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In 2004, the commission published a follow-up report suggesting that young British Muslims felt they did not belong in Britain, and that they were vulnerable to social exclusion and violence. Dr Abduljalil Sajid, an ] and adviser to the commission, said he believed that Islamophobia had become institutionalized, citing what he regarded as police harassment of Muslims since 9/11. "Even one of the country's Muslim ], ], has been stopped twice by police", Sajid told the BBC.<ref name=Casciani/> In 2004, the commission published a follow-up report suggesting that young British Muslims felt they did not belong in Britain, and that they were vulnerable to social exclusion and violence. Dr Abduljalil Sajid, an ] and adviser to the commission, said he believed that Islamophobia had become institutionalized, citing what he regarded as police harassment of Muslims since 9/11. "Even one of the country's Muslim ], ], has been stopped twice by police", Sajid told the BBC.<ref name=Casciani/>

Islamophobia is often regarded as a form of ]. While Muslims do not constitute a "race" as such, the comparison with racism exist in Europe and North America due to an incorrect perception of Muslims as a "race" or confusion with regards to Muslims and ]. This "racialization of religion", perceived both inside and outside Muslim communities in the west leads to negative attitudes against Muslims stemming from racist beliefs such as ] (despite the fact that the majority of the world's Muslims aren't Arabs)<ref>Joshi, Khyati, The Racialization of Hinduism, Islam, and Sikhism in the United States,Equity & Excellence in Education, Volume 39, Number 3, August 2006, pp. 211-226(16)</ref>.

==Historical Islamophobia==
{{expand-sect}}
Negative attitudes towards Islam and Muslims have been expressed by Pagan pre-Islamic Arabs, Jewish religious texts and declarations by Christian religious figures against Islam and the Islamic prophet ], particularly during the crusades. Often, ] in the past has been used as an excuse to mask bias and prejudice against Islam and Muslims.


==Criticism of the concept== ==Criticism of the concept==

Revision as of 00:49, 22 January 2007

Template:Histinfo Template:Discrimination2 Islamophobia is a controversial neologism defined as the phenomenon of prejudice against or demonization of Muslims, which manifests itself in general negative attitudes, violence, harassment, discrimination, and stereotyping (particularly vilification in the media). The term dates back to the late 1980s or early 90s, although its use has increased since the September 11, 2001 attacks. Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, told a UN conference in 2004: "hen the world is compelled to coin a new term to take account of increasingly widespread bigotry, that is a sad and troubling development. Such is the case with Islamophobia."

The concept is controversial. On the one hand, some commentators see Islamophobia as a real phenomenon that has replaced older forms of racism. For example, Anja Rudiger, Executive Coordinator of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia, argues that it is no longer acceptable to use skin color as an attribute to distinguish people, and that religion and culture have become the "markers of seemingly 'natural' kinds of differences." She writes that Islam has become "the new 'other' ..."

Others have called it a myth, arguing that references to Islamophobia confuse legitimate criticism of Islam with discrimination against Muslims. An intermediate position characterises Islamophobia as a real phenomenon, even if the word is sometimes misused to attack all opponents of Islamic radicalism.

Nature of the concept

Some sociologist and cultural analysts argue that, during the 1990s, there was a shift in forms of prejudice from race-based prejudice to discrimination based on culture and religion.

Jeremy Seabrook writes in The Guardian that Islamophobia became the only form of prejudice to which the middle class would admit. "Officially, all right-thinking people have forsworn racism ... Islamophobia is the half-open door through which it makes its triumphal re-entry into respectable society." Seabrook argues that the perception of Islam as advocating the repression of women and gays makes Islamophobia an acceptable form of prejudice.

Speaking to the UNCHR, Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, secretary general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, said that Islamophobia was "a new name to an old phenomenon", and that "stereotypes and disrespectful comments about Islam were allowed to circulate and be published with the outcome that hatred and prejudice against Islam gained credibility, and the stereotyping in media coverage became a global sport."

In 2004, Anya Rudiger of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia told an Oxford conference on Muslims in Europe that, since the 9/11 attacks, religion has surpassed race as the primary focus of conflict, and that a person's religion is regarded as synonymous with their culture. In the case of Muslims, this opens up another dimension of prejudice, argues Rudiger, in that European Muslims are regarded as representing a unified culture quite different from European culture, one that is strongly linked to certain non-European countries. These perceptions are part of the process of labeling Islam as Europe's "other."

In 1996, the Runnymede Trust, an independent anti-racist think tank in the UK, established the Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia, chaired by Professor Gordon Conway, the vice-chancellor of the University of Sussex. In the following year, the commission's report, Islamophobia: A Challenge For Us AllTrust described Islamophobia as involving eight distinctive features:

  1. Islam is seen as a monolithic bloc, static and unresponsive to change.
  2. It 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. It is seen as inferior to the West. It is seen as barbaric, irrational, primitive, and sexist.
  4. It is seen as violent, aggressive, threatening, supportive of terrorism, and engaged in a clash of civilizations.
  5. It is seen as a political ideology, 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 and normal.


In 2004, the commission published a follow-up report suggesting that young British Muslims felt they did not belong in Britain, and that they were vulnerable to social exclusion and violence. Dr Abduljalil Sajid, an imam and adviser to the commission, said he believed that Islamophobia had become institutionalized, citing what he regarded as police harassment of Muslims since 9/11. "Even one of the country's Muslim peers, Lord Ahmed, has been stopped twice by police", Sajid told the BBC.

Islamophobia is often regarded as a form of Racism. While Muslims do not constitute a "race" as such, the comparison with racism exist in Europe and North America due to an incorrect perception of Muslims as a "race" or confusion with regards to Muslims and Arabs. This "racialization of religion", perceived both inside and outside Muslim communities in the west leads to negative attitudes against Muslims stemming from racist beliefs such as anti-Arabism (despite the fact that the majority of the world's Muslims aren't Arabs).

Historical Islamophobia

This section needs expansion. You can help by making an edit requestadding to it .

Negative attitudes towards Islam and Muslims have been expressed by Pagan pre-Islamic Arabs, Jewish religious texts and declarations by Christian religious figures against Islam and the Islamic prophet Muhammad, particularly during the crusades. Often, Criticism of Islam in the past has been used as an excuse to mask bias and prejudice against Islam and Muslims.

Criticism of the concept

Salman Rushdie was one of 12 prominent writers who signed a statement condemning Islamophobia as a "wretched concept."

The concept has been criticized on a number of grounds. Some critics argue that Islamophobia is real but is just another form of racism and does not require ts own category, while others argue that, unlike racism, Islam is a religion that people can choose to adopt or not, retain or apostatize from. Many argue that the term Islamophobia is often used to censor criticism and therefore its use threatens free speech.

Silencing of legitimate criticism

British writer and academic Kenan Malik has criticized the concept, calling it a "myth." Malik argues that it confuses discrimination against Muslims with criticism of Islam, and is used to silence critics of the religion, including Muslims who want to reform it. He states that the extent to which Muslims are more vulnerable to social exclusion and attacks than other groups is exaggerated. Malik writes that the concept allows politicians who may have supported the war in Iraq or the War against Terror to "reclaim the moral high ground" and "pitch for the Muslim vote." The result, he argues, is the creation of a culture of victimhood, allowing individual Muslims to attribute low achievement to Islamophobia, and not to themselves. Malik cites Yasmin Alibhai Brown, who writes: "It is not Islamophobia that makes parents take 14 year old bright girls out of school to marry illiterate men ..." Malik argues that Islamophobia is not a form of racism because Islam is a belief system. "I can be hateful about other beliefs, such as conservatism or communism. So why can't I be hateful about religion too?"

In March 2006, in the wake of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy, a group of 12 prominent writers put their names to a statement in the French weekly satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, in which they warned against the use of the term Islamophobia to prevent criticism of what they called Islamic totalitarianism. The novelist Salman Rushdie was among these signatories. The statement alleged that "Islamism is a reactionary ideology that kills equality, freedom and secularism wherever it is present." It continued: "We refuse to renounce our critical spirit out of fear of being accused of "Islamophobia", a wretched concept that confuses criticism of Islam as a religion and stigmatisation of those who believe in it."

British columnist Josie Appleton argues that the Runnymede Trust's use of Islamophobia is an attempt to discourage criticism of Islam. "Rather than engage Muslims in debate, non-Muslims are supposed to tiptoe around them, for fear of causing offence." Afshin Ellian, a Dutch law professor, writes that the concept is used to delegitimize criticism by characterizing it as pathological, while civil-rights activist Bahram Soroush has called it "intellectual blackmail". French writer Robert Redeker argues that the history of the term demonstrates that the term Islamophobia was created by "radical islamists" to "tackle feminists".

Johann Hari of The Independent has criticized the use of the term by organizations like Islamophobia Watch, arguing that liberal Muslims interested in reform are left unsupported because people fear being accused of Islamophobia. He writes: "If Muslim women and Muslim gays are going to have any kind of decent life, the liberals need to receive solidarity and support – but slap-dash charges of Islamophobia intimidate people who could offer it ... While Islamophobia Watch talk about defending Muslims, they end up defending the nastiest and most right-wing part of the Muslim community – the ones who are oppressing and killing the rest."

Critics have cited the case of British journalist Polly Toynbee, who was nominated in May 2003 for the title of "Most Islamophobic Media Personality of the Year" at the Annual Islamophobia Awards overseen by the Islamic Human Rights Commission. The nomination was based on her comments in The Guardian that "herever Islam either is the government or bears down upon the government, it imposes harsh regimes that deny the most basic human rights."

Islamophobia-phobia

Writing in the New Humanist, philosopher Piers Benn suggests that people who fear the rise of Islamophobia foster an environment "not intellectually or morally healthy", to the point that what he calls "Islamophobia-phobia" can undermine "critical scrutiny of Islam as somehow impolite, or ignorant of the religion's true nature", encouraging "sentimental pretence that all claims to religious truth are somehow 'equal', or that critical scrutiny of Islam (or any belief system) is ignorant, prejudiced, or ‘phobic’".

The New Criterion editor Roger Kimball argues that the word "Islamophobia" is a misnomer. "A phobia describes an irrational fear, and it is axiomatic that fearing the effects of radical Islam is not irrational, but on the contrary very well-founded indeed, so that if you want to speak of a legitimate phobia — it’s a phobia I experience frequently — we should speak instead of Islamophobia-phobia, the fear of and revulsion towards Islamophobia."

Responses to criticism

File:JehanzebHasan.jpg
Jehanzeb Hasan argues that the conflation of "Osamaism" with Islam has given rise to Islamophobia.

Jehanzeb Hasan, a research assistant at California State University, argues that Islamophobes are actually reacting to "Osamaism", not Islam. Hasan argues that Islam is misrepresented by its most vocal proponents and critics who "ignore the dynamic nature of the religion and deny the diversity of belief within Islam." He writes that Islam is "dumbed down by those who seek to essentialize it for the purpose of augmenting their own sociopolitical agendas." Those he calls "mired in the conflation-prone school of thought" are unable or unwilling to differentiate Osamaism from Islam, and with the deliberate or inadvertent construction of the "monolith" comes Islamophobia.

Hasan is equally critical of attempts to dismiss Islamophobia as a myth. He asks: "ho could seriously argue that fear, hatred, or prejudice towards Muslims doesn't exist?" Instead, Hasan argues that criticism of the use of Islamophobia "cleverly masquerades as dismissal of the concept itself and convenient justification to pooh-pooh the problem away)." Hasan also attacks the argument that Islamophobia is not racism, given that Islam is a religion and adherence to it a matter of choice. That Islam is not a race is a "tired catchphrase", he argues, maintaining that both forms of prejudice are founded upon a "monolithic and stereotypical presupposition." Though they may differ in a linguistic sense, Islamophobia and racism, he writes, are "conceptually very much the same."

American writer Stephen Schwartz, director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism, has cautioned against what he sees as a tendency to accuse all opponents of Islamic radicalism of Islamophobia, but writes that it is nevertheless a real phenomenon. He defines it as the condemnation of the entirety of Islam and its history as extremist; "denying" the existence of a moderate Muslim majority; regarding Islam as a problem for the world; treating conflicts involving Muslims as necessarily their own fault; insisting that Muslims make changes to their religion; and inciting war against Islam as a whole.

Islamophobia in Europe

File:AnyaRudiger.jpg
Dr. Anya Rudiger of the EUMC argues that Islam is "the new 'other'".

Ziauddin Sardar writes in The New Statesman that Islamophobia is a widespread European phenomenon, so widespread that he asks whether Muslims will be the victims of the next pogroms. He writes that each country has its extremes, citing Jean-Marie Le Pen in France; Pim Fortuyn, who was assassinated in Holland; and Philippe Van der Sande of Vlaams Blok, a Flemish nationalist party founded in Belgium. Filip Dewinter, the leader of the nationalist Flemish "Vlaams Belang" has said his party is "Islamophobic." He said: "Yes, we are afraid of Islam. The Islamisation of Europe is a frightening thing."

The clash between European liberal culture and that culture's perception of Islam gives rise to allegations of Islamophobia in a number of areas. Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's statement that Western civilization is "superior" to Islam was regarded as an example of Islamophobic. In Germany, the state of Baden-Württemberg requires citizenship applicants from the member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to answer questions about their attitudes on homosexuality and domestic violence. . Clothing has become a flashpoint. France, which has a strong secular tradition separating church and state, was accused of Islamophobia when girls who wear Muslim headscarfs were expelled from school under a new law. In January 2006, the Dutch parliament voted in favour of a proposal to ban the burqa in public, which led to similar accusations.

Sardar argues that Europe is "post-colonial, but ambivalent." Minorities are regarded as acceptable as an underclass of menial workers, but if they want to be upwardly mobile, as Sardar says young Muslims do, the prejudice rises to the surface. Wolfram Richter, professor of economics at Dortmund University, told Sardar: "I am afraid we have not learned from our history. My main fear is that what we did to Jews we may now do to Muslims. The next holocaust would be against Muslims."

EUMC report

The largest monitoring project to be commissioned into Islamophobia was undertaken following 9/11 by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC). Their May 2002 report "Summary report on Islamophobia in the EU after 11 September 2001", written Chris Allen (UK) and Jorgen S. Nielsen of the University of Birmingham, was based on 75 reports – 15 from each EU member nation.

The report highlighted the regularity with which ordinary Muslims became targets for abusive and sometimes violent retaliatory attacks after 9/11. Despite localized differences within each member nation, the recurrence of attacks on recognizable and visible traits of Islam and Muslims was the report's most significant finding. The attacks took the form of verbal abuse; blaming all Muslims for terrorist attacks; women having their hijab torn from their heads; male and female Muslims being spat at; children being called "Usama"; and random assaults, which left victims hospitalized, and on one occasion, left a victim paralysed.

The report also discussed the representation of Muslims in the media. Inherent negativity, stereotypical images, fantastical representations, and exaggerated caricatures were all identified. The report concluded that "a greater receptivity towards anti-Muslim and other xenophobic ideas and sentiments has, and may well continue, to become more tolerated."


Country-specific polls and surveys

Australia

In 2006, the Sunday Herald Sun commissioned a Gallup Poll, published on July 30, which reported that four in ten of those Australians surveyed "believe Islam is a threat to our way of life" and one in three people are more fearful of Muslims since the September 11, 2001 attacks. A similar poll from Australia in March of that year saw that one quarter of those surveyed say Islam as "either a fundamentalist or intolerant faith". However, one of the researchers behind the study, New South Wales University's Kevin Dunn said people tended to feel less threatened by Islam when they had direct contact with its followers. "That varies according to the extent of knowledge someone has and also, fundamentally, the extent of daily contact someone has with Muslims. If you know a few Muslims, you're much less likely to perceive a threat from them." This stance may have also been triggered by events such as the 2005 Cronulla riots between Muslims and the people of Cronulla would have an effect on the mindset of the Australian people. In 2006, Australia's leading Islamic mufti, Sheikh Taj el-Din Al Hilaly was asked to resign after he made comments comparing women with uncovered meat, which had a further negative effect on the Australian public's view of Islam. Another leading cleric, Sheikh Mohammed Omran, lashed out at the Australian legal system, saying the sentences handed out to rapists from Muslim backgrounds were unfair and based on religion. He is quoted as saying "They make a big fuss about these kids because one of them, his name is Mohammed. Even if you kill someone you don't go for 60 years".

Germany

In 2006 a survey of Germans by the Allensbach Institute commissioned by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung revealed that 56% of those surveyed wanted the government to ban the building of mosques, 62% believed that there would always be ‘major conflicts’ between Islam and Christianity. 91% linked Islam to the "oppression of women" while 71% believed Islam was "intolerant". 40% of the participants believed that "tough limits should be imposed on the practice of Islam in Germany". The Allensbach Institute concluded that "The clash of civilizations has already begun in the minds of (German) citizens".

United Kingdom

File:AgainstIslamophobiaRally.jpg
Photograph of a rally against Islamophobia in London's Trafalgar Square on February 11, 2006, in the wake of the Muhammad cartoons controversy. Image by eyetopic.co.uk.

A BBC survey taken in the summer of 2004 found that employment applicants with Muslim names were far less likely to be called for an interview than applicants whose names did not appear to be Muslim. This study was taken by using fictitious applications to jobs using candidate descriptions that were similar in qualification and education, but under different names. The survey found that while a quarter of 'nonmuslim applicants' were invited to an interview, only 9% of the applications with Muslim names were responded to with invitations. Groups, such as the Muslim Council of Britain have cited this as further evidence for the widespread existence of Islamophobia.

In 2005, The Guardian commissioned an ICM poll which indicated an increase in Islamophobic incidents, particularly after the London bombings in July 2005. Another survey of Muslims, this by the Open Society Institute, found that of those polled 32% believed they had suffered religious descrimination at airports, and 80% said they had experienced Islamophobia.

In 2006, a YouGov poll indicated that 53% of those people polled felt threatened by Islam, as distinct from fundamentalist Islamists; 18% believed that "a large proportion of British Muslims feel no sense of loyalty to this country and are prepared to condone or even carry out acts of terrorism", while 16% believe "practically all British Muslims are peaceful, law-abiding citizens who deplore terrorist acts as much as anyone else." However, a YouGov poll of Muslims themselves, resulted in very different findings, ironically, far less optimistic than the wider public's views of Muslims:

6% of British Muslims think the July 7 bombers were "on balance" justified.
16% have little or no loyalty towards Britain.
17% think no action should be taken, either by the law or the Muslim community, against any British citizen, trying to "radicalise" young Muslims by preaching hatred against the West.
24% have some sympathy with the "feelings and motives" of those who carried out the attacks.
32% think Western society is "decadent and immoral" and should be ended (though the vast majority think only non-violent means should be used).

United States

File:StoptheHateBanner2.jpg
The Islamic Political Party of America launched its "Stop the Hate" campaign against Islamophobia to coincide with the United Nations conference on the subject, "Unlearning Intolerance", on December 7, 2004.

Arabs and Muslims immigrated and assimilated in American society without great difficulty until the 1970s when stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims became more negative. Immediately after 9/11, American attitudes toward Islam were generally positive, with 47% favorable and 39% unfavorable, (whereas Catholicism polled at 48% favorable, 37% unfavorable ).

Since then, public opinion in the U.S. has moved from neutrality towards apparent fear of Arabs and Muslims, with Islam polling between 19-41% favorable despite the fact that most Arab Americans have Christian related backgrounds.

A 2006 Gallup survey of American public opinion found that "many Americans harbor strong bias against U.S. Muslims".

  • 22% say they would not like to have a Muslim as a neighbor.
  • 34% believe U.S. Muslims support al-Qaeda.
  • 49% believe U.S. Muslims are loyal to the United States.
  • 39% advocate that U.S. Muslims should carry special ID

A poll of Americans, commissioned by CAIR, suggested that one in four Americans believe Muslims value human life less than others and teach their children to hate. Another poll by CAIR found that for one in three Americans, "the word Islam triggers negative connotations such as 'war,' 'hatred' and 'terrorist.'"

Use in public discourse and examples

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Efforts against Islamophobia

There have been a series of efforts against perceived islamophobia by many organizations in many countries, some of these efforts are detailed below.

  • A radio talk show host from 630 WMAL on November 26, 2006 exposed the prevalence of Islamophobia by seeming to advocate a government program to force all Muslims to wear "identifying markers." The hoax was revealed at the end of the program. Main article: Jerry Klein’s 2006 Islamophobia Radio Experiment
  • Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) states that throughout the 2000s, it has been active in defending American Muslims against Islamophobia.
  • In 2006, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) set up an observatory on Islamophobia which will monitor and document all anti-Islamic activities around the world.
  • During the ascession talks regarding Turkeys possible entry to the EU, then Prime Minister of Holland, Jan Peter Balkenende, said Islamophobia must not affect the possibility of Turkey's entry to the European Union.
  • 50,000 people signed a petition urging the President of France, Jacques Chirac to curb the growing hatred and discrimination towards Muslims in France.
  • In the UK, a number of methods aimed at curbing Islamophobia have been set up. In Tower Hamlets, a densely populated area with a large Muslim community, a crime reporting scheme called "Islamophobia - Don't Suffer in Silence" has been set up which police hope will raise awareness of Islamophobia and help them to understand the extent of the problem. The British National Union of Teachers (NUT) has issued guidance to teachers in the union advising that teachers have to "Challenge Islamophobia", and that they have a "crucial role" to play in helping to "dispel myths about Muslim communities".
  • Following an Islamist demonstration outside the Danish Embassy in London organized by the Al Ghurabaa organization in response to the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy, the Muslim Association of Britain organized a peaceful rally in Trafalgar Square attended by over three thousand people, many came by bus from towns and cities throughout the UK. Organizers made available placards and T-shirts bearing the rally's official slogan, the phrase, "United against Islamophobia, united against incitement."
  • Following the July 7 bombings, the British government set up a number of initiatives aimed at combatting Islamophobia, including the "National Forum against extremism and Islamophobia". There was also plans by the British government to ban incitement to "religious hatred", however, this failed to get through the House of Commons.
  • The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said that the Media bore some responsibility for the apparent rise in Islamophobia, and said that a "rising tide of Islamophobia" in the media must be challenged. He compared the reporting of Muslims in contemporary Britain to the way the flight of Jews from Russia had been covered 100 years ago.
  • In 2006 the Catholic Mission Austria and the Islamic Demonination Austria created a platform called Christians and Muslims, which works against stereotypes and hostility and aims to increase tolerance and respect. As of July 25, 2006 the platform has 1452 supporters.
  • In 1991 the Islamic Culture Foundation (FUNCI) organised, in collaboration with UNESCO and the Institut du Monde Arabe of Paris, an International Conference about the Contribution of Islamic Civilization in European Culture. In March 13 2003 they created a Manifesto against Islamophobia.
  • The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan issued a call in 1999 to world leaders to combat Islamophobia. Abdel-Elah Khatib, the Jordanian foreign minister said "The international community must consider how to confront this phenomenon of Islamophobia in order to prevent its proliferation".

Acts attributed to Islamophobia

Views labeled as Islamophobic

General references to Islamophobia

  • While in Kazakhstan, the former Pontiff, Pope John Paul II, prayed for "both Christian and Muslims to raise an intense prayer to the one almighty God", and begged "God to keep the world in peace". He won praise from the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, for "protecting the world from Islamophobia".
  • In March 2005, Queen Noor of Jordan, while on the BBC television programme "Breakfast with Frost", said, "What grieves me today, truly, is the fact that not only in the United States but also in Europe we've seen the rise, over the last few years, of Islamophobia" adding, "Muslim populations and the Muslim world has been increasingly, not decreasingly, viewed as a menace, as alien, as, perhaps, incompatible with Western societies and values. And I passionately believe that that is not true and that we have a great deal of work to do there.".

Publications and publishers labeled as Islamophic

Carl Ernst, an academic scholar of Islamic studies, states that particular publications are promoted and supported by right-wing organizations that are perpetuating Islamophobia and publish books written by Islamophobics. Ernst lists 'Regnery Publishing Inc', 'Encounter Books' and 'The Free Congress Foundation' and makes some remarks on their funding sources. For example Ernst writes that 'Encounter Books' has been funded with $4,635,000 for its publications over the past ten years all from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation. The free Congress Foundation has received almost $24 million in funding from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and other conservative sources in the past twenty years.

Incidents on aircraft

Main article: Flying Imams controversy
  • On 16 August 2006, British passengers onboard a flight from Malaga to Manchester requested the removal of two men of Asian descent from a plane. According to a spokesman for the Civil Guard in Malaga, "These men had aroused suspicion because of their appearance and the fact that they were speaking in a foreign language thought to be an Arabic language, and the pilot was refusing to take off until they were escorted off the plane." A security sweep of the plane found no explosives or any item of a terrorist nature. Monarch Airlines booked the men, who were Urdu speakers, into a hotel room, gave them a free meal and sent them home on a later plane. The men later responded: "Just because we're Muslim, does not mean we are suicide bombers". The Islamic Human Rights Commission blamed "ever-increasing Islamophobia" related to the "war on terror" for the incident.
  • A passenger travelling to the British Virgin Islands on a plane bound for the United States from Manchester in the UK was forced off the plane prior to takeoff. The man, a British-born Muslim residing in the U.S., said he was singled out because he was a Muslim pilot and was left feeling "demoralised and humiliated". "I must have met the profile on the day. I have an Arabic name, I am a Muslim, I'm from Britain and I know how to fly."
  • On 21 November 2006, six imams were forcefully removed from a US Airways flight at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport on suspicions of terrorism. The event led to an outcry from Muslim organizations in America saying that what happened showed the growing prejudice against Muslims in America. Details of the accusations made against the imams can be found in the official police report on the incident (currently exclusively hosted here), which includes written witness testimony of the imams' extremely suspicious activity, such as praising terrorism, praying unnecessarily loudly, asking for seat-belt extensions that were obviously not needed (then putting said extensions under their seats), not sitting in their assigned seats (having someone near each exit in a pattern shared by hijackers of the past), and getting up to move around and confer with each other repeatedly.

See also

Notes

  1. Edward Kessler, Neil Wenborn, A Dictionary of Jewish-Christian Relations, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-82692-6 p.429
  2. Sandra Fredman , Discrimination and Human Rights, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-924603-3, p.121.
  3. Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, Muslims in the West: From Sojourners to Citizens, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-514806-1, p.19
  4. Islamophobia: A Challenge for Us All, Runnymede Trust, 1997, p. 1, cited in Quraishi, Muzammil. Muslims and Crime: A Comparative Study, Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 2005, p. 60. ISBN 0-7546-4233-X. Early in 1997, the Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia, at that time part of the Runnymede Trust, issued a consultative document on Islamophobia under the chairmanship of Professor Gordon Conway, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sussex. The final report, Islamophobia: A Challenge for Us All, was launched in November 1997 by the Home Secretary, Jack Straw. The word "Islamophobia" is formed with the Greek suffix -phobia 'fear of -' in a similar way to xenophobia or homophobia.
  5. Runnymede 1997, p. 1, cited in Quraishi 2005, p. 60.
  6. ^ Annan, Kofi. "Secretary-General, addressing headquarters seminar on confronting Islamophobia", United Nations press release, December 7, 2004.
  7. ^ Casciani, Dominic. "Islamophobia pervades UK - report", BBC News, June 2, 2004.
  8. Rima Berns McGowan writes in Muslims in the Diaspora (University of Toronto Press, 1991, p. 268) that the term "Islamophobia" was first used in an unnamed American periodical in 1991.
  9. Muzammil Quraishi, senior lecturer in Criminology at the University of Salford, writes that "whether we refer to behaviour as 'anti-Muslimism' or 'Islamophobia' seems a moot point. If we are agreed that either term refers to behaviour encapsulating hatred, and/or dislike to the extent of social and economic exclusion of Muslims, we must move to discover the extent of such behaviour and to evaluate how this influences crime and victimization ..." (Quraishi, Muzammil. Muslims and Crime: A Comparative Study, Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 2005, p. 60).
  10. ^ Rudiger, Anja. "Discrimination and Legislation", session 5, Conference on "Muslims in Europe post 9/11", St. Antony's-Princeton Conference, St Antony's College, Oxford, April 26, 2004.
  11. Also see the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia report, "Summary report on Islamophobia in the EU after 11 September 2001" by Chris Allen and Jorgen S. Nielsen of the University of Birmingham, May 2002, the largest monitoring project on Islamophobia to have been commissioned to date.
  12. ^ Seabrook, Jeremy. "Religion as a fig leaf for racism", The Guardian, July 23, 2004.
  13. Speech of H.E. Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic conference, before the sixty-first session of the United Nations commission on human rights - 15 March, 2005
  14. Template:PDFlink, Runnymede Trust, 1997.
  15. Joshi, Khyati, The Racialization of Hinduism, Islam, and Sikhism in the United States,Equity & Excellence in Education, Volume 39, Number 3, August 2006, pp. 211-226(16)
  16. ^ Rushdie, Salman et al. "Writers' statement on cartoons", BBC News, March 1, 2006.
  17. Malik, Kenan."Islamophobia Myth", Prospect, February 2005.
  18. ^ Appleton, Josie. '"Who's afraid of Islamophobia", 'Spiked Online, July 2, 2004.
  19. Ellian, Afshin. "Stop Capitulating to Threats", February 2006.
  20. TV International Interview with Bahram Soroush, June 7, 2004.
  21. " L'islamophobie, l'arme des islamistes contre la laïcité."
  22. Hari, Johann. "Don't call me an Islamophobe", June 6, 2006.
  23. Toynbee, Polly. "Last chance to speak out", The Guardian, October 5, 2001.
  24. "On Islamophobia-phobia".
  25. Kimball, Roger. "After the suicide of the West", January 2006.
  26. Hasan, Jehanzeb. "Confronting the Monolith: The Struggle against Islamophobia and Osamaism", Media Monitors Network, August 7, 2006.
  27. Schwartz, Stephen. "The 'Islamophobes' That Aren't", FrontPage Magazine, April 28, 2005.
  28. ^ "The next holocaust", New Statesman, December 5, 2005.
  29. "Belgian Establishment Fears Crack-Up", The Flemish Republic.org newsletter, April-June 2006.
  30. The French policy extends to all visible religious paraphernalia, including large Christian crosses and Jewish scullcaps, although small crucifixes and stars of David are still allowed.
  31. Madell, Mark. "Dutch MPs to decide on burqa ban", BBC News, January 16, 2006.
  32. ^ Allen, Chris and Nielsen, Jorgen S. "Summary report on Islamophobia in the EU after 11 September 2001", EUMC, May, 2002.
  33. Islamophobia and imperialist wars - Green left Weekly. August 9, 2006
  34. Poll shows ignorance of Islam - Australian Broadcasting Corporation, March 20, 2006.
  35. ABC Community leaders condemn Al Hilaly's comments
  36. News.com.au I'm Aussie, I can say what I like
  37. Islamophobia on the rise in Germany – Poll - Islam Online, May 22, 2006
  38. Five Live survey suggests ethnic minority applicants still discriminated against in UK job market - BBC News Press Office. July 12, 2004.
  39. Is Islamophobia a myth? - Prospect (magazine). January 2005.
  40. Two-thirds of Muslims consider leaving UK The Guardian - Tuesday July 26, 2005
  41. ICM-Guardian poll Poll of Muslims in the UK. The Guardian - Tuesday July 26, 2005
  42. Spiraling Islamophobia Alienating British Muslims: Report Islam Online - Nov 22 2004
  43. ... And why we urgently need new answers Sarfraz Manzoor - The Guardian - November 30, 2004
  44. Islam poses a threat to the West, say 53pc in poll - Daily Telegraph. 25 August, 2006
  45. YouGov Poll of Muslims in the UK YouGov Poll of Muslims in the UK - published Wednesday, July 27, 2005
  46. The Muslim Experience in the United States by: Yvonne Y. Haddad. - The Link, via Americans for Middle East Understanding. September - October 1979.
  47. Lebanese Americans - by Paula Hajar and J. Sydney Jones. Via Every Culture.com.
  48. ^ "Prospects for Inter-Religious Understanding: Will Views Toward Muslims and Islam Follow Historical Trends?" (PDF). Pew FOrum on Religion and Public Life. Retrieved 2006-08-19. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  49. Stone, Andrea (2002). "Many in Islamic world doubt Arabs behind 9/11". USA TOday. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  50. CBS News 4 April, 2006
  51. "Arab Americans". Editor and Publisher. 2005-07-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  52. "Gallup: Many Americans Harbor Strong Bias Against U.S. Muslims". Editor and Publisher. 2006-08-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  53. Poll reveals US Islamophobia - October 05, 2004.
  54. Bernd Debusmann (Dec 1, 9:05). "In U.S., fear and distrust of Muslims runs deep". Reuters. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Retrieved on Dec. 16, 2006
  55. Bernd Debusmann (Dec 1, 9:05). "In U.S., fear and distrust of Muslims runs deep". Reuters. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Retrieved on Dec. 16, 2006
  56. The Council on American-Islamic Relations - CAIR: Core Principles CAIR
  57. "OIC set up observatory on Islamophobia" IslamOnline, May 9, 2006.
  58. Islam 'must not cloud Turkey bid' BBC -Wednesday, 21 July, 2004
  59. FRANCE: 50,000 SIGN UP AGAINST ISLAMOPHOBIA - ADN Kronos - June 2, 2006
  60. Scheme to fight faith hate crimes BBC - Wednesday, 17 November, 2004
  61. Teaching tolerance amid tension BBC - Friday, 15 July, 2005
  62. Prayer mats lined the pavements BBC - Saturday, 11 February 2006
  63. Muslims fly flag for peaceful protest against cartoons The Guardian - Sunday February 12, 2006
  64. Call for Muslim scholars to tour BBC - Thursday, 10 November 2005
  65. Racial and Religious Hatred Bill BBC - Friday, 27 January 2006
  66. Religious hatred: How MPs voted BBC - Wednesday, 1 February 2006
  67. Muslim media image 'must change' BBC - Wednesday, 31 August 2005
  68. Jordan: Stop attacking Islam BBC - Tuesday, September 21, 1999
  69. Racial unrest offers opportunity for discussion, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, December 20, 2005
  70. The Rise of Islamophobia in ‘White Australia’, Global Research, December 14, 2005
  71. Vandals target Paris mosque The Guardian - Tuesday February 22, 2005
  72. Annual Report 2001-02 for the Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland, Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland, October 30, 2002
  73. Burning of sanctuary stokes fears of Islamophobia in Spain, The Guardian, April 18, 2006
  74. Muslim groups want action from U of T, University of Toronto News, March 16, 2006
  75. Racism and racial discrimination on rise around the world, UN expert warns, UN NEWS CENTRE, March 7, 2006
  76. French parliament approves hijab ban, Al Jazeera, February 10, 2004
  77. Islamophobia in Prisons stretches far beyond Belmarsh, Islamic Human Rights Commission, March 8, 2006
  78. EU reports post-Sept. 11 racism CNN - May 24, 2002
  79. Appalling Desecration of Muslim Graves in Plumstead Mulsim Council of Britain - 19 Mar 2004
  80. MAB Horrified at Forest Gate Security Blunder, The Muslim Association of Britain, June 7, 2006
  81. Muslims call on Police chief to resign over Forest Gate terror raid, RINF, June 11, 2006
  82. France to Ban Pupils' Religious Dress, YaleGlobal, December 12, 2003
  83. ‘German loyalty tests are Islamophobic’ - The Muslim News - Friday 27 January 2006
  84. Socialist Worker Online: UAC Displays Prophet Muhammad Cartoons, March 10, 2006
  85. CA Synagogue That Hosted Islamophobe Urged to Invite Muslim Speaker, CAIR News Releases, November 08, 2005
  86. ^ Notes on the Ideological Patrons of an Islamophobe, Robert Spencer by Carl W. Ernst - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2004
  87. Ann Coulter says Muslims 'Smell Bad', Council on American-Islamic Relations, March 10, 2004
  88. Rising Islamophobia makes Birmingham fertile ground for BNP, The Independent, April 8, 2006
  89. Obituary of Oriana Fallaci - The Guardian, 16 September, 2006. "Controversial Italian journalist famed for her interviews and war reports but notorious for her Islamaphobia"
  90. Bible of the Muslim haters, The Guardian, June 11, 2002
  91. Institutionalised Hatred and Instigating Murder, Z Magazine, December 20, 2005
  92. Annual Islamophobia Awards, 2003
  93. "The gospel according to John (Ashcroft)" San Francisco Chronicle
  94. Winners of Islamophobia Awards 2004, Islamic Human Rights Commission, June 26, 2004. *Winners of the Islamophobia Awards 2005, Islamic Human Rights Commission, December 17, 2005.
  95. Filip Dewinter interview, Jewish Week, December 9, 2006
  96. Who's afraid of Islamophobia?, Spiked, July 2, 2002
  97. See, e.g., "Wave of Islamophobia", a blog post by John McDonnell MP from October 6, 2006.
  98. Erika Howsare (12/19/2006). "Anti-Muslim letter goes out to hundreds - not all are amused". {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Retrieved Dec. 20, 2006
  99. "Congressman Will Not Apologize for IslamophobiaBy The Associated Press". Associated Press. Dec. 21, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Retrieved on Dec. 21, 2006
  100. Pope prays for peace CNN - September 23, 2001
  101. Jordan's Queen BBC Transcript of Breakfast with Frost. Sunday, 20 March.
  102. Mutiny as passengers refuse to fly until Asians are removed - Mail on Sunday. 20 August, 2006
  103. Exclusive: Malaga Jet mutiny pair's shock at plane ejection - The Daily Mirror. 23 August,2006.
  104. Removal of men from holiday flight condemnedThe Guardian. 21 August2006
  105. Muslim pilot kicked off jet in terror alert - Manchester Evening News. 11 August, 2006
  106. Muslim pilot reveals shock at being ordered off flight - The Independent. 22 August, 2006
  107. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/21/AR2006112100687.html U.S. Muslims outraged after imams kicked off plane] - The Washington Post. 22 November, 2006

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