Inclusive Excellence: Islamophobia

Islamophobia has been defined as "a dislike of or prejudice against Islam or Muslims, especially as a political force" (Oxford Dictionary, Lexico) and also "hatred or fear of Muslims or of their politics or culture" (Random House). 

For an overview see : Considine, Craig. "Islamophobia." Islam in America: Exploring the Issues, ABC-CLIO, 2019, pp. 80-83. Religion in Politics and Society Today. Gale eBooks, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX7955300033/GVRL?u=uiuc_eiu&sid=GVRL&xid=6b5ba288. 

Islamophobia is the commonly used term to summarize fear of, hostility toward, hatred of, and discrimination or prejudice against Muslims. Islamophobia is associated with other frequently referenced terms like anti-Islam, anti-Muslim, and anti-Muslim racism. Scholars believe that the origins of Islamophobia, as a sociological concept, is traced back to Edward Said, author of Orientalism (1978), a book that criticized Western civilization's patronizing depiction of “Islamic civilization” and the “Arab world.” While Said did not specifically use the term “Islamophobia” in his book, he nevertheless had concluded that Westerners generally perceived Muslims and Arabs as inferior people who were prone to using violence as a means to dominate the world.