Islamophobia is a social phenomenon that is characterized by fear, hate-mongering, dislike, and violence towards Islam, Muslims, symbols and monuments of Islamic religion and culture. This tendency has a long history around the world, starting from the appearance of ancient Islamic powers and empires, and transitioning well into the 21st century. Reasons for Islamophobia always varied from one time period to another. While during times of the Ottoman Empire Islamophobia was largely motivated by expansionist policies and power of that nation, in the 21st century the reasons shifted due to Al-Qaeda terrorist attacks in 2001, followed by a myriad of terrorist attacks in Europe following the refugee crisis in 2015 (Esposito and Kalin 13). Although all important figureheads of Islamic movements around the world have condemned these acts of terrorism, anti-Islamic tensions keep growing. The USA and numerous European countries have already introduced a number of Islamophobic laws under the guise of fighting terrorism. These laws include restrictions on wearing Islam-related symbolic, humiliating security checks at the airports, overly complicated border control measures, and other measures that humiliate Muslims. Arabs, as the most numerous representatives of Islamic culture, receive the brunt of these racist practices. Other people, even though not Muslims, are hit by this public backlash. Such are Sikhs, any other nations with attires and features of Arab origin. This paper is dedicated to investigating how Islamophobia affects Arab nations in the Middle East and abroad.
Causes of Islamophobia
Arguments for Islamophobia around the world are typically classified into three subgroups, which are often used in conjunction to one another. These three causes are (Esposito and Kalin 34):
- Security concerns. Many islamophobes believe that the presence of Arabic Muslims in their countries either as tourists, legal migrants, illegal migrants, or citizens is a threat to their national security. They see it as a hostile takeover of their country, a threat to their national traditions and culture, and the first stage of conversion to a world-spanning “Caliphate.” Thus, they insinuate that every Arabic Muslim is in their country with these goals in mind, and refuse to accept any other motivations that could justify their presence.
- Religious concerns. To quote Michael Savage, a syndicated radio-show host, “These people [Arabs and Muslims] need to be forcefully converted to Christianity. It’s the only thing that probably can turn them into human beings” (Esposito and Kalin 21). This quote demonstrates Islamophobia from a religious perspective. Islamophobes view Christianity as a superior religion and believe they have a higher moral ground, which justifies their war-mongering, hate-speech, and any crimes committed against the representatives and religion of Islam (Garner and Selod 12). This way of thinking is often propagated by representatives of the Church, such as pastors and missionaries, the rhetoric being reminiscent to that of the Crusades.
- Civil Rights concerns. Some islamophobes believe that Islam is against some of the basic human rights. In order to support this claim, they use laws and customs present in Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Arabic world, such as limitations and obstructions towards women, archaic practices of stoning adulterers, genital mutilation, beheadings as a way of capital punishment, and other accusations (Garner and Selod 14). They claim that since these practices are not opposed or promoted by Qur’an and Islam, every Arab Muslim automatically supports them. This is used as justification for prejudice, violence, and aggression.
Islamophobia and the Arab Nations
Within the Arabic sphere of influence, which naturally encompasses the Middle East, Islamophobia used to be nonexistent, as Islam was and still is, the dominant religion. However, due to numerous interventions of the USA and its European allies into internal affairs of numerous countries, that may no longer be true. American and European soldiers used to maintain a sizeable force in Iraq, and still maintain it in countries such as Afghanistan. In lieu of the recent campaign against ISIS, it is highly possible that the US is going to put boots on the ground once more (Esposito and Kalin 83).
This military presence is inseparable from Islamophobia, which is now brought into Arab homes, where Muslims feel the safest. Soldiers with Islamophobic beliefs are the most dangerous, as they hold the power of life and death, and in a war zone, it is often impossible to track and punish numerous crimes committed against Arab Muslims on their own territory (David 183). In this case, Islamophobia breeds insensitivity and irrelevance towards one’s life, livelihood, and beliefs. American soldiers indoctrinated with Islamophobia view all Muslims as enemies and do not care much whether they live or die. This results in indiscriminately shootings, bombings of schools, hospitals, and mosques, and other crimes committed against Arab Muslims (Esposito and Kalin 83).
Other repercussions on the Arabic world that stem from religious and cultural xenophobia can be perceived from an economic perspective. In addition to military strikes that destroy the region’s infrastructure, businessmen of Islamic religion or of Arabic lineage are viewed as untrustworthy and dangerous by some of the islamophobes politicians and entrepreneurs. According to Haroon Moghul, Fellow at the New America Foundation and Fordham Law School’s Center on National Security, numerous business opportunities were lost due to Islamophobia. According to him, many American entrepreneurs did not take their chances with companies and entrepreneurs of Islamic origin or purposefully conducted negotiations in a manner offensive to their Muslim partners (“Islamophobis and its Impact”). This damage is particularly felt in countries such as the Saudi Arabia and the UAE, who are known to be economic powerhouses within the region (“Islamophobis and its Impact”). At the same time, it damages the countries suffering from the aftermath of the Arab Spring, and struggling to get their economies back online after cataclysmic civil wars, which were largely sponsored and supported by the West.
Lastly, the prospect of facing Islamophobia when traveling to Europe and the USA has been a major source of anxiety among groups of Arab Muslims that have to do a lot of traveling by trade (David 193). These groups include economic agents, tourists, and students. Many Arab Muslims travel abroad in search of better opportunities for education, with many of them attending some of the most prestigious universities like Oxford, Harvard, Cambridge, and others. Many of these students are often held back by the possibility violence conducted against them on the grounds of their faith and appearance. This acts as a detrimental factor in tourism and education, with some simply refusing to go to avoid being discriminated against.
The Islamophobic rhetoric coming from European countries and the USA, which intensified after 2015 and the beginning of bombings, car-terrorism, and other forms of attacks in Europe, only intensified. Naturally, this rhetoric did not help befriend and calm down Arab Muslims in their respective countries. There is a distinct correlation between the rise of Islamophobia and rise of Islamic extremism in Arabic countries. This is understandable – with actions of the USA and its European allies in Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Afghanistan, many Arab Muslims view western civilizations as an enemy, and Islamophobic laws and policies coupled with accusations, insults, and demands for “a new Crusade” help reinforce that belief (Garner and Selod 17). As a result, the gap between two cultures becomes wider, as Islamophobia indirectly helps radical Islamic movements gain more followers. In addition to that, Islamophobia marginalizes Arab Muslims within Europe and USA itself. Hopelessness and desperation among these marginalized groups often serve as a catalyst for adoption of more militant and violent beliefs among local Arab Muslim populations (David 196).
The Situation in Europe
Currently, there has been a massive increase in Islamophobia across all countries. The situation became critical after the refugee crisis caused by the collapse of several states in the Middle East, such as Syria, Yemen, and the appearance of ISIS, which claimed numerous territories in Iraq, Libya, Syria, and adjacent countries (Esposito and Kalin 62). Europe was not ready to undertake such a massive wave of refugees. Naturally, this uncontrollable influx was used by terrorists to plant their agents and stir discontent. As the situation in refugee camps became worse, radical rhetoric only served as a catalyst to violence (Garner and Selod 13).
In Europe, Islamophobia is on its way to becoming institutionalized. Numerous politicians from all political spectrums are using populist slogans and Islamophobic rhetoric in order to earn votes and bring more supporters to their cause. The rise of “Alternative for Germany” and numerous other right-wing parties in Europe demonstrate this tendency. This corresponds with increasing violence against Arabs, Muslims, and anyone who fits the profile (Esposito and Kalin 64).
The Situation in America
The USA always had an uneasy relationship with migrants coming to the USA from other parts of the world. For the most part, it came off as general xenophobia, with no ties to a particular religion or race. Mexicans, Chinese, Japanese, Germans, African-Americans, Arabs, all have felt the brunt of racism and nationalism at some point in their history (Esposito and Kalin 155). After the bombings of the Twin Towers and the Pentagon in 9/11, however, a surge of Islamophobia overwhelmed the country. Islamophobic motivations were used to justify the invasion of Iraq, when all other argumentation, such as the presence of nonexistent WMD, failed. Many Americans nowadays believe that extermination of Islam and oppression of all those who preach it is justified, for one of the three reasons mentioned at the beginning of this paper. Arab Muslims face systematic oppression from both the population and the government ever since. The most common offenses include insults, offenses towards their attire, habits, and religion, violent attacks, vandalism, and murder. These tendencies were made stronger after the Boston Bombings in 2013, and were on the rise ever since the rise of ISIS and the attacks on civilians across Europe in 2015 (Esposito and Kalin 170).
Cultural Confusion – What other Cultures Suffer from Islamophobia?
Although prejudices towards foreign cultures and religions exist in all countries in some shape of form, with the current rise of Islamophobia around the world, other nations and cultures also feel the brunt of aggression and repression from the majority, the state, and the dominant religion. The Sikh culture, in particular, has become a target for such attacks, based solely on their appearance. Sikhism is a religion originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent and had over 30 million followers scattered around the world (Singh). They are not Muslims, and their religion has been persecuted by Islamic fundamentalists in the past.
The reasons why they suffer from Islamophobia is due to how many Sikhs look like. Their national outfits include turbans – a very common headwear in hot regions of the world. However, these turbans are associated with Muslims and Osama Bin Laden, in particular, thus causing confusion and misunderstandings, which often leads to violence. In addition to that, most Sikhs are brown-skinned, which further enhances their similarities with Arabs, who are frequent targets of Islamophobia (Singh). Sikh places of worship, namely Gurdwaras, are frequently targeted in the USA. They are vandalized with anti-Muslim writings, damaged, and destroyed. This trend often forces Sikh communities to vocally claim their disdain towards Muslims and Islam, in order to sever any imaginary ties and avoid being targeted and persecuted. Unsurprisingly, this does not work too well.
In the Middle East, where the majority of the population views themselves as Arab Muslims, Christian religion and minorities have become targets to similar practices. Christianophobia in the areas where Law is now longer upheld, such as territories under control of ISIS, and in countries ravaged by civil war, often takes violent forms, as representatives and supporters of the Christian faith are blamed for the misfortunes occurring in the Middle East, and are shot, beheaded, or otherwise executed (Shortt).
Islamophobia and the Arabic Language
According to Yasir Suleiman, one of the head columnists for Al-Jazeera, the Arabic language is now a prime target for many Islamophobes in the USA. This tendency grows from a logical fallacy that states that since Islam is directly linked to terrorism, and Islamic texts are primarily written and spoken in the Arabic language, therefore Arabic language is linked with violence, terrorism, and extremism.
This tendency is true for both written and spoken Arabic language. Al-Jazeera reports incidents of Arabs being taken off flights due to false reports, arrested for the crime of talking their native language within airports and jets, and wearing shirts with signs written in the Arabic language (Suleiman).
Aside from that, there was a famous ban of all Arabic calligraphy classes in the county of Augusta, Virginia, after concerned parents suspected that the “weird Arabic scribbles” could be confessions of faith and loyalty to Islam. These concerns lead to a countywide ban, which occurred in December 2015, and brought upon by mounting tensions brought upon by local Islamophobic tendencies (Suleiman).
Conclusions
Islamophobia is a disease that Europe and the USA brought upon themselves. Their actions in the Middle East and at home caused the rise of violent and radical Islamist movements around the world. Islamophobia is a danger to Arab Muslims both within the Arabic sphere of influence and outside of it. Islamophobia affects all areas of a person’s life, restricting their religious, social, and economic freedoms, posing a barrier to education, and a threat to one’s health and even life. This is not restricted to Arab Muslims alone – many innocent people with little to no affiliation to Islam also come under fire as the result of misconceptions and plain ignorance. It is notorious that rising Islamophobia is not going to make the popularity of radical Islam to subside – treating Arab Muslims both inside and outside of the Middle East, as enemies will make many of them become enemies and oppose the western world with arms. This is the real danger of Islamophobia, and the world must work together to put an end to it, and promote an environment when nobody is prosecuted based on their appearance, country of birth, or religion.
Works Cited
David, Michael. “The Impact of Islamophobia.” Psychoanalysis and History, vol. 11, no. 2, 2009, pp. 175-191.
Esposito, John, and Ibrahim Kalin. Islamophobia: The Challenge of Pluralism in the 21st Century. Oxford University Press, 2011.
Garner, Steve, and Saher Selod. “The Racialization of Muslims: Empirical Studies of Islamophobia.” Critical Sociology, vol. 41, no. 1, 2014, pp. 9 – 19.
“Islamophobis and its Impact on the Global Muslim Economy.” OIC International Business Center. Web.
Shortt, Rupert. “The Middle East is Red with the Blood of Christians.” The Telegraph, 2015. Web.
Singh, Sonny. “We Are All Muslims: A Sikh Response to Islamophobia in the NYPD and Beyond.” Huffington Post, 2012. Web.
Suleiman, Yasir. “After Islamophobia Comes the Criminalisation of Arabic.” Al-Jazeera, 2016. Web.