The roots of Islamophobia in Europe Explaining how he...

The roots of Islamophobia in Europe Explaining how he interprets Eastern concepts (including Islam and Muslims), Edward Said states that the concept of Orientalism arose as a result of the spread of imperialism. Orientalist activity has been formed at the same time as the domination of imperialism over large parts of the Islamic world. According to this idea, the West, instead of trying to understand and discover the East, invented and made the East.

The West’s representation of the East is based not on the reality of modern Eastern societies but on textual and mental interpretations. In fact, this East is the product of Orientalism. Colonial and imperialist institutions must be examined historically in power-knowledge relations. Orientalism is a tool for establishing and strengthening Western identity. Orientalist accounts of the East complete and reinforce the foundations of the West.

The West needs the enemy to establish itself and strengthen its identity. Strengthening “us” depends on creating others and drawing tangible lines of distinction with others. Communism and the Soviet Union once played this role for the West, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Islamic world must play this role. In this framework, the Islamic world should be introduced and accepted as ossified, irrational, dogmatic, backward, and violent.

The mass media and the elites in a concerted effort constantly portray Islam in negative terms and with undesirable elements and have been able to shape the views of others, especially Western societies. Orientalism has given the East a stereotype and with fictional stories, by creating a scenario, it has made it possible to introduce more Western identity. These views leave the East forever behind and see it as a threat to Western values.

Muslims cannot think positively and they cannot be brought to the right path. Thus, the East (Muslims) is a terrible phenomenon that must be controlled. Most people in Western societies do not have much knowledge about Islam and Muslims, and this lack of awareness paves the way for the acceptance of dominant accounts.