Islamophobia in the Media

Many commentators and researchers mistakenly believe the term ‘Islamophobia’ to be a modern phenomenon, as it is difficult to cite occurrences of Islamophobia prior to the 1990s. Nonetheless, as noted by Richardson (2009) and Green (2015), historically the word was first used – in the French language – in a book titled La Politique musulmane dans l'Afrique Occidentale Française, by Alain Quellien, in 1910. This book was written against French colonial administrators and the manner in which they treated and perceived the cultures and norms of ‘other’ countries. Later, in the year 1918, the word Islamopohbie reappeared in the writings of Eteinne Dinet. Interestingly, however, the first usage of the word in the English language can be cited in the works of Edward Said, in 1985. He used the word when arguing the close association between ‘Islamophobia and anti-Semitism’ throughout history (Said, 1985). In the UK, the first recorded usage was in the Independent newspaper, in 1991. Recently, however, the term has taken fundamental significance in both social and political discourse; the primary reason and background to this major shift is the seminal and much cited research conducted by the Runnymede Trust, in 1997. The initial definition proposed by the Runnymede 1997 report was primarily based on three premises: “unfounded hostility towards Islam”; “Practical consequences of such hostility in unfair discrimination against Muslim individuals and communities”; and “Exclusion of Muslims from mainstream political and social affairs” (Runnymede, 2017, p. 7). However, a more shorter definition given by Runnymede (2017) is that ‘Islamophobia is anti-Muslim racism’. Unfortunately, according to this report, Islamophobia still remains a poorly defined term for a number of reasons. The aforementioned definition is in need of revision since the term Islamophobia – alluded to by Runnymede 1997 – has many detractors. More recent criticism against Islamophobia have been summarised by Green (2015); he suggests that certain critics, who are supportive with the requirement of contending and examining ‘anti-Muslim prejudice’, argue that the term itself is an incorrect designation, rather, this phenomenon would be better understood under an alternative framework, like ‘xenophobia’ or ‘racism’, etc. On the other hand, some researchers assert that the word Islamophobia restrains one from ‘freedom of speech’ and the freedom to unrestrictedly critique the teachings and practices of religion (Islam). As a result, the definition of the term will continue to evolve over time. Explaining the cause impacting the changing perceptions with reference to the definition of the term Islamophobia, both socially and politically, is the recent Runnymede report published in 2017. The report highlights three main catalysts within the intervening 20 years, between 1997 and 2017: the first is the change of context – both nationally and internationally – due to the 9/11 and 7/7; the second is the demographic growth of Muslims in the West; and the third is the increase in data and information available about Muslims living in the West, in comparison to the 1997 Runnymede report. Furthermore, in the chapter What is Islamophobia? Allen (2010) provides an in-depth analysis of the weaknesses of using the term ‘Islamophobia’, and tries to suggest alternative terminologies. He concludes that even though everyone agrees that “a certain identifiable phenomenon [tendency] – Islamophobia – exists…”, there still remains the need for offering an ‘adequate’ and ‘appropriate’ conceptualisation and definition of what Islamophobia really is (Allen, 2010, pp. 123-138). Moreover, Richardson (2009) identified eight drawbacks that might be subsumed under the terms ‘Islam’ and ‘phobia’: a) phobia indicates severe mental illnesses that only impacts a small group of people, whereas this phenomenon includes an overwhelming majority; b) accusing someone of being mentally ill stops one from conducting intellectual and reflective dialogue; c) to call someone insane is to prevent and restrain oneself from understanding and, thus, changing their perceptions; d) alternatively, it is more accurate to use the word ‘anxiety’ instead of ‘phobia’; e) the use of the word ‘Islamophobia’ disregards other similar hostilities like racism, xenophobia, etc; f) the term does not differentiate between hostility towards Muslims living in your country and elsewhere in the world; g) the term is inappropriate in explaining statements that are generally ‘anti-religious’; h) the term implies anti-Muslim/ethno-religious hostility and prejudice in the West only, rather than addressing Islam, its beliefs and practices objectively.
Source:
https://www.academia.edu/37641440/Islamophobia_in_the_Media