Psychology Of Islamophobia: A Case Study Of Caricatures And Media

Abstract

Islamophobia is an expression of prejudice and enmity toward Muslims. After 9/11, it became more prevalent in western society, especially in Sweden, where two hundred occurrences with overtly anti-Islamic overtones were registered in 2007 and the number increases so on if other western countries are included in the list. Hate speech against Islam and Muslim immigrants, and publication of caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) were counted as freedom of speech. (Davison, 2022), (Gruber & Shalem, 2014), (Parfitt & Egorova, 2005), (Kincheloe & Steinberg, 2004) and many other scholars have discussed the issue in various aspects and suggested ways to encounter it but the practical situation has not changed yet as print and electronic media highlights the issue in a negative mode. This paper aims to present a brief history of caricatures, their real causes, the role of media in spreading islamophobia, and the reaction of the Muslim community towards it and concludes that this issue cannot be resolved until the basic issues i.e; the conflict of views about the personality of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), his teachings, Islam and Muslim Community, are highlighted and awareness about these is spread among people through media positively.