What exactly is islamophobia and how does it manifests itself in western society?
Islamophobia can be best defined as an irrational fear and/or hatred towards Muslims. It is a belief that spawns, often times, from a perceived notation that Islam as a religion and Muslims as a group are seeking to cause wrongdoing against all non-muslims. This phobia has existed for quite some time, but has recently gain widespread attention due to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the Word Trade Center. The advocates for this type of fear often portray or paint Muslims in a very negative and biased light, with the sole purpose of convincing others that Islam and Muslims should be feared. The groups that have adopted this phobia reaffirm their beliefs by pointing out that the group, Al Qaeda, that attacked us on 9/11 and continue to attack western peoples today have Islam as the basis for their religion. These groups can be best explained by dividing them into two categories. The first group that buys or sells into this type of phobia generally have ulterior motives that drive them. The have a particular agenda to push, and see that the best way to accomplish their agendas is to purport this phobia. The second group being the majority of the consumers of this type of bias. These groups are often times fairly uneducated and base their assumptions on the opinions of others.
It is important to understand that this type of mindset or belief system has been around for quite some time, especially in the Western world. This notion of Islam as a threat to western societies is just another form of Orientalism. Orientalism is a term that refers to the western understanding of the Middle East and Far East. In Edward Said's book, Orientalism, he describes the idea of Islamophobia by stating, "So far as the United States seems to be concerned, it is only a slight overstatement to say that Muslims and Arabs are essentially seen as either oil suppliers or potential terrorists. Very little of the detail, the human density, the passion of Arab-Moslem life has entered the awareness of even those people whose profession it is to report the Arab world. What we have instead is a series of crude, essentialized caricatures of the Islamic world presented in such a way as to make that world vulnerable to military aggression." Orientalism is a framework quite often seen in western socieities, especially in those people in the media and film.
Orientalism and especailly Islamophobia has been seen in films since their inception. They have been commonplace in Hollywood, as well as in documentaires. These films portray Muslims in a negative light and often times misrepresent various aspects of Muslim and Middle Eastern culture.
It is important to understand that this type of mindset or belief system has been around for quite some time, especially in the Western world. This notion of Islam as a threat to western societies is just another form of Orientalism. Orientalism is a term that refers to the western understanding of the Middle East and Far East. In Edward Said's book, Orientalism, he describes the idea of Islamophobia by stating, "So far as the United States seems to be concerned, it is only a slight overstatement to say that Muslims and Arabs are essentially seen as either oil suppliers or potential terrorists. Very little of the detail, the human density, the passion of Arab-Moslem life has entered the awareness of even those people whose profession it is to report the Arab world. What we have instead is a series of crude, essentialized caricatures of the Islamic world presented in such a way as to make that world vulnerable to military aggression." Orientalism is a framework quite often seen in western socieities, especially in those people in the media and film.
Orientalism and especailly Islamophobia has been seen in films since their inception. They have been commonplace in Hollywood, as well as in documentaires. These films portray Muslims in a negative light and often times misrepresent various aspects of Muslim and Middle Eastern culture.