PEDRIN, JUDETTE ESVINCH L.

BSN-1G
20 January 2021

What does ‘Islamophobia’ actually mean? A brief history of a provocative word

Discussion
1. According to Samuel Harries, what is the definition of “Islam”?
According to Him “Islam is not a race, ethnicity, or nationality: It’s a set of
ideas," and “Criticism of these ideas should never be confused with an animus
toward people. And yet it is. I’m convinced that this is often done consciously,
strategically, and quite cynically as a means of shutting down conversation [on]
important topics.”

2. Enumerate the possible origins of the term “Islamophobia” as discussed

by Basu

As discussed by Basu, Some chart the popularization of the term

'Islamophobia" back to a series of studies in the 1990s by the Runnymede Trust,
a left-leaning British think tank. A 1997 reported entitled “Islamophobia: A
Challenge for Us All” documented “closed” views of Islam in the U.K., including
perceptions of the religion as a single bloc that is barbaric, sexist, and engaged
in terrorist activities.
But Robin Richardson, who edited the Runnymede report and currently
works for the educational consultancy instead, maintains that the think tank
simply borrowed the term from previous usage. In a recent paper, he traces the
phrase to Allain Quellin’s use of the French word islamophobia in 1910 to criticize
French colonial administrators for their treatment of Muslims subjects. He claims
that post-colonial theorist Edward said was the first to use the word inn English,
when he wrote in 1985 about ‘the connection … between Islamophobia and
antisemitism’ and criticized writers who do not recognized that ‘hostility to Islam
in the modern Christian West has historically gone hand in hand with
antisemitism and has stemmed from the same source and been nourished at the
same stream.”

3. Explain the term “Islamophobia” is problematic. Cite the paragraph that

supports your answer.
 Islamophobia has been problematic because it has been a controversial
term. According to Nathan Lean, author of The Islamophobia Industry, that “In its
earliest historical usage. The term ‘Islamohobia’ described prejudice and hostility
towards Muslims- not an ‘irrational fear of Islam” while “Critics of the term often
lambast it on the basis of an etymological deficiency , insisting that it thwarts the
possibility of critiquing Islam as a religion while simultaneously suggesting the
presence of a mental disorder on the part of those who do.
Also, the narrow-minded views adopted by both major parties are
inaccurate and tragic because their narratives omit some of the most prescient
voices who have critically examined the problematic term Islamophobia.

4. How does the article explain the relevance of bigotry in understanding the
meaning of the term Islamophobia?
The article explained the relevance of bigotry in understanding the
meaning of the term Islamophobia by stating the opinions of both sides. Because
most of the times our opinions are based on prejudice.

There should be a movement wherein there would be an erection of

cultural and psychological barriers between Muslims and society at large,
isolating and alienating them from the rest of the society, creating a climate that
feeds Islamophobia. We should strengthen the integration of Muslims in society
and to consolidate their definition as citizens based on the common identity that
brings them together with the other diverse identities.

What Muslims need to do is activate their role in confronting hatred and

racism and to leave the mentality of cultural entrenchment. That mentality
converges with the ideas of the extreme right that views the presence of Muslims
in the West as an exceptional situation rather than part of the cultural diversity
and natural development of societies. As Muslims, they can protect theirselves
from hatred only by engaging in a global project to counter it and by adopting a
universal concept of tolerance rather than demanding that anti-hate laws be
elaborated and tailored to a specific class or ethnicity.

Because a human being’s cultural identity is fluid and constantly

changing, forming and reforming itself through contacts with other identities, both
in harmony or by clashing. The concepts and policies of globalising tolerance,
global citizenship, cultural flexibility and interactive cultural specificities are
transforming the world into a pluralistic, open, large and interconnected society
with a common human identity. It fits the definition of a cosmopolitan society
given by British-born philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah as “a society whose
members belong to different places and have relations of mutual respect
regardless of their religious beliefs or political views.”