The term ‘Islamophobia’ is too often used to shield radical Islamists from criticism.
November is ‘Islamophobia Awareness Month’. According to the organisers, the aim of this month is ‘to deconstruct and challenge the stereotypes about Islam and Muslims’. This all sounds very progressive. If its purpose was simply to protect Muslims from bigotry, hate and prejudice, then, as a Muslim, I would certainly agree with it. But there is a much darker side to this initiative.
Islamophobia Awareness Month, as its name suggests, is based on the flawed idea of ‘Islamophobia’. As a concept, ‘Islamophobia’ conflates Islam and Muslims. But the former is a religion whereas the latter are the people who believe in it. And while bigoted ideas and stereotypes about Muslims should be challenged, Islam is a belief system and it therefore cannot be ‘abused’ or ‘harassed’ in the same way as Muslims can be.
