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Islamophobia is a neologism used to refer to an irrational fear or prejudice towards Muslims and the religion of Islam. Islamophobia is an extreme form of anti-Islam, which is the criticism of the Islamic religion based on alleged mischaracterizations, stereotypes, and negative prejudices.

Definitions

During the 1990s some sociologists and cultural analysts hypothesized that there was a shift in forms of prejudice from ones based on race to ones based on notions of cultural superiority and otherness , and a clash of civilizations.

At the same time, the word Islamophobia was coming into usage. Actions and beliefs typically described as Islamophobic are of a broad range, ranging from systematic discrimination, to physical assault, there is no set definition of the word. Hate crimes against Muslims are commonly categorized as Islamophobic, as is inflammatory hate speech.

In addition, a wide range criticisms of Muslims and Islam are also commonly categorized as Islamophobic; the UK Minister Peter Hain's statement that Britain's Muslim community is "isolationist" was met with accusations of Islamophobia, and Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's statement that Western civilization is "superior" to Islam was similarly met with accusations of Islamophobia .

Runnymede Trust usage

In the United Kingdom, the term 'Islamophobia' was not used in government policy until 1997, when the UK race-relations think-tank Runnymede Trust published the report ‘Islamophobia: A Challenge For Us All’ (summary) . In a section titled "The Nature of Islamophobia," the report itemizes eight features that Runnymede attributed to "Islamophobia." The eight features are:

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 seen as 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

The Runnymede description of Islamophobia was accepted by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia and numerous Muslim organizations such as FAIR UK, the forum against Islamophobia and racism. One columnist in the UK criticized the definition and wrote,

This report talked about a rising 'anti-Muslim prejudice' that needed addressing in policy. But the section titled 'The nature of Islamophobia' suggests a very broad notion of prejudice - examples of Islamophobia included people seeing Islam as inferior to the West, rather than just distinctively different; seeing Islam as monolithic and static, rather than diverse and progressive; seeing Islam as an enemy, rather than a partner to cooperate with (7). This also seemed to be founded on an over-sensitivity, an attempt to stem any kind of criticism of Islam. Rather than engage Muslims in debate, non-Muslims are supposed to tiptoe around them, for fear of causing offence. Since 11 September we have seen how this attitude can stifle discussion

History of the term 'Islamophobia'

The term is a neologism dating from the early 1990s and is formed with the suffix -phobia in a similar way to Xenophobia or Homophobia. As such, it reflects the influence of such 1990s movements as multi-culturalism and identity politics.

The term most often appears in discourse on the condition of immigrant Muslims living as minorities in the United States, Europe, and Australia, although it has also been used in recent years in countries such as India, and occasionally in connection with non-immigrant Muslim communities or individuals. In the most prominent cases, however, experiences of immigrant communities of unemployment, rejection, alienation and violence have combined with Islamophobia to make integration particularly difficult. This has led, in the United Kingdom, for example, to Muslim communities suffering higher levels of unemployment, poor housing, poor health and levels of racially motivated violence than other communities.

Islamophobia, as a phenomenon, dates back to the initial expansion of Islam and grew as a result of the crusades. It has been argued that Islamophobia exists outside the West, for example in India. This is more closely related to Communal Politics in India, although Islamophobia in India does share, with western Islamophobia, the denigration of Islamic culture and history.

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

Anti Islamophobia efforts

• The Forum on Islamophobia and racism (FAIR) dedicates itself to fighting Islamophobia in the United Kingdom .

• The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) recently organised a conference with the topic of Islamophobia and Anti-Americanism: Causes and Remedies which touches on the issue of Islamophobia. Guest speakers include those from several American universities, Amnesty International and former Deputy Premier of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim.

Hate crimes against Muslims

• The attack on a Mosque in Brisbane, Australia. (*)
• The attack on a Mosque in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
• The attack on a Mosque in Reading, England.
• The attack on a Mosque in Quincy, Massachusetts. (*)
• The smearing a Qur'an with feces and dumping it in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. (*)
• The attack on a pregnant woman in Islamic dress in Arlington County, Virginia, USA (*)

(*) These articles do not specifically use the term 'Islamophobia'

Criticism of the concept

Some commentators have questioned the concept of Islamophobia, arguing that use of the term is often an attempt to police or censor opinion by characterizing any criticism of Islam or Muslims as pathological and irrational, just as use of the term anti-Semitism, many people would argue, is often an attempt to police and censor criticism of Israel. Some of these critics cite the case of the liberal feminist British journalist Polly Toynbee, who was nominated for the title of "Most Islamophobic Media Personality of the Year" at the Annual Islamophobia Awards overseen by the Islamic Human Rights Commission in May 2003. The nomination was based on her comments in an article she had written for London-based liberal newspaper The Guardian:

Religious politics scar India, Kashmir, Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka, Sudan ... the list of countries wrecked by religion is long. But the present danger is caused by Islamist theocracy … There is no point in pretending it is not so. Wherever Islam either is the government or bears down upon the government, it imposes harsh regimes that deny the most basic human rights.

Toynbee has rejected the label of "Islamophobe" and argued that her comments must be judged on their truth or falsity, not on the offence they might give to some members of the Muslim community.

Civil rights activist Bahram Soroush views the term Islamophobia as a meaningless deflection. He claims the term is a means of avoiding legitimate criticism of Islam and Islamic history by means of name-calling, or used to create the appearence of widespread hatred against Muslims.

See also

• Persecution of Muslims
• Religious intolerance
• Islamism
• Islamist terrorism

External links

• Islamophobia Watch
• Racism and Islamophobia
• Who's Afraid of Islamophobia? Article in a British magazine detailing incidents of Islamophobia after the September 11, 2001 attacks and the Runnymede Trust definition of Islamophobia

References

1. Religion as a fig leaf for racism, Jeremy Seabrook, The Guardian, 23 July 2004, retrieved 29 January 2005 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/race/story/0,11374,1267567,00.html
2. Discrimination and Legislation - Response of Dr. Anya Rudiger from Discrimination and Legislation session of Muslims in Europe post 9/11 conference, 2003-04-26, St Antony's College, Oxford retrieved 2005-01-29 from http://www.sant.ox.ac.uk/princeton/pap_rudiger.shtml
3. Islam and Muslims in Europe, Tariq Ramadan, Equal Voices issue 10, published by European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) verified 2005-01-29 from http://eumc.eu.int/eumc/index.php?fuseaction=content.dsp_cat_content&catid=3e3e6e32a2316&contentid=3e3e8c602f879
4. Discrimination and Legislation from Muslims in Europe post 9/11 conference, 2003-04-26, St Antony's College, Oxford retrieved 2005-01-29 from http://www.sant.ox.ac.uk/princeton/pap_malik.shtml
5. Trapped in the ruins, William Dalrymple, The Guardian, 2004-03-20, verified 2005-01-29 from http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1172782,00.html
6. Loop professor takes heat for conduct, The DePaulia, verified 17 May 2005 from http://www.thedepaulia.com/story.asp?artid=77&sectid=1
7. Orientalism, Edward W. Said , ISBN 0614216303 (1996 edition, Kazi Pubns Inc), quote given is taken from Page 74 of the "2003 Edition", publisher unknown.

• Moral panics
• Discrimination
• Prejudices
• Racism
• Phobias