Islamaphobia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Islamaphobia - Essay Example The belief in Christianity as a Western civilization and culture resulted in the anti-Islam discourse. Muslims were regarded as different and radical as their religion was incompatible with the European culture (Konrad 31). People saw Islam as an element of threat to the spread and existence of Christianity in Europe. The viewpoint culminated into the position that Islam will conquer Europe through immigration and birth rates. Defenders of this notion believed that because of the growing Muslim community, Europe faces the danger of losing its Christian-based civilization and cultural identity. Another common discourse on Islam was its monolithic presentation. A reflection of this discourse is evident in the use of the terms â€Å"them† and â€Å"us† to ascertain that Islam was compatible with major European ideals. Europeans viewed Islam as tool for opposing European ideals such as democracy, sexual equality, and rejection of violence. The 19th century marked the age of Europe’s Enlightenment. Anti-Islam groups used every possible method to fight Islam because they believed it was a threat to the European age of enlightenment. Anti-Islamic contents and articles were found in various politically oriented newspapers and journals. The European media used showed particular differences in issues of gender power and politics. It showed the differences between the European culture and the Islamic culture. There was a biased representation of Islam because the arguments presented by the European community only demonstrated the incompatibility between Islam an d the western society (Konrad 30). Anti-Islam discourses in Europe began in the 17th and 18th centuries. Islam and societies influenced by Islam were regarded as inferior. Most of the anti-Islam discourse in Europe were based on stereotypes consisting of cultural prejudices against Islam. The cultural prejudices that developed a distinction between the Muslim Orient