Islamophobia’s coinage predates 1991 and is contested

Evidence

It is widely believed that, Islamophobia both as a concept and neologism has its origins in Britain. This may not however be entirely true. Whilst the Oxford English Dictionary suggests that the term was first used in print in a 1991 American periodical, Insight, other sources and literature would suggest that it was first used in France by etienne Dinet and Slima Ben Ibrahim, when in 1925 they wrote, ‘accès de délire islamophobe’. … So whilst Fourest and Venner argue that this particular type of usage – as a means of describing Muslims frightened of Islam – was the premise from which it was re-contextualised by those such as al-Muhajiroun and the Islamic Human rights Commission (‘IHrC’) to name the fear of non-Muslims towards Islam and Muslims, there is – aside from this single reference – little other evidence to suggest any inter-linkage between the two. This book then is concerned with Islamophobia as a phenomenon that is directed at Muslims by non-Muslims even if at this stage an exact meaning remains unclear. — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 40

Categorization

• QUESTION: The term’s contested genealogy — 1925 French use vs. 1991 American print — is worth chasing against competing claims in the literature.
• XREF: connects to: Islamophobia entered print via distinct British and American usages in 1991; Islamophobia’s coinage predates the Oxford English Dictionary’s 1991 attribution. — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 73; Contested definitions of Islamophobia deepen the rift over its existence — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 37 (+2 more)

Related

• Islamophobia entered print via distinct British and American usages in 1991 (similarity 0.94)
• Islamophobia’s coinage predates the Oxford English Dictionary’s 1991 attribution. (similarity 0.89)
• The term Islamophobia first appeared in print around 1989 to Huntington’s thesis (similarity 0.86)
• Islamophobia’s contestation stems from a failure to define or conceptualise it. (similarity 0.85)
• The OED’s first cited use defined Islamophobia as a directed anti-Muslim phenomenon (similarity 0.84)
• Contested definitions of Islamophobia deepen the rift over its existence (similarity 0.84)
• Islamophobia began as colonial administrators’ anti-Muslim views across French west Africa (similarity 0.83)
• Islamophobia’s definitional looseness makes it a contested and unstable concept in Europe (similarity 0.83)
• Islamophobia is an ideology sustaining negative meaning about Muslims. (similarity 0.83)
• Islamophobia is an ideology, not a set of actions or practices (similarity 0.82)
• Islamophobia as a term originated as an activist denunciatory label, not an analytical concept (similarity 0.82)
• Islamophobia persists as a term despite definitional failure because it is now socially real (similarity 0.82)
• Islamophobia gained massive discursive resonance in Europe within about a decade (similarity 0.82)
• Islamophobia functions as an indiscriminate umbrella term serving varied agendas (similarity 0.82)
• The term Islamophobia demands a better-grounded, contestable definition (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Islamophobia’s coinage predates the Oxford English Dictionary’s 1991 attribution. #corroborates (0.95) — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 73
• Contested definitions of Islamophobia deepen the rift over its existence #expands (0.85) — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 37