Prejudice towards Islam and Muslims in the West: They Fear What Is Different, but What Is Different May Be Quite Similar
By
Talia Clarke, New Age Islam
3 June 2022
Prejudice
Towards Islam And Muslims In The West Can Take Shape Through Social Exclusion,
Whether Political Or Employment Based, Through Violence Such As Verbal Abuse,
Online Hate Speech And Physical Assault, And Through Discriminatory Practices
In Education, Health, Employment And Representation In The Media
Main
Points:
1. Islamophobia
is not a concept that can be so simply defined.
2. Why exactly
has Islamophobia become so normalised in the West?
3. Christian
writings have continued to put emphasis on the differences between Islam and
Christianity.
4. Official
acknowledgement of the fact that Islamophobia exists and continues to devastate
the lives of ordinary Muslims is required.
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Picture
this. You’re sitting on the train, reading a book. You’re waiting for the
conductor to call your station out over the intercom. Suddenly, you’re attacked
– verbally and physically assaulted. You look around the train wondering why
everyone is staring at you – why no one is doing anything to help. This
scenario is too often than not a
reality for Muslims in the West. This is Islamophobia.
What is
Islamophobia?
Islamophobia
is not a concept that can be so simply defined. It reveals itself in countless
forms and its origins are long debated – is it a manifestation of long-standing
attitudes and beliefs or is it an entirely new concept? Though rich in
delineations, one particular word may suffice; prejudice.
Prejudice,
unlike Islamophobia, can be defined as an unjustified and unreasonable opinion
or feeling towards an individual based solely on that person’s membership of a
particular group. Prejudice towards Islam and Muslims in the West can take
shape through social exclusion, whether political or employment based, through
violence such as verbal abuse, online hate speech and physical assault, and
through discriminatory practices in education, health, employment and
representation in the media. The 2019 Islamophobia report revealed a number of
horrifying cases of prejudice against Muslims – the most notable being, the
increase of harassment in guarded areas (30% to 60%) and police only attending
half of the reported cases. These statistics
unfortunately do not stop here with 29.6% of physical assaults
being reported and bystanders not stopping to intervene in 75% of Islamophobic
attacks despite the majority of the incidents occurring in a public setting–
only solidifying the idea of prejudicial Islamophobia not only acted by
everyday civilians, but by a systematic practice.
So, why
exactly has Islamophobia become so normalised in the West? The emergence of
Islamophobia can be linked to a number of reasons. Firstly, there has been a
significant spike in the number of Muslim immigrations to the West in recent
years. Westerners are no longer able to draw a line between themselves and the
‘other’, as the ‘other’ has become a part of their society. The ‘other’ is more
prevalent and visible than ever. Liken to a mother and her baby birds,
Westerners may feel confronted or feel as though their home is under invasion –
thus having no other choice to attack and continue to separate themselves from
what they fear in the form of Islamophobia and prejudice (similarly seen in the
history of Islamo-Christian civilisation). Secondly, the rise of Islamism in
the West can also be seen as a reason for increasing Islamophobia. As Islam
becomes more normalised in Western settings and Western converts become
apparent, Westerners may again, see a threat and act unjustly in order to stop
Islam from becoming the dominant narrative in their eyes. Lastly, Islamist
terrorist attacks have plagued the Westerns views of Muslims as a whole – not
being able to draw a distinction between the various Muslim identities and
practices. The Western media is an active contributor to perpetuating the extremist
narrative of Muslims and does not act to dismantle the stereotype.
Christian
writings have continued to put emphasis on the differences between Islam and
Christianity, further creating the divide and fuelling anti-Islam ideologies.
Instead, I want to focus on the common ground of Islamo-Christian civilisation
and social cohesion – dismantling the notion of the ‘self’ and the ‘other’; and
attempt to break down prejudicial views based on extremist Muslim identity
stereotypes.
Islamo-Christian
Civilisation
History,
much like the media in the present day chooses to push the same dominant
narrative of a raging war between Islam and Christianity. Christianity was
viewed as the only ‘true’ religion, therefore making Islam a threat. The
coinage of the ‘self’ and the ‘other’ emerged from these periods of religious
conflict and have carried into present day Western civilisation (in the
manifestation of Islamophobia). Yet, I can’t help but question whether this
same notion of the ‘self’ and the ‘other’ would be so widely conceived if the
incredible impact of Muslim civilisations and instances of peaceful
relations during the Crusades and Al-Andalus were more extensively recognised?
A very
specific but incredibly important piece of history that is often left out of
the Islamo-Christian narrative is Al-Andalus. This was a period of time in
which Western countries (Sicily and Southern Italy) were under Muslim rule
instead of Christian. Al-Andalus is recorded to have been a place of gradual
cultural unity amongst Muslims and non-Muslims, where the Arabic language and
the Arabo-Islamic culture were at the forefront. It was a significant
civilisation in history – important in understanding the roots of
cross-cultural fertilisation and idea transfer between Islam and Christianity.
It is also exceptionally vital in negating the idea of the ‘self’ and the
‘other’ as it would more appropriately represent the ‘us’ in history.
An
additional factor in the dismantling of the ‘self’ and the ‘other’, is the
historical ways in which Muslim rule in Spain transformed and shaped Western
society, past and present. Transformations to; philosophy, theology,
mathematics, chemistry, medicine, music, literature, manufacturing, and cuisine
are only a portion of the known advancements to European life as a result of
cross-culturalisation with Muslims in Spain. Without Muslim influence in the
West, many of what Westerners enjoy and know today would not have come to term.
Though much
of the history between Islam and Christianity is buried in bloody wars and
religious conflicts, not
all of it is. The
‘self’ and the ‘other’ being one of the driving factors of Islamophobia in the
West does not hold any weight when reviewing the following peaceful and
fruitful cross-cultural civilisations, where in which the divide did not always
exist.
Vast
Muslim Identities
The Muslim
identity is not one in the same for every Muslim in the West. Muslim identities
are rich in diversity and can be categorised into typologies; legal
traditionalists, political Islamists, secular Muslims, cultural nominalists,
theological puritans, militant extremists, progressive Ijtihadis and, Sufis.
However, the media and the Western society tends to portray and misidentify all
Muslim’s as extremists due to growing Islamic terrorist attacks in the West –
leading to the emergence of generalised Islamophobia. This, nonetheless, is
factually incorrect.
According
to the Muslims in
Australia survey only 3.3% of Muslims identified themselves as
being militant (extremist), with a larger scale of 64.6% of liberal and 39.4%
of progressive Muslims. These statistics are an incredibly vital aspect in
dismantling the stereotype of all Muslims holding extremist views and
classifying all Muslims into one category when that is quite literally
impossible to justify. Westerners are categorising Muslims that have chosen to
be progressive, creative, innovative, and open to Islam and the West with a
small but loud group of puritanical Islamists.
Imagine if
someone you had no ties with was constantly doing the wrong thing, but you
were facing the consequences for their actions – you were being harassed for the way you
dress, you were being treated unfavourably by the law, when seeking employment,
that you were afraid for yourself and your family simply because of your
religion.
Will
History Ever Change?
World, it’s
time to wake up. In order for us to grow as a society, we have to address the
issue. Official acknowledgement of the fact that Islamophobia exists and
continues to devastate the lives of ordinary Muslims is required. I often hear
the idea that history should stay in the past that we should learn from our
wrong doings – and while this is the case for most of the violent history
between Islam and Christianity, it is only half of the story. Instead, I too
strongly urge us to remember our history. To acknowledge peaceful union between
religions, cross-cultural pollination and to recognise that these histories can
once again occur in modern day Western society.
Different
Muslim typologies and identities need to be taught and recognised. Generalising
and punishing all Muslims for the actions of an extremely small group of
extremist individuals does not create change – it only fuels the idea of the
‘self’ and the ‘other’. To reiterate, this history should be left in the past.
We have the power to shape our lives. We have the power to shape the lives of
those around us. We can do better.
References
Mourad,
S. (2018). Understanding the Crusades from an Islamic perspective. The
Conversation.
Ozalp,
M. (2017). Islamophobia is still raising its ugly head in Australia. The
Conversation.
Wahlquist,
C. (2021). ‘Do I say anything or do I survive?’: Muslim Australians share
experiences of Islamophobia. The Guardian.
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Talia
Clarke is an Education student at Griffith University aspiring to work in the
High School English and History department. She is fervent about humanities as
a subject and is interested in understanding how history continues to shape
current day societies.
URL: https://newageislam.com/muslims-islamophobia/prejudice-muslims-west-islamophobia/d/127161
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