Islam and Muslim Contact Unit
The term "Islamophobia" was first used in print in 1991 and was defined in the Runnymede Trust Report as "unfounded hostility towards Islam, and therefore fear or dislike of all or most Muslims." The word has been coined because there is a new reality which needs naming — anti-Muslim prejudice has grown so considerably and so rapidly in recent years that a new item in the vocabulary is needed so that it can be identified and acted against. (Sajid 2005)
The term "Islamophobia" was coined by way of analogy to "xenophobia", which is a dislike or fear of people from other countries or of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange. Some definitions suggest xenophobia as arising from irrationality or unreason; this can also be said for islamophobia. Islamophobia can be characterized by the belief that all or most Muslims are religious fanatics, have violent tendencies towards non- Muslims, and reject concepts such as equality, tolerance, and democracy. It is a new form of racism where Muslims, an ethno-religious group, are constructed as a race. A set of negative assumptions are made of the entire group to the detriment of members of that group. During the 1990s many sociologists and cultural analysts observed a shift in racist ideas from ones based on skin color to ones based on notions of cultural superiority and otherness. (Sajid 2005)
In Britain and other European or Western countries, Manifestations of anti-muslim hostility has been exemplified in many verbal as well as physical attacks on Muslims in public places and attacks on mosques and desecration of Muslim cemeteries. Before 9/11, in Western countries negative stereotypes and remarks in speeches by political leaders, implying that Muslims are less committed than others to democracy and the rule of law.
There was a rise in the number of hate crimes against Muslims in London in 2010, these hate crimes were being encouraged by mainstream politicians and sections of the media, a study written by a former
The term "Islamophobia" was coined by way of analogy to "xenophobia", which is a dislike or fear of people from other countries or of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange. Some definitions suggest xenophobia as arising from irrationality or unreason; this can also be said for islamophobia. Islamophobia can be characterized by the belief that all or most Muslims are religious fanatics, have violent tendencies towards non- Muslims, and reject concepts such as equality, tolerance, and democracy. It is a new form of racism where Muslims, an ethno-religious group, are constructed as a race. A set of negative assumptions are made of the entire group to the detriment of members of that group. During the 1990s many sociologists and cultural analysts observed a shift in racist ideas from ones based on skin color to ones based on notions of cultural superiority and otherness. (Sajid 2005)
In Britain and other European or Western countries, Manifestations of anti-muslim hostility has been exemplified in many verbal as well as physical attacks on Muslims in public places and attacks on mosques and desecration of Muslim cemeteries. Before 9/11, in Western countries negative stereotypes and remarks in speeches by political leaders, implying that Muslims are less committed than others to democracy and the rule of law.
There was a rise in the number of hate crimes against Muslims in London in 2010, these hate crimes were being encouraged by mainstream politicians and sections of the media, a study written by a former