Islamophobi The Right Word For A Real Problem

Authors, Bridge Initiative Team, in their article Define “Islamophobia”: The Right Word for a Real Problem advocate a more frequent use of a specific term “Islamophobia”. They claim that this term is the most qualified for describing a phenomenon which, if I may add to their explanations from 2015 , is by passing of the time in which we are living becoming more and more prominent. The mentioned phenomenon is most easily explain as “[p]rejudice towards and discrimination against Muslims” (Bridge Initiative Team, 2015).

Authors list reasons why they decided to promote specifically the term Islamophobia. Firstly they state the high frequency of its use in public space, public parlance. For this they cite several examples and quantifiable data

The term is used widely in public and academic space for the labeling of a phenomena of prejudice and discriminatory behavior towards Muslims without the need for additional clarification of its meaning. I agree with this and I agree that this is enough of a reason for choosing Islamophobia and not some other alternative option. First of all, wide usage has been a good enough reason for acceptance of different terms in social and political science even taking in account the argument for them “not being clear enough”. Authors mention homophobia, anti-Semitism and so on, but we can take a term outside of cultural sphere questions. For example, term neoliberalism is often depicted as unclear or inaccurate, neoclassicism is often suggested as a better alternative. However, with passing of time neoliberalism has entered everyday vocabulary thus portraying it as one in many (and not the only one) variation of contemporary capitalism. Even though I can agree that we should thrive for accuracy of definition I cannot agree that this has anything to do with nomenclature. What is connotative meaning of a denotation depends upon people and is prone to change.

However, purpose of this article is not purely to academically defend a term. It is to defend a term and its assigned meaning. Islamophobia not as only fear, Islamophobia not as disagreement with extreme or fundamental Islam, but Islamophobia as prejudice and discrimination against Muslims. Authors display empirical data that Islamophobia is rapidly, with every day, transitioning from academic to public sphere. If we agree now on a term and popularize it even more maybe there is time to reduce the damage the phenomena behind it has already