The Origin And Factors Contributing To Islamophobia
A phobia, as defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is an exaggerated, usually inexplicable, and illogical fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situation. A phobia that has been commonly seen in Western society is Islamophobia, which is the unsubstantiated, highly speculative, distrust, and hostility towards Muslims, Islam, and anyone perceived as following the religion. The concept of Islamophobia truly picked up after September 11, 2001, when two airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City. It was a day of fear that led to thousands of people passing away and affecting the lives of people in years to come. These attacks started a new phase of propaganda against Islam, changing the way Muslims lived and were perceived in America. Muslims soon became afraid of going outside, wearing religious clothing, going to mosques. Islam suddenly was a religion that promoted violence, terrorism, women’s oppression, and many more misconceptions, rather than being a religion of peace that is actually is. Western society singled out anyone who practiced the religion and fueled the hatred towards them even more.
Where and how did Islamophobia originate? Consequently, the term “Islamophobia” functioned the same way as “anti-Semitism” by being a descriptor that was able to refer to all historical and general anti-Muslim phenomena. While the Oxford Dictionary suggests the term was first used in print, the first usage of the term was in France by Etienne Dinet and Slima Ben Ibrahim when, in 1925, they wrote, “accès de délire islamophobe,” referring to Western perceptions of Muslims. Unsurprisingly, the coinage and origins of Islamophobia are also openly disagreed upon, and a number of competing stories are in circulation. Some believe that the term “Islamophobia” was popularized during a series of studies by the Runnymede Trust in 1997, where it was defined to more of an outlook involving an unfounded dislike of Muslims, which results in practices of exclusion and discrimination. In 2017, however, Runnymede introduced a new definition as any exclusion towards Muslims that has the purpose or effect of impairing the recognition of their human rights. The Runnymede reports also enumerated the following common frames Islamophobia portrays Islam and Muslims as monolithic, separate, inferior, barbaric, sexist, violent, and more.
Peaceful Muslims around the world are unfairly being lumped together with terrorists and extremists. There is a natural tendency to fear what we do not know, and Western society does not know what Islam truly is. Islam is now the second-largest religion in the world, but it is also the most misunderstood one. Misconceptions about Islam have been spread through political, economic, biased media that promotes a fear of the “other.” The key to understanding Islam and Muslims is to resist stereotypes. Some misconceptions include the permission of terrorism, the oppression of women, or even the forceful nature of Islam. The media often portrays Muslims as terrorists, but what is not known is that Islam actually prohibits targeting innocent people. In fact, Muslims are “not allowed to destroy plants and animals unnecessarily, let alone innocent humans” (Niskanen Center 2019). People also believe that the hijab is oppressive to women. The hijab does not symbolize silence, rather, it is meant to be a guard against degrading remarks, unwanted advances, and unfair discrimination. Contrary to belief, Islam does not force people to become Muslim. Although it is a duty on Muslims to convey and share the beautiful message of Islam to others, no one can be compelled to accept Islam. Learning about Islam from unqualified sources without verification is dangerous and leads to misunderstandings. Do not be misled into accepting misconceptions and false information about Islam – the belief shared by more than a quarter of mankind.
Unfortunately, being Muslim in Western society has a numerous amount of setbacks. In news outlets, television shows, movies, there is a lack of representation of Muslim people who are shown in a positive light. The education system teaches children and young adults misinformed and biased teachings. Because it is a topic that has become prevalent in the last few decades, many educators have little to no knowledge about what Islam is. This causes an incorrect viewpoint of who Muslims are and what they believe in. Another setback is the concept of “flying while Muslim,” which is a description of problems that Muslim passengers have faced on airplanes, at stopovers, or in airports. While there is a fear of terrorism at airports, “the discriminatory experiences at airports” that Muslims face creates “divisions and resentment” (Khaleeli 2016). Targeting people based on race, religion, or ethnicity is unfair. While there are setbacks, however, there have also been a few advances. Ibtihaj Muhammed became the first Muslim woman fencer in the Olympics, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar were the first Muslim women to be elected into Congress, Safiya Khalid became the first Somali Muslim American to win a seat on city council, even when online trolls were throwing insults at her, telling her that “Muslims had no place in American government and she should go back to where she came from” (Farzan 2019). FIND A CONCLUSION SENTENCE
As Islam continues to spread, so does the prejudice and hatred against it. There are many violent attacks against Muslims in the past few decades. Earlier this year, Muslims who were peacefully praying their mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand were attacked during that vulnerable moment. A little over “fifty people were killed” and many others were wounded in the attack (Lewis 2019). It was an event that deeply affected Muslims all over the world. Another unfortunate event is the Uighur Muslims in China who are in internment camps. There are papers that report that more than one million people have been detained as “the Chinese government seeks to strip Uighurs of their identity” (Beachum 2019). They are being skinned alive, raped, forced to eat pork, amongst other things just because they are practicing the religion of Islam. It is a genocide of millions of Muslims, and the media is hardly doing anything to broadcast it.
Islamophobia is not a new phenomenon. The lack of education is what fuels Islamophobia because people tend to fear the unknown. Education is how people interpret other factors that assist in creating or demolishing Islamophobia. Some future steps that can push Western society in the right direction are by interviewing Muslims about Islamophobia. It can allow the general public to view Muslims as normal human beings. Learn about Islam and build relationships with the Muslim community. The strength of a nation lies in how well you treat all your people. It’s a mark of strength when you celebrate everyone who lives alongside you. We move forward when everyone has the freedom to live their lives as they wish, to contribute to their society as they see fit, and to be the people they want to be. The ultimate goal in countering Islamophobia should be to create a fair and just society for all, one that values and safeguards the citizenship of its members.
