islamophobia

Definitions

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-Christian from the 19th century. As opposed to being a psychological or individualistic phobia, according to associate professor of religion Peter Gottschalk, "Islamophobia" connotes a social anxiety about Islam and Muslims.[10][11]

A number of individuals and organizations have made attempts to define the concept. Kofi Annan told a UN conference on Islamophobia in 2004: "[W]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."[12]

In 1996, the Runnymede Trust established the Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia, chaired by Professor Gordon Conway, the vice-chancellor of the University of Sussex. Their report, Islamophobia: A Challenge for Us All, was launched in November 1997 by the Home Secretary, Jack Straw. In this report, Islamophobia was defined by the Trust as "an outlook or world-view involving an unfounded dread and dislike of Muslims, which results in practices of exclusion and discrimination."[13] An early documented use of the word in the United States was by the conservative American Insight magazine in 1991, used to describe Russian activities in Afghanistan.[13] Other claims of early use include usage by Iranian clerics in 1979,[14] or its use in 1921 by the painter Étienne Dinet.[15]

The American Muslim writer Stephen Schwartz has defined Islamophobia 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.[16]

In a 2007 article in Journal of Sociology defines Islamophobia as anti-Muslim racism and a continuation of anti-Asian and anti-Arab racism.[17] Similarly, John Denham has drawn parallels between modern Islamophobia and the antisemitism of the 1930s.[18] So has Maud Olofsson,[19] Professor Jan Hjärpe,[20] and George Galloway.[21]

In a 2008 article in the "Journal of Political Ideologies" Jose P. Zuquete argues that Islamophobia is a catch-all term that should be avoided. Islamophobia places under the broad umbrella of 'fear or hatred of Islam' discourses and criticisms that may have distinct sources, motivations and goals. He argues instead for the use of "anti-Islamic" (because it distinguishes between different discourses about Islam).
Perceptions

The Runnymede report identified eight perceptions related to Islamophobia:

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 Muslims 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.[22]

The above perceptions are seen as closed views on Islam. These are contrasted, in the report, with open views on Islam which, while founded on respect for Islam, permit legitimate disagreement, dialogue and critique.[23] According to Benn and Jawad, The Runnymede Trust notes that anti-Muslim discourse is increasingly seen as respectable, providing examples on how hostility towards Islam and Muslims is accepted as normal, even among those who may actively challenge other prevalent forms of discrimination.[24]

In some societies, Islamophobia has materialized due to the portrayal of Islam and Muslims as the national "Other", where exclusion and discrimination occurs on the basis of their religion and civilization which differs with national tradition and identity. Examples include Pakistani and Algerian migrants in Britain and France respectively.[25] This sentiment, according to Malcolm Brown and Robert Miles, significantly interacts with racism, although Islamophobia itself is not racism.[26] The publication "Social Work and Minorities: European Perspectives" describes Islamophobia as the new form of racism in Europe,[27] arguing that "Islamophobia is as much a form of racism as Anti-Semitism, a term more commonly encountered in Europe as a sibling of Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance."[28]

Brown and Miles write that another feature of Islamophobic discourse is to amalgamate nationality (i.e. Arab), religion (Islam), and politics (terrorism, fundamentalism) — while most other religions are not associated with terrorism, or even "ethnic or national distinctiveness."[29] They feel that "many of the stereotypes and misinformation that contribute to the articulation of Islamophobia are rooted in a particular perception of Islam", such as the notion that Islam promotes terrorism; especially prevalent after the September 11, 2001 attacks.[30]
Media

According to Elizabeth Poole in the Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnic studies, the media has been criticized for perpetrating Islamophobia. She cites a case study examining a sample of articles in the British press from between 1994 and 2004, which concluded that Muslim viewpoints were underrepresented and that issues involving Muslims usually depicted them in a negative light. Such portrayals, according to Poole, include the depiction of Islam and Muslims as a threat to Western security and values.[31] Benn and Jawad write that hostility towards Islam and Muslims are "closely linked to media portrayals of Islam as barbaric, irrational, primitive and sexist."[24] Egorova and Tudor cite European researchers in suggesting that expressions used in the media such as "Islamic terrorism", "Islamic bombs" and "violent Islam" have resulted in a negative perception of Islam.[32]

In 2008 Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting published a study "Smearcasting, How Islamophobes Spread Bigotry, Fear and Misinformation." It described as bigoted against Islam authors Bruce Bawer and Robert Spencer, television and radio talk show hosts Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and Michael Savage, political commentators David Horowitz, Alan Dershowitz and Daniel Pipes and televangelist Pat Robertson, among others.[33]

There have been several initiatives, based upon the sixty recommendations listed in the Runnymede Trust's report, aimed at increase Muslim participation in media and politics. Soon after the release of the Runnymede report, the Muslim Council of Britain was formed to serve as an umbrella body aiming to "represent Muslims in the public sphere, to lobby government and other institutions." The "Forum Against Islamophobia and Racism" (FAIR) was also established, designed to monitor coverage in the media and establish dialogue with media organizations. Following the attacks of September 11, the Islam Awareness Week and the "Best of British Islam Festival" were introduced to improve community relations and raise awareness about Islam.[34]
Trends

Islamophobia has become a topic of increasing sociological and political importance.[29] According to Benn and Jawad, Islamophobia has increased since Ayatollah Khomeini's denouncement of Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" and the September 11 attacks.[35] Anthropologist Steven Vertovec writes that the purported growth in Islamophobia may be associated with increased Muslim presence in society and successes.[7] He suggests a circular model, where increased hostility towards Islam and Muslims results in governmental countermeasures such as institutional guidelines and changes to legislation, which itself may fuel further Islamophobia due to increased accommodation for Muslims in public life. Vertovec concludes: "As the public sphere shifts to provide a more prominent place for Muslims, Islamophobic tendencies may amplify."[7]
A mannequin symbolizing a Muslim in a keffiyeh, strapped to a "Made in the USA" bomb display at a protest of Park51 in New York City.

Patel, Humphries, and Naik claim that "Islamophobia has always been present in Western countries and cultures. In the last two decades, it has become accentuated, explicit and extreme."[36] However, Vertovec states that some have observed that Islamophobia has not necessarily escalated in the past decades, but that there has been increased public scrutiny of it.[7] According to Abduljalil Sajid, one of the members of the Runnymede Trust's Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia, "Islamophobias" have existed in varying strains throughout history, with each version possessing its own distinct features as well as similarities or adaptations from others.[37] An observatory report on Islamophobia by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference similarly states that Islamophobia has existed for as long as Islam itself.[38]

Some Muslims in India have complained about substantial discrimination. According the controversial Sachar Committee report, Muslims are heavily under-represented in different government and social areas.[39][40] Among other claims, it declared that in the province of West Bengal, where Muslims make up 27% of the population, their employment in the government sector was below 3%.[41] These findings have been disputed, in particular, by Indian Muslim politician Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (who is generally very critical of Islamophobic hatred[42]) as politically motivated propaganda designed to secure votes from the substantially sized Muslim electorate in India by cultivating division in Indian society.[43] Numerous prominent Indian Muslims have declared that Muslims in India are treated exceedingly well compared to other countries.[44]

Some Muslims of the Xinjiang region in the People's Republic of China bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan have complained of discrimination from Han Chinese.[45] Adherents of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a secessionist movement among Uyghur Sunni Muslims in the region have also complained about government policies that affect Muslims. For example, the government monitors Hajj tours, mindful of events like an ETIM bomb plot that involved recruiting hajji Uyghurs,[46] requires that restaurants stay open at Ramadan, and disallows heterodox Koranic teachings.[45] Human Rights Watch has criticised state control over religion in China, including the vetting of imams, that China says is necessary to combat religious extremism and terrorism.[47]

A Pew report released in 2009 noted that nearly six-in-ten American adults see Muslims as being subject to a lot of discrimination, far more than Mormons, Atheists, or Jews.[48]
EUMC reports

The largest project monitoring Islamophobia was undertaken following 9/11 by the EU watchdog, European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC). Their May 2002 report "Summary report on Islamophobia in the EU after 11 September 2001", written by Chris Allen and Jorgen S. Nielsen of the University of Birmingham, was based on 75 reports — 15 from each EU member nation.[49][50] 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. Incidents consisted of verbal abuse, blaming all Muslims for terrorism, forcibly removing women's hijabs, spitting on Muslims, calling children "Usama", and random assaults. Muslims have been hospitalized and on one occasion paralyzed.[50] The report also discussed the portrayal 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."[50]

The EUMC has since released a number of publications related to Islamophobia, including "The Fight against Antisemitism and Islamophobia: Bringing Communities together (European Round Tables Meetings)" (2003) and "Muslims in the European Union: Discrimination and Islamophobia" (2006).[51]
Criticism of concept
Salman Rushdie was one of 12 writers who signed a statement regarding Islamophobia; "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."[52]

The concept of Islamophobia has been criticized on several grounds.[53][54][55] Some critics argue that it is real, but is just another form of racism and does not require its own category,[56] while others argue that it is used to censor criticism, that its use threatens free speech,[54][57] or is used to silence issues relating to Muslim populations in Western countries.[58]

Novelist Salman Rushdie and others signed a manifesto entitled Together facing the new totalitarianism in March 2006 which denounced Islamophobia as "a wretched concept."[52] British academic Michael Burleigh argues that the term 'spares anyone the need to examine what has gone wrong within [Europe's Muslim] communities'.[58] Some opponents argue that Islamophobia is justified.[9] 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.[59][60][61] However, Daniel Pipes says that "'Islamophobia' deceptively conflates two distinct phenomena: fear of Islam and fear of radical Islam."[62]

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."[63] 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.[64][65] Halliday also states that strains and types of prejudice against Islam and Muslims vary across different nations and cultures, which is not recognized in the Runnymede analysis. Miles and Brown respond by arguing that "the existence of different ‘Islamophobias’ does not invalidate the concept of Islamophobia any more than the existence of different racisms invalidates the concept of racism."[64] Halliday argues that the concept of Islamophobia unwittingly plays into the hands of extremists.[63]

British writer and academic Kenan Malik believes that the charge of Islamophobia confuses discrimination against Muslims with criticism of Islam, and that it is used to silence critics and Muslim reformers. He writes that the extent to which Muslims are more vulnerable to social exclusion and attacks than other groups is frequently and allows for a culture of victimhood, where all failings are attributed to Islamophobia. Islamophobia is not a form of racism, in his view, because Islam is a belief system.[66] This analysis is criticized by Inayat Bunglawala from the Muslim Council of Britain and Abdul Wahid from the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir.[67] Bunglawala writes that Malik's argument is limited to overt acts of violence against Muslims, without recognizing less overt forms of prejudice or discrimination. By ignoring non-violent examples of Islamophobia, Malik's commentary "makes a mockery of victims of prejudice by pretending they have not been discriminated against," according to Bunglawala.[67]

In the wake of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy, a group of 12 writers signed a statement in the French weekly satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in March 2006, warning against the use of the term Islamophobia to prevent criticism of "Islamic totalitarianism". The novelist Salman Rushdie was among these signatories.[68] These views are shared by Dutch law professor Afshin Ellian.[69] Critics cite 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, for claiming that Islam "... imposes harsh regimes that deny the most basic human rights."[70]

In an article called "Fighting Islamophobia: A Response to Critics", Assistant Professor Deepa Kumar writes that the modern-day demonization of Arabs and Muslims by US politicians and others is racist and Islamophobic, and employed in support of an unjust war. About the public impact of this rhetoric, she says that "One of the consequences of the relentless attacks on Islam and Muslims by politicians and the media is that Islamophobic sentiment is on the rise." She also chides some "people on the left" for using the same "Islamophobic logic as the Bush regime". She concludes with the statement "At times like this, people of conscience need to organize and speak out against Islamophobia."[71]

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.[72] 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."[73] 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... ...we should speak instead of Islamophobia-phobia, the fear of and revulsion towards Islamophobia."[74]

Neuroscientist and best selling author Sam Harris has openly criticized the term Islamophobia in an article stating:[75]

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.