Islamophobia

Introduction

Nowadays, many issue that media shows and exposes to grab the attention of the public whether in Malaysia or abroad. Among issues have been talked about was Islamophobia in the whole world. Honestly, it is deliberately exaggerated to threaten the public, especially the Muslims. It is also intimidating the world’s community with the doctrine brought by Islam.

Definition

From Al-maktabi, the term 'Islamophobia' has only very recently been coined, as recent as the mid-1990s. It is one of a whole range of expressions that has grown out of the 'politically correct' ethos of the 1990s. The spirit of multiculturalism and pluralism was the climate that enabled the birth and circulation of the term. But unlike other terms born at this time it has not become household currency; Muslim organisations alert to discrimination against Muslims appear to be the only users of the term, and there has been no shortage of occasions to use it.

But does Islamophobia exist? We go through the meaning of Islamophobia first. Islamophobia is the fear that acute and consistent, due to see objects (attitudes, words and deeds), in a real, the reality of terror and violence committed by people associated with Muslims.

In Thesaurus dictionary, it refers to prejudice against Muslims.  There, Muslim’s intellectuals are afraid of growing Islamophobia in the West. It brings bias, prejudice, preconception which implies a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation.

Furthermore, it prefer to the fear that acute and consistent which is covering (attitudes, words and deeds). In reality, this situation is associated with Muslims that show us terrorism and violence.  The community are more exposed and believed with external factors such as mass media rather than investigate the true story. Hence, it is simply to blame Muslims and point a finger for what happened. Allah mentioned in Surah al-Hujurat (6), O ye who believe! If an evil liver bring you tidings , verify it , lest ye smite some folk in ignorance and afterward repent of what ye did.

Examples

Initially, the leading forces in world politics influenced publics through mass media and popular culture with resistance their representations of Islam and Muslims. The evidence for this is ample and can be demonstrated by reference to reportage on Islam in the British press. For examples, if you are a Muslim reading this in Britain you will need little demonstration, however. Everyday experience is sufficient. The Runnymede Trust document on British Muslims and Islamophobia (released in 1998) contains numerous examples from the media and other evidence while also being a comprehensive account of the problem in British society. It is a commendable report that governments and civic groups in Europe and North America should learn from and produce similar reports on their situation. But issuing a report does not change a bad situation. Thus the depiction of Muslims and Islam has seen no change since then.

On the other side, there are many conversation among Muslims and non-Muslims in West country in good situation or otherwise. A person answered about a king action tried to avoid talking  about Islam. As an example, after the King hearings, the hearings that Peter King did, you referred to, you talk about, every time you talk about terrorists and radicalization, you always attached the word Muslim to it, or Islamic. So, he is apparently more interested in defending it's reputation about how it reports the News than actually reporting the News. Additionally, many news is manipulated by the most influential and powerful to not reveal their fault and accuse or defame other Muslims.

In an interview, William Boykin said, “What we are not seeing first and foremost is the fact that Islam is not religion. It is a totalitarian way of life. There is a religious component. But we still treat it as a first amendment issue when in fact it is a totalitarian way of life.  And when you think Islam you need to think Sharia law. Sharia law is the law that subjugates women, that cuts off the hand of the thief that beheads the adulteress, that’s sharia law, and that’s what Islam is. It is a legal system more than anything else, with a religious component. And people simply do not understand that. And consequently, Skip, we still treat it as a first amendment issue. And we continue to categorize them as extremists or radicals or people who are not following the dictates of Islam, well the reality is they are following the dictates of Islam and all we’re doing is playing their game of propaganda when we refuse to acknowledge that they are terrorists, they are Jihadists, they’re Muslims, they’re Islamists, and they want to destroy our constitution and replace it with Sharia law.”

He was asked again,  “whether or how the First Amendment should properly be applied to Islam” and stressed that “the ultimate outcome of blanket protection for Islam in all its manifestations on the grounds of ‘religious freedom’ would be the establishment of Islamic law and government, or Sharia, alongside or in place of civil law and government in this country.”

From here, we can see the dangers of Islam at The Oak Initiative Summit in 2011, religious leaders was attacked who seek interfaith dialogue and understanding with Muslims, he claimed that when Muslims pray, they curse Jesus and asserting that Islam is not an Abrahamic faith and therefore Christianity and Islam have absolutely nothing in common.

We discover a different place now, Britain even for Muslims. Indeed, there are still racist attacks undoubtedly. Early in December, three young Muslims were beaten up in Manchester by a 15 strong gang in what the police described as a "dreadful racial attack." Yet we have moved a long way from the 1970s and 1980s, and we get little sense of the intensity of racism that existed then.

In Quran, Allah tells us the story about Jesus and Jews in surah Ali-imran, verses 54: “And (the unbelievers) plotted and planned, and Allah too planned, and the best of planners is Allah.” This story shows us what happened nowadays including this issue which spreads rapidly throughout the world.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, we must study the real situation and reveal it through media massa. It is very important to address what is right and what is wrong. Hence, we need to highlight the deep-seated nature of Islamophobia and xenophobia. At the same time it is clear that these two concepts are not exactly congruent. Expressions of Islamophobia have certainly in some instances simply been a ‘cover’ for general racism and xenophobia, in some countries offered legitimacy by the statements of politicians and other opinion leaders. However, there have also been instances in which such expressions have been quite selectively targeted at visibly perceived manifestations of Islam. What these explanations have achieved though is to present a starting point from which further discussion and consideration can be developed.

Appendices

References

Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia (2004). Islamophobia Issues, Challenges and Actions. R. Robin (ed.). UK & US: Trentham Books.

Islamophobia no longer questioned - even by our elected representatives - updated 11/18/11

Kenan Malik (2005). Islamophobia Myth. Prospect Magazine (February. translated and published on Answering Islam.

Mohd Yusof Hj Othman (2010). Media dan Isu Alam Sekitar (Media and the Issues of Environment). Jurnal Hadhari 2(2) (2010) 1-17. Malaysia: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Sheila Musaji (2011). (18/11/2011). Islamophobia No Longer Questioned - even by Our Elected Representatives.  The American Muslim (TAM). <http://www.The American Muslim (TAM).html/>