ISLAMOPHOBIA: A Threat to Muslims

DEFINITION:

According to Merriam Webster, Islamophobia is defined as,

“An irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against Islam or the people who practice Islam.”

Thus the general meaning of Islamophobia can be defined as an overestimated and exaggerated fear, contempt, and threatening or debilitating vibe toward Islam and Muslims that is sustained by negative generalizations coming about in predisposition, separation, the marginalization and prohibition of Muslims from social, political and municipal life

Different researchers, philosophers, and groups define Islamophobia in different ways but the essence of the term remains the same, regardless of the reference.

Some other terms for Islamophobia may include;

o Anti-Muslimism

o Anti-Islamism

o Anti-Muslim Bigotry

ORIGIN:

The word Islamophobia first appeared in the early 20th century. It was used for the first time in the 1918 French biography of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) (“ISLAMOPHOBIE”). (Fulford, SEP 22 2017)

But it reemerged as a new word (“ISLAMOPHOBIA”) in the 1970s. Its use became more and more frequent in the 1980s and 1990s and then after the September 11 attacks (usually referred to as 9/11), its use became extremely common. Some started to view it as a problematic term. Some considered it to be another word for xenophobia and others declared it to be another form of prejudiced racism.

But despite everything, it became a huge threat to the whole Muslim Ummah all around the world especially for the Muslim minorities living in non-Muslim countries and Muslim Ummah has been paying the price for that attack with their lives all over the world since then.

In this report, we will be discussing Islamophobia closely, its effects, the never-ending impact that Islamophobia has left on Muslims, and ways through which we can resolve this severe conflict between the Muslim and the Non-Muslim world.

MANIFESTATIONS OF ISLAMOPHOBIA:

1. The aftermath of 9/11:

The Muslim community in America is diverse with roots in every part of the world. It includes native-born Muslims, and immigrants, converts, and born into the faith Muslims.

Although the Muslim communities in America were already poverty-stricken and victims of discrimination, 9/11 just added fuel to the fire. Muslim Americans faced suspicion. They had their loyalty and their allegiance to America questioned.

After 9/11, there was a rise of supremacist brutality, ethnic profiling, and selective relocation enforcement. The Muslims became the targets of wrath and prejudice enmity. Almost all of the businesses owned by Muslims in the whole country ran out of business. The doors of employment were shut for the Muslims as well. Hate crimes increased and many Muslim families were torn-apart for the crime they did not commit.

According to a survey, the crimes against Muslims increased from 354 attacks in 2000 to 1504 attacks in 2001. (Oswald, September 2005)

1. Islamophobia in the USA and Canada:

Leaving 9/11 behind, if we talk about the present condition of Muslims in America, the results that we see, are not so good either. During the 2016 elections, Donald Trump with his Islamophobic remarks expressed his hostility for Muslims openly, and with him came the huge support of anti-Muslim Americans who considered him to be the only leader in the history of America, who could finally do something about Islam.

According to a survey, in 2017, almost one thousand and one Muslims were interviewed and the report said that almost 48 percent of the whole Muslim population of America has faced discrimination and the majority of the assaulters were the supporters of Trump. (Annual report on islamophobia, 2018)

In Canada as well, Islamophobia can be seen in the form of mosque shootings and violence against Muslims including women wearing the Islamic headscarf, or niqab. According to one report, in 2015, the police-reported hate crimes against Muslims reached 159, with an increase of almost 253% since only 45 reported in 2012. (Minsky, 2017)

In January of 2017, six Muslims were murdered in a mosque shooting at Quebec City mosque.

Canada’s educational system may be considered as the location of Islamophobic occurrences, promoting Islamophobic attitudes in the youth.

2. Islamophobia in Europe:

A report about Islamophobia in Europe published by “Insider Monkey”, enlisted the most racist and Islamophobic countries of Europe, a few of which we would be discussing here.

According to a survey conducted among the British people, 47% of them agreed that they didn’t want Muslims to live in the UK. One of the factors that provoked this kind of harsh response was the 2017 London Bridge Attack. As of 2017, pyro-crime assaults against mosques and vehicle smashing have measurably risen against Muslims, overwhelmingly in Britain and Scotland.

Although Italy has a large Muslim population that is 1.25 million (Triandafyllidou, 2010), the community faces numerous challenges in their daily life which stems from Islamophobia. Muslims are not allowed to settle down in Italy because Islam is viewed as a religion that is against the common ethical quality. (Schmidt di Friedberg & Blion, 2000)

The third country, France, is one of the countries where Muslims are receiving extremely harsh treatment.

France has always been extremely disrespectful towards Islam. A French artist, Charlie Hebdo, drew the cartoons of Prophet Muhammed in his weekly magazine, which enraged the whole Muslim nation.

There are many restrictions on Muslims in France. The government has closed 19 mosques so far. Niqab, the Islamic face-covering’, is banned in France and you can eventually receive a penalty for wearing one. Every day, many hate crimes occur in France including two Muslim women being stabbed under the Eiffel Tower while attackers shouted at them “DIRTY ARABS”. On another occasion, Jordanian brother and sister were severely beaten and attacked for speaking Arabic in France.

The French president Macron announced recently new measures to tackle what he called “Islamist separatism” in France, putting certain restrictions specifically on Muslims to keep track of their activities, which is clearly the oppression of basic human rights.

3. Islamophobia in China:

Last year, the authorities in the Xinjiang region of China released a list of 29 Muslims names, according to which parents were no longer allowed to give their children any of enlisted names, including the names, Muhammed, Jihad, and Islam. Moreover, Xinjiang has also banned long beards and veils.

But the biggest and most crucial Anti-Muslim acts are happening in the concentration camps in Xinjiang. As of 2018, almost hundreds of thousands or maybe a million Muslims are confined in these camps, where they are not allowed to practice their religion instead they are being forced to indulge in haram activities such as forced to eat pork, forced to drink alcohol, and banned from meeting their families. Unfortunately, the world is blind to the misery of these Muslims and the issue has not been solved yet.

4. Islamophobia in India:

There have always been many instances of utter savagery against Muslims since the parcel of the Indian Subcontinent in 1947. Islamophobic acts have been reported in India, whether be it in the form of savage assaults on Muslims by Hindu patriots or destruction of mosques, or even violence on Muslims for being non-vegetarian.

There can be various causes of Islamophobia in India. Islamophobia in India may be due to the history that Hindus and Muslims share, such as the Muslim conquest of India during the Middle Ages and ruling the subcontinent for over one thousand years, and last and not least, the Kashmir issue, the tragic separation of India into two countries. Hindus always opposed partition and wanted Muslims to remain a minority. The partition enraged the Hindus and its effects can be seen to this day.

Modi’s government sparked another riot in the country for Muslims.

In February 2020, a mosque was set on fire in Delhi by Hindu mobs, followed by three days of severe violence on Muslims in the surrounding Muslim populated areas while police were accused of turning a blind eye to this riot. It was the worst communal violence in India in more than 30 years.

The CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT ACT, implemented in the entire country in 2020, the act damages the non-discriminatory soul of India’s structure by giving all Hindus and minorities including Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, and Christians, an easy route to citizenship but not to the abused and oppressed Muslims. As a result, millions of Muslims in India lost their citizenship and the many benefits of having it. (TYAGI/EPA, 3 March 2020)

5. Islamophobia in the rest of the world:

The Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar have long been the targets of abuse. They have been methodically stripped of their citizenship, segregated against, and progressively marginalized within the financial, social, and political circles of their nation. Despite their long-standing nearness, the Rohingya are not even completely acknowledged as individuals of Myanmar society and are often labeled as illicit Bengali migrants.

In Australia, islamophobia is generally related to the ban on burqa and niqab. According to an annual survey in Australia, regarding Muslims, about 25% of Australians expressed their negative remarks about Muslims, 28% of them were positive about Muslims while the majority was neutral. (“Why do 25 per cent of Australians, 30.11.2017)

CAUSES AND THE SOLUTION IN THE LIGHT OF ISLAMIC TEACHINGS:

One of the biggest reasons for this irrational fear is the media. Muslims are portrayed as non-tolerant people. The media spreads several misconceptions about Islam They are called vicious names such as terrorists, extremists, and fundamentalists.

I am not trying to say here is that all Muslims are pious. I do agree that many extremists in our community do not represent Islam at all. What the media does is that they choose up the dark sheep of the Muslim community and depict them as in case they are righteous Muslims.

The solution to Islamophobia lies within the Muslim community. It is the duty of us Muslims that we should spread the true teachings of the Quran and the hadith and if any Muslim is involved in doing acts that are against the teachings of Islam, we should tell such people that it is haram. We can find plenty of young Muslims that are being brainwashed into thinking that jihad means killing innocent people. We have to be their mentors and prevent them from falling prey to such misguidance.

Another way to tackle Islamophobia would be interacting with non-Muslims and conducting question-answer sessions to get rid of as many misconceptions and misunderstandings as possible. We should tell the Islamophobic governments that Muslims are as desperate for peace as non-Muslims, we are as against terrorism as non-Muslims. Islam is the religion of peace and we should convey the message of peace that Islam urges us to.

Bibliography

(30.11.2017). “Why do 25 per cent of Australians. : SBS News’ entry.

(2018). Annul report on islamophobia. Dhaka.

Fulford, R. (SEP 22 2017). Robert Fulford: A history of ‘Islamophobia,’ a word of dubious value. National Post.

(2017). Minsky.

Oswald, D. L. (September 2005). “Understanding Anti-Arab Reactions Post-9/11: The Role of Threats, Social Categories, and Personal Ideologies”. Journal of Applied Social Psychology.

Schmidt di Friedberg, O., & Blion, R. (2000). “Du Sénégal à New York, quel avenir pour la confrérie mouride ? un entretien entre Ottavia Schmidt di Friedberg et Reynald Blion”. Hommes et Migrations.

Triandafyllidou, A. (2010). Muslims in 21st century Europe structural and cultural perspectives. New York.

TYAGI/EPA, H. (3 March 2020). Why Modi’s India has become a dangerous place for Muslims. Delhi: THE CONVERSATION.