The shape of contemporary Islamophobia and its specific effects on young Muslims political and associative life
Hande Taner
About Islamophobia
Islamophobia is a specific form of racism which is rooted in prejudiced views or fear towards Muslims and/or the religion of Islam. Muslims, or those perceived to be, experience discrimination, stigmatisation and exclusion in all areas of life such as education, employment, vocational training, services and political participation. They are also direct targets of racist violence and of online and offline hate speech.[1] Islamophobia ranges from describing Muslims and Islam as backwards, as being a Trojan horse, being contrary to “Western” and democratic values, to adopting policies and legislative acts which actively target veiled Muslim women and Muslim civil society organisations.
The reason why Islamophobia is a form of racism is because “it is the result of the social construction of a group as a race and to which specificities and stereotypes are attributed, in this case real or perceived religious belonging being used as a proxy for race” (ENAR). Whether it takes the form of individual targeting or institutional discrimination, it is a violation of human rights, most notably Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
In an era marked by the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the USA and the consequent “Wars on Terror”, as well as the migration waves to Europe, our continent has been witnessing a particular spike in Islamophobic episodes. Hate crimes and racist attacks against the Muslim community have been reported in various countries such as Belgium, Germany, Italy and France. However, the majority of episodes are not reported to the authorities due to a lack of trust, and if they are, they are not given due attention.[2]Social and mainstream media amplify hate speech through anonymity and the spreading of unfounded accusations and conspiracy theories around Muslim communities and organisations.
Islamophobia can take the form of anti-Muslim hatred or hate crimes between individuals, or it can take an institutionalised or structural form where Muslims or those perceived as such are barred entrance to employment, education and other services; alternatively, their progress in these areas may be significantly limited. The institutionalised form is due to its rules-based nature: for instance, in Belgium, educational institutions were recently given the right to not accept students wearing a religious symbol, including an Islamic headscarf. This shows the disproportionate and unfair nature of such laws, targeting veiled Muslim women.
However, the institutionalisation of Islamophobia is now conducted at a high level where Muslims and Muslim organisations are more limited in their individual religious and associate practices respectively, and also more often targeted by security services under radicalisation, terrorism or so-called “Islamism” or “political Islam” charges. Assaults on Islamic organisations, including the forced closure of a human rights organisation tackling Islamophobic hate crimes in France in November 2020, were proven to be based on political motives and unfounded accusations which were easily refuted. International human rights organisations such as Amnesty International have firmly condemned this political witch-hunt.[3] This is a clear example of institutionalised Islamophobia manifested in the direct violation of the freedom of assembly and association (Art. 11 of the ECHR).
Despite the given rise in Islamophobia, there are still no coherent policy responses to it. As a result, this policy vacuum is used by racist groups to re-orientate their hatred towards Muslims. However, it is also filled by leaders trying to give their own shape to it and instil a firm control on it, and by securitising Muslims and Islamic practices. For many, Islamophobia has become the acceptable face of racism.
Islamophobia’s impact on youth and islamic institutions
Islamophobia has a fundamental impact upon the lives of Muslim youth. However, the effects of Islamophobia on youth organisations can often be underplayed and ignored by institutions and activists trying to tackle this discrimination.
The Islamophobia manifested upon organisations can lead to their de-legitimisation and denigration, and can render them unable to carry out work on behalf of Muslim youth, which allows Islamophobia at every level to be left free to spread throughout society.
Examples of this Islamophobia can be seen in the following ways:
Referring to these organisations as foreign agents, which is a projection of the racialised nature of how Muslim communities are seen by some.
Individuals who take part in Muslim organisations can be seen as separatists who aren't willing to engage with wider society – with any form of self-organisation amongst faith groups seen as particularism or separatism
A public / online attack on individuals who are active Muslim citizens , shaming and humiliating them with false accusations, and creating distress and fear for them, their families and loved ones
The ceasing of these organisations and the terminating of the work they are conducting towards engaging the community with wider society
Violently attacking organisational buildings and places of worship, such as mosques.[4]
Since the rise of Islamophobia, it has been quite clear there has been a lack of response towards creating any consistent strategy to avoid future attacks and the dehumanisation of individuals of Muslim faith. The issue and troubles we see now towards Muslims will only continue to grow and increase if no constructive action is taken forward together as a society. The work that needs to be created cannot be done by those being oppressed. Rather, it is a collective responsibility that we each have a duty towards. If not, then this will continue to hold us back as a European society, a society that prides itself in advocating for equal rights and freedom of expression.
We need to consider the effects this has and will continue to have on active Muslim citizens, on wider society as a whole and what the message is that we are sending to the youth if we do not dismantle this form of racism which targets a religious minority. Based on a shared foundation and culture of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, which bring together 47 member states of the Council of Europe, we must ask ourselves how Islamophobia will impact the future lives of young Muslims, and what that would mean for the future of Europe.
Gendered Islamophobia
Muslim women and girls in Europe suffer intersectional discrimination based on different grounds: religion, gender and ethnicity. Intersectionality is thus a nexus of identities that renders certain individuals as ideal targets. Indeed, the majority of ways in which Islamophobia is produced is targeted towards women, due to their dress and the idea that Muslim women are oppressed and must be liberated. These attacks are highly personalised, because they depend on individuals identifying Muslim women and punishing them for their identity.
Data on discrimination and racist hate speech are not disaggregated by religion; thus, the proxy considered in the statistics is the country of origin or ethnicity, which is not completely reliable. Nevertheless, the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) reports in its findings that Muslim women are more likely to suffer discrimination and harassment, in particular if they are wearing religious symbols: more than one third of women interviewed wearing a headscarf or niqab experienced harassment because of their identity. The European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality equally expressed deep concern over the FRA’s results.
Further evidence of discrimination is rooted in the stereotyped image of Muslim women represented in the media and perceived by the general public as submissive and, at the same time, one which perpetuates a conservative view of women. Researcher Laura Navarro, from the University Paris 8, states that Muslim women are represented as “victims of their own culture and a threat to ours”.[5] The discrimination suffered by Muslim women develops within a broader context of gender inequality in Europe where women are still underrepresented in the media and in decision-making, while gaps in salary and career opportunities are not solved yet.
Gendered Islamophobia is:
The experience that Muslim women have by being at the intersection of identities: gender, religion and ethnicity
The dehumanisation and erosion of a Muslim woman's right to exist in the public sphere
The debating and discussion of Muslim women's choice of dress in national conversations without them being there, allowing an unfounded legitimacy to the regular citizen to judge, control and police Muslim women's dress
The aim of convincing Muslim women that their bodies do not belong to themselves, but to others to liberate
The media portraying binary images of Muslim women: studies have shown that the majority of stories about Muslim women focused around negative images
The message that Muslim women are either oppressed, or complicit in their own oppression, but always in need of liberation.
This thus shows once again that Islamophobia cannot be reduced to simple acts of hate crime, but rather a structured process in which Muslims are constantly demonised.
The need to tackle Islamophobia
Implicit and explicit Islamophobia creates alienation which can lead to loss of confidence and depression, and widens the gap between members of society from a young age. There are many stories of young people being bullied verbally and physically by fellow young people because they are Muslims or perceived Muslims. Therefore, it is crucial to take tangible steps towards tackling Islamophobia and educating young people about it.
Children and students spend a lot of time in educational institutions. This is where they learn patterns of thought, and attitudes in interaction with others. It is the main place for teaching respect for diversity. Schools and universities thus have an obligation and responsibility to ensure this because the way in which schools deal with diversity sends a very strong message to the child, their family and wider society about the value society places on diversity.
Firstly, schools and universities must ensure that they have effective policies against all forms of discrimination. They first need to acknowledge the fact that discrimination takes many forms, amongst which religious discrimination/Islamophobia is the type that is rising the most, because it has become acceptable, a norm. Islamophobia must be reported as a specific form of discrimination and mentioned as a separate category in anti-discrimination policies. Thus, when students approach teachers to tell them they have been bullied or victimised due to their religious affiliation, teachers should not refrain from taking action, nor should they fail to recognise the pupil’s experience as discrimination, for the reason that it does not fit within the anti-discrimination framework in place.
However, besides formal education, non-formal education is equally as important. Educational programmes outside school and universities are equally crucial in combating discrimination and intolerance. In a recent study of the FRA, the EU MIDIS II report, it is shown that when people with a faith background become part of a single faith organisation that promotes civic activism, they increase their participation in society, they are more tolerant and have more trust in public institutions. Because of this involvement, through creating spaces in which people feel comfortable and in which they can develop their identity, young people become better citizens with more social skills, including combating discrimination and intolerance.[6]
By not tackling Islamophobia, the threat to it being further normalised on societal and institutional levels increases. Since it is easy to fall into the trap of unconscious Islamophobia, this can once again lead to further tension and societal cleavages. Hence, this is why it is crucial for both civil society organisations and policy makers to realise the severity of Islamophobia and take practical steps, such as including it into its anti-discrimination policy and educating their membership about it.
The Education Pack is important for the way in which it names and tackles a range of types of racism and discrimination, and the connections between them. Anti-racism and human rights education today have to approach Islamophobia as a damaging and widespread form of racism that we can work to combat together.
However, it must be noted that there is a lot of significant work that has been done in Europe by both civil society organisations and government institutions to tackle Islamophobia. Muslim youth and student organisations in particular are at the forefront of both tackling this societal illness, and at the same time building bridges and creating positive inroads. With improved sharing of best practices and investment in Muslim youth organisations, Islamophobia can be effectively tackled.
[5] Navarro L. (2010), ‘Islamophobia and Sexism: Muslim Women in the Western Mass Media’,)] in Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-Knowledge. Omar Khayyam Center for Integrative Research
