The rise of Islamophobia
Today, Muslim World is surrounded by a vicious cycle of internal and external challenges.
As far as internal challenges are concerned, it includes social, political and sectarian war. Externally, the most vicious challenge Muslim world is facing right now is pervasive Islamophobia. And it is rising at short speed and make bold the right wing populist and white supremacist.
The rise of Islamophobia has taken its roots from the attack of 9/11 that the United States and other Western countries termed it as an act of Islamic terrorism.
In the aftermath of those attacks, they termed Islam a threat to Western world and dead fear caused right wing extremist hate to the Muslims across the world. The word Islamophobia was developed to fear Islam and Muslims as a social group.
Thereafter, Muslims were generally taunted, ridiculed and were perceived as terrorist in America and other countries of Western world.
In the past few years, hostility toward the Muslim immigrants has increased sharply, which resulted in the persecution and killing of Muslims in their worship places.
The western media has never missed a chance to ridicule the Muslims and spread hatred against Islam and hold them responsible for any attack happened in any part of the world.
It is an alarming situation for the Muslims to see how Western media portraits Muslims and show prejudice against Islam and spread Islamophobia at a lightning speed.
When there is an attack which is carried out by Muslims, they call it as Islamic terrorism, but on the other hand when any attack is carried out by non-Muslims they call and label him as a mentally ill and distressed one.
This is the extreme level of biasness that is deeply entrenched in the western media. Media must not be bias and must acknowledge that terrorism has no religion and it must stop demonizing the Muslim and holding them responsible for anything bad that happens to the world.
To put an end to the rise of Islamophobia, political leaders and those in government or places of authority around the world must stop their anti-Muslim rhetoric.
They must stop dehumanizing Muslims and demonizing Islam, owing to the problem that terrorism is a global problem and it must be tackled through collective efforts.
To counter Islamophobia, the first and foremost role can be played by OIC countries through united and collective diplomatic efforts.
Besides this, the West needs to understand the importance of multiculturalism, the only pragmatic solution to this hate based ideology toward Muslim.
Furthermore, Muslims do need to understand that cultural difference doesn’t mean a violent response on their part.
More ever radicalizing the youth exploited by some terrorist outfits teaching them the true Islamic values could help countering rising Islamophobia.
Conclusively, the media should play an important role to quit prejudiced reporting because it is the entity that controls the mind of the people and therefore should broadcast positive posture to get rid of Islamophobia.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Karachi.
