ISLAMOPHOBI IN EUROPE
Islamophobia can literally be explained as "fear of
Islam". Islamophobia stems from prejudice and discrimination against
Muslims and the religion of Islam. Some circles feel anxious and fearful against
the religion of Islam and its members on the grounds that they threaten their
existence. The perception of Islamophobia is a problem for European societies
that needs improvement. Because, every day, there is discrimination against
Islam and Muslims due to increasing fear, namely Islamophobia.
Today, different ethnic, religious, etc. in Europe.
Discrimination and exclusionary practices stemming from hatred are experienced.
As a result of marginalization arising from hate, people cannot adopt the idea
of living together. At the point where Europe is today, it is seen that there
are problems in living with others with the effect of globalization and intense
immigration. In societies that are self-centered and adopt a hierarchical
approach, such as European countries, Muslims who are treated as 2nd class
people by being marginalized are expected to keep up with the order with
certain rules. Otherwise, Muslims are turned into a threat that causes a
security weakness. After the September 11 attack, Europe has entered a period
where freedoms were given up for security. Practices in this period had an
impact on marginalized groups such as immigrants and Muslims. The existence of
others in Europe has created the legitimacy of the restriction of freedoms and this
situation has been supported by many European countries. The fear that Europe
is experiencing today stems from the fact that Islam again shows its effect on
this geography. Islam started to be associated with terrorism for Europe.
Opinion polls conducted in European countries show that
discrimination and hatred against Muslims living in these countries has
developed and spread. In a survey published by the 'European Union Agency for
Fundamental Fights' (FRA), which conducted a comprehensive research on 23,500
people in 27 countries of the European Union, it was stated that one out of
every three Muslims living in these countries has faced discrimination only in
the last year and one in ten Muslims. shows that it was attacked or humiliated.
One out of every four people surveyed states that they have been checked by the
police in the last 12 months. 40 percent of them attribute the reason for this
discrimination and attacks to their cultural origins. While 27 percent of
Muslims, who are citizens of the country they live in, stated that they were
subjected to discrimination, it is seen that this rate is 41 percent for
non-citizens. Studies show that, despite the measures taken, Muslims are
discriminated against in social, cultural, economic and public life.
According to many European countries, Islamic values are
incompatible with democracy and human rights. Restrictions on women's rights
and honor killings in some Muslim countries support this negative view. Due to
the fact that Muslims are the others of Europe, terrorism, mosque, minaret,
turban, veil and Hz. Depictions of Muhammad have been the fear symbols of
marginalized Islam within Europe's own borders. One of the most important
triggers of the increasing anti-Muslimism in the world has been the actions of
radical Islamist terrorist organizations. The fact that the difference between
defense and terrorist acts cannot be revealed clearly causes the Western
peoples to reduce the concept of Muslim to a terrorist dimension. Thus,
prejudice occurs against Muslims in general in European countries. This
prejudice causes unjust victimization of millions of Muslims living in Europe
who are not involved in terrorist incidents. In the report prepared by the
European Monitoring Center for Racism and Xenophobia, it is stated that Muslims
are exposed to discrimination in areas such as working conditions, education
and accommodation. The rise of far-right parties and refugees from Syria have
also been effective in fueling Islamophobia in Europe. It is also seen that some
backward racist parties are on the rise by feeding on Islamophobia.
In order for Islamophobia to attain its absolute solution,
first of all, Western leaders must stand behind what they say. In front of the
public and the media, they must keep their promises to eliminate Islamophobia.
They should make legal changes in order to prevent discrimination and give
basic rights to Muslims who live in their country. In particular, they must
start the necessary work now to prevent Islamophobia from being passed on to
future generations.
Europe, which has been proud of its multiculturalism and has
come to the fore with issues such as democracy and human rights, has great
responsibilities in order to prevent Islamophobia. The first thing to do in
this regard should be to make regulations and impose sanctions against
Islamophobia. Europe should not forget that the religion of Islam has the same
cultural and historical depth as Christianity and Judaism. Intercultural
dialogue should be given importance to prevent the perception of Islamophobia
from being passed on to future generations. Muslims living in Europe should
adapt to the regions they live in and make an effort to erase the negative
impression in the eyes of Europeans by reflecting the tolerance of Islam to their
lives. The European media, on the other hand, should avoid biased news that may
offend Muslims in general and should not allow the perception of Islamophobia
to become taboo in the eyes of Europeans.
Hatice Nur Yıldırım
Kaynakça:
http://www.kto.org.tr/d/file/avrupada-yukselen-islamofobi---burcin-kabakci.pdf
https://fightislamofobi.com/islamofobi-nedir
https://acikerisim.istinye.edu.tr/xmlui/handle/20.500.12713/1057
http://acikerisim.lib.comu.edu.tr:8080/xmlui/handle/COMU/1703
https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/aacd/issue/50069/642379
http://aacd.ankara.edu.tr/wp-content/uploads/sites/462/2018/02/C13S1Aktas.pdf
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