EARTH is home to a multitude of civilizations.
From the start of civilizations’ growth, the world has been impressively and remarkably led by Islamic civilization. Today, Islam is the religion with the highest growth rate. In an attempt to restrain Islam’s quick growth, the West and India’s radical RSS have promoted Islamophobia for years. A 2011 survey polled American Muslims regarding the legitimacy of violence committed in the name of their faith. Surprisingly and unfairly, only Islam was addressed in the survey question; other religions were excluded. Why did the surveyors single out Islam for this type of scrutiny?
Given that violence is committed by people of all faiths, why was Islam specifically targeted? It’s simple: the West intentionally spreads Islamophobia. Islamophobia is a malicious deception distorting reality and fostering prejudice. Stemming from illogical prejudice and intending to single out Muslims, Orientalism split the world into warring civilizations (“Islam and the West”), demonizing vulnerable Muslims and devastating their lands for imperial gain.
In Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, political failings are what allowed the West to create the false link between Islam and violence. Yet, political violence isn’t limited to Muslims or Muslim-majority countries. How did the situation unfold when the push for an illegal Jewish state in Palestine hit a snag? Irgun, a Zionist terrorist group, carried out the murder of innocent civilians. Their use of political violence to reach their objective was encouraged and even justified by the West.
Islam rejects violence in any form. However, to create false narratives, the West links political violence in Muslim countries to core Muslim beliefs, wrongly associating Muslims with terrorism and overlooking British imperialism’s role in causing this violence in Muslim societies. Moreover, Islamophobia is significantly fuelled by the West’s search for resources primarily found in Muslim-majority regions. Western intervention in Iraq, Afghanistan and the broader Middle East is a calculated attempt to seize control of vital resources, employing Islamophobia as a tool to achieve its nefarious goals. Furthermore, the Modi government, supported by the RSS, is actively promoting and exacerbating Islamophobia to weaponize it against Muslims.
In Gujrat Files: Anatomy of a Cover-Up, journalist Rana Ayuub observed that Modi enabled the killing of Muslims in the 2002 riots granting police officers and Hindus full authority to attack Muslims during the 2002 riots. Modi’s rule has enabled the same scale and type of violence against Muslims nationally today. Identical terror methods were used in Myanmar to carry out the ethnic cleansing of Muslims. The Rohingya Muslims were stripped of their citizenship and targeted for extermination in a campaign fuelled by rapid-spreading Islamophobia. Consequently, the consistently negative portrayal of Islam by so-called Western intellectuals has unsurprisingly resulted in deeply rooted anti-Muslim prejudice in North America and Europe.
In 2018, Jawaab, a British charity supporting young Muslims, reported that 61% of young Muslims had personally faced anti-Muslim prejudice or knew someone who had, and 60% felt compelled to hide their Muslim identity around non-Muslims. British Muslims experience routine discrimination, according to a 2016 Cambridge University report.
In 2019, the view that Islam and British values were incompatible was held by 32% of non-Muslim in Britain. Moreover, 31% of non-Muslim schoolchildren believed that Muslims had taken control of the country. Data from 2015 indicates that 40% of non-Muslim Americans supported tracking American Muslims via a registry. A majority of non-Muslim Americans hold unfavorable views towards Islam. A 2017 survey revealed that 46 percent of non-Muslim Canadians viewed Islam negatively.
One-third of non-Muslim Western Europeans would refuse a Muslim family member, according to a poll. A majority of Western Europeans unfamiliar with Muslims (52%) felt Muslims sought to establish Islam in their country. These statistics represent the reality of discrimination against Western Muslims. Despite ethnic and racial aspects, the root cause is the West’s attempt to isolate and attack Islam and Muslims.
At the heart of the anti-Islamophobia campaign is the celebration of impactful figures who challenge global Islamophobia. New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern directly confronted the rise of global Islamophobic populism, championed by anti-Muslim figures like Narendra Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu, in the wake of the Christchurch tragedy. A similar commitment is required from Muslim and world leaders worldwide.
Positive global perceptions about Muslims critically depend on Muslim’s engagement in education, media and diplomacy. Developing political stability, transforming public institutions and fostering civic sense are necessary to eradicate political and poverty-related violence. Muslim nations should collaborate regionally and internationally, leveraging organizations such as the OIC and UNO, to develop diplomatic strategies for combating Islamophobia.
Lastly, it is necessary to interrogate and redefine the role of the media. Authentic representation of Muslim identity, culture and contribution requires strong media voices. To fight Islamophobia, accurate, respectful and unbiased media is crucial, especially in Western countries; this approach fosters harmony and counters prejudice. Islamophobia isn’t a result of miscommunication; it’s a purposeful strategy to marginalize Muslims. Islamophobia will only lead to global chaos. Anti-Islamic groups have fuelled Islamophobia in an attempt to counter the growth of Islam.
The continued growth of Islam as a holistic life code must be acknowledged by the West. Two billion Muslims from six continents—a diverse population—follow the religion of peace; the West should recognize this to avoid future regret. If Western fear stems from a scarf, beard and rich Islamic culture, it needs to reassess its intellectual and liberal claims. Containing Islamophobia promptly is essential for the maintenance of global peace and harmony.
—The writer is Commoner from 44th Common Educationist — Founder of WHI Institute.based in Sargodha.
(waqarhassancsp@gmail.com)
