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I do not believe Islamophobia is inherently racism. I believe many Islamophobes are also racists, and they are often racist against Muslims based on race proxies such as dress and skin color that are shared among certain groups of Muslims. However, that does not mean that Islamophobia is necessarily a racist attitude. Let's imagine a person who believes that the central tenets of Islam are fundamentally false, and that these beliefs are entirely unsubstantiated. Further, let's imagine that this person also believe that any individual who could accept such ridiculous teachings must be ignorant or unintelligent. Regardless of whether such a person is justified in holding such beliefs, these beliefs are not tantamount to racism any more than a person who believes all flat earth proponents are idiots is guilty of racism.
I realize that in practice many people are racist toward Muslims, and they point to such rationalizations as a defense for their racist beliefs. However, these people just so happen to also be actual racists. Acting with prejudice against a person because of the color of their skin or race proxies, such as dress or hair style, is racism. For example, not hiring a person because he or she has an afro haircut is clearly racist, even if the person doing the hiring made it clear that the decision was not based on color of skin. However, beliefs are not proxies for race. Any white, black, middle eastern or Asian person can accept the tenets of Islam as being true. Similarly, any person who shares race proxies with most Muslims can reject the teachings of Islam.
Perhaps "Islamophobia" is not a precise enough term. Maybe "anti-Islamism" and "anti-Muslimism" should be introduced. The problem, however, would seem to remain: A person could look like the stereotypical Muslim as conceived by white westerners, have an "Islamic" name and dress in a manner that non-Muslim people consider to be an Islamic-style pf dress and yet still reject the tenets of Islam. If this person were subjected to prejudicial treatment due to these factors (dress, name, etc.), would it make sense to say this person was a victim of anti-Muslimism? That seems strange considering that such a person isn't actually a Muslim. I think such prejudice is clearly racism, but it's hard for me to say that "Islamophobia," "anti-Islamism" or "anti-Muslimism" are proper terms for the prejudicial treatment a non-Muslim might be subjected to.
What are your thoughts? If you believe Islamophobia is racism, do you extend that to negative attitudes toward religious beliefs in other religions?
Islam isn't a race, it's a political system first and foremost, with a religious component as a marketing arm, and has followers of every race. Saying "Islamophobia" is racist is like saying "Naziphobia" would have been racist in the early 1940s. It's an inaccurate term created and used by ignorant, hate filled people.
Islam isn't a race, it's a political system first and foremost, with a religious component as a marketing arm, and has followers of every race. Saying "Islamophobia" is racist is like saying "Naziphobia" would have been racist in the early 1940s. It's an inaccurate term created and used by ignorant, hate filled people.
Islam is not a race but when people are bigoted towards Muslims and are then proclaimed "racist", I usually let it go though it is not technically a correct label. Anyone who is bigoted toward an innocent person deserves to be defined in an unflattering manner. I think a more common misappropriated word is "Islamophobia". There are those who fear Islam, which is what a phobia is, but people are often accused of Islamophobia for simply being critical of Islam. I am critical of the taste of sauerkraut, but I'm not afraid of it.
Islam is not a race but when people are bigoted towards Muslims and are then proclaimed "racist", I usually let it go though it is not technically a correct label. Anyone who is bigoted toward an innocent person deserves to be defined in an unflattering manner. I think a more common misappropriated word is "Islamophobia". There are those who fear Islam, which is what a phobia is, but people are often accused of Islamophobia for simply being critical of Islam. I am critical of the taste of sauerkraut, but I'm not afraid of it.
A phobia is an irrational fear of something or someone, without basis or reason behind it. A fear of violent crime isn't a phobia. A fear of a car accident isn't a phobia. They are both reasonable concerns. Locking your door at night over concerns about crime or wearing a seat belt are hardly symptoms of a phobia. Much like a concern about the acts, practices and tenets of Islam and many of it's followers isn't irrational. Victims of say ISIS, Al Qaeda, Hamas, or the massive commissions of vicious crimes by Islamist that have been allowed to immigrate to non-Islamic countries is hardly a phobia. It is an entirely rational concern. One that legitimately causes revulsion for those that commit and promote those acts.
I do think it's worth pointing out that "phobia" is often used as a suffix to denote an aversion toward or discrimination against a certain thing or people. For example, "homophobia" is defined by Merriam-Webster as "irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals."
I think first we have find the origin of the name and define it.
It seems to have become popularized or began entering the English language in a booklet published by David Horowitz and Robert Spencer in the 1990s and who in turn place the blame of it on the Muslim Brotherhood
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“On examination, the term “Islamophobia†is designed to create a modern-day thought crime, while the campaign to suppress it is an effort to abolish the First Amendment where Islam is concerned. The purpose of the suffix – phobia — is to identify any concern about troubling Islamic institutions and actions as irrational, or worse as a dangerous bigotry that should itself be feared.â€
This information seems to have originated with Muhammad’s article on Emerson’s site and then been widely spread by the Islamophobia Echo Chamber. Not only Spencer but also Eliana Benador **, and Pamela Geller **, Andrew McCarthy **, and many others promoted and spread this claim. Spencer and Horowitz, not content with simply writing articles pushing this meme, published a booklet titled Islamophobia: Thought Crime of the Totalitarian Future. The American Muslim (TAM)
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Dear Frontpage Reader:
In 1989, the Ayatollah Khomeini, ruler of Islamic Iran issued a fatwa calling on all Muslims worldwide to murder the novelist Salman Rushdie for insulting the Prophet Muhammad and Islam. Rushdie's crime? Blasphemy or Islamophobia. Since then we have seen worldwide violent Muslim protests over cartoons, blasphemy laws in Europe, prosecutions of notable opponents of Islamic terror like Oriana Fallaci and Geert Wilders and the demonization of courageous opponents of Islamic imperialism and terror in the West.
This vitally important essay by David Horowitz and Robert Spencer describes the origins of the word Islamophobia as a coinage of the Muslim Brotherhood, traces the campaign in the U.N. to criminalize the criticism of Islam and exposes its role in the Brotherhood's campaign to "destroy the American civilization from within." An absolutely essential primer of the global struggle against religious intolerance and totalitarianism. https://secure.donationreport.com/pr...y=OGTAUUU8UWRC
As with all newly coined words the definition is in a state of development by popular usage. For that reason there are multiple definitions.
Some of them being:
Islamophobia is a contrived fear or prejudice fomented by the existing Eurocentric and Orientalist global power structure. It is directed at a perceived or real Muslim threat through the maintenance and extension of existing disparities in economic, political, social and cultural relations, while rationalizing the necessity to deploy violence as a tool to achieve "civilizational rehab" of the target communities (Muslim or otherwise). Islamophobia reintroduces and reaffirms a global racial structure through which resource distribution disparities are maintained and extended. Defining "Islamophobia" | Center for Race & Gender
Islamophobia (or anti-Muslim sentiment) is the prejudice against, hatred towards, or fear of the religion of Islam or Muslims. The term entered into common English usage in 1997 with the publication of a report by the Runnymede Trust condemning negative emotions such as fear, hatred, and dread directed at Islam or Muslims. While the term is now widely used, both the term itself and the underlying concept of Islamophobia have been heavily disputed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamophobia
The word has a broad meaning and often serves as an umbrella term to encapsulate negative sentiments ranging from an individual’s anti-Islam views to society-wide discrimination against Muslims. It evokes similar pejorative labels for discrimination against other groups of people, like homophobia or anti-Semitism, civil rights activists said.
"Over the years, our society has decided to use terms that are specific for when you attack a minority. Anti-Semitic, homophobic -- those are not terms most people want to be called," said Corey Saylor, head of the Department to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. What Is Islamophobia? The History And Definition Of Anti-Muslim Discrimination In The US
While the word does not meet the psychiaric or medical definition of phbia, it appears it is a word that has come to signify fear or hatred of Muslims. Fear and hate are coexisting words as the root cuse of hate is very often fear. The result is discrimination. I think eventually the result of hatred is discrimination evidenced in steretyping.
It is interesting to see how Islamophobia plays out in various nations.
Arif, who also lectures about public liberties in France, said he expects to see more Islamophobic incidents take place.
“This is not an usual thing. You’ll now definitely see a rise of attacks against Muslims and not just in Paris, but in all of France.â€
The Collectif Contre L’Islamophobie en France (CCIF), or the Collective Against Islamophobia in France, a Paris-based organization that monitors Islamophobic acts, released a report in September that said physical assaults against Muslims in France increased by 500 percent, and acts of degradation and vandalism jumped by 400 percent, in the six months following the Charlie Hebdo attack.
But few people decided to press charges. According to the CCIF, victims often believe that police agents refuse to accommodate complaints of Islamophobia, and perpetrators are rarely convicted and if they are, justice is “very lenient.†In Paris, Muslims brace for Islamophobia | Al Jazeera America
Hate crimes against Muslims in London have risen threefold in the wake of the Paris attacks, according to police. British Muslims fear further attacks after MPs voted to extend airstrikes against Islamic State (formerly ISIS/ISIL) from Iraq into Syria.
On November 10, three days before the Paris attacks, 24 hate crimes were reported to police from the previous week. By contrast, 76 were recorded in the week ending November 24.
Islamic communities across the country are fearful of more hostility resulting from parliament’s decision to launch airstrikes on Syria.
There have been plenty of movements such as Stürzenberger's in Germany in recent years. They generally begin in response to the construction of a mosque: Reluctance turns into resistance, then hate and violence. Over the last two years, there have been arson attacks against Muslim prayer houses in Berlin, Hanau and Hannover. Politically Incorrect, the most prominent German-speaking anti-Islam website, has up to 120,000 visitors per day. Islamophobic Hate Groups Become More Prominent in Germany - SPIEGEL ONLINE
This elision has tangible consequences. Donald Trump suggests that all Muslims in the U.S. should be registered, apparently in all seriousness. Congress moves to halt assistance and resettlement for refugees fleeing Syria and Iraq. Communities from Houston to Tampa to Omaha report threats and defacement of mosques. Students experience Islamophobia on their campuses. Passengers refuse to get on flights with people who look Muslim. Ben Carson likens violent extremists to “rabid dogs.â€
It’s easy, and probably politically savvy, to wave away anti-Muslim sentiment with rhetoric about security and radicalization, as almost all the GOP presidential candidates have done. But the backlash against Muslims isn’t a temporally limited flare-up, tied only to recent violence and set to die down once the memories of Paris fade. No matter how tightly they wrap themselves in the American flag, Muslims are largely seen as other in the United States—not just now, but all the time. Islamophobia and Bigotry Against Muslims in America After the Paris Attacks - The Atlantic
So yes Islamophobia is Racism, but not in the biological definition of Race. Racism in it's Broadest sense is "Prejudice against those that are not like you.
Outside the 49 Muslim Majority Nations Muslims are a very small minority. To Put it in perspective 75% of the World's Muslims are in 6 Nations. Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Malaysia and China and are a very small minority in India and China
In all of the Non-Muslim majority Nations Muslims are a very small percentage of the population and like all minorities face discrimination and stereotypical views.
Islamophobia is definitely has nothing to do with racism as mentioned by others.
Islam is not a race but rather an religious centered ideology and often abused for political purposes.
The term 'racism' has very strong moral implications within humanity thus Islam should never be associated as a race.
A phobia as highlighted is an irrational fear of some thing.
The term homophobia is correct as homosexuals do not commit terrors on humans.
Therefore it is irrational to fear homosexuals, thus homophobia which arose mainly out of groundless religious dogmas.
Islamophobia is actually a form of bastardization of the English language and etymology.
The many criticisms and voices against Islam arose of out real fears due to the terrible evils and violence that has been committed by SOME [not all] Muslims who has tendencies for evil and violence when they are influenced and inspired by evil laden verses in the Quran.
It is a fact non-Muslims [even some Muslims] at present are fearful and wary when they are in an airplane, supermarket, mall, beach, concert hall, street with a lot of non-Muslims, and many other places. This is supported by the fact there are very tight security checks in these places, especially airports around the world.
I had wanted to visit the Pyramids in Egypt but real fears of very possible jihadist attacks had put me off that place.
Since most who comment negatively of Islam really have real fears of Islam [20% of evil prone Muslims] there is no irrational fears, thus not a phobia.
I believe the most accurate terms would be critiques of Islam and anti-Islam.
One question one need to ask is why there are no terms like Buddhismophobia, Jainismophobia, Christianophobia, Hinduismophobia being thrown around.
Why only this bastardized term "Islamophobia."
This term "Islamophobia" was schemed to shut up the general critiques of Islam and its evil elements.
Woodrow: I suspect that how one answers this question depends on which definition is being used. I do think there are sometimes racist attitudes toward people who are perceived as Muslims. There are westerners who might see a person dressed a certain way, with a certain skin tone, in an airport and be afraid -- even without knowing whether that person is actually a Muslim. That is clearly a race-driven prejudice. If "Islamophobia" refers to that sort of phenomenon, I think it is racist. If it merely refers to a prejudice against the tenets of Islam, I don't believe that's racism.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Continuum
A phobia as highlighted is an irrational fear of some thing.
The term homophobia is correct as homosexuals do not commit terrors on humans.
Therefore it is irrational to fear homosexuals, thus homophobia which arose mainly out of groundless religious dogmas.
Islamophobia is actually a form of bastardization of the English language and etymology.
The many criticisms and voices against Islam arose of out real fears due to the terrible evils and violence that has been committed by SOME [not all] Muslims who has tendencies for evil and violence when they are influenced and inspired by evil laden verses in the Quran.
Etymologies are often misleading. The definition of homophobia, as defined by Merriam-Webster: irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals.
So while being irrationally afraid of homosexuals is homophobia, merely having an aversion to them or discriminating against them is also homophobia. As I said, etymologies can be misleading.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Continuum
Since most who comment negatively of Islam really have real fears of Islam [20% of evil prone Muslims] there is no irrational fears, thus not a phobia.
Woodrow: I suspect that how one answers this question depends on which definition is being used. I do think there are sometimes racist attitudes toward people who are perceived as Muslims. There are westerners who might see a person dressed a certain way, with a certain skin tone, in an airport and be afraid -- even without knowing whether that person is actually a Muslim. That is clearly a race-driven prejudice. If "Islamophobia" refers to that sort of phenomenon, I think it is racist. If it merely refers to a prejudice against the tenets of Islam, I don't believe that's racism.
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Very true. The development of words in a "Living "language is quite interesting to watch. Especially as new words are coined. We do not really know what a person means unless we know the definition they understand.
There is no scientific methodology that establishes definition, it eventually comes down to popular usage.
As a result of the ways the word Islamophobia is used we are seeing people adapt new definitions for the word race
Just as the Biological term Race came to mean variations in pigmentation among humans when in the biological definition there are no races of Homo Sapian.
Now the word race in popular usage is evolving to include religious choices and national origins. We know what was meant by racism in the past and Islamaphobia does not meethat definition. but today the definition is in a process of change and we have yet to know what it will mean in the future.
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