Understanding Islamophobia.

Many journalists are mindful of their own biases and work hard to ensure balance. Yet so much that’s written about Muslims and Islam is steeped in tropes, bigotry and hate. The logical conclusion is that there isn’t enough awareness of what constitutes an Islamophobic imbalance. According to the United Nations1 , “Islamophobia is a fear, prejudice and hatred of Muslims that leads to provocation, hostility and intolerance by means of threatening, harassment, abuse, incitement and intimidation of Muslims and non-Muslims, both in the online and offline world. Motivated by institutional, ideological, political and religious hostility that transcends into structural and cultural racism, it targets the symbols and markers of being a Muslim."

In his book, The Fear of Islam: AnIntroduction to Islamophobia in theWest, author Todd Green describes Islamophobia as “the fear of and hostility toward Muslims and Islam that is rooted in racism and that results in individual and systemic discrimination, exclusion, and violence targeting Muslims and those perceived as Muslim”. Yasir Qadhi says, “any system of beliefs or any manifestation of the inherent preposition that Muslims are somehow more prone to violence, or somehow not able to fit into the modern world or somehow an impediment to progress; that Muslims as an entirety are a problem, in any sense of the word, would be the basis of Islamophobia”. The definitions of Islamophobia vary. Some organisations and scholars have increasingly moved in the direction of identifying Islamophobia as a direct form of racism. It is easy and simplistic to conclude that something is rooted in faith and highlight it under the banner of an entire religion. Journalists must always contextualize what they are writing. It’s important to understand that there’s typically a deeper reason for whatever the story might be.