brutal, uncivilized, religious fanatics (Shaheen, 2009), as militants and terrorists (Ewart, 2012; Ibrahim, 2010; Powell, 2011), or as societal problems (Bowe et al., 2013; Hussain, 2007; Ibrahim, 2010) within well-constructed war and conflict stories (Akbarzadeh and Smith, 2005; Poole, 2002)

The media plays a significant role in recounting prominent facts that the public should be aware of by selecting, broadcasting and specifying what events the public presents as fundamental and what the public should understand as a threat. Occurring on a macro level, the news media has a negative portrayal of terrorist related incidents in some countries and link it back to Muslims, even when they had nothing to do with it.

The negative portrayal of Muslims in the media affects Muslims in many ways. The medias is supplying false information to the public that Muslims are radical extremists. Not only is this information being extremely biased, it also alienates and dehumanizes innocent Muslims. A stereotype that Muslim women face is that they are poor, uneducated housewives. Due to this stereotype they have a harder time finding jobs and are discriminated against by believing the media. Another effect this stereotype has is Muslim children are isolated and excluded as other children could possibly fear them.

Muslims still face are still being discriminated against every day and the media might have a major role in influencing people to have a biased opinion as it is still portraying Muslims as terrorists this has been continuing for decades. However, some changes have occurred, the perception of Muslims are changing, and society is more diverse – people are more accepting of Muslims, and we are learning more about each other

By comparing views of the older generation and the younger generation and seeing how it differs shows how the older generation might have more of a biased opinion on Muslims considering they were closer when the 9/11 terror attack had occurred.

However due to media’s portrayal 9/11 attack words like “Terror “Killing”, “Terrorist”, “Bombing” society has a negative view on Islam and Muslims but this just a major misconception about Islam.

Chapter 3: Influence Of The Media

The media has a major influence in society. Its fabricated story plays a prominent role in influencing the public. The media have become the main source of information and communication for most people. The way the information is delivered has an influence on the majority of people. How the information is delivered can change people’s perspectives on them. Mass media use creates social order which ties in with the conflict theory. Muslims and Islam are turned against the rest of the world, as islamophobia continues and the media provides information on how Muslims are ruthless terrorists and the stereotyped being encompassed in movies such as True Lies doesn’t help. The media villainises Muslims as terrorists which plays a role in influencing people’s opinions.

Conclusion

Overall, Fear of terrorism contributes significantly to the association of terrorism with Islam The Secondary Research exemplifies the harsh biasness the media truly has against Muslims and how most terrorist incidents committed the media finds a way to connect it with to Muslims that might not have anything to do with it. The uncritical acceptance of terrorists’ claims and misinterpretation of Islam legitimises and unintentionally promotes Islamophobia.

My secondary Research which consists of websites, news articles and movies can reveal how the media affects the attitudes, norms and ideals of the general population. This encompasses how the media plays a major role in influencing individuals as their prejudice views on Muslims are mainly due to false information spreading in news articles and how in films such as True Lies, all characterise Islamic terrorist characters. This label has been going on for many years as it is an industry that usually depict Muslim characters as villains. Due to the medias portrayal of the 9/11 incident, a great deal of people have been perceiving Islam in a negative aspect. The media has a strong relationship with islamophobia, the portrayal and influence of Muslim and Islam.

1. Introduction:

Language is a versatile tool in the world of politics. The power of language in affecting and influencing political thought should not be underestimated. Hence, it is capable of inspiring, encouraging, and appealing to the brains of society. Individuals tend to use language as a tool to express their feelings and emotions. However, language is being used for other purposes, such as persuasion, shaping people’s attitudes and beliefs. The persuasive power of language is mostly highlighted in social and political life, where one’s career or future greatly depends on linguistics and communication skills. The use of persuasive language can impact either positively or negatively the political and social life. Discourse in all its forms is a major contributor to hate driven crimes, discrimination, and more importantly Islamophobia in the United Kingdom. Islamophobia is any kind of intolerance and fear of Islam. This form of racism started to manifest itself in the British media in the late 1980’s as a way of expressing the rejection of the growing Muslim community in the United Kingdom. A major example of hatred-driven political speeches is that of the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister who compared women wearing burkas toletterboxes or bank robbers. This racist comment triggered Parliament’s Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi to respond, raising awareness towards Islamophobia and demanding the apologies of the Prime Minister. Islamophobic hate crimes lead the Islamic population in the United Kingdom to remain anxious, marginalized, and fearful. The aim of this study is to analyze and reveal the hidden political messages embedded in Dhesi’s speech. Therefore, a Critical Discourse Analysis will be performed in order to deconstruct this widespread discrimination.

2. Literature Review:

The manifestation of Islamophobia in Western cultures can take several forms and aspects. Mass media is a major contributor to the spread of discriminatory and Anti-Muslims ideologies. In order to expose the Islamophobic discourse embedded in the media news of the western cultures, especially in the United Kingdom and the United States, critical discourse analysis using Fairclough’s approach was applied (Ahmed, 2019). The researchers employed Fairclough’s principle of thematization to identify Islamophobic as well as violent-related issues in the news and media. According to Ahmed (2019), the application of critical discourse analysis on such websites leads to the conclusion that exaggeration is being employed on mass media whenever a Muslim-related incident happens, and directly linking such events to violence and Islamophobic ideologies. Moreover, Anti-Muslim speeches have been excessively prevalent and represented as violent political ideologies, especially in British news. Rhetoric and linguistics employed in such articles represent Muslims as different entities, or in other words, as enemies in the Western societies; this has been shown from the extensive use of words as “others”, “them”, and “their”. In the same context, another study was carried out to investigate the living conditions of Muslims in the United Kingdom as a minority group, and the way the British press represents Muslim groups. The study stratified Muslim identity groups into several categories based on their gender, race, and social class in order to explore the representation of every Muslim group in the British media. Hence, intersectional critical discourse analysis was employed to achieve this objective. Alkhammach (2020) investigated the employment of linguistics in thirteen different British political articles to tackle the issue of Islamophobia among various Muslim groups in the United Kingdom. The analysis of the selected articles revealed that discrimination rates vary among different Muslim-identity groups. To elaborate more, white, Asian, and Black Muslim women are more susceptible to discriminatory and racist speeches than men. Moreover, the prevalence of Islamophobic terms and ideologies is more abundant among black and Asian Muslim Men compared to White Muslim men. The application of critical discourse analysis in the British press revealed that the latter not only represents Muslims as violent political entities which need to be feared, but that various rates of hate speeches and publicly political discourse are prevalent among the different types of Muslim groups. Therefore, Muslim women are endangered by the Western cultures’ representation of their race, gender, and religion. Kassimeris & Jackson (2012) critically analyzed in his article the manner discourse can lead to the marginalization and exclusion of Muslims in the Western cultures. The research investigated the effect of the employment of blame and threat discourses enhances Islamphobic ideologies on a national level. Such ideologies were applied in Britian when its citizens objected the presence of a Mosque in the United Kingdom. Such objections were expressed in the local press, the Dudley news, through letters focusing on Muslims and contradictions concerning the Mosque. Critical discourse analysis was applied mainly by de-contextualization of the linguistics employed in around 160 letters as well as thematization. In their study, Kassimeris& Jackson concluded that Muslims were represented in the letters as one identical group. In other words, according to British politicians, all Muslims behave in the same manner and ideology, and they are all to blame for violent incidents and terrorist acts. The researchers drew such conclusions which were supported by direct statements from the letters’ authors, such as: “Everything a Muslim thinks, says and does is governed by the will of their God with the result that compromise is impossible”. Furtheremore, linguistics’ analysis revealed that the British society perceives the presence of Muslim groups as threatening to their national identity. They also tend to blame every single Muslim in general for every loss due to terrorism witnessed in the Western culture. Finally, the analysis of the letters revealed the determined objection and refusal of the presence of a Mosque in Britain, denying Muslim groups from their rights of belonging and citizenship.

3. Theoretical Framework:

In this study, Critical Discourse Analysis will be employed to analyze the way political and influential entities use linguistics and rhetoric to legitimize their views and authority. Critical Discourse Analysis is useful in capturing notions about the social, ethical and political world through various forms of interpretations. It is as well a powerful tool in the construction of reality and the analysis of harmony and disharmony embedded in society and politics. Discourse analysis is also applied while studying the reality behind propaganda, its truth, power, and hidden agendas. Propaganda is mainly used in political discourse as a tool mainly to persuade and appeal to the targeted audience.

There are several main strategic functions in speech: coercion, legitimization, de-legitimization, persuasion, propaganda and disfranchisement. Coercion is the use of commands, threats, force or even promises in order to enforce a certain action in an unethical manner. Legitimization refers to the establishment of ideology, act or processes set conforming to society’s norms and values. De-legitimization, on the other hand, aims at excluding or harming excluded groups in society so that the latter construct themselves as the better category. Persuasion, as discussed before, is used in order to make other individuals believe or accept what the speaker is saying. Disfranchisement is the act of being deprived from one’s rights, such as being banned to vote. Finally, propaganda is mainly the biased or non-objective information used to mislead the audience and is frequently used in political speech. Hence, in order to expose the hidden agenda behind the political speech, the use of the critical analysis strategic functions will be applied and link to linguistic levels.

4. Methodology:

In order to unravel the hidden messages behind Dhesi’s speech to the Prime Minister, I will tackle the subject matter in an analytical approach. Both critical discourse analysis and political discourse analysis will be used to achieve this objective, relying on models developed by van Dijk (2001). This analysis is qualitative, since it does not involve numbers and quantitative data, but on discourse and linguistics.

The aim of this study is to analyze the messages carried by Dhesi to the English Prime Minister by interpreting its political and social contexts. This will be performed by using some of the strategic functions of Critical Discourse Analysis mentioned in the part above such as rhetoric, propaganda, coercion and disfranchisement.

4.1 Rhetoric:

In his speech, Sikh Labour lawmaker Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesievoked an emotional response and attracted the audience by using persuasive discourse. Dhesi accused the British Prime Minister of being a racist Islamophobe and succeeded in gaining the support of the attending audience. The speech was initiated by Dhesi’s idea that anyone has the right to dress freely without being called names. This introduction encouraged the involvement of all the attendees in the subject matter, not only attracting Muslims. Dhesi employed the use of sensitive discourse and expressions in his speech in order to exaggerate and highlight the sensitivity of the issue such as “divisive”, “hurt and pain”, “vulnerable Muslim women”, “Islamophobe” and “racist”. These words accentuated the persuasion process and the compassionate responses from the audience, since he referred to his people as vulnerable minorities in the United Kingdom. These descriptions were met with extensive applause, showing the attraction and agreement met with the speech. The main objective behind this emotional speech is to push the Prime Minister not only to apologize, but also to finally deal with the high rates of hate crimes. Dhesi finalized his speech by accusing the Prime Minister that he falsely promised to deal with the issue on National Television, but instead turned into a racist Islamophobe. The speaker’s choice of rhetoric highly motivated the audience, which extensively applauded him and shamed the Prime Minister for his racist attitude.

4.2 Propaganda:

Dhesi’s speech included several forms of Propaganda which assisted him in influencing the audience. One of these strategies is “name-calling”; Dhesi described the Prime Minister as a “Racist” “Islamophobe”. These adjectives are employed to provoke prejudice and hatred towards the Prime Minister’s attitudes towards Islam. He also used the concept of democracy as propaganda in his speech. As previously mentioned, Dhesi introduced the issue by giving the right for every citizen to dress as they wish. This proves a sense of freedom and honor and gains the audience’s accordance to his ideas. Dhesi also used propaganda by using fear as a factor to motivate action towards the issue. To elaborate more, Dhesi stated that the incidence of hate-crimes increased immensely after the speech of the Prime Minister, which insinuates fear in the audience.

4.3 Coercion:

the employment of this strategic function of Critical Discourse Analysis was not actually used in an unethical manner. After presenting the issue and the inconvenience of the racist attitude of the Prime Minister towards Islam, Dhesi passionately commands the Johnson to actually take action towards the sensitive and dangerous issue rather than “hiding behind” some other non-necessary matters. By using this strategy, Dhesi encourages the employment of law to defend the rights of Muslims by ordering an inquiry into Islamophobia in the United Kingdom. Another strategy of coercion used is “personification”. This aspect is applied when dhesi referred to abused women as “his parents”, which strongly describes his personal involvement in the abuse. Hence, the power of critical discourse in law-making and legal approaches is applied in society.

4.4 Disfranchisement:

Dhesi aimed to prove to the audience as well as to the Prime Minister that Muslims are being discriminated against and their right to freedom is being threatened. By stating that Muslims are “already enduring with being called-names” and that their vulnerable families are being marginalized and painfully hurt, he proves that Muslims are met with racist attitudes in the country. Also, Muslims, according to Dhesi’s speech, have the right to be protected by law from Islamophobic crimes which are spiking with time.

5. Conclusion:

The objective of this paper was to reveal the strategic functions used by Dhesi throughout his speech which tackled a sensitive and emotional issue. The analysis revealed that Dhesi firmly demands respect, tolerance towards his people, and protection from law. By using Critical and Political Discourse analysis strategies, Dhesi’s speech was met with support and deep understanding of Muslims’ endurance in the United Kingdom.

6. Appendix:

Sikh Labour lawmaker Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi accused the Prime Minister Boris Johnson of being a bigoted islamophobe, because of a newspaper article in which Boris Johnson compared women in burqas to bank robbers and mail boxes. This incident revolves around a time in the United Kingdom, where Islamophobia poses a huge problem for the large community of Muslims and has often resulted in violent hate crimes. Dhesi’s powerful speech was met with applause from his fellow Labour lawmakers, and we can see just how important rhetoric and discourse is at the highest levels of law making. Islam is the largest non-Christian religion in the United Kingdom and represents one of the largest and most active communities in Britain. So Islamophobia poses a real threat to Britain’s social harmony, therefore it should be taken seriously by all those who have the power and influence to solve this issue.

7. References:

1. Ahmed, Muhammed. (2019). A Critical Discourse Analysis of Islamophobic Discourse on Selected American and British News Websites. ResearchGate. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336881333_A_Critical_Discourse_Analysis_of_Islamophobic_Discourse_on_Selected_American_and_British_News_Websites/
2. AlKhammach, R. (2020). Islamophobia in the UK Print Media: An Intersectional Critical Discourse Analysis. ECRTD-UK. Retrieved 28 April 2020, from https://www.eajournals.org/wp-content/uploads/Islamophobia-in-the-UK-print-media.pdf/
3. George Kassimeris & Leonie Jackson. (2012). British Muslims and the discourses of dysfunction: community cohesion and counterterrorism in the West Midlands, Critical Studies on Terrorism, 5:2, 179-196, DOI: 10.1080/17539153.2012.684970
4. Van Dijk, T. A. (2001). Critical discourse analysis. In D. Tannen, D. Schiffrin, & H. Hamilton (Eds.), Handbook of discourse analysis (pp. 352-371).

Throughout this essay, I will be looking at the idea of Islamophobia which is the ‘Dislike of or prejudice against Islam or Muslims, especially as a political force.’ (Oxford Dictionaries | English, 2018) as well as the effect it has had on the western society through the past years. As you may well know Islamophobia has been an increasing problem in this Century and have many people who have helped in the growth of Islamophobia and most of this has occurred in the 21st Century. In this essay I will look at many various viewpoints and use credible resources to do so, as well as people who have had first hand experience with Islamophobic attacks against them. By the time I have completed this essay I hope to have a comprehensive review of the causes of this increase and to see if there is a manageable as well as a realistic way to decrease the rise of Islamophobia in the near future.

To start with most, one of the many reasons Islamophobia spreads can be caused by certain terror attacks, for example the September 11ᵗʰ attacks or else known as 9/11 ‘Respondents indicate that following September 11th, 2001, levels of implicit or indirect discrimination rose by 82.6% and experiences of overt discrimination by 76.3%’(Sheridan, 2006), Sheridan goes on to say that this ‘ demonstrates that major world events may affect not only stereotypes of minority groups but also prejudice towards minorities’(Sheridan, 2006), since then have been more terrorist attacks for example the Boston Marathon on the 15th of April 2003 but the most of the violence followed after the 2017 Manchester attack where there was a ‘ 505% rise in Islamophobic incidents’, this is within Manchester,with ‘224 reports of anti-Muslim hate crimes in the month after the attack compared with 37 in the same period in 2016’. Looking at these statistics, there is evidence that see that there are violent actions being taken place by extremists ‘A person who holds extreme political or religious views, especially one who advocates illegal, violent, or other extreme action’(Oxford Dictionaries | English, 2018) have given a bad reputation to Islam and this has caused a significant rise of discriminatory attacks against people of the Islam religion. On the other hand, you could agree that this increase would be expected as terrorism is a matter that shouldn’t be taken lightly, with that taken into zconsideration these figures are still very large, as well as the fact that these people had nothing to do with the attacks in the first place they merely just follow a religion which has been in the spotlight due to extremist. The statistics used in my first example are only from a survey of 222 muslims which is not a very large choice but in the second example these statistics came from Greater Manchester Police which have a lot more credibility bearing this in mind there still has been a rise of Islamophobic attacks through the past years.

The media also has a huge influence on public opinion across the world, with millions of viewers from over 195 countries tune in to either listen, read or watch broadcasts to keep up with current affairs in economics or just in general. Without thought people are unknowingly are having the opinions swayed by the media’s own opinion on a variety of issues ranging from politics to sports players as well as Islam which in recent years has only been spoken in a negative way. An article written by Miqdaad Versi particularly amplifies the the extent of the issue, with ‘ less than 0.5 percent of journalist in the UK are muslim’ (The Independent, 2018) and recent research by the University of Cambridge has shown that mainstream media reporting about Muslim communities is contributing to an atmosphere of rising hostility towards Muslims in Britain’ (The Independent, 2018), it could be said this source could be unreliable as the writer is a Muslim but the Independent is one of the most reliable and respected newspapers in England. The lack of Muslims journalist in my view is quite disturbing as this evidence shows that the view shown on Islam is very one sided and has a very strong pessimistic view of Islam towards the general public now showing the full story. On the other hand articles written by other ethnicities might be disregarded by the traditional english man as they would rather read the view of someone who has the same background as them.

However, the media does not always have to be the catalyst for Islamophobia spread and can be used to show the fear of a Muslim person trying to live in the Western Society, as well as showing the other majority of Muslim people as totally normal. ‘ Muslims have been shot and killed, execution style, in their living rooms and outside of their mosques, They have been fatally stabbed on their way home. They have been beaten in their stores, in their school and on the streets’, (Daniel Burke, 2018) This extract from CNN’s religion director Daniel Burke, shows the true reality of what happens to law abiding Muslim citizens who have nothing to with the actual terrorist attacks this article truly shows what islamophobia has done to Muslim people and what it has done to the religion. Despite this, many people still see the Islam religion as a threat to the western society as well as their families and own well being. Al Jazeera have an article about Islamophobia in the US and particularly centralise the blame on the American government. ‘George W Bush’s’ so called ‘crusade’ against what he called the ‘ axis of evil’ fuelled suspicion of the Middle East of a whole,’ this further amplifies this view, and from the sarcastic tone, it is easy to say that the Islamic journalist Abdullah Elshamy has been affected by the rise in Islamophobia.

I can see with evidence see that the general view of Islamophobia in the majority of sources I have examined is that it is wrong and is caused by the misinterpretation through the media. However there seems to be a majority of people who think they have a justifiable reason to be fearful of Islam and its followers, Particularly in countries where terrorist attacks have predominantly have happened such as America, France and England as well as the rest of the western society. People who share this view argue that rather than claiming Islamophobia tarnished the reputation of Islam, it in fact exposes the religion for what it is. For example many western people Islam is ‘an ideology posing as a religion’(HuffPost UK, 2018) to ‘ overthrow way of life and replace it with the Sharia Law’(HuffPost UK, 2018) this emphasises yet again that much of American hierarchy have Islamophobic connotations to there viewpoints, suggesting one of the central reasons as to why Islamophobia is gradually increasing over the last few decades within in the nations. Slightly different to this, via youtube I watched a clip which, despite not perhaps consisting of the credentials in the study of Islamophobia, explained very clearly why for certain denominations, it’s completely rational to have a fear of Islam. The video explains how Ahmadiyya muslims ‘openly advocate for world peace ’,(YouTube, 2018) and do not take the quotation as entirely literal, whereas Wahhabi muslims are much more extreme, with this denomination of muslims tending to be the people who perform acts of terrorism around the world vuia groups such as Al Qaeda and ISIS. This video clip overall does not have a general viewpoint on Islam, however i can see that the general point is that Islamophobia has affected the view of Islam a considerable amount, but it is justified for certain denominations. Organisations with these type of videos, tend to be supported by free will and liberalist societies of people and as well as being a youtube video has a lack of credibility as well as the name of the channel being ‘rebel media’, however these ideas are just a concept and should not be taken seriously.

To conclude, my opinion on the question; ‘How and What has caused the increase in Islamophobia in Western Society and how has this changed the view on the religion?’ , is that I believe that it has certainly increased over the past 30 years, with recent terrorist attacks such as the Manchester Arena Bombing has set the media off in there massacre and onslaught of the religion, and has particularly damaged the reputation and followers as a whole. It is a problem to see that government officials have demonstrated Islamophobic connotations, however it is understandable due to the amount of recent act of violence associated to the religion. In my opinion, in order to tackle the crisis of Islamophobia in the future, it is important to make a definitive line between the extremist terroristic side of Islam and the peaceful religion in which the majority of the followers have opted in to. It is vitally important that world leaders educate their own people on this line, and gradually over time we should see a decrease in Islamophobia in the future.