Racism has spread its wings across the globe, and many people suffer from the aftermath every day. People judge and discriminate against others based on their race, color, caste, language, or religion. Usually, the victims of racism have no involvement in any objectionable act, yet they do not get equality because they belong to a “disliked” religion or race. Grown from the inequity against the black, now, racism by faith is accelerating at a swift pace.
Islamophobia is the most common kind of racism based on religion worldwide. The word Islamophobia came into being as a consequence of relating phobia with Islam.
Phobia is defined as an unexplainable extreme fear of any condition, object, or class of objects.
Islam is a minority religion in many countries and has been treated lesser in regions with the majority of any other religion.
Islamophobia is not only called as a fear against Islam, but rather a dislike and disapproval against Muslims’ presence.
It is not random and channeled by well-funded networks of social and political organizations.
What is Islamophobia?
Islamophobia has roots in several regions of the world, and many Muslims suffer because of this mentality every day. It is a tool for extremists to hurt the sentiments of Muslims. They do not do this only by harming the Muslims, but also by damaging the mosques, degrading the holy Quran (Naozobillah), and snatching Muslim women’s freedom to wear hijab. Muslims living in several countries (with a non-Muslim majority) face discrimination in their daily lives, sometimes as students, employees, and other times by facing police abuse and verbal abuse.
Numerous Muslims have received derogatory remarks as well as physical abuse as a consequence of Islamophobia. Some countries also imply strict laws that do not allow Muslims to openly show their identity with religious symbols like wearing hijab/ veil, constructions of mosques, etc.
Islamophobia after 9/11
Many nations, including the USA and the Europeans, have never appreciated the presence of Muslims in their country. People identifying themselves as Muslims always had to come across hatred and dislike from people of other religions and races, particularly in America and Europe. Though Muslims have faced antipathy for a long time, yet the incident of 9/11 shook the whole world, particularly Muslims.
The world turned upside down when the accused was a Muslim, and the acceptance for them grew even less.
Americas, Europeans, and others thought every Muslim to be a terrorist whose only aim is to kill people around him.
Americans began identifying Muslims only as terrorists. People with “Khan” or “Muhammad” in their names were not allowed visas and faced trouble. The 2001 attacks carved an image of the Muslim nation that couldn’t be changed until now.
Some people have understood that a whole religion cannot be held accountable for the act of an individual, but most people still do not respect or accept Muslims.
Attacks on Mosques
Mosques are the religious spaces of Muslims where they offer their prayers five times a day without any interference. Mosques are a safe place where the believers can worship ALLAH subhanahu wa ta’ala calmly. Yet, the extremists and racists often cannot digest the tranquility Muslims feel in their prayers and try to disturb the atmosphere. Mosques all over the world have faced incidents of attacks by people of other religions.
On 21st August, a Muslim boy reported that the mosque he visits had been vandalized many times during the last three months.
The attackers smash the mosque’s windows, and it is a third such incident in the past quarter. Moreover, the scribbles of racist and Islamophobic graffiti on the walls show ignorance and intolerance.
Not to forget the brutal attack by an Australian terrorist on a mosque in Christchurch where 49 people lost their lives. The inhumane act is among the darkest days of New Zealand, and also Islamophobia.
The open expression of hatred towards Muslims in a way that their place of worship was attacked and live streaming of the whole incident jolted us. The shooter then drove to another mosque and continued his barbaric act.
The world should have shaken on this action. But nothing much changed in the world except the lives of those who lost their dears in these attacks.
False Propaganda
It is not news that some fanatics always try to spread aversion and racism against other religions in one way or the other. One such example is the recent tweet about being a Muslim doing rounds on the internet.
The tweet was said to be cited by Salman Rushdie, quoting a false statement.
Rushdie found out about it and declared that the tweet is not related to him, and he wants it removed immediately.
The statement caused a stir among Muslims, and haters got a chance to spread their false propaganda.
Is it all?
If you think that Islamophobia is only limited to two mosque attacks or a rise in intolerance after 9/11, that’s not it! Other nations and religions are targeting Muslims in the name of political and social issues. The genocide of Rohingya Muslims, Kashmir dispute, melee attacks, stabbing, vehicle attacks, firebombing, mass shooting, and many more are on the list.
Muslims in non-Muslim states abide by the law wishing for this hatred to come to an end and have the same acceptance as others.
