PROFESSOR JAMIL FAROOQUI traces the use of the word ‘Islamophobia’ at various points of time, cites views of renowned social scientists thereon and proves this weapon in the hands of Islam-bashers to be a great threat to humanity.
Islamophobia is an intellectual attack against Islamic ideology and its adherents: Muslims. It represents a distorted and misleading image of Islam and Muslims, creating hatred and fear of Islam and Muslims among non-Muslims as well as impressing upon Muslims that their faith is not compatible to the modern civilized way of life. It intends to project Islam and Muslims as traditional, orthodox and barbarous and that they are required to be modified according to the modern and changing socio-economic and political scenario.
The term was first used in the Runnymede Trust Report as “unfounded hostility towards Muslims, and therefore, fear or dislike of all or most Muslims.” Its aim was to project Muslims as uncivilized, traditional and violent because they did not adapt to values, norms and practices prevalent in Western societies; rather, they create resistance against them. It was used particularly to state the condition of Muslims in Britain and later in the entire Europe.
It reflects three trends: prejudice against, hatred towards, and fear of Islam and Muslims. Prejudice in the sense that Muslims are not equal to the western (white) people; they are inferior and thus deserve to be of low status because they are uncivilised and barbarous. They are subject to hatred because their attitude and way of living are different from those in the West; they do not want to change and merge into the western ways. And, fear of Islam is because it has the potential to survive in odd situation; it is a political force to reckon with; it can dominate the world if given the opportunity to flourish.
Mattias Gardell explains Islamophobia as “socially reproduced prejudices and aversion to Islam and Muslims, as well as actions and practices that attack, exclude or discriminate against persons on the basis that they are or perceived to be Muslim and be associated with Islam.”
Islamophobia, as Runnymede Trust Report, “Islamophobia: A Challenge for Us All” has described, is dread or hatred of Islam and includes discrimination against Muslims through their exclusion from the economic, social and public life of the nation. It is based on the view that Islam has no common value with other cultures; it is inferior to western cultures and is a violent political ideology.
Robin Richardson, a former director of the Runnymede Trust and the editor of the Report, “Islamophobia: A Challenge for Us All”, in a symposium on “Islamophobia and Religious Discrimination” held in 2009 explained the disadvantages of the term on seven different grounds particularly that it is merely a severe mental illness; makes Muslims defensive and defiant; absolves the users of the responsibility to understand Muslims; deems hostility to Muslims is not by colour and immigrant status; indicates fear of fundamentalism; fails to distinguish between people who are against all religions from people who dislike Islam specifically; and shows hostility to Muslims is ethno-religious identity within European countries rather than hostility to Islam.
Hatred to and disparity and discrimination against Islam and Muslims are not new. They are old but have taken high magnitude in recent years. They are expressed in different forms, concepts and terms. Islamophobia is one of them. Prior to Runnymede Trust Report, the term was used by Alphonse Etienne Dinet and Algerian intellectual Slimen ben Ibrahim in the biography of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) in 1918. They wrote the book in French and used the term “islamophobie” as a criticism of hostile attitudes to Islam by Henri Lammens, a Belgian orientalist who wanted to bring Islam down once and for all. In the English version of the book, according to Robin Richardson, the word “Islamophobia” was not used, but it was translated as feelings inimical to Islam.
Dahou Ezzerhouni has explained several other uses of the term in French from 1910 to 1918, but they were not used in the same way as it is used in contemporary literature. Christopher Allen has described that the uses of the term in French indicate a “fear of Islam by liberal Muslims and Muslim feminists rather than a fear or dislike/hatred of Muslims by non-Muslims.” The term Islamophobia appeared and was defined in the Ph.D. thesis of Alain Quellien, a French writer. Its recorded use in English, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, appeared in 1923 in an article in The Journal of Theological Studies.
The term has also been severely criticised by important personalities of different quarters: intellectuals, social scientists, political leaders and philanthropists, to mention a few. It is considered an expression of extreme prejudice, hatred, discrimination and hostility against Islam and Muslims. It is unfounded, irrational, invalid and amounts to insult of Islam and Muslims. Some find it parallel to Muslimphobia and anti-Muslimism. It is also viewed as “anti-Muslim racism and a continuation of anti-Asian and anti-Arab racism” as well as anti-Semitism of the 1930s.
Doug Saunders finds it similar to older discrimination and hate against Roman Catholics. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) explains Islamophobia as “the fear of or prejudiced viewpoint towards Islam, Muslims and matters pertaining to them” (2006). Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg consider the term ‘social anxiety’. Some social scientists observe that the term should “essentially be understood as an effective part of social stigma towards Islam and Muslims.” Kofi Annan observed in a 2004 conference on “Confronting Islamophobia” that the term was coined to take account of increasingly widespread bigotry.
WHY THIS ANTAGONISM
Islam is a sound and passable way of life based on high moral qualities, encouraging human values, promoting harmonious relations among individuals, inculcating sophisticated way of living, and fostering peace, tranquillity and contentment. It vehemently rejects exploitation and suppression of human beings, usurpation of their rights and properties, injustice, tyranny and despotism. It is a divine system devoid of human limitations, refines human thinking, restraints human wild ambitions and desires, inspires humans to live in decent and upright ways and prescribes what is good, just, righteous and virtuous and admonishes what is wicked, unfair, wrong and evil.
If Islam is adopted in the true sense, it gives utmost strength to humans to resist evils, and in case it is established on a piece of land it creates an altruistic society based on suzerainty of God where all lands belong to Him, and all human beings are His servants. This is strange and intolerable for those who are only interested in gratifying their desires and needs that increase day by day, to the highest level, by hook or crook, at the cost of others. They want to grab wealth and power and use them to dominate and deprive others of their basic right of existence. Islamic ideology is a great resistance against their wild ambitions and as such they always portray distorted, brutal and savage picture of Islam and Muslims.
Muslims constitute the second largest population of the world. There are 57 countries where Muslims are the dominant group and form the government. Besides, there are countries where Muslims are the significant minority. Some Muslim countries are rich in natural resources, producing large quantity and high quality of oil and feeding off the technological advancements of the west. The rich resources and the bulk of population attract the attention of the affluent and powerful nations of the west to take advantage of the resources of Muslim countries and turn them over to markets for consumption of their products. The dominant nations developed expertise in knowledge, particularly in science and technology and established factories to produce different kinds of goods. They were in search of markets which can sell their goods. They found it a good opportunity to extract benefits from the natural resources of Muslim countries and motivate their masses to consume western goods.
As a matter of fact, western nations contacted Muslim countries in the east, established their organisations, started economic activities there and impressed on the elite, ruling and non-ruling, their technological superiority and superior goods. The west, due to its diplomacy, political strategy and know-how succeeded in creating a rift among the indigenous population, dividing them into different groups and initiating infighting within the population. The result was that Muslims’ strength and potentiality were shattered and they became weak. The west, taking advantage of their weakness, ousted them from power, established its rule and propagated its culture and worldview and gave the impression that the Muslims’ social system and their way of life are orthodox, outrageous and incompatible to the modern one.
Contemporary Muslim situation has also worsened. There is great interference of the west in Muslim countries. The west, due to its wealth, military power and strategic planning, guides and controls the affairs of Muslim countries. It does not even hesitate to go to war and shed the blood of innocent people. These undesirable and inhuman acts require justification that the west provides by projecting Muslims as barbarous and violent and Islam as an orthodox system of life.
The war and the bloody confrontation in Iraq on false grounds that Saddam Hussein had nuclear weapons, the conflicts in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Palestine and recently in Egypt have been glaring examples of the west’s manipulation of its domination and ascendency in the political arena. The west gives the impression to the heads of Muslim countries that they would face disastrous results if they do not accede to its wishes. These are also the manifestations of Islamophobic tendency. The manoeuvring of the assassinations of Saddam Hussein, Gaddafi and their sons, massacre of Muslims and their suppression created violent reactions among Muslim masses and for that, Muslims are projected as violent. The western interference in Afghanistan and Iraq has worsened the conditions of these countries.
The only gain that the West achieves behind these incidents after spending a lot of money and sacrificing the lives of its soldiers is to destroy the stability of Muslim countries as its hidden agenda is to destabilise Muslim countries. These incidents are the results of unfounded hostility, biased attitude and prejudice against Islam and Muslims. Consequently, the west faces severe criticisms for its unjustified acts from right minded people and those who value human rights and promote human welfare. In order to defend itself and shun the responsibility of another holocaust, it takes refuge under Islamophobia and depicts horrible pictures of Islam and Muslims.
GRAVE THREAT TO HUMANITY
Human beings from the beginning of civilization have been making efforts to develop an adequate system and create a propitious environment where they can live in peace and harmony with others. In this attempt, they give rise to different doctrines and philosophies and modified them time to time to provide humans with a secure, comfortable and dignified life. The decent way to live according to all doctrines and social philosophies is to treat all humans at equal level, grant them all the rights necessary for their dignified survival, respect them and accord them what one expects for oneself.
The difficulty is that dominant and powerful persons and groups defy these principles, always trying to grasp all privileges and not wanting to share them with others. They deprive others, particularly the weak and the poor of their basic right of existence in order to retain their superior position either by all means necessary. The irony is that they rationalise their inhuman acts by giving lame excuses and explanations that this section of society is inferior, of low status, wicked and does not deserve the privileges given to the society. We have witnessed this situation in contemporary nations where persons who are in the majority hold power and enjoy all privileges and do not like to share with the minorities. They claim that they are the real inheritors of the resources of the land, and others are the intruders and thus, not entitled to the privileges which are meant for the real owners.
Muslims face a similar situation in Europe and other countries where they are the minority. The dominant persons and groups, to justify their harsh and undesirable actions against Muslims, used to depict Muslims and their system as horrible and dangerous to society and took refuge under Islamophobia. This creates unnecessary tension and conflict among Muslims who react in different ways. This is, in fact, not the compassionate and righteous way to live, rather it creates clash and conflict and endangers the human survival.
HUMANITARIAN CRISIS
Humanity faces crisis when certain events or a series of events threaten the safety, well-being and smooth living of a section of people or community. Islamophobia based on unfounded and irrational statements gives the wrong impression among non-Muslims that Islam and Muslims are barbaric, support violence and are dangerous to humanity. This tendency has wide repercussions on the different communities of the world, creating a gulf among them and hampering their interpersonal relations. It brings about abomination and abhorrence among Muslims against the west and forces them to react and sometimes turns them into activists. This further generates tension and turmoil.
The greatest setback of this propensity is that it impedes the concept of ‘world community’ where people of different socio-cultural backgrounds, different shades of opinion live together, meaningfully interacting with each other and contributing to the establishment of an altruistic and humane society. Let us see how irrational the bases of Islamophobia are.
‘ISLAM DOESN’T ADAPT TO NEW REALITIES’
It is alleged that Islam and Muslims do not adapt to new realities. Those who allege this fail to appreciate the basic principles of Islam. It is an ideology based on certain virtues, righteousness and high standard of morality, which are of utmost benefit to humanity. These values are prescribed by God and not created by society. As such they are beyond space and time. Moreover, good is everlasting, it is not the human view that changes according to time. Modern social realities are sensual and pleasure-seeking which Islam completely rejects. For example, modern women’s dresses which expose the contours of their bodies, extramarital sex, homosexuality, suppression and exploitation of the weak and the poor are all considered inhuman and uncivilized; Islam does not compromise with them.
‘IT DOES NOT SHARE VALUES WITH OTHER FAITHS’
Islam shares many values with other faiths, particularly those which are beneficial and upgrade humanity. Islam is a monotheistic religion, believes in one God, most gracious, benevolent, powerful and sovereign. Christianity and Judaism also enunciate this reality, but their adherents do not strictly follow it in their practical lives, rather they follow many other-worldly gods. Where un-Islamic dresses, homosexuality and extramarital sex are concerned, Christianity, Judaism and other faiths do not sanction them at all except the so-called religion of modernism.
‘ISLAM SUPPORTS VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM’
This is a false propaganda against Islam. The fact is that Islam rejects all kinds of violence against humanity including atrocities and undesirable acts. The violent activities we find in some Muslim countries are the result and reaction of the western interference and massacre of Muslims at a large scale. It is an irony that Israel recently ruined Gaza city and killed thousands of innocent lives, including women and children and was not labelled as terrorist but Muslims are called terrorists when they defend themselves against atrocities.
‘ISLAM AS A RELIGION IS INFERIOR TO THE WEST’
The west, due to its affluence and power, considers its superiority and forces its civilization and way of life on others. It had colonised most of the Asian countries in the 20th century and before. It tried to spread its culture and westernise the indigenous people. It gave this impression to the indigenous people that they were backward and can only progress when they follow the footsteps of the west. The fact is that although the west has achieved excellence in science and technology, as far as the values, virtues, righteousness and morality are concerned it is far behind Islam. Most of the people in the west do not believe in any religion. Instead they follow what gives them pleasure and satisfy their egos. The west, in fact, has no religion in the strict sense.
Islamophobia is a strategy to defame Islam and Muslims for rationalising, justifying and defending western interference in Muslim countries as well as the massacre of Muslims and brutal acts against them. It is without any doubt against justice, fairness, benevolence and human values. It generates hatred, creates conflict and shatters the very fabric of human relations. It endangers human survival on earth and leads to humanitarian crises.
As far as Islam is concerned, the serious point to think about is why, in spite of false propaganda, prejudiced statement, biased proclamation against Islam as well as atrocities and brutal acts against Muslims, people, particularly of the west are embracing Islam, which is still attracting them towards its fold. There must be some points that appeal to them most.