Islamophobia: An Issue Too Often Ignored
Earlier this year, France banned the use of the Hijab, a head bearing often donned by Muslim females as an indication of their religious adherence. While there were murmurs of disapproval, media attention, unfortunately, was fleeting and limited. More worryingly, events just like this, unjust and unwarranted, are common with regard to the Muslim community. To see this, one only has to look as far as the recent ruling which means employers can now prohibit the wearing of the Hijab if they apply the same restrictions to other religious beliefs, according to a new judgment by the European Union's top court.
The past few years have seen a spike in hate-fuelled attacks on Muslim civilians worldwide: between March 2020 and March 2021, for example, it was reported that Muslims in the UK faced 2,703 hate crimes. This is unsurprising considering that people as senior as the CEO of RyanAir (one of England’s most popular airlines) have made Islamophobic remarks; in the past, he came under fire for claiming that terrorists are “generally Muslim men.”
Having established the discriminatory nature of Islamophobia, it is also important to examine its root causes. Much of the issue is derived from biased media coverage and poor fact-checking on social platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. In a recent study, a researcher looked into the causes of Islamophobia in the Balkan region, focusing specifically on the Czech Republic and Slovakia. His results showed that Islamophobia had grown astronomically during the period between 2013-2016, which coincided with the EU migration crisis. Looking deeper into the issue, he found that immigrants, particularly those of Muslim backgrounds, had been demonised in the media and often portrayed as terrorists. His further research concluded that 77% of Czech media stories and 67% of Slovak Media stories related to Islam claimed Muslims were security threats. As such, it’s absolutely no surprise to see that Islamophobia is thriving. The media has very clearly shaped public perception.
With this in mind, one way to reverse the impacts of Islamophobia is to balance reporting on Muslim people as a whole. Many Muslims have done amicable things in their life – often with little credit. It is imperative we begin focusing on them.
Overall, Islamophobia is an issue of massive significance. This ongoing witch hunt must end, and the intolerable hatred many have for Muslims must be halted. Otherwise, we, as a society, risk turning a blind eye to one of the worst genocides in history.
References:
(1) https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/9/a-law-against-islam
(3) https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/15/top-eu-court-rules-hijab-can-be-banned-at-work
(5) https://www.trtworld.com/life/muslims-most-targeted-group-for-hate-crimes-in-england-wales-50723
(6) https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/feb/21/mp-condemns-michael-oleary-for-encouraging-racism
(7) https://www.unyp.cz/news/islamophobia-europe-media-blame/
(8) https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1748048519832778