Islamophobia has become a topic of increasing sociological and political importance. Islamophobia is irrational fear of or prejudice against Islam, rather than simple criticism, prejudice against, or hatred or fear of Islam or Muslims . Criticism of Islam has existed since Islam‘s formative stages. Early written criticism came from Christians, prior to the ninth century, many of whom viewed Islam as a radical Christian heresy. Later there appeared criticism within and also fromJewish writers and from ecclesiastical Christians. According o Wikipedia, the term seems to date back to the late 1980s,but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States to refer to types of political dialogue that appeared prejudicially resistant to pro-Islamic argument.
The word Islamophobia is a neologism formed from Islam and–phobia. The compound form Islamo- contains the thematic vowel-o-, and is found in earlier coinages such as Islamo-Christianfrom the 19th century. As opposed to being a psychological or individualistic phobia, according to associate professor of religion Peter Gottschalk, “Islamophobia” connotes a social anxietyabout Islam and Muslims
In 1997, the British Runnymede Trust defined Islamophobia as the “dread or hatred of Islam and therefore, to the fear and dislike of all Muslims,” stating that it also refers to the practice ofdiscriminating against Muslims by excluding them from the economic, social, and public life of the nation. It includes the perception that Islam has no values in common with other cultures, is inferior to the West and is a violent political ideologyrather than a religion. Professor Anne Sophie Roald writes that steps were taken toward official acceptance of the term in January 2001 at the “Stockholm International Forum on Combating Intolerance”, where Islamophobia was recognized as a form of intolerance alongside Xenophobia and Antisemitism.
A perceived trend of increasing “Islamophobia” during the 2000s has been attributed by some commentators to the September 11 attacks, while others associate it with the rapidly growing Muslims populations in the Western world, especially in Western Europe, due to both immigration and high fertility rate. In May 2002, the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC), a European Union watchdog, released a report entitled “Summary report on Islamophobia in the EU after 11 September 2001”, which described an increase in Islamophobia-related incidents in European member states post-9/11. Although the term is widely recognized and used, it has not been without controversy.
Some scholar opine that “Islamophobia”, through a new terminology, has always been present in Western countries and cultures. In the last two decades, it has become accentuated, explicit and extreme.” An observatory report on Islamophobia by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference similarly states that Islamophobia has existed for as long as Islam itself.
The concept of Islamophobia has been criticized on several grounds.Some critics argue that it is real, but is just another form of racism and does not require its own category,while others argue that it is used to censor criticism, that its use threatens free speech, or is used to silence issues relating to Muslim populations in Western countries.
Some opponents argue that Islamophobia is justified. Others, such as Edward Said, consider Islamophobia as it is evinced in Orientalism to be a ‘secret sharer’ in a more general antisemitic Western tradition. However, Daniel Pipes says that “‘Islamophobia’ deceptively conflates two distinct phenomena: fear of Islam and fear of radical Islam.”
The concept of Islamophobia as formulated by Runnymede is criticized by professor Fred Halliday on several levels. He writes that the target of hostility in the modern era is not Islam and its tenets as much as it is Muslims and their actions, suggesting that a more accurate term would be “Anti-Muslimism.” Poole responds by noting that many Islamophobic discourses attack what they perceive to be Islam’s tenets, while Miles and Brown write that Islamophobia is usually based upon negative stereotypes about Islam which are then translated into attacks on Muslims. Halliday argues that the concept of Islamophobia unwittingly plays into the hands of extremists.
There is no such thing as Islamophobia. Bigotry and racism exist, of course—and they are evils that all well-intentioned people must oppose. And prejudice against Muslims or Arabs, purely because of the accident of their birth, is despicable. But like all religions, Islam is a system of ideas and practices. And it is not a form of bigotry or racism to observe that the specific tenets of the faith pose a special threat to civil society. Nor is it a sign of intolerance to notice when people are simply not being honest about what they and their co-religionists believe.
Responses to criticism
Edward Said, in his essay Islam Through Western Eyes, stated that the general basis of Orientalist thought forms a study structure in which Islam is placed in an inferior position as an object of study. He claims the existence of a very considerable bias in Orientalist writings as a consequence of the scholars’ cultural make-up. He claims Islam has been looked at with a particular hostility and fear due to many obvious religious, psychological and political reasons, all deriving from a sense“that so far as the West is concerned, Islam represents not only a formidable competitor but also a late-coming challenge to Christianity.”
Karen Armstrong, tracing what she believes to be the West’s long history of hostility toward Islam, finds in Muhammad’s teachings a theology of peace and tolerance. Armstrong holds that the “holy war” urged by the Qur’an alludes to each Muslim’s duty to fight for a just, decent society.
William Montgomery Watt who in his book Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman addresses . He claims that “Of all the world’s great men none has been so much maligned as Muhammad [pnuh].” Watt argues on a basis of moral relativism that Muhammad should be judged by the standards of his own time and country rather than “by those of the most enlightened opinion in the West today.”
Cathy Young of Reason Magazine claimed that the growing trend of anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim sentiment stemmed from an atmosphere where such criticism is popular. While stating that the terms “Islamophobia” and “anti-Muslim bigotry” are often used in response to legitimate criticism of fundamentalist Islam and problems within Muslim culture, she claimed “the real thing does exist, and it frequently takes the cover of anti-jihadism.”
Deepa Kumar, the author of Outside the Box: Corporate Media, Globalization, and the UPS Strike, in her article titled ‘Fighting Islamophobia: A Response to Critics’ says “The history of Islam is no more violent than the history of any of the other major religions of the world. Perhaps my critics haven’t heard of the Crusades — the religious wars fought by European Christians from the 11th to the 13th centuries” referring to the brutality of the crusades and then contrasting them to forbidding of acts of vengeance and violence by the Sultan of Egypt Saladin, after he successfully retook Jerusalem from the Crusaders. Speaking on the Danish Muhammad cartoon controversy (which resulted in more than 100 deaths, all together), she says “The Danish cartoon —- is nothing if not the visual depiction of the racist diatribe that Islam is inherently violent. To those who can’t understand why this argument is racist, let me be clear: when you take the actions of a few people and generalize it to an entire group — all Muslims, all Arabs — that’s racism. When a whole group of people are discriminated against and demonized because of their religion or regional origin, that’s racism.” And “…Arabs and Muslims are being scapegoated and demonized to justify a war that is ruining the lives of millions.”
Edward Said, in his essay Islam Through Western Eyes, stated that the general basis of Orientalist thought forms a study structure in which Islam is placed in an inferior position as an object of study. He claims the existence of a very considerable bias in Orientalist writings as a consequence of the scholars’ cultural make-up. He claims Islam has been looked at with a particular hostility and fear due to many obvious religious, psychological and political reasons, all deriving from a sense “that so far as the West is concerned, Islam represents not only a formidable competitor but also a late-coming challenge to Christianity.”
150 FAQs- Islam, QuranAfter 911 it has become trendy to criticise Muslim and Islam for all the wrongs in the world, in fact Communism foe has been replaced by Islam. Though Many misconceptions exist in the West (representing Christianity) about Islam and Muslims, which were deliberately created by their clergy and medieval rulers to disguise the true message of Islam to justify their hostility towards Islam. W. Montgomery Watt, a Western scholar observed : ‘Among the world’s major religions it is certainly Islam that the West has the most difficulty in approaching objectively. The reason for this are rooted in past history. Because of the crusades in the 12thand 13th centuries many people in the West wanted the religion of Islam to be better known. But the image they portrayed of Islam can quite accurately be qualified as ‘distorted’. Western opinion about Islam and Muslims was based for centuries on the distorted image’, clearly visible in this video:Effort has been made to identify the major misconceptions [150 questions] created in the minds of people around the world under the influence of hostile propaganda and provide authentic answers with references from Islamic resources.
150 Most Frequently Asked Questions on Quran and Islam Answered
- Global Agenda/Reach
- Global Shari’a by Force
- Global Power Agenda
- Political Philosophy-Caliphate
- Islamic Government
- Conversion by Sword
- Ruthless Wars of Bible
- Jihad, Violence Tolerance & Coexistence
- Code of Conduct of warfare
- Massacre of Jews
- Intolerance to Criticism
- Jihad – Warfare
- Doctrines, Dogmas
- Pray five times a day
- Payment of Tax-Jazyah
- Muslim Rule of Spain
- Human Rights of Non Muslims
- Non Muslims Not considered as Friends?
- Eliminate Infidels
- Double Standards in Preaching
- Kill Non-Muslims
- Threat of End of World
- New Phobias
- Why in Arabic?
- Standardized Text?
- Abrogation of Verses?
- Book of Guidance ?
- As complete Code?
- Varied Interpretations
- Recommended MethodologyRelated Links:
- Quran on line with commentary
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