International Day to Combat Islamophobia: What is Islamophobia?

This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:

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Islamophobia is defined by fear, prejudice and hatred towards Muslims. These phenomena can lead to provocation, hostility and intolerance, which manifest themselves through threats, harassment, abuse and intimidation towards Muslims and non-Muslims, both in the online and offline world. Motivated by institutional, ideological, political and religious hostility which can be transformed into structural and cultural racism, Islamophobia targets symbols and practitioners of the Muslim religion.

This definition insists on the correlation between the institutional levels of Islamophobia and the manifestations of such attitudes triggered by the visibility or the perception of the Muslim identity of the victim. This approach also interprets Islamophobia as a form of racism, in which Islamic religion, tradition and culture are considered a “threat” for Western values.

Some experts prefer the “anti -muslim hatred” label, fearing that the term “Islamophobia” would risk condemning all criticism of Islam and, therefore, can suffocate freedom of expression. But human rights protect individuals and not religions. And Islamophobia can also affect non-Muslims, depending on the perceptions of nationality, race or ethnic origin.

A tide of hate against Muslims

The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has repeatedly condemned acts of hatred and intolerance towards Muslims who multiply in the whole world. He recalled that this disturbing tendency is not only aims at Muslims, but also Jews, minority Christian communities and other people.

This idea is reinforced in his message for the celebration of the day, in which he describes “a larger trend in the rise of intolerance and extremist ideologies, and multiplication of attacks targeting religious groups and vulnerable populations”. To fight it, governments must promote social cohesion and protect freedom of religion. Online platforms must attack hatred speeches and that individuals must actively oppose sectarianism and xenophobia.