Islamophobia and Anti-Islamism in the Western World

Islamophobia and Anti-Islamism in the Western World

No religion, culture, or civilization in the world is simple and uniform. Furthermore, "Islamophobia" and "anti-Islamism," cultivated in the Western world, construct a specific narrative about Islam and Muslims. According to this narrative, "the West is the West, the East is the East." Irreconcilable contradictions exist between these two worlds. One possesses positive characteristics, the other negative. This narrative, largely based on a classical Orientalist discourse, is not only incompatible with global realities but also inherently innocent in its consequences. This discourse inevitably ignores the reality that different religions and cultures have coexisted peacefully and can continue to do so in the future, and implicitly predicts a "clash of civilizations." In this sense, "anti-Islamism," as much as Orientalism, is a conflict-driven ideology. The fact that a conflict-based ideology presents itself as pro-peace and others as terrorists and aggressors harbors contradictions within its own logic that cannot be resolved.