Islamophobia is a prejudice, aversion, hostility, or hatred towards Muslims and encompasses

any distinction, exclusion, restriction, discrimination, or preference against Muslims that has
the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an
equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social,
cultural or any other field of public life.

Islamophobia, a term expressed to depict fear of Islam is widely used to connote indiscriminate
attitudes, beliefs and emotions directed towards Islam or Muslims.

In reference to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word Islamophobia means “Intense dislike or
fear of Islam”. It was first coined by French Scholar Alain Quellien, as ‘’Islamphobie” in 1910 to
describe a prejudice against Islam that is rife among the people of the West. Later, it was adopted
by English Literature in 1923. As a concept in practice, it is considered a new word of an old
notion presented by Edward Said in his work on Orientalism where West has always been
associating derogatory sentiments and stereotypes to the practices of Islam.

The term Islamophobia developed in late 1990’s and early 2000’s by political activists, non-
governmental organizations, commentators, international organization to draw attention towards
the evils of a rhetoric bringing harms directed towards Muslims and Islam.

Yet Islamophobia emerged on the plane of international discourse with the publication of a
report by the Runnymede Trust in 1997 titled; ‘’Islamophobia: A Challenge for all of us’’. It laid
down the concept of Islamophobia as a useful shorthand way of referring to dread or hatred of
Islam – and therefore, to fear or dislike of all or most Muslims.

In 2004 United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan opened a UN conference on “Confronting
Islamophobia” with the lament, “When the world is compelled to coin a new term to take
account of increasingly widespread bigotry, that is a sad and troubling development. Such is the
case with Islamophobia.”

According to Imam Dr Abdul Jalil Sajid, chairman of the Muslim Council for Religious and
Racial Harmony UK, Islamophobia is “the fear and/or hatred of Islam, Muslims or Islamic
culture and history. Islamophobia can be characterized by the belief that all or most Muslims are
religious fanatics, have violent tendencies towards non-Muslims, and reject as directly opposed
to Islam such concepts as equality, tolerance, and democracy” (RISC 2011).

The Terrorist Attack of 9/11 provided an impetus to the rise of Islamophobia. After the attack of
Twin Towers Islam was being viewed as a conservative, barbaric and intolerant perspective of
life. Muslim was posited as blood thirsty savages under the banner of a monolithic religion.

The West holding the power to Information Technology spread the acrimony, condemning
Muslims to racial discrimination and ridiculed Muslim community as perpetrators of violence
and unrest in society.

With the rise of Islamophobia across the board, the far-right political parties of liberal western
communities gained momentum in exploiting the subjected minorities of Muslims to confer
political gains. Islamophobia became a subterfuge to add defamation to Islam by public
commentators and political actors. The 2016 Presidential elections of America were one of the
most acrimonious and confrontational campaigns in the history of America.

Extraordinary political rhetoric, outbursts in distasteful discriminatory tones, and anti-Muslim

invectives blemished the campaign of United States (US) Presidential Elections of 2016. To
endorse his political agenda, Donald J. Trump specifically focused upon Muslims as a grave
issue, and likely toyed with the public pulses, which resulted in an unpredictable election result.

Mirroring the perceived reality, media as an invention of information shapes public opinion.
Media reports after 9/11 specifically underrepresented Muslim views and negatively portrayed
Islamic culture. Islam was painted as a religion of discrimination, radicalization and regression
by the Western media. With the advent of digital media, providing a carte blanche demerited the
situation further.

The rhetoric of Islamophobia dispersed hatred speech & acts of defamation on social media
websites backed by the freedom of speech narrative.

Social media being a personal medium of communication galvanized the connotations of

Islamophobia and intimidated Muslim minorities living in liberal Western communities. Society
deprived of inter-faith harmony glaringly promotes intolerance and rejection towards those who
is considered other. European countries including America and Canada practiced anti-Semitism
long before Islamophobia surfaced. The hate of Muslims towards Jews and of Jews towards
Muslims persists even in today’s scenario.

Terrorist attack of 9/11 and shooting in Orlando’s night club reinforced the primitive visceral
hatred towards Muslims and Islam, exacerbating the discriminative attitudes and tarnishing the
fabric of freedom for all narrative of Western society. Islamophobia, a narrative delegated to
hatred and intolerance took its toll on the Muslim minorities resided in Europe and America.

Bin Laden became a schoolyard taunt and banning Muslim women from wearing hijab, a public
policy. Implicating Muslims with discriminations in political, social and civic life became a
normalized attitude by the authorities.

Surveillance by security agencies in order to keep radicalization at bay and interfering with
practices of Islam demonstrated consequences far beyond the imagination.

In the wake of events like 9/11 and with the rise of ISIS and Al-Qaeda, West launched a military
operation to quell the terrorism machinations.

In quest to quash Talibans of Afghanistan, a full fledge operation was launched by Western
forces on 16 September, 2001. Furtherance of the military operation was seen by the world as
Operation Inherent Resolve to quash the ISIS in Middle East. Fallouts by use of cogency to
suppress the militancy had adversarial effects. It led to displacement of indigenous innocents and
anarchy for the state structures.
The aftermath of Islamophobia’s notion was evidently witnessed during the refugee crisis
resulting from Arab Spring specifically during and after Civil War of Syria. Hundreds of
thousands were displaced and was seeking refuge in the modernized Western states.

Engulfed by the fear of Islam and hatred rooted deep in conscience towards Muslims, the
European countries demurred the refugees entering their premises. The far-right political parties
of the West depicted the war-torn refugees as invaders of freedom to culture and Western values.
Rallies and protests were carried out extensively against the refugee situation and the debate of
Us versus Them surfaced in the legislative bodies of the Western societies. The provocative
phobia of Islam, hurtling in the Western society presents itself as propensity of violence and
vandalism.

The antipathy of Westerners towards followers of Islam turned out as harrowing for Muslims in
West.

A report published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (US) states that more than two
thousand anti-Muslim offenses have been perpetuated in United States alone. The Kingston
mosque incident where English vandalized the holy premises of worship and attack of violent
mobs in Hamilton City of Canada on Muslim Education centres and mosques is another story of
the liberal region.

One major incident reported as a backlash of Islamophobia was shootings in New Zealand,
where 51 Muslims were subjected to death.

The pretext of ‘national security’ in a post-9/11 world is particularly useful, being an amorphous
concept that can be made to fit any inconvenient truth and throttle indicted to discriminatory
shenanigans.

Alienation of Muslims from political and civic life in upgraded societies of West is an epitome of
Islamophobia.

The unemployment rate for followers of Islam was seen at pinnacle especially in United States
and European countries. Subjected to discrimination in education sectors, the repugnancy of
Islamic views with the values of West was deplored on behest of Islamophobia. Travesties of
Muslims as subjugators, discriminatory attitudes of authorities were considered just.

Irreverent attitudes of the West towards the diaspora of the East proved to be harrowing for
Muslim women and children. The Council on American-Islamic Relations’ in California
surveyed 11 to 18 years old Muslim students to examine their experiences in school and reported
that 50% American Muslim students were bullied based by the hatred towards Islam. In France,
incidents of pulling scarfs of Muslim women in public was highly reported. Islamophobia, as a
just reason of hatred provided abyss for the most vulnerable community of Muslims minority
residing in the West.

As a principle, it is the duty of United Nations and its law enforcing organs to maintain
International Peace and protect its subjects from Human Rights violations. The world post 9/11
witnessed the failure of United Nations and its law enforcing organs. A research conducted by
Brown University states 200,000 & 40,000 civilian causalities in Iraq and Afghanistan
respectively.

Arab League Envoy to Syria put out an estimate of 400,000 that had died in the Civil War. The
supreme of all states and international protector of civil rights was proved as a fiasco.

The on-going atrocities of Indian Military on the besieged Kashmiri’s resulted in 51,000 civilian
casualties from 1989-2018 but as the Guardian Angel of Human Rights, United Nations
neutrality to the conflict is questionable for the supremacy of International Humanitarian Law.

Rise of Islamophobia Essay ( #Islamophobia )

1.Introduction

i) What does Islamophobia actually mean?

2. Causes of Growing Islamophobia in the World

i)Misinterpretation of Jihad by Islamophobia Industry

ii) War on Terror

iii)Negative Depiction of Islam by Western Media

iv)Theory of Clash of Civilization

v)Ignorance About Islam and Muslims

vi)Biased Literature and Websites

vii) Hollywood and Bollywood Industry

3.Effects of Growing Islamophobia on Muslim Ummah

i) Anti-Muslim Hate crimes and Incidents mushrooming around the world

ii) Anti-Mosque and Anti-Sharia Campaigns 

iii) Impact on quality of Muslim's Lives

iv) Bullying of Muslim students

v) Burgeoning hostility towards Muslim immigrants

4. Remedies: Way Forward

i) Moderation in Religion: Ijtihad and Role of Ulemas

ii) Organize programs for presentation and promotion of Muslim Identity

iii) Role of the common man is necessary

iv) Curbing Extremists forces

iv) Madrassah Reforms

v) Spending More resources on Science and technology

vi) Rejuvenating OIC to unite Muslim Ummah

5. CONCLUSION

1. INTRODUCTION

The Muslim world, today, is caught in a vicious cycle of internal and external challenges. As for
as internal problems are concerned, it is more than evident that social, political, sectarian
cleavages abound with the plight of the crumbling economy further adding insult to injury.
Externally, the most daunting challenge the Muslim world confronting is the pervasive
“ISLAMOPHOBIA”. Anti-Muslim rhetoric and bigotry is rising at lightning speed and has
emboldened the right-wing populists and white supremacist across the globe. This rising
Xenophobia has its roots deeply embedded in the 9/11 attacks that the US and the West
termed it an act of Islamic Terrorism. In the aftermath of these attacks, the alt-right bluntly
classified the religion of Islam as a potent threat to the Western world and that fear caused the
right-wing extremists to hate Muslims across the globe. The term ISLAMOPHOBIA was
developed to fear Islam and Muslims as a social group. Thereafter, Muslims were generally
taunted, ridiculed, and perceived as terrorists in America and other regions of the Western
World. Since then, anti-Islamic sentiments have been intensifying with each passing day. Over
the past years, hostility towards Muslim immigrants has been increased dramatically, resulting in
the persecution and even killings of Muslims in their worship places. which is the wake-up call
for Muslim ummah now. The Western Media has left no stone unturned to disseminate anti-
Muslim rhetoric,  hatred against Muslims, and to hold them responsible for any terrorist attack
happening anywhere in the World. (225 wors almost)

I) What does Islamophobia actually mean?

Islamophobia refers to extreme dislike, hatred fear, and prejudice against religion and Muslims
as a geopolitical force, and a source of terrorism. It encompasses violence against Muslims in the
form of physical assaults, verbal abuse, and vandalization of property such as mosques, Islamic
schools, or Muslim cemeteries. The UK0 based nonprofit Muslim organization “MEND”
(Muslim Engagement and development) define Islamophobia in two parts: the overt part:
Islamophobia is the prejudice aversion, hostility or hatred towards Muslims, and the hidden part
that adversely affects all Muslims both as individual and as a collective group: that is the
discrimination that excludes or confines Muslims’ equal exercise of fundamental freedoms in the
political, economical, social and cultural or any other realm of civic life. In 2017 “ Runnymede”,
the commission issued a new and short definition of Islamophobia; “ Islamophobia is the anti-
Muslim racism”.

2. Causes of Growing Islamophobia in the World

i) Misinterpretation of “JIHAD” by Islamophobia Industry

The Islamophobia Industry is also known as the “Counter-Jihad Movement” misinterpreted the
concept of JIHAD. It comprises a massive interconnected and well-funded nexus of think tanks
such as Henry Jackson Society, media outlets like Breitbart and Rebel Media, Public figures,
politicians, and policymakers that advance, disseminate, and perpetuate negative discourses
about Muslims and Islam for economic and political gains. The whole industry largely guided by
right-wing and neo-conservative ideologies employs the rhetoric of a number of experts to
spread misinformation about the true concept of JIHAD and fear about Muslims and Islam by
perpetuating the myth of an Islamic invasion of the Western World.

ii) War on Terror

9/11 terrorist attacks in the USA had completely changed the core of fear in the West and
Western intelligence has found the new enemy that will help them to legalize their activities
against Eastern countries. The 9/11 attacks paved the way for the United States to start a new era
of war named “War on Terror”. it was actually a war against terrorism but after some time it
proved to be a war against Muslim World (Islam). Islamophobia spread throughout the West
after these attacks. Before 9/1, the USA in connivance with the Western European countries
pitted Muslims against communism between 1979 and 1989 by exploiting the most sensitive
Islamic ideology of Jihad to make them realize that USSR’s attack on Afghanistan was a move
against Islam. However, after the USSR retreat, the USA and its allies deserted the Jihadists and
the same Jihadists who fought for the USA became terrorists (Taliban) in the eyes of the USA as
their vested interests of exploiting Afghanistan were completed. The “War on Terror”, has also
engulfed the Middle East countries (Muslim countries) such as Iran, Iraq, Yemen, and Syria. It is
only because of the US so-called move of “War Against Terror”, that the waves of Islamophobia
have swept country after country, sounding alarming bells in the Muslim population and Muslim
diaspora.

iii) Negative Depiction of Islam by Western Media

Besides “ War on Terror”, it is alarming to see how the Western media outlets show prejudice
against Islam and Muslims and spread Islamophobia. According to Elizbeth Poole in the
Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnic Studies, the media have been criticized for perpetuating
Islamophobia. She cites a case study examining a sample of articles in the British press from
between 1994 and 2004 only, which concluded that Muslim viewpoints were underrepresented
and that issues involving Muslims usually depicted them in a negative light. Such portrayals,
according to Poole, include the depiction of Islam and Muslims as a threat to Western security
and values. The Media also suggested expressions such as “ Islamic Terrorism, Islamic bombs
and violent Islam”, which have resulted in a negative perception of Islam, according to her.
Along with this, 80% of ABC News, CBS, and 60% of Fox coverage is negative about Islam.
When there is a report of an attack carried out by a Muslim, they would call it Islamic terrorism.
On the other hand, when a non-Muslim carries out a similar attack, they would label him a
mentally distressed lone-wolf. This is the extreme level of bias that is deeply entrenched in the
Western Media.

iv) Clash of Civilization

Furthermore, there was no enemy left for the West after the collapse of the USSR. The biggest
enemy, communism, was subdued and the Islamic civilization was perceived to be the next big
obstacle to Western civilization, as started by Samuel P. Huntington in his famous “Clash of
Civilization”, theory, which explained the clash between East and West culture. It is also not
hard to state that there is parallelism between the fear of Communism and Islamophobia in the
West. Both fears were born from the ashes of war and attacks used as political tools. The 9/11
tragedy indicated to the West that the enemy they were looking for was Islam and its followers,
the Muslims. The discourse of Islamic terrorism was constructed and the new enemy was
identified along with new strategies to be activated accordingly. Since then, Muslims all over the
world have been seen through the lens of terrorism. Thus, the clash between two
ideologies/civilization has started.

 
v) Identity Politics

It has been suggested that Islamophobia is closely related to identity politics and gives the
perceived benefit of constructing their identity in opposition to a negative essentialized image of
Muslims. This occurs in the form of self-righteousness, assignment of blame, and key identity
makers. In some societies, Islamophobia has materialized due to the portrayal of Islam and
Muslims as the national “others”, where exclusion and discrimination occur on the basis of their
religion. The anti-Muslim rhetoric often spikes during elections as most of the politicians have
exploited fear of Muslims to win votes. The RSS (Rashtriya Swamsevak Sangh), Hindu
nationalist, in India promotes the rise and rule of “Hindutva”, ignoring Muslims and treating
them inhumanly under Modi’s BJP government is one such example. The election campaigns of
trump also depend upon identity politics with the slogan of “America First”, which encompasses
the racial superiority of the West as compared to the East. The world leaders do play the game of
“identity politics”, to debilitate and desiccate the identity and image of Islam (Islam).

vi) Ignorance about Islam and Muslims

Along with identity politics, the ignorance of American/West about Islam and Muslims caused a
looming rise in Islamophobia. Most of the American do not personally know a Muslim and a
little about Islam. According to a survey, conducted by ING (Islamic work Group) an
organization, only 38% of Americans said they know a Muslim, and the other 62% of Americans
have said they seldom or never conversed or interacted with a Muslim. Moreover, 57% of them
accepted that they know little about Islam and the other 26% of people said they know nothing
about Islam, and these numbers have not changed in 25 years. These figures show that the West
is ignorant of Islam and Muslims, what they see and hear, they believe. In this way, their
ignorance is hurting Islam and Muslims as a whole.

vii) Biased Literature and Websites

Biased literature and websites are other tools used by the West to tarnish the true image of Islam.
After 9/11, a plethora of books bashing Islam and Muslims have been published. One such
example is the works of Ayan Hirsi Ali, who received several awards and recognition for her
works. Hirsi Ali, a former Muslim who abandoned her faith and became an atheist, has been a
vocal critic of Islam. She is a Somali-born Dutch activist, feminist, author, and scholar. In 2004,
she collaborated on a short movie entitled “ Submission”, a film depicting fundamentalist
Islamic law and critical of Islamic canon itself. In 2015, she wrote the book “ Heretic”, in which
she argued that Islam was beyond reform and she called for reformation of Islam by defeating
the Islamists and supporting reformist Muslims. Other noted authors of the books denouncing
Islam and Muslims include Robert Spencer, Bill Warner, etc. To add insult to injury, individuals
and groups in the Islamophobia networks have created numerous websites demonizing Islam and
Muslims, these websites include “Islamist Watch”, by Daniel Pipes, “Jihad Watch”, by Robert
Spencer, and “Act for America”, by Brigitte Gabriel.

viii) Hollywood and Bollywood Industry

Coupled with biased literature and websites, Hollywood and Bollywood industries have left no
stone unturned to demonize the image of Islam. The representation of Islam and Arabs in
Hollywood has consistently been stereotyped such as villains, terrorists, subservient women, etc.
Prof. Jack Shaheen, in his book, “Reel Bad Arabs”, examines a thousand films and TV shows
featuring Arabs and finds, they have been shown in denigrating ways. Despite heightened
awareness, a wave of new movies reinforce stereotypes such as: “Beirut”, in which an American
diplomat seeks to rescue a colleague captured by fictional Militia of Islamic Liberation; the film
meets with a vigorous protest for the dehumanizing portrayal of Arabs. “Jack Ryan, Homeland
and Seven Days in Entebbe”, are the most bigoted shows on television. Equally important, the
Bollywood industry has also presented bigotry and prejudice against Islam in their movies; one
such example is the recent Web series “Bard of Blood”, in which Muslims image is depicted as
a terrorist. These television shows by both the industries have raised another wave of
Islamophobia in the West and World.
 

3. Effects of Growing Islamophobia on Muslim Ummah

i) Anti-Muslim hate crimes and Incidents mushrooming around the World

The anti-Muslim hate crimes and incidents are mushrooming around the world now. In the first
half of 2019, more than 500 anti-Muslim incidents took place. Anti-Muslim biased incidents
increased by 19% in 2018 and 2019, and144 mosques have been attacked in 2018 and 2019.
along with this, hate crimes against Muslims rose by 24%. there is no doubt that the horrendous
incident of 9/11 had far-reaching ramifications for Muslims around the world. Over the past
couple of years, deadly Islamophobia incidents continue to surge in Europe and North America.
In 2017, Jeremy Joseph, Christian became furious when he saw a young Muslim woman donning
hijab on a commuter train in the US. He kept abusing her and used a knife to kill her but two
passengers who intervened. In the UK, more than half of religiously motivated attacks in 2017
and 18 were directed at Muslims. The most recent incident of making cartoon’s of Holy prophet
s.a.w happened a few days back in November 2020 in France which caused sheer protests all
over the world and led to boycott of French products Last but not least, live streaming murderous
rampage by an Australian white supremacist, Breton Tarrant, in Christ Church mosques, snows a
new-fashioned Islamophobia killing more than fifty people.

ii) Growing Extremists and anti-Muslim sentiments

Equally important, the extremist views and anti-Muslim sentiments are exacerbating in the wake
of Islamophobia. According to a survey in 2019 by YouGov Poll, found that only 15% of
Americans have favorable views about Islam and 37% of Americans have unfavorable views.
Another report conducted in 2017, in which “Pew Poll”, rated American Muslims most
negatively of all religious groups with an average rating of 48 and Jews had the highest rating of
all at 68. the same “Pew Poll’, a summary of the report found that 41% of Americans believe
Islam encourages violence more than other faiths, and 50% of Americans believe that Islam is
not part of mainstream American society. These anti-Muslim sentiments are causing a threat to
the life, property and existence of the Muslim diaspora.

iii) Anti-Mosque and Anti-Sharia Campaigns

The menace of the 9/11 incident, gave a way to the Western World to start anti-Mosque and anti-
Sharia campaigns against Islam. This horrible incident has caused a deep impact on the quality of
Muslim life. The opponents of the new mosque delayed the construction with fours of litigation.
Another place Park51 was proposed Islamic Center near the site of 9/11 attacks, prompted
nationwide outcry after opponents falsely labeled it a “Victory Mosque”. the new mosque in the
US met by similar campaigns. The anti-Sharia campaigns were also started that were based on
false that Muslims are trying to promote Sharia law in the US. In August 2017, 201 bills were
introduced in 43 states banning Sharia, of which 14 were enacted. Moreover, Islamophobia has a
huge impact on the life of a Muslim in the West. According to Pew 2018, 50% of people believe
that being Muslim in the US has got more difficult in recent years and 75% believe there is a lot
of discrimination against Muslims in the US. So, the growing Islamophobia has a lot more to do
in order to improve the image of Muslims in the Western World.  

iv) Bullying of Muslim students and impact on lives of Muslims

The other factor contributed by Islamophobia is the bullying of Muslim students at school,
colleges, and university levels. The persistent bullying and harassment caused depression,
anxiety, sleep difficulties, and poor school adjustments. Some of the Muslim students shared
their experiences in their own words:, “A lot of my classmates in 4 th grade thought that Muslims
should not be allowed in the country and one person said to me that Muslims are terrorists”.
another student described his story, “When I want to play with anyone they run away or they
bully me or they say I cannot play.” according to a report of 2019, about bullying of Muslim
students in California, 40% of students reports being bullied because they are Muslims, and 14%
of students’ report also highlights the problem of teacher bias. All these figures show that
Muslim students are facing the outcomes of Islamophobia which enfeebled the physical, mental
health problems.

v) Burgeoning hostility towards Muslim immigrants

Burgeoning hostility towards Muslim immigrants has another daunting effect on the true identity
of Muslims. The anti-immigrant sentiments have been gaining traction and fueling political sea
change across the globe. US President D.Trump and the radical far-right in Europe have
delineated Muslim immigrants as the “Mot despised group of invaders in the West”. It is rightly
said that “ Politicians can set the tone of tolerance and unity, and they can also set the tone of
division and violence”. D.Trump has repeatedly used anti-immigrant discourse during his tenure
that Muslims should be banned from entering the US and his toxic campaign rhetoric towards
Muslims was a contributing factor to the rise of the Islamophobia phenomenon. The view that all
Muslims are dangerous and terrorists, can stoke further racial and faith-based schisms.

4. Remedies: Way Forward

i) Moderation in religion: Ijtihad nad role Muslim Ulemas

To cope with all these threats to Islam: the first and foremost duty lies on the shoulders of
Islamic scholars (Ulemas) to address Islam and relating problems in a modern way by
conducting the Ijtihad. Ijtihad is one of the sources of Islamic sharia and law through which
jurists present the solution of the prevailing issue according to the need of the present era not
excluding the spirit of the Quran and Sunnah. The Muslim scholars who are well known and well
respected in the Western societies should come forward and start engaging the people in very
constructive interfaith dialogues, discussion on serious social, moral, and political issues which
have disturbed the Western mind for a long time. The Muslim scholars from the outside world
should also be invited by the local institutions to explain the teachings of Islam and answer the
critical questions of the Western people who have confusions and delusions about the status of
women and the situation of human rights in Islam. One such step taken by Pakistani Muslim
clerics is very appreciable. In 2018, more than 1800, Pakistani Muslim clerics had issued an
Islamic directive, or “FATWA”, forbidding suicide bombing, in a book unveiled by the Pakistani
government. Seeking to curb “ terrorism”, that has resulted in tens of thousands of causalities
since the early 2000s, the clerics declared bombing to be forbidden or “HARAM”. Such steps
should be taken on an international level through the OIC forum and other Islamic organizations
to cope with Islamophobia.

ii) Organize programs for Preservation and Promotion of Muslim identity

Besides this, Muslim Ummah other than ulemas should organize programs for the preservation
and promotion of Muslim identity all over the world. Though a vast majority of the Muslims
living in Europe were not practicing believers, the global war on terror which maligned the
Muslim faith and identified terrorism with Islam caused Muslims, especially those belonging to
the 2nd and 3rd generation of immigrants to become possessive and offensive against their
religion. They have started thinking seriously about their religion and getting its proper education
to practice it in their lives. With this, to remove the stain of terrorism from their face, they have
started programs of social welfare and mutual cooperation as well as the preservation of their
identity. In order to protect their religion, such steps should be further aggravated which is a
good sign of organizing themselves as a community like never before. The Muslim Ummah
should start establishing institutions for public welfare, education, community get together and
prayers and also conduct conferences and seminars for presenting Muslims good image on an
individual and collective basis.

iii) Curbing Extremists Forces

Curbing extremists forces is another way to eliminate the menace of Islamophobia. In recent
years, terrorist groups, on an international level, such as ISIL, Al-Qaeda and Boko Haram and at
the national level PTM, BLA, and Jamat ul Dawa, have shaped the Muslim image of violent
extremism and agitated the new debate about how to address this threat. Their message of
intolerance- religious, cultural, social- has had drastic consequences for many regions of the
world. Holding territory and using social media for real-time communication of their atrocities
and crimes, they seek to challenge our shared values of peace, justice, and human dignity. For
this purpose, the General Assembly of the UN presented a “Plan of Action to Prevent Violent
Extremism in 2016”. This is one to curb the extremist forces on a collective basis through a
reputed platform. On an individual basis- the steps by a single state like Pakistan- is needed to be
taken. The operation “Rad ul fasad”, and “Zarb e Azab”, are evidence of Pakistan’s contributions
to curb the extremist forces in order to create peace and stability. The sectarian violence should
also be addressed in order to prove that  Islam is a peaceful religion which departs and
emphasizes on human rights.

       

iv) Madrasah Reforms

Madrasahs provide free religious education, boarding, and lodging and are essentially schools for
the poor. Over one and a half million children attend madrasahs. These seminaries run on public
philanthropy and produce indoctrinated clergymen of various Muslim sects. Some sections of the
more orthodox Muslim sects have been radicalized by the state-sponsored exposure to Jihad, first
in Afghanistan than in Kashmir. However, the madrasah problem goes beyond militancy.
Students at more than 10,000 seminaries are being trained in theory, for service in the religious
sector. But their constrained worldwide, lack of modern civic education and poverty make them
a destabilizing factor in Pakistani society. For all these reasons, they are also susceptible to
romantic notions of sectarian and international Jihad, which promises instant salvation. One after
another government pledged to change the status of madrsahs and integrate them into the formal
education sector. But could be only possible when government convinces clergies to enact
madrasah law that would regulate the schools. It would provide for changes in the curriculum,
registration process and monitoring of finances and funding but even the name of the draft- the
Deeni Madrsah (voluntary Registration and Regulation) ordinance 2002. If it is enacted properly
the extremist facts which breed in Madrsahs would change the false image of Islam to a great
extent.
 

v) Spending more resources on science and technology

Having knowledge of science and technology is another factor to reboot the tarnishing Muslim
Ummah. This is only possible by allocating adequate resources to this field of study. India made
a promise of increasing the spending on technology up to 1.2% of GDP. Their progress in
science and technology shaped their good image in the world. Pakistan, being a developing
country should work on it. The other Muslim countries should follow suit as the advancement in
science and technology would result and induce respect in the international community. It would
create employment opportunities for all the masses including the deprived section of our society,
who easily fall prey to extremists forces due to poverty. This will also improve socioeconomic
problems which are directly proportional to the rise of extremism which leads to Islamophobia.

5. CONCLUSION

In a nutshell, to put an end to the rising Islamophobia, political leaders and those in governments
or places of authority around the world must stop their anti-Muslim rhetoric. They must stop
dehumanizing Muslims and demonizing Islam owing to the problem that terrorism is a global
conundrum that needs to be tackled through collective efforts. Conclusively, the media should
play a pivotal role to quite prejudiced reporting because it is the entity that controls the minds of
the people and, therefore, should broadcast a positive posture to get rid of Islamophobia.