1991 Runnymede Trust Report

On September 11th 2001, there was an attack on the twin towers at the World Trade Center. From this moment the Muslim community became the target of discrimination and social stigma. The impacts of this event plunged the Muslim identity into a stereotypical and undeserving category of terrorists. From this social stigma, all Muslims became the victims of Islamophobia. According to the Center for Race and Gender at the University of California, the term “Islamophobia was first introduced as a concept in a 1991 Runnymede Trust Report and defined as unfolding hostility towards Muslims, and therefore fear or dislike of all or most Muslims” (Center for Race and Gender, n.d). Hence, this term created for the ways in which Muslims are viewed in

The acts of the Islamists closely known to be linked with Al- Qaeda, solidifies the myths of Islam terrorists. In grouping every Muslim to Islamic extremists, the west is therefore problematizing the way in which they view information and quite frankly it is ignorance. Due to the way in which the media portrays Muslims in America, especially after 911 is confined under the labels of terrorist. The tainting of the Islam identity after 911 validates how Islamophobia has become part of everyday life as Muslims are constantly reminded that they are not from the

Since the US government was now scrutinizing those who were of Muslim faith, to be a strong Muslim in the face of adversity meant to challenge, question and become more knowledgeable about one’s religion. The social effects of 911 , perpetuated Islamophobia and the war on terror. After 911, the life of Muslims in America changed forever as they were silenced by the US government in the face of extremists attacks. The events of September 11th has impacted Muslims on a physchologoical, social, political and personal level as they are now labeled as the other in juxtaposition to western society. The lack of knowledge about Muslims in the west has allowed western society to categorize and discriminate against all Muslims in the same way. The control that the US government has over the way in which Muslims are portrayed is problematic as the struggle for freedom in the west becomes even more challenging. The social construct of the word terrorist being directly linked to Muslims is the base of the debunking to re-represent what it means to be a Muslim. There needs to be change on the social level in order to raise awareness of the negative connotations of being a Muslim. This word Islamophobia is loaded and is simply a way in which the west outwardly discriminates and violates the lives of Muslim