The long history of Islam as a collective "other" of the West and the rise of Islamophobia in the U.S. after Trump.

• Author: Sunar, Lutfi
• Position: COMMENTARY - Essay

ABSTRACT In the last two decades, Islamophobia in the West has become mainstream. Covertly, Islamophobia is the last link in the chain of a long tradition of Eurocentrism, ethnocentrism, xenophobia, and racism. This article analyzes the recent rise of Islamophobic policies and practices in the United States. In particular, the false fear of Islam, which carried Trump into power, seems to have turned into a 'reason' for all kinds of violence and oppression against Muslims both domestically and abroad.

Introduction

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a phobia is "an exaggerated, usually inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situation." As implied in this description, the source of the horror is mostly meaningless and illogical, but it influences the flow of life in many respects. Over the last few decades, a particular kind of phobia has gripped Western societies: Islamophobia.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) defines Islamophobia as a "closed-minded hatred, fear or prejudice toward Islam and Muslims that result in discrimination, marginalization, and oppression." (1) Ali and colleagues define Islamophobia as "an exaggerated fear, hatred, and hostility toward Islam and Muslims that is perpetuated by negative stereotypes resulting in bias, discrimination, and the marginalization and exclusion of Muslims from social, political, and civic life." (2) Runnymede Trust's Commission defines Islamophobia as "an unfounded hostility towards Islam, and therefore fear or dislike of all or most Muslims." This report found that the term was used firstly by an American newspaper reporter in 1991. (3)

Islamophobia refers to stereotypical and negative attitudes held primarily by mostly non-Muslims (though ironically sometimes by some Muslims) and directed toward Islam, Muslims, and parts of Islamic culture. Sourcing from these wrong images "It creates a distorted understanding of Islam and Muslims and transforms diversity in name, language, culture, ethnicity, and race into a set of stereotyped characteristics." For this reason "Islamophobia is a system of both religious and racial animosity." (4)

As a phenomenon, Islamophobia is a harsh and thoughtless attitude toward differences and diversity in the society. When Islam is defined as an enemy from an Islamophobic perspective, people become less open to discover its real appearance. Since Islamophobia is fed by a long history of ethnocentrism, xenophobia, and racism in the West, it is difficult to overcome it. (5)

Ironically, Islamophobia not only affects the lives of religious Muslims; people who have some characteristics such as language, clothing or skin color that are generally associated with Muslims are also affected by Islamophobia. As a result, some non-Muslims such as Sikhs, Africans, Arab Christians, and Hindu Indians have been targeted by Islamophobic actions. At the same time, not only Muslims living in the U.S., but people all over the world can suffer from the consequences of Islamophobia. An Islamophobic U.S. will be a problem for international politics too.

Islam as a Collective "Other" of the West

When a group is an "other," it is easier to suppress them and exclude them from the public sphere. For this reason, the otherization of Muslims in the U.S. is an important aspect of the prejudices against Islam. The long history of Islam as a collective other of the West provides enough material for justifying the suppression and exclusion of Muslims.

The relation between Islam and the West has a long history full of conflicts. As Edward Said puts it, "the Orient is not only adjacent to Europe; it is also the place of Europe's greatest, richest and oldest colonies, the source of its civilizations and languages, its cultural contestant, and one of its deepest and most recurring images of the Other." (6) Islam always represents the closest other and the most active enemy for the West. Otherizing it is not only a cultural, but also a strategical matter. Controlling and shaping perceptions of Islam is essential for the continuation of the world domination of the West.

Islam has been the major rival of Christianity since it emerged in the early 600s CE. It bereaved Christianity of its position as the last Abrahamic religion and thereby has constantly been defined as a false religion by the Church. As Henri Pirenne states, the Church substantially benefitted from Islam as an other during 8-9th centuries during its efforts to establish political unity in the feudal world. (7) This is because while there was a disorderly political structure under feudalism in the West, Islam unified the Eastern world under its roof and shook the World power balance. In this period, Islam started being recognized as an enemy of Christianity. The partial unity attained under the Carolingian Empire in Europe was united through anti-Islamic feelings; the spread of Christianity throughout the central lands of the West, and the Christianization of the pagan people who had destroyed the Roman Empire created an urge to respond to the Islamic East. Therefore, the Crusades were launched under the uniting power of the time, the Papacy. Although the ultimate purpose of these expeditions was never realized, Europe became open to the strong cultural influence of Islam during this period. Thus, many novelties transferred to the West and the previously self-enclosed Europe became more a part of the world.

In contrast to the pervasive vitality of almost every area in the Muslim world, Europe was characterized with steadiness in the medieval period. As Richard Southern remarks, the strong influence of Islam established through Andalusia substantially shaped the perception of the East in the West. (8) Similarly, Montgomery Watt discusses the effect of Islam on the culture of Europe and the Islamic influences in European culture in his book The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe, and shows that Islam is one of the major factors shaping European culture in almost every aspect. (9) In Erdmute Heller's Arabesques and Talismans, Islamic influence on European languages and cultures are displayed in detail. (10) John Hobson investigates this subject thoroughly and suggests that the roots of Western civilization should be sought in the East. (11)

This disproportioned superiority of Muslim civilization was inevitably reflected in the Western imagination of Islam and Muslims. This reflection has two dimensions: on one hand, special otherizing aimed to resist the threads of Islam; on the other hand, great admiration. With the deliberate propaganda of the Church to preserve the unity of European society, Muslims were constructed in the European imagination as inhumane creatures, monsters, and cannibals --at best pagans worshipping an idol called Muhammed. One of the most important manifestations of this portrayal is the depiction of Muslims in Dante's Divine Comedy. That Islam is a religion promoting unhampered sexual relations and that it is a distorted version of Christianity were prevailing beliefs in the West. On the other hand, there is another image of the Muslim world represented by Arabian Nights, in which it is a place of flamboyance, welfare, and desire. These two images, sparking both fear and desire, laid the foundations of the prevailing view of Islam in Europe thereafter.

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As in the establishment of political unity in the feudal world, Islam played an important role as an other in the development of modernity as well. With the collapse of the monopoly of the Church over knowledge and the beginning of the age of Expedition, information sources proliferated. As the Church opposed the emerging modern order, Muslim societies started being regarded as alternative models by the first moderns. Paul Hazard states that due to the political environment of the time many prejudices toward Islam were eliminated. (12) Islam was used as a logistic support in the battle with the Church. It was seen as a worldly religion and praised by European thinkers who sought to transcend the pressure of the Church. However, with the formation of the model of modern society and the reduction of the threat from the Church, this situation ended and the old negative otherizing view prevailed again. This transformation was brought about by Scottish moral thinkers around the 1750s. David Hume, a leading figure of the Enlightenment, created a progressive understanding of history and a mechanical concept of society based on the mechanical concept of the universe and pragmatic, functional morality. Thus, with the foundation of the idea of modern society, there was no more need for non-Western models to defend and legitimize the new order. Therefore...