Islamophobia

This article is disputed. Please see the discussion page.

Islamophobia is a neologism that is used to describe a fear or hatred of Muslims or Islamic culture. Islamophobia may be characterized by one or more of the following beliefs:

All or most Muslims are religious fanatics
All or most Muslims have violent tendencies towards non-Muslims
Many people are afraid of Islam because many dominant forms of Islamic thinking today are opposed to enlightenment values, such as equality, tolerance, religious pluralism and democracy. This fear of Islam crosses the line into Islamophobia when this fear is applied to all or most Muslims.

Given the strong association between Arabs and the religion of Islam, Islamophobia is often expresses itself as a form of anti-Arab racism, though not all Arabs are Muslim and the majority of Muslims are not in fact Arab. Ironically, anti-Muslim bias has occasionally been expressed in violent attacks on Sikhs. In these cases, Sikhs were mistaken for Muslims on account of their distinctive turbans.

The term itself is of recent coinage, and reflects the influence of such 1990s movements as multi-culturalism and identity politics. It most often appears in discourse on the condition of immigrant Muslims living as minorities in the West. However, its origin dates back to the Crusades. It has remained present in Europe for many centuries.

The Runnymede Trust is an has identified eight components that they say constitute Islamophobia:

1. Islam is seen as a monolithic bloc, static and unresponsive to change.

2. Islam is seen as separate and 'other'. It does not have values in common with other cultures, is not affected by them and does not influence them.

3. Islam is seen as inferior to the West. It is barbaric, irrational, primitive and sexist.

4. Islam is seen as violent, aggressive, threatening, supportive of terrorism and engaged in a 'clash of civilisations'.

5. Islam is seen as a political ideology and is used for political or military advantage.

6. Criticisms made of the West by Islam are rejected out of hand.

7. Hostility towards Islam is used to justify discriminatory practices towards Muslims and exclusion of Muslims from mainstream society.

8. Anti-Muslim hostility is seen as natural or normal.

However, these definitions are not universally agreed upon.

Many historians and social scientists agree that Islam is no monolithic or static. However, such a view of Islam is not racist, merely erroneous.
Many historians and social scientists agree that many forms of Islam have been, and still are violent, and have explicitly threatened the status of surrounding civilizations. However, such a view of Islam would border on racism if it was incorrectly extended to all (or most) Muslims.
Many historians and social scientists agree that Islam in fact has often been used as a political ideology and is used for political or military advantage.
Mere disagreement with someone's position, even if such disagreement is automatic, does not mean that one holds racist beliefs towards members of an entire religious group.

The American Islamic Congress offers its own guide on recognizing hatespeech towards adherents of Islam.

We hesitate to offer examples of hate speech, because we do not want to inadvertently deepen its impact. But sometimes the best way to learn about intolerance is to face it directly. So we reluctantly offer some examples, both directed against Muslims and spoken by Muslims. To understand just how awful these phrases are, just replace "Muslim" or "Arab" with "Jew" or "Christian" - and vice versa.

Religious distinctions: "Judgment day will not occur until all the Jews are killed." "The God of Islam is not the God of the Christian faith. It is a different God, and it is a very evil religion."

Everyday speech: "Don't be too friendly with him, he's a Hindu."

Political problems that need diplomatic solutions are recast as religious confrontations: "Kill the Jews and the Americans wherever you find them." "Death to Arabs."

Fears about unfamiliar groups: "We're so sorry you are moving to New York. There are so many Jews there." "I would never hire a guy with a towel on his head."

Antagonism to different kinds of Muslims: "Shi'ites have tails."

Disagreement expressed through violent language: "Death to America."

Responding to Hate Speech: A Citizen's Guide

Many historians and social scientists believe that in France, one of the factors contributing to Islamophobia was France's occupation of Algeria, a Muslim nation.

An alleged factor, that some argue drives Islamophobia, is the rise of anti-Western Islamist movements, which have either come to power outright in some countries (Iran, Sudan, post-Soviet-era Afghanistan), or else exerted a strong influence on government policy in others (Saudi Arabia, Pakistan).

It is sometimes claimed that the increasing fraction of North Americans and Europeans who identify themselves as Muslims is a factor driving Islamophobia. However, Islamophobia (or any other racist fear) is often present among populations with extremely few Muslims (or other perceived minority).

Perhaps the most important factor shaping the present wave of Islamophobia (as of 2003), though, is the extremely large and disproportionate media coverage given to Islamist-inspired terrorism, for example, to the September 11 Terrorist Attacks, while relatively little media coverage is given to equivalent acts of terrorism by other groups or nation-states.

Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, a member of the Islamic Supreme Council of America, has estimated that Islamists (in his word "extremists") now control over 80 percent of the mosques, Islamic schools, Islamic youth groups, and Islamic community centers in the United States.

Recently there have been several efforts by non-Muslims to combat Islamophobia. In the wake of September 11, for example, a few non-Muslim women practiced hijab in a show of solidarity with their Muslim counterparts, who it was feared would be particularly vulnerable for reprisal given their distinctive dress. Non-Muslims also helped form community watches to protect mosques from attack.

In Israel, there are some organizations working to end anti-Muslim bias among Jews, as well as to end hatred of Jews among Arabs. See the entry on projects working for peace among Israelis and Arabs.

Table of contents

1 Examples of Islamophobia
2 Groups working against anti-Muslim bias
3 See also
4 External Links

Examples of Islamophobia

Ann Coulter: "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity."[1]
Jerry Vines: "Christianity was founded by the virgin-born Jesus Christ. Islam was founded by Mohammed, a demon-possessed pedophile who had 12 wives, and his last one was a 9-year-old girl."[1]
Jean-Marie Le Pen: "These elements have a negative effect on all of public security. They are strengthened demographically both by natural reproduction and by immigration, which reinforces their stubborn ethnic segregation, their domineering nature. This is the world of Islam in all its aberrations."[1]
“Just turn (the sheriff) loose and have him arrest every Muslim that crosses the state line.” -Rep. C. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security and Senate candidate, to Georgia law officers, November 2001.[1]

Groups working against anti-Muslim bias

There are a number of Arab American groups in the USA and Europe that work to protect the civil rights of Arabs, and fight against anti-Arab discrimination.

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
CAIR. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is an organization which promotes a positive image of Islam in America
The American Islamic Congress (AIC) is a social organization that is dedicated to building interfaith and interethnic understanding
Islamic Supreme Council of America is a Muslim religious organzation in the United States. It strives to integrate traditional scholarship in resolving contemporary issues affecting the maintenance of Islamic beliefs in a modern, secular society

Many Jewish groups have committed themselves to rejecting Anti-Muslim prejudice.

The Central Conference of American Rabbis (Reform Judaism) states that "Our commitment to the State {of Israel} also implies a commitment to helping it realize values which we as liberal Jews hold dear; peace with her neighbors and full civil, human and religious rights for all citizens, Jews, Muslims, Christians and others. (Commentary to the Pittsburgh Principles of Reform Judaism)
The Israel organization Rabbis for Human Rights is dedicated to promoting peace, and ending what it sees as anti-Arab and anti-Muslim discrimination in Israel.
The Anti-Defamation League, (ADL) dedicated to combating anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry, gave this response shortly after the terrorist attacks on 9-11. "We are disturbed that a number of Arab Americans and Islamic institutions have been targets of anger and hatred in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. At this time of profound anger and anxiety, no group in this country should be singled out for hatred, prejudice or blame based on their ethnicity or religion. Threats, harassment or acts of hate-motivated violence against members of a group are un-American and must be forcefully condemned. In laying blame on an entire people, we undermine our nation's core values of equality and respect for the individual."
The Anti-Defamation League maintains a web resource detailing its efforts in this arena:

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against America, ADL has responded to numerous incidents of violence and harassment against Arab Americans, Muslim Americans and other individuals or groups that are perceived to be of Middle Eastern descent. Our message is consistent and clear -- no one should be singled out for hatred, prejudice or blame based on their ethnicity or religion. American unity and democracy is founded on this important ideal.

ADL Responds to Violence and Harassment against Arab Americans and Muslim Americans

There are many organizations working to end Anti-Arab bias among Israelis, as well as to end Anti-Semitic bias among Arabs. See the entry on projects working for peace among Israelis and Arabs.