Islamopho bia

Paper written by Thomas Florizoone for the English course of Mr Foissac

Motivation
Islamophobia has been a recurrent topic for several years. Racism has always been present in our world with anti-Black racism leading to slavery or anti-Semitism leading to the massacre of many Jewish people. The 21st century is marked by anti-Islam, anti-Muslims and anti-Arab racisms. Those kinds of racism are different but people tend to amalgamate nationality, religion and politics. Racism would not be what it is without all those generalizations. It leads to huge misinformation and stereotypes about Islam and Muslims. My aim with this paper is to learn more about Islam and to understand apprehensions associated with this religion and its practitioners. For example, why does Islam is associated with the Arabs or with terrorism while most other religions are not associated with extremism, or even ethnic or national distinctiveness? Most of the perceptions linked to Islam are false and I want to break them. With the knowledge I will gain from this paper I will try to to convey the true identity of Islam around me. Moreover, by covering Islamophobia in Western countries I want to emphasize the dangers of this spreading form of racism. This paper is supposed to be related to my studies in management. I think that the university is a place to understand the world which is surrounding us. After almost five years of study I wish to talk about a topic in which I am very interested and about which I had many questions to answer to. Since I had no opportunity to speak about Islam in other courses excepted in the course of religious sciences, I wanted to do so in the last paper of my student life. However, if I had to justify this topic by relating it to my studies I would say that Islam and Muslims are suffering from their image which is not reflecting their identity. This image-identity relation is of paramount importance for brands or companies and it is the same for Islam. Thus, Islam can be seen as a non-profit organization which has difficulties to deal with its image around the world.
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Plan

I. The concept of Islamophobia

- What is Islamophobia? - When did it appear?

II. Perceptions of Islam and Muslims

- Not all Muslims have the same beliefs - Being Muslim does not mean being Arab - Islam is not a political ideology - Islam is not an extremist religion

III.

Islamophobia around the world

- USA - France - Switzerland - The Netherlands - Other European country - Islamophobia and the integration of Muslim immigrants in Europe
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IV.

Conclusion

I. The concept of Islamophobia

What is Islamophobia?
It refers to hatred or fear of Islam or Muslims. In simple words this is anti-Muslim or anti-Islamic racism. In 1997, the British Runnymede Trust (a leading Race Equality think tank which aim is to generate intelligence for a "multi-ethnic" Britain through research, network building and policy engagement) states that it also refers to the practice of discriminating against Muslims by excluding them from the economic, social, and public life of the nation. It includes the perception that Islam has no values in common with other cultures, is inferior to the West and is a violent political ideology rather than a religion.

When did it appear?

The term appeared in the late 80s but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks. However, Islamophobia has always been present in Western countries and cultures. This is an old concept but it is growing more and more. In the last two decades, it has become accentuated, explicit and extreme. The growth in Islamophobia may be associated with increased Muslim presence in society, especially in Western Europe, due to both immigration and high fertility rate. A more complete definition adequate to nowadays context was brought by an American Muslim writer named Stephen Schwartz. He 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, inciting war against Islam as a whole.
This more complete definition shows there are many clichs about Islam and Muslims. The Runnymede report identified eight perceptions related to Islamophobia:

1.

Islam is seen as a monolithic bloc, static and It is seen as separate and "other." It does not have

unresponsive to change. 2. 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, It is seen as violent, aggressive, threatening, supportive It is seen as a political ideology, used for political or Criticisms made of "the West" by Muslims are rejected Hostility towards Islam is used to justify discriminatory

irrational, primitive, and sexist.

4.

of terrorism, and engaged in a clash of civilizations.

5.

military advantage. 6. 7. out of hand. practices towards Muslims and exclusion of Muslims from mainstream society. 8. Anti-Muslim hostility is seen as natural and normal.

Those perceptions have been partially brought by media as they are portraying Islam as barbaric, irrational, primitive and sexist. Expressions used in the media such as "Islamic terrorism", "Islamic bombs" and "violent Islam" have resulted in a negative perception of Islam and issues involving Muslims usually depict them in a negative light. All those perceptions about Islam and Muslims are quite unfounded. The main cause of those perceptions is the fear of others, of people who seem different from normal people. Actually, this is racism and it cant be justified. Anti-Islamic racism is not different from other kinds of racism. It has been growing through the centuries such as the idea that black people were inferior to white people. Especially in the 20th century, due to immigration, anti-Muslims perceptions were spread around the world by media and the event of the attacks of 2001 has made the 21st century and the future even darker for Islam and Muslims. A major problem is that Islam as no leader like the Pope for the Christians. Thus, there is nobody to try to reverse the current negative image of Islam. This problem will be
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covered later. Most Western countries inhabitants feel different from Muslims and even fear them. This apprehension is due to some perceptions about Islam and Muslims. Those perceptions are at the origin of the spreading of Islamophobia around the worlds so lets first break them.

II.

The perceptions of Islam and

- all Muslims have the same beliefs

Muslims
There are 4 main perceptions: - Muslims are Arab - Islam is a political ideology - Islam is an extremist religion, static and unresponsive to change Not all Muslims have the same beliefs Islam is divided into several branches that have different theological beliefs. Nowadays, the Muslims belong to two main denominations with the majority practicing Sunni Islam and approximately 10-20% the Shia Islam, particularly present in Iran and Irak. Each branch of Islam articulates around 3 founding elements: Allah, the unique god, Mahomet (Muhammad), his messenger (the Prophet) and the Koran, the holy book. Besides the Koran, the Muslims have other sources to guide their faith and their practices: the Sunna and the hadith. The Sunna is the compilation of hadith which are statements and behaviours of the Prophet such as brought back by his companions and passed on until us by a long chain of verified transmitters. Hadith are important tools to understand the Koran. They cover every side of believers life: faith, Islam pillars, acts related to worship like ablution, social relationships, private and public law... For example, the Koran establishes the prayer, but it is in Sunna that we find the way of making the prayer. The various branches of the Islam do not agree on the compilations of hadith to be held as authentic. As hadith is an oral tradition related to actions and customs of Mohamet, there are questions about the sources of the words. Their credibility is generally proportional to the credit of the witnesses who brought them back them. Sunni and Shia hadith collections differ because scholars from the two traditions differ as to the reliability of the narrators and transmitters. The two branches disagree over the proper importance and validity of specific collections of hadith.
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Being Muslim does not mean being Arab Another feature of Islamophobic discourse is to amalgamate nationality, religion and politics. Firstly the distinction is to be made between religion and politics. Islam is a religion and Islamism is the set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is the political use of the Islam by the actors of an antimodern protest perceived as striking a blow at their national and religious identity. Another distinction is to be made between the nationality and the religion. We often hear people calling the Muslims, the Arabs. This confusion is due to 2 factors: - Islam is born in sands of the desert of Arabia at the beginning of the 7th century - The official language of Islam is Arab. Islam is the second largest religion of the world and one of the fastest-growing religions in the world. About 13% of Muslims live in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country, 25% in South Asia, 20% in the Middle East, 2% in Central Asia, 4% in the remaining South East Asian countries, and 15% in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sizable communities are also

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found in China and Russia, and parts of the Caribbean.

Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world, especially in Western countries. The next chart shows that countries like France or Germany have a large Muslim community which results in a high number of mosques. US Total populat ion Number of Muslim s Number of Mosque s 305.5 2.5 German France y 82 65 3.2 - 3.4 5.5 UK 62 2.4 Spain 46 0,8 1 Canada 34 1

1900

2600

2100

1500

454

198

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To illustrate the amalgam made by some people between nationality (rather origins in this case) and religion here is the result of a survey conducted in the USA.

We can conclude that a quarter of Americans thinks Obama is a Muslim only because his skin is tanned or because his entire name is Barack Hussein Obama.

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Islam is not a political ideology Islam is more than a religion; it is a way of life. The Muslims place their religion first and foremost in their life, and make no division between the secular (the material life of every day) and the sacred (the religious practices). However, even if Islam is present on many different aspects of a Muslims life, Islam has no obvious political role. The name given to political Islam is Islamism. Islamism is a set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system; that modern Muslims must return to their roots of their religion, and unite politically. Islamism is the extremist version of Islam. It has a deep antagonism towards non-Muslims and has a particular hostility towards the West. Islam is not an extremist religion Some radical Islamist movements are undoubtedly engaged in extremism in the name of Islam. But there can be no generalizations. There is a moderate Islam that promotes religious moderation, peace and interfaith. In the West it has specialized in tackling extremism and radicalism amongst the youth. The partisans of a reformist Islam intend to hasten the process of integration of the Muslims on the basis of a reading of the Koran made in the light of the knowledge and the aspiration of the current man within the framework of the country where they live. Many efforts are being made to make Islam evolve and adapt to its period.

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III.
The USA

Islamophibia around the world

The concept of Islamophobia came into common usage after 9/11. So the USA is hugely dealing with it. A recent event has awakened this hate towards Muslims: the building of a mosque near Ground Zero. Indeed, a large uproar erupted in New-York over plans to build a Muslim cultural centre and mosque two blocks from Ground Zero. This project called Park 51 is the project of Feisal Rauf, a well known Imam promoting interfaith dialogue. Here are charts showing the answer to 2 questions. Do you favor or oppose the mosque near Ground Zero?

Would you favor or oppose a mosque in your neighborhood?

61% of New-Yorkers oppose the Park 51 project while only a quarter are in favour of it. However, more than the half of Americans arent opposed to a mosque in their neighbourhood. Opponents of the Park 51 project are concerned that such a center near Ground Zero would offend the families of the nearly 3000 people killed in the attack of the WTC. 44% say it would be an insult to those who died on 9/11. Some people agree that Muslim have the right to have a mosque but not near this place. They are saying that you dont have to be prejudiced against Islam to believe that the area around Ground Zero is sacred. Most Americans who are against Park 51s project are motivated by Islamophobia. For Muslim Americans the Park 51 uproar is part of a pattern of intolerance against Muslim that has existed since 9/11 but has deepened in the past few years. The core argument emerging from the anti-mosque protests is that Muslims are not and can never be full
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American. However, to the question Would you say that most US Muslims are patriotic Americans?, half of Americans answered yes and a quarter said no. Anti-Muslims opponents have cast every Muslim as extremists sympathetic to al-Qaeda. This means the main reason why those Americans are anti-Muslims is because they associate Muslims with extremism and terrorism. To the question: Do you think Islam is more likely than other faiths to encourage violence against nonbelievers?, 46% answered more likely, 39% answered same as other and 6% answered less likely. A stupid sentence reflects well the amalgam being made by Americans (at least 46%) between Islam and terrorism: All I need to know about Islam, I learned on 9/11.

The most alarming issue is that Islamophobia has become an accepted form of racism in America. A greater receptivity towards anti-Muslim and other xenophobic ideas and sentiments has, and may well continue, to become more tolerated. Indeed, Anti-Muslim hostility is already seen as natural and normal. However, Islamophobia in the US doesnt approach levels seen in other countries where Muslims are a minority: theres no America equivalent of Frances ban on the burqa or Switzerlands law against building minarets. Polls have suggested that most Muslims feel safer and freer in the US than anywhere else in the Western world.
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France
The government is taking many anti-Muslims measures. Nicolas Sarkozy has started a national identity campaign for ensuring an exclusive identity of France - one that is occupied with the targeting of immigrants, particularly Muslims. For example, the burqa can be a reason of denying citizenships and long-term residence. Nicolas Sarkozy's
declaration that the full-body veil was not welcome in France launched a

nationwide debate. The Socialist Party, meanwhile, was unable to take a strong critical stance because of its commitment to feminism and historic defense of republican secularism. Wearing burqa is seen by non-Muslims as a symbol of oppression and submission. However, it is a much more complicated matter than that. Although it is true that some Muslim women wear burqa without real conviction because of social pressure exerted on them by family members, there are many Muslim women who wear it for religious reasons and to express their Islamic identity or to object to the insults they are subjected to in their Western social environment. Another sign of Islamophobia is the results of Lepen in the last regional elections. He had been declared moribund after French President Nicolas Sarkozy's successful wooing of its voter base but managed a surprising comeback in the first round of the regional elections in France, gathering close to 12 percent of the votes. Moreover, the National Front jumped on the case of a fast-food chain that chose to use only halal meat in restaurants located in districts with large Muslim populations. Marine Le Pen, the new ambassador of National Front, expressed her indignation that these restaurants' customers would be obligated to pay a tax to Islamic meat certification companies and called for the consumer's right to choose.

Switzerland
Recently, the Swiss voters banned the construction of Islamic minarets in Switzerland. This law was introduced by lUnion dmocratique

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du centre. The same party has declared a new law that make almost automatic the eviction of the country of the "foreigners" who see each other condemned by the justice for "grave" crimes.

The Netherlands
The Netherlands has an image of tolerant, multi-cultural society. However, there is an increase of discourse against immigration, especially against Muslims immigrants. This is due to the breakthrough of Geert Wilders, the populist leader of the Freedom Party which became the second leading political force in The Hague in municipal elections, after
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running on an unmistakably anti-Islam platform. Wilders denounces Islam as a totalitarian ideology which is incompatible with western values. He calls the Koran a fascist book and wants an end to Muslim immigration and pay Muslim immigrants to leave the country. Many other European countries are adopting anti-Muslim behaviours:
-

In Germany, a new party called die Freiheit is hostile to the presence of Islam in its country.

In Austria, the extreme right-wing party, second party in the country, is against the Turks in reference to a battle in 1683 in Vienna. 54 percent of Austrians say they consider Islam a "threat to the West" and 74 percent believe Muslims have an inability to adapt to their host countries.

Finally, more and more anti-immigrants speeches can be heard in Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

Islamophobia in Europe is closely linked with a problem of integration. To understand the increase of this anti-Muslim hate here is a bit of history.

Islamophobia and the integration of Muslim immigrants in Europe

There is a real problem of integration of Muslim immigrants in Europe. Both Muslim immigrants and host societies have mutual responsibilities. Both have to go through a mental change, eventually resulting in the redefinition of their identities. Especially after September 11 and attacks in Europe, the deep historical anxieties of Europeans against Muslims have been reemerging and Muslim immigrants have become undesired guests. Today about 23 million Muslims accounting for 4.5 percent of the total, live in whole of Europe compared with only 800,000 in 1950. Each year around 1 million immigrants mostly from the Muslim countries are flowing into Europe. Birth rates of European Muslims are more than three times of those of non-Muslim Europeans. It is estimated that Muslims will comprise at least 20 percent of Europes population in 2050. 19

With the migration of large number of immigrant communities of Islamic background during the second half of the 20th century, Europeans started to discover Muslims. Hence, the image of Muslims began to go hand in hand with the concept of immigration. Muslim immigrants tended to settle down in the poorer neighborhoods of industrialized, urban areas such as the suburbs of major French cities, the Ruhr industrial area in Germany or the greater London area in the UK. As a consequence, they have been in contact with the urban population of the Western societies and been a major subject of discussion in mainstream politics and media. When unemployment in Europe dramatically increased, immigrants were put in the spotlight. They were blamed to be a threat to the welfare, jobs and prosperity of the middle classes. After September 11, the economic exclusivist approach transformed into a social and cultural one. The principal threat shifted from the economic burden to the danger brought about by their culture. A new racism emerged based on cultural differences claiming the incompatibility of Muslims with the European culture. Even third generation citizen Muslims have been perceived as dangerous outsiders. The popularity of political parties such as Le Pens French National Front, British National Party, Austrian Freedom Party, Belgian Flemish Bloc, Italian Northern League and Dutch List Party reveals the scope of reaction towards immigrants. Suspicion against Muslims turned into hostility creating an Islamophobia all over Europe. Islamophobia has been rising in every European country with a Muslim community. For most Europeans, Islam is connected with terror and violence. Muslims are identified as an enemy inside with international links. Events in Afghanistan, Iraq or Iran are perceived as being representative of Muslims in Europe. Especially, the war presented against terrorism is perceived by a number of Europeans as a clash of cultures and religions. In mainstream politics and media, Islamophobic sentiments are presented as natural. Statements of political leading figures have contributed to the Islamophobic views, such as Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi claiming that Western culture is superior to Muslim culture. European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia reports that after September 2001, Muslims have become targets of increased hostility and have faced increased physical and verbal abuse. Mosques and Islamic centers and people with visual identifiers such as turbans or headscarves have become targets. 20

According to the head of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia, Beate Winkler, Islamophobia is a fact that must be fought in Europe. She asked European politicians to take steps to integrate European Muslims and make them equal to other European citizens. A large number of European Muslims are victims of discrimination when it comes to employment, education, and housing. It is a discrimination that makes no distinction between their ethnicity or their degree of religiosity. European Muslims are victims of Islamophobic incidents ranging from verbal threats to physical attacks. Discrimination against Muslims and violent Islamophobic incidents can rise from a pure Islamophobic approach and from discriminative and xenophobic behavior; these are interrelated reasons. This means that hate against Muslims should be understood within the larger picture of xenophobia and discrimination against immigrants and minorities. Thus, fighting Islamophobia relates to fighting discrimination on all levels. Efforts should be focused on 4 fields that are key points in eradicating Islamophobia:
-

As political directions influence the public behavior, all member state governments should establish measures to help immigrants and minorities.

All member state governments should apply, with no reservations, anti-discrimination approaches in the EU and, even more, to enforce international legislative measures on political leaderships.

Member state governments must establish mechanisms to register all discriminative acts.

The media also has a role to play. Research shows that people generally do not judge the incident itself, but that their judgment is shaped according to what media outlets have to say about the incident in question. As media can arouse feelings of threat and horror, it also has the power to support
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feelings of sympathy and understanding. Therefore, an efficient media management will be of great value. Many things can be done to assure European Muslims to enjoy the same rights and equal treatment other Europeans have. It is crucial to find a solid political will to safeguard equal treatment for all Europeans, no matter their background. The challenge lies in encouraging social coexistence in Europe; this means respecting diversity, recognizing basic rights, and guaranteeing equal rights for everyone. Integration is a two-way process. Many European Muslims acknowledge they should do more to be part of the society, and they should be encouraged to effectively participate in public life through cultural, social, economic, and political bodies. Political leaderships should also double its efforts to promote cultural dialogue and to eradicate discrimination and marginalization.

IV.

Conclusion

Islam literally means abandonment, submission to Allah. Indeed, the verb Aslama means to submit to God. Islam, Judaism and Christianity are 3 monotheist religions that are giving different name to God but their faith is the same. Of course there are differences between those religions. For example, Islam doesnt recognize the Christian Trinity. However, believers of those religions are praying the same god. They all submit to the same god and he is present since the beginning of the time. Many people think Islam is a new religion created 1400 years ago by Mohamet but Islam is present since the beginning of the time and Mohamet is only the last Prophet. Being a Muslim literally means being submitted to Gods will and this has always existed. This is the same that being Jewish or Christian. The 3 religions are giving the same message. We can all be considered as Muslims, Jewish or Christians but dissension were created through the time.

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Islam recognize the 2 other religions and Muslims believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed at many times and places before, including through the prophets Abraham, Moses and Jesus (Jesus is quoted 5 times more than Mohamet in the Koran). However, Muslims maintain that previous messages and revelations have been partially changed or corrupted over time, the Koran being the both unaltered and final revelation from God. Islam, Christianity and Judaism have the same origin but they evolved differently. This is why they are many clashes between them and the dialogue is very difficult. However, there is no reason why they couldnt live together. They have common values. Islam is considered as a violent religion since Mohamet is described has a violent prophet. Here is a quote of Mahatma Gandhi, who was an Hindu, on Prophet Mohamet (1924): I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet the scrupulous regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. This quote tells us that a dialogue is possible between Islam and other religion and except the huge difference between monotheist and polytheist religions, the difference between religions is not bigger than a line. Islam has a really bad image around the world. Through the time, small differences between Islam and other religions have led to many conflicts. Islam is a strict religion but this rigidity has been associated with extremism. Nowadays, Islam is suffering from the worst image ever. Many argue that since most terrorist attacks are conducted by Muslims and in the name of their faith, Islam must be a violent creed. Passages of the Koran taken out of their context are brandished as evidence that Islam requires believers to kill or convert all others. The stoning of adulterers or other gruesome punishments serve as proof that Muslims are savage and backward. In America, people are telling that
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Islam is a religion of hate, Muslims are murdering their children and there are jihadi training camps hidden in rural America. Some people are conscious that an interfaith dialogue should be implemented between religions and that broad generalizations shouldnt be made about Islam but such words barely gave a pause to expressions of suspicion and hostility toward Islam and Muslims. For example, Rev. Wayne DeVrou, an American pastor at the First Reformed Church in Oostburg, said (and he is not the first and only one to say it): The political objective of Islam is to dominate the world with its teachings and to have domination of all other religions militarily. The anti-Muslims sentiment is present in Europe since the migration of large number of immigrant communities of Islamic background during the second half of the 20th century. Immigration has always been a problem in Europe but not in the USA. However, since the 2001 attacks, Americans seem to share this intolerance with Europeans. Bush repeatedly drew sharp distinction between the extremist, violent interpretation of Islam by followers of Ben Laden and its peaceful majority. But the attitude toward Islam have worsened, especially in the two past years, perhaps because of string of terrorism-related incidents involving American Muslims like the Times Square bomber. America, which by definition, believe in religious freedom, in religious pluralism, in multicultural identities and in a nation built by the immigrant experience, also has its headscarf controversies and mosque-banning campaigns. Common arguments against new mosques are arguments of equivalence: Saudi Arabia doesnt allow churches and synagogues, so why should US permit the building of Islamic places of worship? Never mind that the US is not, like Saudi Arabia, a country with a state religion, or that America was founded on ideals or religious freedom and tolerance. Since there is hostility toward their faith, some Muslims fear that plans to build a mosque would draw to much attention on their community and that they would become more exposed and vulnerable.

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Islam is seen as a death cult, a religion of hatred and war and many people conflate Islam with terrorism and savagery. We rarely see representative of Islam trying to counteract this idea. Indeed, the Muslim community has trouble presenting a united front because of divisions along both racial and linguistic lines and the community has no obvious leaders. Muslims have always been divided on the basis of sectarian affiliation. These various sects are divided on the basis of some minor issues, but mostly their differences relate to different claims about the past. These latter have become a major source of heated contestation and strife among Muslims today. Muslim religious leaders have made no serious efforts to unite Muslims and end sectarian hatred. This is causing much damage to Muslims in general. In my opinion, there are many stereotypes and misinformation about Islam which are contributing to a growing Islamophobia around the world. Islam has to try to reverse this negative trend by promoting its real identity with more public speeches.

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Sources
4e cahier du vif lexpress n36 du 10 au 16 septembre 2010-12-12

Le vif lexpress n3093 du 15 au 21 octobre 2010

Time, August 30th, 2010, pg 12-18

Wikipedia

www.euroactive.com

www.islamonline.net

www.fpif.org

www.politicsdaily.com

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