Islamophobia remains socially acceptable while other bigotries bring reprimand

Evidence

Our discussion of the surveillance, religious profiling, detentions, deportations, hate crimes, and impediments to the free exercise of religion touches on the most prominent instances of the discrimination, exclusion, and even violence experienced by Muslims. While this is not an exhaustive list, it is a reminder of some of the overwhelming challenges facing Muslims who seek to live as productive members of Western societies. It is also a reminder that racism and bigotry are not confined to individual attitudes and actions but are systemic and take institutionalized form. The perpetuation of Islamophobia by government agencies and non-Muslim citizens reveals the magnitude of the problem. But is the problem insurmountable, or are there effective ways to combat Islamophobia? That is the question that concerns us in the final chapter. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 641 (#expands, via linked claim)

Islamophobia has emerged as the dominant mode of prejudice in contemporary Western societies. In North America and across the nations of Europe, concerns about “the Muslim problem” are central to political debates and policies. As part of the response to international conflicts, acts of terrorism, and state violence in the West itself, the figure of “the Muslim” has come under increased scrutiny. Muslims and Islam have emerged as the focal point of anxieties about citizenship, loyalty, and liberal values. They have been the object of heightened levels of criticism, intolerance, and abuse—their cultures homogenized and vilified and their religion depicted as backward and warlike. The same vitriol has passed into mainstream currency, finding outlets in journalism, film, and television dramas, in political statements, and in the outlaw spaces of the Internet. By 2011, UK government minister Baroness Sayeeda Warsi went as far as to declare that Islamophobia seemed to have “passed the dinner-table test” of social respectability, being the only form of prejudice now indulged and approved in the so-called liberal societies of the West. — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 15 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

If we persist in portraying Islamophobia as an irrational force of misperception—the bad citizen’s response to the bad Muslim—we will render ourselves oblivious to Islamophobia’s ultimate causes, which are not simply ignorance or xenophobia. Pastor Terry Jones is rightly criticized for both, but he has never invaded and occupied an independent (Muslim-majority) nation-state, authorized the torture of (Muslim) alien combatants held in secret prisons, killed hundreds of innocent (Muslim) people in unmanned drone attacks, propped up (Muslim) dictators against the will of their (Muslim) subjects, and given orders to detain, deport, and assassinate (Muslim) terror suspects without trial. — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 706 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: Islamophobia remains more socially acceptable than other Western prejudices — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 710; Islamophobia has become a mainstream civil rights issue framed alongside racism and sexism. — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 501; Islamophobia remains Europe’s one tolerated and even encouraged racist ideology — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 486 (+11 more)

Related

• Islamophobia remains more socially acceptable than other Western prejudices (similarity 0.92)
• Islamophobia has become the dominant prejudice in Western societies (similarity 0.89)
• Islamophobia remains Europe’s one tolerated and even encouraged racist ideology (similarity 0.87)
• Islamophobia is systemic and institutionalized, not merely individual prejudice (similarity 0.86)
• Islamophobia is increasingly theorized as a form of racism rather than mere religious prejudice (similarity 0.86)
• Anti-Muslim prejudice is considered more socially acceptable than any other group’s (similarity 0.85)
• Islamophobia is a largely unwarranted social anxiety about Islam and Muslims (similarity 0.83)
• Islamophobia and racial prejudice are entangled in distinct ways across Western contexts (similarity 0.83)
• Islamophobia has become a mainstream civil rights issue framed alongside racism and sexism. (similarity 0.83)
• Islamophobia remains legitimate while racism has become illegitimate (similarity 0.83)
• Atavistic group-character research remains acceptable for Muslims though not for others (similarity 0.83)
• Islamophobia has moved from academic usage into mainstream national discourse. (similarity 0.82)
• Islamophobia functions as a screen hiding Western geopolitical responsibility (similarity 0.82)
• Islamophobia is produced by state action, not only cultural bias (similarity 0.82)
• Anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim attitudes are distinct but overlapping targets of prejudice (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Islamophobia is systemic and institutionalized, not merely individual prejudice #expands (0.60) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 641
• Islamophobia has become the dominant prejudice in Western societies #corroborates (0.50) — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 15
• Islamophobia has material and political causes beyond ignorance or xenophobia #expands (0.40) — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 706