The term ‘Islamophobia’ became popular during 1990s. Even though the ‘hatred’ towards Islamic principles or religion was evident even at the time of establishment of Islam in Arabia, united move of anti-Islam forces was witnessed with the empowerment of Zionist forces in Palestine. Discriminations are shown in different ways by the enemies of Islamic principles. The enemies who attack Islam are doing it of their self-interest, and not for the benefit of the people or the countries they live in. In the modern age, with the empowerment of western forces, the enmity towards Islam is shown publically. They are not ready to follow the restrictions in life prescribed by Almighty God.
In Britain, a commission chaired by Gordon Conway (Vice-Chancellor, University of Sussex) was set up by Runnymede Trust in 1996. In the report submitted in 1997 under the title ‘Islamophobia; A Challenge for us all’, Jack Straw, British Home Secretary, who published the report said, ‘Islamophobia is an outlook or worldview involving an unfounded dread and dislike of Muslims, which results in practices of exclusion and discrimination.’ The report is made not on genuine facts.
ALLEGATIONS AGAINST MUSLIMS
- Islam is monolithic and cannot adapt to new realities;
- Islam does not share common values with other major faiths;
- Islam as a religion is inferior to the west. It is archaic, barbaric, and irrational;
- Islam is a religion of violence and supports terrorism; and
- Islam is a violent political ideology.
Westerners are of the opinion that Muslims follow extremist political ideology and not religion, as they have a wrong notion that ‘religion’ is limited to prayer at places of worship followed by certain rituals. In 2009, a symposium on ‘Islamophobia and Religious Discrimination’ was conducted. Robin Richardson, a former director of Runnymede Trust, pointed out that the term is vague and do not represent the proper meaning.
According to him, ‘Islamophobia’ actually represents a ‘minor section of Muslims who have severe mental illnesses.’ Since a majority of Muslims do not involve in extremist activities, the term is improper. In fact, the westerners’ hostility of Muslims, an ethno-religious identity within the western countries led to the formation of such a concept. The Muslims, who are accused of ‘mental illnesses’ by ultra-nationalists, are actually defending themselves against the ultra-nationalists.
Chris Allen and Johannes Kandel, academics, commented that the term is vague and represent no real meaning. In an article published in June 2013 edition of Stand Point, Douglas Murray, argued that the term is an insult to Islam. He said the hatred towards Muslims should be termed as ‘Muslimophobia’ and not Islamophobia. Social scientists like Peter Cootschalk and Gabriel Greenbeg are of the opinion that ‘Islamophobia is an attitude of Europeans to avoid Muslims from public positions and check the growth of Islam among Europeans.
Professor in History of Religion, Anne Sophie Ronald, states that Islamophobia was recognised as a form of intolerance alongside xenophobia and anti-Semitism at the “Stockholm International Forum on Combating Intolerance”. The conference, attended by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Secretary General Jan Kubais and representatives of the European Union and Council of Europe, adopted a declaration to combat “genocide, ethnic cleansing, racism, anti-Semitism, Islam phobia and xenophobia, and to combat all forms of racial discrimination and intolerance related to it.”
If those Christians are now afraid of Muslims or hate them, their feelings are not directed towards “strangers, foreigners or anything that is strange or foreign”. Those who attacked them were their neighbours, and were in some cases personally known to them. Local Muslims were very familiar to Coptic Christians in Minya; they lived in the same community and spoke the same dialect.
The fear and hatred of Muslims by Christians in Minya therefore cannot be described as “xenophobia”.
HISTORY OF ISLAMOPHOBIA
It is very clear that European hatred towards Muslims and Islam are rooted in the ‘Crusades’ started by the Romans with an illogical claim over Jerusalem. The Romans who lost the war to the Arabs in the Arab region were seeking an opportunity to recapture Palestine and Jerusalem with a lame excuse of Christian tradition. If so, Jews also could have made the claim then. But, they did do it for they knew that Europeans were the culprits and not Muslims. The Europeans who had no relation with Jerusalem started a war against Muslims under the title ‘Crusades’.
Certain scholars believe that Islamophobia is an act of racial discrimination, especially against Arabs and Semitic race. Dianne Frost defines Islamophobia as anti-Muslim feeling and violence based on ‘race’ and /or religion. Alan Johnson opines, ‘Islamophobia sometimes can be nothing more than xenophobia or racism ‘wrapped in religious terms’. European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) defines Islamophobia as the fear of or prejudiced viewpoint towards Islam, Muslims and matters pertaining to them. (ECRI 2006)
It also explains that ‘Islamophobia is a violation of human rights and threat to social cohesion’, fear of Muslim religion; or a different form of racism. According to one version, the term was first used by Alphonse Elienne Dinet, a painter and Sinan ben Ebrahim, an Algerian scholar, in the biography of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) in 1918.
The modern scholars say the term was used in a different context in 1918. Few Christian extremists believe that Muslims are natural enemies of Christians, and hence, Islamophobia is deep rooted in the minds of Christian fanatics. Like Fascism and Nazism, Islamophobia is the creation of ignorant minds.
The writer and scholar on religion, Reza Aslan said that ‘Islamophobia has become so mainstream in the country that Americans have been trained to expect violence against Muslims. In December 2005, Ziauddin Sardar, an Islamic scholar, wrote in the New Statesman that Islamophobia is a widespread European phenomenon. He points out the leaders of extremism in different countries like Jean-Marie Le Pen in France; Pim Fortuyn in the Netherlands; and Philippe Van der Sande of Vlaams Block, a Flemish nationalist party in Belgium. Salma Yaqub, a RESPECT Party Councillor, said that Muslims in Britain were ‘subject to attacks reminiscent of gathering storm of anti-Semitism in the first decade of the last century.’
THE PLOT
America always fabricates a ‘reason’ to attack Arab or Muslim countries. The words ‘civilization’ and ‘culture’ are viewed from a different angle of their own conveniences. Now, America ‘found’ a reason to attack Syria and Iraq with ‘Islamic State’ concept and displaying morphed pictures of some Islamists beheading Westerners, which most of the journalists do not believe. Dyane Folly, mother of James Folly, accused America of double play.
Zionist plan to twist historical facts is aimed to ‘claim over Jerusalem’. They, like Hindutva forces, which destroyed Babri Masjid, are planning to destroy Al-Aqsa Masjid and establish Solomon’s Temple in its place. The fact is that Solomon (Prophet Sulaiman) is a respected Messenger of Allah. The places of worship do not belong to a race; they belong to the followers of the faith irrespective of clan or race.
Islamophobia is a cover for the Westerners to enter Muslim land and exploit the natural resources in the land. From Arab lands, America exploits natural gas, fuel gas and petroleum products at cheap price. In fact, many regions in the Arab world are controlled by American forces in the pretext of combating terrorism, which is an illusion.
The Europeans harbour hatred towards immigrants from Arab countries as well as Muslims from Pakistan and even from Turkey, who are Europeans by race. Anti-Muslims ‘accuse’ Muslims of ‘terrorist’ activities due to ‘depression’ and ‘nervousness’, and say Muslims have psychological problems. In fact, those who raise such accusation do it without any proof and are fabricated.
Much research is being conducted on the topic ‘Islamophobia’, and it is found that it is a misconception of European ultra-nationalists. Cora Alexa, a senior scientist at Norvegian Centre for religious studies compare Islamophobia with that of Hitler’s anti-Semitic attitudes (i.e. Nazism).
FABRICATED CHARGES
Allegations levelled against Islam and Muslims by American and European Judaeo-Christian extremists are found false by researchers. Muslim behaviour in a multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-linguistic society is studied by many agencies and individuals. However, they did not find any irregularity in Muslim behaviour in Europe or in America. On the contrary, many were impressed by the Islamic principles, especially those govern economic policies. Many countries including Britain and France have introduced Islamic Banking in their countries.
Writing under the title ‘Israel, a gift of the Arabs’, (The Hindu, 11 September, 2014), Shail Mayaram points out: “Islamic terror has become the popular topic of the drawing room conversations in the last decade. The doings of Hamas and Hezbollah, the Taliban and most recently of Islamic State have provided much fuel to the fire. There is little reference, however, to the state as the source of terror of which Israel is currently the prime example.
Anti-Islamic propaganda is made by Judaeo-Christian extremists all over the world. It was the British who split Hindu-Muslim peaceful living in India. Wherever they went, the British and Americans sowed the seeds of hatred. We could see this in Burma, Philippines, China and even in Sri Lanka. Recently, a Muslim shopkeeper was attacked and his shop burned accusing Muslims raping two Buddhist women, a case proved to be wrong. In China, anti-Muslim propaganda is very live. The Hindu newspaper (7 July, 2009) under the title ‘140 killed in ethnic unrest in China’ points out anti- Islamic feeling among the Chinese.
Elizabeth Poole, citing articles in the British press between 1994 and 2004, opines that Muslim viewpoints are underrepresented and Muslims are depicted in negative terms. Anti-Muslims use the terms ‘Islamic bomb’, ‘Islamic terrorism’ and ‘violent Islam’ and so on.
The September 11 (2011) attack on World Trade Centre is said to be the reason for recent Muslim hatred in America. However, official enquiry agencies revealed that Muslims had no part in the act, and the crime was done by C.I.A. Gulf Times (Qatar) of 1 March, 2003 published an article titled ‘Rightist tells court September 11 was ‘C.I.A. hoax’ reveals that the incident was planned by America and Muslims are not included in it. Horst Mahler, lawyer for the rightist-extremist National Party of Germany (NPD), was appealing a conviction for his broadcast claim that the September 11 terrorism ‘was justified’.
Using a slide projector and pointer as stunned lawyers and spectators looked on, Mahler told the court in Mainz that ‘the C.I.A. destroyed the world trade centre towers in order to spawn a crusade against Muslims to protect Jewish and American interests’. (Gulf Times, 1 March, 2003). Theori Mayson, a popular French writer also revealed that ‘Pentagon’ was behind September 11 attacks. The writer alleged that the building was destroyed from inside bombing and not an attack from outside as the video shows.
Since Muslims do not worship idols and follow moral principles very strictly, the westerners who are very ‘free’ in life oppose Muslims. Muslim hatred is now a mental problem for many people. Islamophobia is crueller than Hitler’s Fascist ideology. Hitler, even though held anti-social policy, was mad with ‘Aryan superiority’, a wrong concept. Islamophobes fabricated such a concept only to spread hatred against Islam. Muslims do not eat pork, as Islamic culture deems the pig to be an impure animal. This practice of Muslims is also termed as anti-Christian by Europeans.
Those who accuse Muslims of anti-multiculturalism are narrow- minded and ignorant of the history of the world or even the history of religions. Those who make right appraisal of the social relations of Muslims towards non-Muslim communities or attitude of authorities towards non-Muslim minorities in Muslim countries could come across the broad- mindedness and harmony existing in the Muslim world. Even the non-Muslim migrants get equal treatment with Muslim counterparts. On the contrary, even the Muslim citizens in non-Muslim dominated countries like India are discriminated against.
CASE OF OSAMA BIN LADEN
Osama bin Laden belonged to a royal family in Saudi Arabia and his father was a business partner of George Bush Senior. Osama, an engineer by profession, was deputed to Afghanistan against Russian forces there. After Russian withdrawal, America’s relation with Osama became hostile due to American arrogance. As usual, America called Osama a terrorist and anti-American. America fears that if Muslims are advanced in technology, it would be used against Israel, which is not a real calculation. This is the actual reason behind Islamophobia. Since Islam is against unnatural way of life, the westerners who practise it are naturally against Islam.
Islamophobia is a contemporary form of racism and xenophobia motivated by unfounded fear, mistrust and hatred of Islam and Muslims. Islamophobia is also manifest through intolerance, discrimination and adverse public discourse against Islam and Muslims. Differentiating from classical racism and xenophobia, Islamophobia is mainly based on radicalisation of Islam and its followers.
ANTI-ISLAM PROPAGANDA
Anti-Islam propaganda is undertaken by few mentally retarded persons all over the world. It is done in different forms – making anti-Islamic cartoons and films, misinterpreting history, ridiculing Muslim women’s dress code, etc. In 2012, a film depicting the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) in a distorted manner was made by one Sam Basil, a Jew. The film titled ‘Desert Warriors’ tells the story of a despot, and the Prophet is installed in the place. Cyndi Li Garcia, who acted as the Prophet’s mother-in-law, was shocked when the film came out, and openly disclosed her innocence.
The Americans supported by Zionists wanted to arrest development programmes in the Muslim world. Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, was accused of hoarding nuclear and destructive weapons. But, after the war it was proved to be false. Ironically, it is America and Israel which hoard nuclear and destructive weapons. The same allegations are made on Iran.
Professor John Mueller, Professor of Political Science at Ohio State University, writes, ‘Nor is an Iranian bomb likely to trigger a cascade of proliferation in the Middle East, as many people insist’. (The Hindu 18 February, 2012: “False nuclear fears cloud judgment on Iran”). John Mueller blames America for furnishing wrong information regarding Iranian nuclear programmes. For spreading false information America gets support from Zionists as well as Hindutva forces. The cruel minds of Hindutva forces were reported during the recent flood situation in Kashmir where these people blocked help to the Kashmiri people who are Indian citizens. The Hindutva forces allegedly conducted many bomb blasts in India and put the blame on Muslims. Later, the police agencies found that all bombings were done by R.S.S and its allies.
Anti-Muslim forces have succeeded in injecting Muslim hatred in the minds of ignorant Europeans. However, there is a group of scholars in the west who support Islam and even convert themselves to Islamic faith, as they see Islam as the right form of human culture and life.
HISTORY OF MUSLIM HATRED
Muslim hatred started with the introduction of Islam in Arabia in 630 C.E. The State established by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) survived for a few years, and the following period saw despotism and autocracy among the Muslim dynasties. The Europeans started attack on the Arab land as they found disunity among the Muslim rulers. With the downfall of Muslim Spain and Turkish Caliphate, the Europeans started attack on Muslims in different forms – ridiculing the Prophet in cartoons and films, distorting historical facts, attacking Muslim women dress code and so on.
History is misinterpreted. Anti-Muslim forces pick out certain broken sentences from the Holy Qur’ān to ‘establish’ that it is fanatical and anti-non-Muslim and anti-feminism. Since the Holy Qur’ān is divine constitution, it has prescribed punishment for various crimes like the law of a nation.
It is jealousy, vanity and arrogance that rule westerners, who are technically developed, to accuse Muslims of depression and backwardness. The west is not matured enough to understand the Muslim mind and also the past contribution of Muslims to the development in Europe through Muslim Spain.
THE KILLINGS
The Europeans massacred Muslims on various occasions. During ‘Crusades they massacred innocent Muslim women and children in large numbers which the present day Zionist follow. During the Russo-Turkish war of 1787-1792 the Russian army commander, Alexander Suvorov ordered Russian troops to assault Muslims from house to house, room to room, and nearly every Muslim man, woman, and child in the city had been killed in three days of uncontrolled massacre, 40,000 Turks dead, a few hundred taken into captivity.
Justin McCarty estimates that between 1821 and 1922 around five million and a half Muslims were driven out of Europe and five million more were killed or died of disease and starvation while fleeing. Cleansing occurred as a result of the Serbian and Greek independence in the 1820s and 1830s, the Russo-Turkish Wars 1877-1878, and culminating in the Balkan Wars 1912-1913. Mann describes these acts as “murderous ethnic cleansing on stupendous scale not previously seen in Europe” referring to the 1914 Carnegie Endowment report. It is estimated that at the turn of the 20th century there were 4.4 million Muslims living in the Balkan zone of Ottoman control. More than one million Muslims left the Balkans in the last three decades of the 19th century. Between 1912 and 1926 nearly 2.9 million Muslims were either killed or forced to immigrate to Turkey.
Between 10,000 and 30,000 Turks were killed in Tripolitsa by Greek rebels in the summer of 1821, including the entire Jewish population of the city. Similar events as these occurred also elsewhere during the Greek Revolution resulting in the eradication and expulsion of virtually the entire Turkish population of the Morea. These acts ensured the ethnic homogenisation of the area under the rule of the future Modern Greek state. In 1830 the Muslim population in Morea was put at 300,000. In 1878 the Muslim inhabitants in Thessaly are estimated to be 150,000 and in 1897 the Muslims numbered 50,000 in Crete. By 1919 there were virtually no Muslims left in Morea and Thessaly and only 20,000 in Crete.
In the Bulgarian insurgency of the April Uprising in 1876 an estimate of 1,000 Muslims were killed. During the Russo-Turkish War a significant number of Turks were either killed, perished or became refugees. There are different estimates about the casualties of the war. Crompton describes an exodus of 130,000-150,000 of which approximately half returned for an intermediary period encouraged by the Congress of Berlin. Hupchick and McCarthy point out that 260,000 perished and 500,000 became refugees. The Turkish scholars Karpat and Ipek argue that up to 300,000 were killed and 1–1.5 million were forced to emigrate.
Members of the European press, who covered the war in Bulgaria, reported Russian atrocities against Muslims. Witness accounts from Schumla and Razgrad describe children, women and elderly wounded by sabres and lances. They stated that the entire Muslim population of many villages had been massacred. Recently uncovered photographs in the archive of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the Russo-Turkish War 1877–1878 show the massacre of Muslims by the Russians in the region of Stara Zagora claiming to have affected some 20,000 Muslim civilians.
Massacres against Turks and Muslims during the Balkan Wars in the hands of Bulgarians, Greeks and Americans are described in detail in the 1912 Carnegie Endowment report. Hupchick estimates that nearly 1.5 million Muslims died and 400,000 became refugees as a result of the Balkan Wars. The Bulgarian violence during the Balkan wars included burning of villages, transforming mosques into churches, rape of women and mutilation of bodies. It is estimated that 220,000 Pomaks were forcefully Christianised and forbidden to bear Islamic religious clothing.
The events in Srebrenica in 1995 included the killing of more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys, as well as the mass expulsion of another 25,000–30,000 Bosnian civilians, in and around the town of Srebrenica in Bosnia-Herzegovina committed by units of the Army of the Republika Srpska (VRS) under the command of General Ratco Mladik.
The ethnic cleansing campaign that took place throughout areas controlled by the VRS targeted Bosnian Muslims. The ethnic cleansing campaign included unlawful confinement, murder, rape, sexual assault, torture, beating, robbery and inhumane treatment of civilians; the targeting of political leaders, intellectuals and professionals; the unlawful deportation and transfer of civilians; the unlawful shelling of civilians; the unlawful appropriation and plunder of real and personal property; the destruction of homes and businesses; and the destruction of places of worship.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations described the mass murder as the worst crime on European soil since the World War II. A paramilitary unit from Serbia known as the Scorpions, officially part of the Serbian Interior Ministry until 1991, participated in the massacre, along with several hundred Russian and Greek volunteers.
DIFFERENT VIEWS
The European scholars have a different opinion about Islam from European right wing politicians. Julian Johnson opines: “Islam prevailed because it deserves to prevail. Islam offered more appealing ideas and better social order than anything to be found at that time.” (The Path of the Master, p.68, R.S. Satsung Beas, Punjab).
George Bernard Shaw says: “I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation, because of its wonderful vitality.” (The Genuine Islam, Vol.1, 1936).
Dr. Tara Chand writes: “The religion which he (Muhammad – PBUH) preached was simple.” (Influence of Islam on Indian Culture, P.51).
Robina Quale writes: “Muslims had successfully ruled largely Christian populations on the basis of Qur’ān in the early years of Islam and had eventually won the religious as well as the political allegiance of their subjects.” (Eastern Civilizations, p.138). In the 100 great kings, queens, rulers of the world, edited by John Canning, it is written, “What a kind of man was this young conqueror of twenty five? He was capable of showing forbearance and it has been recorded that he showed clemency towards Christians.” (p.193-196). C.E. Bosworth writes: “Saladin aroused widespread Admiration among the people of the West. He had waged the war humanely and chivalrously, albeit with scant reciprocation by the Crusaders, notably by Richard Coeur-de-Lion.” (Legacy of Islam, p.22)