Islamophobia, Racism and the Vilification of the Muslim Diaspora

Rachid Acim

doi:10.13169/islastudj.5.1.0026

Abstract

Is Islamophobia a new phenomenon? Are Islam and the Judeo-Christian West still hateful of and hostile toward each other? Do Muslim women with veils and headscarves constitute a threat to the West's secular and liberal values? What has fueled the sudden rhetoric of Islamophobia in the United States of America and Europe? How does Anglophone print and digital media report pressures, prejudices and discriminatory practices against male and female students? How do Western media cover the social exclusion of the Muslim diaspora? These questions need a thoughtful coverage and concentration in academia. It is believed that most of the grievous and painful stories experienced, for example, by Muslim immigrants— be they legal or illegal, asylum seekers, refugees, or whatsoever, still do not find a room in scholastic research. This paper utilizes the narrative research method to study and probe into the problem of Islamophobia, the vilification of and racism against Muslims in the United States of America and Europe. The usage of human stories, people's personal experiences and narrative accounts or recounts of Islamophobic incidents (real or imagined) as the basis of this inquiry is particularly suitable for research because it can help understand the status quo of Muslim diaspora in the United States of America and Europe. Narrative data are retrieved from five major US-news publications and press elite (e.g., Foreign Policy, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today and Chicago Tribune). The analysis of these data can be used to improve the situation of Muslim diaspora and their interaction with non-Muslims all over the world. The mediums cited above have been chosen because they are the prime source of information for intellectuals and policy-makers. Decidedly, they construct and build up ample epistemologies on Islamophobia and other epiphenomena of racism.

Highlights

Is Islamophobia a new phenomenon? Are Islam and the Judeo-Christian West hateful of and hostile toward each other? Do Muslim women with veils and scarves constitute a threat to its secular and liberal values? How does Anglophone print and digital media report the pressures, prejudices and discriminatory practices against male and female students? How does Western media cover the social exclusion of the Muslim diaspora?1 These are critical questions that need a thoughtful consideration and serious reckoning in the contemporary world, in which distrust, tension and condemnation have shaped and characterized the relations between Islam and the Judeo-Christian West
In 2015, for example, these international media have exposed the world public to a Hungarian camerawoman, identified as Petra Laszlo, in the process of kicking and tripping Syrian migrants, who flew from the local police the Serbian border; these digital and print media have run different headlines and deemed the act racist and inhuman:
The narrative accounts and recounts already narrated indicate that Islamophobia and racism are on the rise in the United States of America and Europe and that these apocalyptic phenomena emanate mainly from a burgeoning tendency that tries to tarnish all Muslims with the same brush of ridicule

Summary

Introduction

Is Islamophobia a new phenomenon? Are Islam and the Judeo-Christian West hateful of and hostile toward each other? Do Muslim women with veils and scarves constitute a threat to its secular and liberal values? How does Anglophone print and digital media report the pressures, prejudices and discriminatory practices against male and female students? How does Western media cover the social exclusion of the Muslim diaspora?1 These are critical questions that need a thoughtful consideration and serious reckoning in the contemporary world, in which distrust, tension and condemnation have shaped and characterized the relations between Islam and the Judeo-Christian West.Islamophobia or anti-Muslim racism is clearly not a new phenomenon; dislike and hatred of Islam is deep-rooted in the 7th century when the Prophet Mohammed (570–632) started preaching and spreading out the faith throughout Arabia. Are Islam and the Judeo-Christian West hateful of and hostile toward each other? How does Western media cover the social exclusion of the Muslim diaspora?1 These are critical questions that need a thoughtful consideration and serious reckoning in the contemporary world, in which distrust, tension and condemnation have shaped and characterized the relations between Islam and the Judeo-Christian West. Islamophobia or anti-Muslim racism is clearly not a new phenomenon; dislike and hatred of Islam is deep-rooted in the 7th century when the Prophet Mohammed (570–632) started preaching and spreading out the faith throughout Arabia. Several Muslim lives would be lost to the wrath of the Quraysh tribe. Converts lost their lives, while many others were 28 ISJ 5(1). Islamophobia at that time, one could say, did not exist as a name but it was a reality

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion