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🪵 The Threshold

Islamophobia is measured by prejudice's prevalence, consistency, and intensity

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tagsja-picks, define, xref, definitional_content, primary_study, singleton, category/definitional-content
aliases@bleich_what_2011, loc. 37

3 min read

Islamophobia is measured by prejudice’s prevalence, consistency, and intensity

Evidence

Two insights can help determine the degree to which a statement or a person can be classified as Islamophobic. In their discussion of anti-Americanism, Katzenstein and Keohane (2007b) identify the intensity of an individual’s adherence to a particular position. They assign changeable opinions less weight than more durable predispositions, such as distrust or bias (pp. 19-24). This distinction is related to Sniderman et al.’s (2000) reliance on measures of attitudinal consistency to determine levels of prejudice. For Sniderman et al., the more frequently an individual offers a negative evaluation (or withholds a positive one) of a group or its members, the more prejudiced he or she is (pp. 23-25). Following these insights, a one-off negative opinion about Islam or Muslims constitutes low-level Islamophobia, especially if that opinion can be altered based on new information. At the other extreme, expressions of unshakable hostility are high-level examples of Islamophobia. The more consistently an individual expresses a greater number of such intensely held biases, the more Islamophobic he or she is. The greater the prevalence, consistency, and intensity of Islamophobic expressions and individuals, the greater the Islamophobia in a given social group or society. — Erik Bleich, What Is Islamophobia and How Much Is…, 37

Categorization

  • DEFINE: Bleich operationalizes Islamophobia as a graded variable combining prevalence, consistency, and intensity of bias — offering a measurable, non-binary alternative to Runnymede’s open/closed dichotomous framework.
  • XREF: Connects directly to the contested-definition debate this reading targets: this is Bleich’s neutral social-scientific concept-formation stance, opposed to critical/decolonial framings that see prejudgment benchmarks as depoliticizing. — connects to: Indicators of Islamophobia vary widely in how directly they reflect underlying attitudes — Erik Bleich, What Is Islamophobia and How Much Is…, 54; Islamophobia is measurable but requires seeking direct indicators — Erik Bleich, What Is Islamophobia and How Much Is…, 56; Measuring Islamophobia demands indicators that connect to an abstract concept — Erik Bleich, What Is Islamophobia and How Much Is…, 44 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

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