How to Stop Islamophobia in the US and in the UK Essay

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Ciftci, S. (2012). Islamophobia and threat perceptions: Explaining anti-Muslim

sentiment in the West. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 32(3): 292-309.

This article examines the "nuanced" expressions of anti-Muslim sentiment in the West with a focus on the specific expressions linking Muslims to acts of terroristic violence. The attitudes are tested in the U.S., UK, France, Germany and Spain. The study concludes that the higher level of education an individual has, the less likely he or she is to demonstrate Islamophobia. The study also reveals that a substantial number of Westerners believe that Muslims in general "support al-Qaeda" and this belief grows the more that one's immediate existence (physical or cultural) is perceived to be threatened by acts of terror. Overall, the point of the article is that Islamophobia is greatest in the West and has, indeed, reached "unprecedented levels" (p. 307). This is due primarily to a lack of understanding about Muslims and the actual identities of the terrorists linked to groups like al-Qaeda and those who support them.

Dommelen, A., Schmid, K., Hewstone, M., Gonsalkorale, K., Brewer, M. (2015).

Construing multiple ingroups: Assessing social identity inclusiveness and structure in ethnic and religious minority group members. European Journal of Social Psychology, 45: 386-399.

The study examines the constructing of multiple ingroup social identities and social structures within a single society. It looks at how ingroups foster subjective identities in order to develop group overlap. The subject is viewed in terms of social identity structure and social identity inclusiveness and consists of samples from a community of Turkish-Belgian Muslims and a community of Turkish-Australian Muslims. Attitudes within these samples (ingroups) towards outgroups were measured and unique attitudes and self-identities were assessed among individuals within the ingroup samples. Thus, the study concludes that social identity structures are myriad and very diverse and include wide-ranging characters and characteristics even within a single group sample. The overall point of the study is that generalizing about groups or stereotyping them is difficult in today's heterogeneous cultural subgroups, ingroups and outgroups.

Ghumman, S. (2009). Formal and interpersonal discrimination towards Hijabi job applicants. Dissertation submitted to Michigan State University.

This study examines the ways in which Hijabi applicants face discrimination when applying for jobs. The discrimination is based on the fact that they wear religious attire, which marks them as a Hijabi. The types of discrimination that are perceived are both formal and interpersonal. Formal discrimination is defined as not receiving a call back about the position, and interpersonal discrimination is defined as a lack of interest or open signs of negativity/hostility. All areas of this subject are explored as well such as what type of jobs are being applied for (working with the public vs. not working with the public). In most cases, evidence of discrimination was found. The overall point of the study is that there exists on the part of employers discrimination towards Hijabis who apply for jobs but self-identify by wearing religious attire.

Halliday, F. (1999). 'Islamophobia' reconsidered. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 22(5):

892-902.

This article discusses the invalid use of terms like "the West" in order to identify groups within the context of discussions on Islamophobia. The researcher argues that "West" is "too easily monist" and "conspiratorial" while "Islam" is also too "shorthand" for a valid assessment of the billion different Muslims in the world subdivided into various sects which espouse different ideologies. Thus, the overall framework is too simplistic and terms need to be more explicitly defined. Instead of using words like "West" and "Islam" one should denote specific political and social commentators. The study also discusses various other studies and their approach to the subject, identifying that in general a new conceptual narrative is required in order to correctly contextualize the discussion. The overall point of the study is that history is complex and full of diversity within groups that are largely subject to generalization and stereotyping when in reality this application is misleading and essentially invalidates any legitimacy to a discussion.

Islamophobia misinformation experts. (n.d.). Chapter 2.

This chapter argues that Islamophobia in America is supported by a misinformation campaign led by pundits within conservative foundations who are backed by wealthy donors and think-tanks, such as the Center for Security Policy (CSP), Jihad Watch, the Society of Americans for National Existence (SANE), and the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT). These groups foster bigotry by intentionally feeding the public lies about Islam and persuading them that all Mosques are "Trojan horse" of radical extremism, violence and terrorism (p. 29). They intentionally overlook positive community outreach plans and goals of Muslim projects, as for example in New York new Ground Zero, and fill the public with scorn and bias by perpetuating myths and lies about how every Muslim is a violent terrorist in the waiting -- a potential jihadist.

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The overall argument focuses on five men: Frank Gaffney of CSP, David Yerushalmi of SANE, Daniel Pipes of the Middle East Forum, Robert Spencer of Stop Islamization of America, and Steven Emerson of IPT. The main point of the chapter is that these individuals within these groups are the main reasons that Islamophobia exists and is more intense than ever before in America: they lead misinformation campaigns against Muslims.

Kaplan, J. (2006). Islamophobia in America?: September 11 and Islamophobic Hate

Crime. Terrorism and Political Violence, 18: 1-33.

This article examines the spate of hate crimes that followed 9/11 in America. It notes that these hate crimes directed against Muslims (but also against individuals of Middle Eastern ethnicity, regardless of whether they were Muslim or not) lasted for about nine weeks following 9/11 and then dropped off. The drop-off in incidence was due to factors such as local, community outreach by religious groups as well as by civic centers and educational facilities. Other factors included federal and local law enforcement policing, as well as an overall dissatisfaction with the justificatory evidence related to the invasion of Iraq.

The researcher likens the treatment that Muslims (and Middle Easterners) received during this time to what the Japanese-Americans suffered during WW2 on the West Coast. The research also contends that new media, like al-Jazeera helped to show that not all Muslims are terrorists and the Internet also facilitated this awareness, by being a tool for the rapid dissemination of news. The hate crimes themselves are documented by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. The overall aim of the study is to show how hate-crimes against Muslims were committed in the wake of 9/11 and why and how they eventually stopped in their severity and number.

Love, E. (2009). Confronting Islamophobia in the United States: Framing civil rights activism among Middle Eastern Americans. Patterns of Prejudice, 43(3-4): 401-425.

This study argues that Islamophobia does not just refer to fear of Muslims but also to bigotry of any sort based on race. The researcher uses an historical framework to show how racism has developed in the U.S. via popular culture stereotypes. Love notes that Middle-Eastern communities in the U.S. need to be more pro-active about asserting their individual rights and need the support of advocacy groups in order to stem the tide of racialization and Islamophobia. The main argument of the study is that these communities must band together in order to overcome historical prejudices fostered over time.

Ogan, C., Willnat, L., Pennington, R., Bashir, M. (2014). The rise of anti-Muslim

prejudice: Media and Islamophobia in Europe and the United States. International Communication Gazette, 76(1): 27-46.

This study compares public opinion in the U.S. to public opinion in Europe regarding Muslims in order to gauge anti-Muslim prejudice. The study shows that France harbored the most anti-Muslim sentiment when the subject of religion was discussed in public. Other regions showed more tolerance in public opinion polling, indicating that there was more public acceptance of discourse. The main point of the study was that people need to "challenge their assumptions about the nature of Muslims and the Islamic religion" and that only then will Islamophobia actually abate (p. 42). By challenging their assumptions they open themselves to adopting clearer and more educated ideas about the reality of the people they "fear."

Pratt, D. (2011). Islamophobia: ignorance, imagination, identity and interaction. Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, 22(4): 379-389.

This study examines the process of how ignorance and fear on an individual level lead to Islamophobia. The main argument of the study is that fear of Muslims as people and fear of Islam as a religion is rooted in ignorance and that if people were better educated about others they would see that their fears and mistrust are unfounded. The problem that this study uncovers is that the "imaging" of Muslims/Islam is done in a way that supports hatred and fear and that the need for a new "imaging" based on facts rather than misconceptions exists. The study's overall aim is to suggest that dialogue should be fostered to encourage better awareness between peoples of different faiths and ethnicity.

Sheridan, L. (2006). Islamophobia pre- and post-September 11th, 2001. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21(3): 317-336.

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