PROFESSIONAL ISLAMOPHOBIA: A RESURGENCE OF MEDIEVAL ANTI-MUSLIM STEREOTYPES

Abstract

Islamophobia is an irrational fear or prejudice towards Islam or Muslims. It can manifest itself in many ways, including but not limited to discrimination against Muslims in employment, the media, education, and everyday life; hate speech and hate crimes against Muslims; and the exclusion of Muslims from the public sphere. Islamophobia is a form of bigotry and racism. It is rooted in ignorance and misinformation about Islam and Muslims. Islamophobes often falsely conflate Islam with terrorism, extremism, and violence. This is despite the fact that the vast majority of terrorist attacks worldwide are carried out by non-Muslims. Islamophobia is a growing problem around the world. In many countries, it is on the rise. This is due in part to the increase in anti-Muslim rhetoric from political leaders and the media. The following research articles conducts a historical analysis of the phenomenon in an effort to establish that the modern day Islamophobes— specifically, Daniel Pipes, Pamela Geller, and Robert Spencer—rely on anti-Muslim stereotypes from the Middle Ages when crafting their Islamophobic narrative.