Islamophobia

Islamophobia

It is known for each follower of history that there are quite a few chapters and scenes of conflict and congestion reached often to military confrontation between Islam and the West.

What was of illuminated aspects in this relationship, there is an exception has remained because the points of confrontation and collision overtook quantity and quality since the appearance of Islam to the present day, there are ethnic practices and other forms of hostility and discrimination against Islam and Muslims in many parts in the World which have been included recently under the name of Islamophobia.

Islamophobia…. New term to old meaning

The term « Phobia »refers to subconscious and unwarranted fear of situations or persons or activities or specific bodies, and so is classified as an Insanity that should and cured.

When adding this word to Islam «islamophobia»the  meaning becomes unwarranted Phobia and hostility and rejection of Islam and Muslims, but this definition is inaccurate because this issue is not about disease that has infected the western society, but it is a phenomenon its political and social causes which resulted in this negative feelings that is gripping the western society towards Muslims, feelings translate unjust behaviors concerning the right of Islam and Muslims.

Islam has faced injustice a lot of times, especially in recent times not only from its enemies but also from Muslims themselves through wrong practices of Islam, which helped to boost this negative image in the West and Europe; the repetition of these bad models has contributed to the imputation of Islam.

But these negative models from some belonging people to Islam remain outside the framework of the Islamic religion; these people have moved away from the teachings of Islam and the teachings of the Prophet of Islam (Peace be upon him) who forbidden such practices. So, it's important not to generalize and judge Islam based on the wrong understand of some Muslims.

No one has right to inflict the charge to the Church and the teachings of the Bible as a result of an error of some Christians or some Christian clergymen; no one has right to demolished the image of the church and ignite a fire once some pastors exposed or those who followed them in sexual scandals and sexual abnormality, and so forth, So, we are not supposed to inflict  charges and point fingers to Christianity based on the actions of some Christians, and consequently, we are not supposed to  generalize these acts to be considered as typical about Christians in the world.

Islam, therefore, remains as it was revealed from God to Muhammad (PBUH), a religion of forgiveness and mercy, and love; the religion of generosity, kindness ; the religion that encourages hard work, progress and civilization, a religion of freedom and dignity.

There is a British institution called (The Runnymede Trust) interested in matters of human rights, minorities and ethnic groups in the British society, in a report entitled: «Islamophobia: a challenge for all of us»  with a set of determinants or items that when found the  phenomenon «Islamophobia» .. These determinants are:

1. To look at Islam as a Homogeneous mass unilateralism, rigid: does not respond to change
2. To look at Islam as an independent object that does not have values in common with other cultures which is not affected by it or affect in it.
3. To look at Islam as inferior for the West, savage and irrational, primitive and with sexual tendency.
4. Considered Islam as violent, aggressive, a source of danger based on the terrorism and the clash of civilizations.
5. Considered Islam as a political ideology to achieve political and military interests.
6. Total rejection of any criticism offers from the Islamic party to the West.
7. Use of hostility towards Islam as a justification to the discriminatory practices towards Muslims and so as to keep them away from the dominant society.
8. Considered hostility towards Muslims as normal and natural and a justified thing.

So Islam is wronged and robbed from its right by passing on and agreeing on all of these unjustified behaviors, the list of  these charges is derive from hatred and hostility as well, which operate certain destinations on  the generalization and dissemination of such charges that eventually seek to promote a bleak picture of Islam and Muslims and thus contribute to the growing phenomenon of Islamophobia, and in feeding the growing negative feelings against Muslims, feelings that appeared in manifestations of rejection and hatred to all that is related to Islam and Muslims by any link.

The following are some of scenes that appear the manifestations of fear and intimidation of Islam:

-    Verbal and physical attacks on Muslims in public places, especially against bearded young people   and women who wear the veil.

-    The attack on the mosques and the desecration of Muslim cemeteries with writings on the walls and throwing petrol bombs on them.

-    The spread of a negative image of Muslims widely in the media, and the promotion of this stereotype and negative remarks and prejudgments in political speeches and religious sermons verbally and in writing; very badly and unfairly so that would not be acceptable if it was about Jews or blacks, for example.

-    Discrimination and exclusion from getting opportunities of work  and service provision.

-     Bureaucratic and inertia in responding to requests of  Muslims in education, health care, and  getting  license to build mosques .

-     Laws limiting civil liberties that affect Muslims negatively.

-    To abuse directly the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (PBUH ) by drawing offensive and insulting caricatures and produce films that insult Islam and the Prophet.

It is no exaggeration if we say that the history of the strained relationship between the West and Islam goes back to the moment that Islam appeared ( to the seventh century). The appearance of Islam and the embracing of many Christian people into Islam ,and the Islamic conquests that liberated the East from Western colonialism ( Greco-Roman ) , which lasted for ten centuries , and the Islamic equestrians who uprooted the Crusaders' settlements , which lasted for two centuries .

 All these have made this institutions (Churches and their allies) pour their full anger and hatred on 'this newcomer' who shared in their area of power and broke into their strong holds ,so they start to lie to this religion  by unfounded lies.

Martin Luther who founded the Protestant Church says: "I made sure that you can not do something even   more disturbing to Muhammad or the Turks, nor more harmful (of all types of arms) of this distortion of Islam lies, myths and atrocities".  
                                          
 The European Christians considered Muslims who called a prophet as the last Prophet of a series of prophets that began with Adam (peace be upon him) a man who lived a prostitute life, and exceeded his woolliness all limits of  sordidness and degeneracy. It seems that the Christian Europe is so thirsty for some victory in its illusive war against Islam.

.And then the West has lived to the present day cud bad stereotype which painted by orientalists since the beginning of their relationship with the West in the Middle Ages (the medieval era). Despite the differences and diversity of the methods that have been formulated by those stereotypes in the Western mind, but they kept the main landmarks and have been able to exceed the various conditions and circumstances and hold up in the face of many changes that have occurred in the relationship between the West and Arabs throughout the ages.

The movement of Orientalism is one of the most

importantand  dangerous channels that contributed to the formation of distorted stereotypes about Islam and Muslims and solidification in the imagination of the Western mind individually and collectively.

 Orientalism with its classic face or what has become known   as «New Orientalism» is the rear base and the intellectual factor which supplies  evangelists and colonialists with appropriate materials and weapons in order to impose control over the people of the world of Islam and the demolition his ideas.

The intellectual methods that are used by orientalists depend on the distortion of the history of the Islamic nation and the the distortion of its presence based on to the questioning of the following fundamentals:

-Questioning in the sources of the Islamic religion and the truth of the prophecy of Prophet Muhammad "peace be upon him".

-Throwing suspicion on the legislative provisions of Islam and sources.

-Fallacies.

-Decorating the alternative ideas.

-slander, lies,  invention of stories, invalid explanations and interpretations.

- Following sneaky approaches to win the hearts and minds by promoting corrupted ideas about Islam gradually and politely.

Also we do not overlook the role of the Western media with his massive techniques and widespread influence of sculpting very negative stereotype about Islam and Muslims, the image carrying all the characteristics of ugliness, terrorism, backwardness and reactionary.

The biased news industry distorted and exploited its ideology to pave the way in front of  the next campaigns to come to Islam and have entered into the agenda of the Western media long ago, the followers of this media noted that the hunting down some of the mistakes of Muslims published, maximized, and  confirmed that  is "Islam", all the media  especially cinematic visual media portray Muslims as a group of bedouins Characterized by barbarism, backwardness and they are the source of all the scourge , their channels are never bored with showing the stereotypes and carefully selected show a scene backwards for people who pray in the open, screaming gatherings that are threatening , and women who wearing neqaab (cover their faces or the veil) ,the bearded faces, open mouths and  goggle eyes.

Those slanderous campaigns, which lack much credibility, are supposed to be stopped and the media must instead  look for the truth of this religion, and to get information from credible and  correct sources instead of wasting their time with tendentious lies!

It is fair to  refer to the fact that from time to time appears from some of them fairness to the truth without bias then  luminous characters; some Europeans and Westerns  take some positive attitudes towards Islam, also the Orientalist movement has an important role in the growing attention toward the Arabic manuscripts in the Western libraries, indexing them, holding many of the original scripts of the Arabic books in various fields of the Islamic thought, and perform many useful language studies.

In recent times issued an estimable book for its author "Jack Shaheen" entitled: «Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People the bad Arabs.. How Hollywood distorts people », its owner worked on it about twenty years, and investigated about a thousand documentary and celluloid..The Book is the latest shock in American cultural communities because it came to conclude that Hollywood was practicing organized and legalized distortion of the image of Muslims throughout the century.

Islamophobia and ways of overcoming
-To overcome this phenomenon and for a treatment things must be worked out from the top:
The puny and poor understandings of our fellow Muslims; some Muslims contribute to the distortion of the image of Islam by exhibiting wrong understanding of the religion through baseless practices that are greatly influenced by local cultures than by the principles of Islam. Also we must moderate our message and stop being hostile excessively toward the West, it must overcome and following of more moderate way that fits our  mission; tolerance and moderation of Islam. The distorted image about Islam and Muslims accrue ultimately to «rollback for the way of God», and this requires take responsibility to treatment these distortions or contributing to it.
-Ignoring the pettiness kills it,  it should not be for Muslims to get angry and outrageous because of any insult or prejudice or distortion toward Islam or the Islamic figures, and consider those who commit those actions mere fame-seekers who try to get a spotlight on.
-The most important thing Muslims should do, especially in the European countries and the West in general, is to reflect the real Islam in their behavior, because whatever you have tried to promote to principles  Semitic ethics that exist in Islam, people will not understand or believe you until they find those principles being applied and practiced on the ground.

Muslims need in this confrontation to do organized work thourgh institutions and centers of studies; even to have the desired impact on multiple levels rather than the present individual efforts, and that is in the field of monitoring what is published or broadcast about Islam and Muslims, or in the face of what is published in various western media channels , considering that individual efforts remain unable to activate the mechanisms of confrontation and reply and correct; this confrontation is primarily an intellectual one that needs to work out the minds and thoughts.

As Muslims need to some media  instrument  comparable to western media instrument. A professional media instrument that can answer allegations and correct images, not only calling for people to take to the streets in demonstrations

 It has to be focusing on the professional media that work on direct communication with involved people, and the formulation of policy media prevents the continuation to produce this image, through clarification mistakes and detect biases.