Sarmad Shahbaz 19/11/2021

Rise in Islamophobia in 21st Century

Outline
1) Introduction
a. Evolution and integration of religion and state
b. Global culture and Islam: Emerging rivalry amidst colonialism and imperialism
c. With the rapid growth in globalization, market capitalism, and neoliberalism, the concept
of religion bore the brunt of being an outdated phenomenon that, to balance out the socio-
economic and political arena, resulted in false triggering and scapegoating of one such
religion, Islam, as a threat to global values with fancied term of Islamophobia

2) A Predicament Scenario amongst Global Powers: Target Islam and Win the Votes
a. Radical global leaders tend to target Islam to gain popularity
b. Islamophobia is boosted by the followers of charismatic leaders who are willing to sell the
ethics and morality for political gains
c. How the term of Donald Trump has influenced the Islamophobia across the world
i. Ban on Muslims travelling to United States of America across the world
ii. Extreme restrictions on the Muslims living in USA

3) Looming Crisis of Mass Media: How Media serves as a Tool for Powers against Islam
a. As per the Magic Bullet and Hypodermic Needle theory explained by Neil Postman, the
21st century mass media is shooting its viewers with the bullet of mass media to serve
their masters
b. Islamophobia is at rise due to wrong depiction and false narrative building by media
i. News anchors like Arnab Goswami of India specifically target Islam and Muslim
community to make its TRPs rating shooting high
ii. Social media is becoming a platform to bash Islam and Muslims

4) Hidden Agenda: The West and How it is Shaping the World View
a. Two ways relationship between popular Islamophobic leaders and their followers is
bringing rise in hatred towards Islam and Muslim with Islamophobic content
b. People need something to curse upon and they choose Islam and Muslims as one
i. Concept of radical ethnocentrism and blame-game

5) Islamophobic Incident in Canada: No Freedom to Live?

a. Recent attacks on Muslims and Islamic Mosques are becoming a norm in the country
which is popular for its emphatic natives
b. Majority population of Canada comprises of Christians who are brainwashed to hate
immigrants, Muslims in specific, and this makes a threatening rise in Islamophobia

6) Secularism is Dead: France of 18th Century and 21st Century

a. From being the champion of human rights to a country having radical and narrow-minded
view of other religion
b. French government and its irrational objections towards Islamic concepts of more than 4
million Muslims
i. Rise in inciting content and activities against Muslims
ii. Ban on Hijab and other Islamic activities is clear restriction upon individual liberty
7) Know the Difference: Freedom of Speech should not be Hate Speech
a. In the name of Freedom of Speech, Netherlanders are contributing no good, at least
towards the normalization of Islam and Muslims
b. In his book “Islamophobic Industry”, Nathan L. writes how the freedom of speech is
converted into targeting a specific segment of society i.e., the Muslims

8) Digital Crusades vs Islamic Values: Technology and its harsh Contribution in rising
Islamophobia
a. Islamophobia is on rise due to digital contents posted over the whole social media
b. FaceBook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter barely restrict the content that are targeting
the Muslim values
c. Censorship over anti-Muslim content is just a façade and it remains a farce in the world
of internet and web

9) Darkness is the Absence of Light: How Muslims themselves are the Major Cause of
Islamophobia
a. Irrationality in actions, blame-game over each other, aggressiveness in attitude, and
unable to match pace of the globe is making the Muslim world’s image as primitive and of
terror
b. Muslim countries and their attitude towards minorities, is somehow, the exact mirror of
non-Muslim countries and their attitude towards minorities
c. Muslims are making the bad situation worst by not producing enough intellectuals and
disunity amongst Muslim world
i. Islamic Leviathan of Vali Nasser depicts the political and socio-economic situation
of Muslim world is a reason of Islamophobia around the world due to violence of
women rights, and restricting individual freedom
ii. Unintended support towards terrorist organization and hardliner-views is causing
insult to injury
d. Recent Reports of USCIRF, an institution on religious freedom has placed 7/10 Muslim
countries as the violators of human rights and religious freedom

10) Rising Islamophobia of 21st Century is Raking the Socio-Economic and Political
Situations of Muslims over Burning Coals
a. Islamophobia is becoming an obstruct in improving the already depleting and declining
political situations of Muslims especially in MENA countries
b. Socio-economic situations are getting worse than ever
i. Trade ban and restriction of doing businesses with other countries is making
Islamophobia a heavy burden of individual Muslims in all corners of the world
ii. Socially and culturally, Muslims are becoming the target of extreme mental
pressure and ill image building

11) How to Tackle Islamophobia in 21st Century: Move the World and Deen Together
a. Responsibilities of Muslims:
i. When in Rome, do as the Romans do
ii. Muslims should start thinking out of the box and meeting the requirements of global
world
iii. Start Practicing the Real Islam: Islam is an exemplary religion of human rights and
it provides all the necessary details for a near-utopian society
 iv. Muslim countries should display their all-out support against terrorism in the name
of religion
b. On the part of Global Powers: Agree to Disagree
i. Leaders around the globe must educate their people to know the difference
between freedom of speech and hate speech
ii. Value the diversity and respect for an inclusive society
iii. See Muslims as an earthly human and not as an alien

12) Conclusion
a. Rising Islamophobia is not a myth anymore and is disturbing the world’s balance
b. Islamophobia is not a Majority phenomenon but a minority phenomenon fueled with
illogical abhorrence towards a specific segment of global society
c. Hate and biases against Muslims is rising due to unchecked narratives and public
opinions of leaders and their followers that are extremely hurtful for the global community
 Essay
Introduction (380 Words | 2.5 A4 Pages)
“Islam is not a race, yet Islamophobia partakes in racist characteristics”
- Mohsin Hamid
(British-Pakistani Novelist and Author)
Religion’s integration with the state emerged when the political embodiment was compromised and
weakened due to its ineffective nature. In the past, people blindly followed religion. As it is said that
all politics is all power, religion was soon amalgamated with politics due to its immense influence on
an individual’s life. Even today, religion plays an important role in power politics and the country-
state system. The concept of religious hatred, specifically Islamophobia, originated with colonialism
and imperialism. English conquerors and imperialists used the basis of religion to make the divide
between masses. This play of divide and rule emerged into what we can call in today’s world
Islamophobia. However, with the growth in time, the name of Islam was tarnished for personal
incentives. The end of the 20th century marks the rise of 21st century Islamophobia. It came into
the limelight when the dictatorial leaders of the Islamic world started to overtake their countries for
the lust of power. With this, the tussle between the global powers got ended with the emergence of
Islamic freedom fighters. Global powers fed the so-called terrorists in the name of Islam for their
purposes and today they wage war in the name of a global war against terror. The 21st century
Islamophobia is nothing but a political agenda that has excessively uptick after the 2001 incident of
World Trade Center and the United States. The 21st century Muslim identity has become a threat to
the community, not because Muslims follow Islam but because the word “terror” is associated with
them. Global powers use their influence to suppress and use Islamophobic contents to undermine
the Muslims. This results in attacks on Muslims including New Zealand, Canada, and the
Netherlands attacks as an example of Islamophobia in the West. The killing of Muslim families and
destruction of worship places go unseen but a hijab of a young girl creates amendments in
parliamentary bills in France. On the other side, Muslims themselves are also responsible for
Islamophobia due to their least adherence to global values. With all these factors and the rapid
growth in globalization, market capitalism, and neoliberalism, the concept of religion bore the brunt
of being an outdated phenomenon that, to balance out the socio-economic and political arena,
resulted in false triggering and scapegoating of one such religion, Islam, as a threat to global values
with a fancied term of Islamophobia.

Conclusion (160 Words | 1.3 A4 Pages)

Rising Islamophobia is a white truth and is therefore not to be ignored. It can be related to that hatred
anywhere is a threat of hatred everywhere. Islamophobia not only hurts the Muslims but also grows
grudges in Muslims towards non-Muslims which then creates an imbalance worldly situation. Thus,
Islamophobia is disastrous for every individual in society. Islamophobia is less related to terror or
religious concepts and is more of a political agenda that has become prevalent in recent times. It is
not a majority phenomenon but a minority phenomenon fueled with illogical abhorrence towards a
specific segment of a global society. The hate and biases against Muslims are rising due to
unchecked narratives and public opinions of leaders and their followers that are extremely hurtful
for the global community. The first two decades of the 21st century have seen enough destruction
in the name of religion, especially Islam. Islamophobia can only be curbed with rationality and
agreement amongst Muslims and non-Muslims.