Islamophobia entered print via distinct British and American usages in 1991

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 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

In terms of the word Islamophobia being recorded in print, as mentioned previously, the Oxford English Dictionary suggests that it was first used in 1991 in the American periodical, Insight. Whilst this appears to be inaccurate by some 66 years, in its contemporary guise Modood also employed the term in 1991 despite having written about the issue of an anti-Muslim, anti-Islamic phenomenon a number of times in both 1990 and 1991. Unfortunately, he did not refer to it as Islamophobia on either occasion. What is interesting though is that whilst Modood’s usage referred to the socio-political British Muslim experience – ‘a cultural sickness’ as he put it31 –for Insight, Islamophobia had a distinctly international context: ‘Islamophobia … accounts for Moscow’s reluctance to relinquish its position in Afghanistan, despite the estimated $300 million a month it takes to keep the Kabul regime going’. — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 73 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Bookended between the events of 1989 and the publication of Huntington’s thesis, an embryonic Islamophobia – or at least an embryonic anti-Muslim, anti-Islamic phenomenon – began to be recognised. This embryonic shift was the impetus for the Oxford English Dictionary to record the first use of the word ‘Islamophobia’ in print, notable for it being the first time in which Islamophobia was referred to as a specifically anti-Muslim, anti-Islamic phenomenon emanating from non-Muslims and directed at Muslims. — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 251 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Islamophobia’s coinage predates 1991 and is contested — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 40; Islamophobia’s coinage predates the Oxford English Dictionary’s 1991 attribution. — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 73; The term Islamophobia first appeared in print around 1989 to Huntington’s thesis — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 251 (+3 more)

Related

• Islamophobia’s coinage predates 1991 and is contested (similarity 0.94)
• Islamophobia’s coinage predates the Oxford English Dictionary’s 1991 attribution. (similarity 0.91)
• The term Islamophobia first appeared in print around 1989 to Huntington’s thesis (similarity 0.89)
• The OED’s first cited use defined Islamophobia as a directed anti-Muslim phenomenon (similarity 0.85)
• Discussion of Islamophobia in British media increased and grew more serious over time. (similarity 0.82)
• The term Islamophobia was nearly absent from the British press during 1998–2003. (similarity 0.82)
• Islamophobia’s contestation stems from a failure to define or conceptualise it. (similarity 0.82)
• Islamophobia began as colonial administrators’ anti-Muslim views across French west Africa (similarity 0.81)
• Islamophobia usage rose in British press while sarcastic or denying uses halved (similarity 0.81)
• Conceptualizing Islamophobia must separate its forms from the phenomenon itself (similarity 0.81)
• Islamophobia has moved from academic usage into mainstream national discourse. (similarity 0.81)
• Islamophobia is an ideology, not a set of actions or practices (similarity 0.80)
• Islamophobia gained massive discursive resonance in Europe within about a decade (similarity 0.80)
• Islamophobia is an ideology sustaining negative meaning about Muslims. (similarity 0.80)
• Islamophobia functions as an indiscriminate umbrella term serving varied agendas (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Islamophobia’s coinage predates 1991 and is contested #qualifies (0.90) — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 40
• Islamophobia’s coinage predates the Oxford English Dictionary’s 1991 attribution. #corroborates (0.85) — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 73
• The term Islamophobia first appeared in print around 1989 to Huntington’s thesis #contradicts (0.80) — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 251
• Islamophobia has moved from academic usage into mainstream national discourse. #expands (0.75) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 502