ISLAMOPHOBIA: THE TOXIC VIEW OF ISLAM Seblani 1

Diana Seblani

Professor Chuck Freeland

English Composition I

April 30, 2020

Islamophobia: The toxic View of Islam

On September 11th, 2001, the world witnessed a scene that shook the hearts of many.

The Twin Towers located in New York City were struck by two airplanes through what was

noted as an act of terrorism. Five Arabian men hijacked two airplanes, intentionally aiming to

strike the towers; this act was the beginning of war outside America and within it. This act of

terrorism, unfortunately, defined what was once known as a peaceful and respected religion, to

be viewed as a religion of disgust and evil and what created what we know as today as

islamophobia. Islamophobia is the fear and hatred of the Islamic religion and/or Muslims caused

by acts of terrorism or any force. Although Islam has been around for decades, after large

extremist impacts it has become a religion that has been heavily disrespected and frowned upon

by many who do not understand or have much knowledge regarding its beliefs; the bigger

question is why and how did this religion that was so respected become into a term called

Islamophobia? Islamophobia over the past years has become a great detriment due to the

stereotypes built around Muslims caused by the impact of media, lack of knowledge of the

religion, and the rise of terrorism.

In today’s media, many misconceptions and fear can lead to people creating prejudice

against certain subgroups. This is very apparent for Muslims when the media reports

sensationalized news about extremist and terroristic acts. After 9/11 happened within the united
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states, islamophobia reached an all-time high due to the actions of a few. News outlets such as

CNN, ABC, and Fox news are implicit in perpetuating Islamophobia; Due to these views being

provided to non-Islamic citizens, actions such as hate crimes occurred since fear became an

overwhelming feeling. Gale provides statistics by quoting “In 2000, the Federal Bureau of

Investigation (FBI) reported twenty-eight hate crimes and incidents against Muslims and Arabs.

Nine weeks after the 9/11 attacks, the FBI reported that these hate crimes and incidents had

increased by more than 1,600 percent, totaling 554 incidents” (Gale, 2017). During the war in

Iraq and Afghanistan, many people tuned in and only seen negative depictions of violent barbaric

acts of Islamic terrorism and warfare. This created fear among the populace to see Arabs and

Muslims as violent, Barbaric, and sexist people. Despite this issue of war being pushed by a

small network of terrorist cells operating in the middle east. Fatwahs were broadcasted to the

world and responsibilities were taken for extreme terroristic acts around the world. Terrorist

groups like ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) are one of the most well-known actives in the

world to this day. ISIS claims responsibility for some attacks here on U.S. soil. These attacks go

on to create fear and create animosity against a group of innocent people.

When people lack knowledge about religion or group, they tend to search for information

or grab evidence through media output. Unfortunately for Muslims, nowadays it’s the worst

source of information. Thanks to the assistance of Islamic extremists, an image has formed to

create a stereotype that damaged the good ideals of Islam. These extremists start preaching that

all their actions are for the sake of their religion; that it is god’s will and they must. Due to all

their insane beliefs, the Islamic holy book known as the Quran, and the terms heard like “jihad”

have become the only terms that non-Muslims tend to hear and memorize and learn the meaning

of; at that point you can't blame them for seeing Islam as a scary, crazy religion. Since there is a
ISLAMOPHOBIA: THE TOXIC VIEW OF ISLAM Seblani 3

lack of awareness regarding this religion, they don’t realize the term “jihad” is a term used to

preach the word of Islam, not to kill others for the sake of it. The saddest part is the fact the true

Muslims are unheard; Extremists preach their opinions and resort to violence to be heard, when

the moderate Muslims try to live a peaceful lifestyle. Greenhaven Press notes that “Angel

Rabasa, a senior policy analyst at the Rand Corporation [a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank],

concurs that moderate Muslims make up the majority of Islam's followers but lack the voice and

presence of radical factions” (Greenhaven Press, 2009). Media loves its crazy extremist to help

depict other cultures or countries in a negative light without consideration for the majority being

opposite of what they’re misinterpreted as.

In the 1980s in Afghanistan, the Russians were occupying the country. To subvert these

efforts the United States helped fund one of the most infamous terrorist organizations the world

has ever known, Al-Qaeda. With its leader Osama Bin Laden, they helped fight against and

repelled the Russians. Fast forward to 9/11 and once again Al-Qaeda’s presence was known to

the world, but this time they were fighting against us. Operating within Iraq and Afghanistan,

this group alongside other groups made the war very hard and grueling due to the urban warfare

in cities like Baghdad, Iraq. The war was ended, and the U.S. troops were removed from the

theater of war. ISIS, formed from the remains of Al-Qaeda, became known to the world from

terrorist acts committed around the world. Their brutality has been seen by millions because of

the new media and the internet. Since ISIS and other groups like it, people believe that Islam is a

religion of violence and submission. Negativity has been the victor and helped usher in

generations of people’s opinions that all Muslims are bad. The Washington Post comments by

saying “While Islamist extremist networks do not pose an "existential" threat to the United States

in the way that Soviet nuclear weapons once did, their bloodlust and their ambition to inflict
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genocidal violence make them uniquely malevolent actors on the world stage” (Petraeus, 2016).

The very core of Islam has been tainted by so few but has had long-lasting damage that will span

out for many generations to come. Hate-crimes committed are the result of such negative

attention brought on by the news media that also created hysteria in the local populace.
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Works Cited

"Introduction to Islam: Opposing Viewpoints." Islam, edited by David M. Haugen, et al.,

Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

https://link-gale- com.sinclair.ohionet.org/apps/doc/EJ3010228153/OVIC?

u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid= de183010. Accessed 30 Apr. 2020.

"Islamophobia." Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2017. Gale In Context:

Opposing Viewpoints, https://link-gale-

com.sinclair.ohionet.org/apps/doc/PC3010999180/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid

=52fbd913. Accessed 30 Apr. 2020.

Petraeus, David. "David Petraeus: Anti-Muslim bigotry aids Islamist terrorists."

Washingtonpost.com, 13 May 2016. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link-

gale- com.sinclair.ohionet.org/apps/doc/A452360626/OVIC?

u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=1f e6b08c. Accessed 30 Apr. 2020.