Islamophobia, anti-Muslim hate
What to know
Islamophobia refers to discrimination, hatred, and violence toward Muslims and the religion of Islam. While the phenomenon became more prevalent in the US after the 9/11 terror attacks, Islamophobia is rooted in longstanding tropes that frame Muslim people, beliefs, and practices as alien and threatening. These stereotypes and negative images are perpetuated through media, laws, policies, and an environment that funds and fosters Islamophobia both within the US and globally. A 2022 book found that 80 percent of articles mentioning Muslims or Islam in a sample of US newspapers spanning 20 years portrayed them negatively.
Some people encourage usage of the terms “anti-Muslim hate” or “anti-Muslim bigotry” over Islamophobia, arguing that the former centers the experiences of Muslim individuals and communities more than Islamophobia itself, which calls to mind hatred of Islam’s ideas and beliefs. Guidance released by a coalition of journalism associations advises, “Rather than using euphemisms like ‘anti-Muslim sentiment,’ assess whether it is more accurate to use terms like “anti-Muslim bias,” “Islamophobia,” or “anti-Muslim bigotry.”
Examples of institutionalized Islamophobia include policies that impeded Muslim immigrants from becoming naturalized US citizens until 1952; government-backed racial profiling after 9/11; the Trump administration’s “Muslim ban,” the topic of which was revived in his 2024 campaign; and the spike in reports involving systemic discrimination against Muslim Americans in the months following the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.
Islamophobia can extend to people who are perceived to be Muslim (e.g., South Asian, Middle Eastern, and Arab people) even though they practice different religions or none at all. Islamophobia also erases racial and ethnic diversity within Muslim communities. For example, a common stereotype conflates Muslims and Arabs, even though the majority of the global Muslim population is not, in fact, Arab. And in the US context, a 2017 Pew Research Center survey found that approximately 20 percent of US Muslims are Black.
Followers of Islam who wear hijab or niqab (coverings typically worn only by women) encounter heightened discrimination, harassment, and attacks. Muslim women are often portrayed in news media through the lens of stereotypes that use women’s rights as justification for anti-Muslim ideology and law. Islamophobia also intersects with xenophobia, particularly through anti-Muslim immigration policies and surveillance. Common tropes perceive Muslims as “good” or “bad” based on how secular or Western their identities or practices are.
When considering language choices in reporting, you might refer to the Runnymede Trust’s “closed” views of Islam or the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding’s media checklist. These resources encourage journalists to reflect on questions like: Does my word choice or framing imply that American Muslims are “foreign” — for example, by using Arabic words for universal human behavior? Am I repeating Arabic or religious terms without providing context for what they mean and how they have been misconstrued? Do I assume, without evidence, that religion motivates the behavior I’m writing about? Am I citing experts who are Muslim only on stories expressly related to Islam? Am I assigning or pitching more stories on security threats carried out by those perceived to be Muslim than violence tied to other ideologies? Has my reporting clearly accounted for the specific ways that different racial and ethnic groups within Muslim communities experience Islamophobia? Am I only writing about Muslims when there are negative or stereotypical stories to cover?
Thoughtful reporting recognizes Islam as, among other things, a source of happiness, pride, and meaning. Sharing stories that capture the nuances of American Muslim experiences and identities will ensure your reporting accurately conveys the multidimensionality of Muslim people. Covering less visible experiences and views within American Muslim communities represents their diversity, which is key for accuracy. For example, when reporting on Muslim concerns with LGBTQ+ books in public schools, referencing a Muslim defense of LGBTQ+ rights and citing queer Muslim communities can dispel the fallacy that all Muslim people share identical beliefs.
Providing cultural and systemic context, using precise language, directly countering false information, and attributing and contextualizing Islamophobic rhetoric are all measures journalists can take to avoid amplifying hatred, harm, conspiracy theories, and misconceptions. Important context to provide when reporting on Islamophobia includes discrimination and surveillance against Muslims after 9/11 or historical patterns of political candidates targeted with Islamophobia. For example, New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the Democratic primary election sparked loud, intense, and frequent Islamophobia. When citing Islamophobic rhetoric, immediately calling out inaccuracies is necessary to avoid fomenting misinformation. For example, instead of simply quoting a social media post suggesting that electing Mamdani would “cause another 9/11,” you could contextualize the post as “echoing unfounded conspiracy theories that have targeted Muslim candidates for decades.” Responsible reporting will center community experiences and perspectives to demonstrate the real, human impact of Islamophobia. For more detailed guidance on covering Islamophobia, refer to the Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association guide on covering Islamophobia in politics.
Islamophobia is distinct from anti-Arab or anti-Palestinian racism, which are not inherently tied to religion. In fact, the frequent racialization of Muslims perpetuates further discrimination against Muslims, scholars argue. Considering the particular context of your reporting will help you choose which term will add the most clarity.
Making the distinction between Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism has become increasingly important with Israel’s war on Gaza — which leading international law experts and human rights groups have designated a genocide — and with the associated surge in hate incidents targeting Muslims in the US. Anti-Palestinian racism is a form of anti-Arab bigotry that specifically “silences, excludes, erases, stereotypes, defames or dehumanizes Palestinians or their narratives.” According to Sahar Aziz, author of The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes Religious Freedom, “The most vulnerable person in America in terms of having their civil rights denied outright or circumscribed is a Muslim Arab who defends Palestinian rights…. They are confronting Islamophobic stereotypes, orientalist Arab-phobic stereotypes, and anti-Palestinian racism all in one.” The criminal and immigration arrests of college students protesting Israel’s conduct in Gaza, which legal scholars have pointed to as a gross violation of American civil rights, are examples of increased anti-Palestinian racism. When covering debates and actions related to Gaza, accurate reporting will avoid dehumanizing rhetoric, put events in the historical context of Israeli-Palestinian relations prior to the October 7 attacks, and track asymmetries in power, casualties, and deaths.
Like all claims of discrimination, accusations of Islamophobia need to be taken seriously by journalists reporting on an incident or pattern of Muslim hatred. Exploring the positioning of sources — interview subjects, experts, and statistics — with respect to broader agendas, including their working definitions of Islamophobia, is necessary for journalists to understand the assumptions informing analysis they cite as authoritative. For accuracy, journalists will provide the necessary information for people to make sense of the speech or action they’re reporting on, grounded in evidence and mindful of the issue’s scale, stakes, and impact. Instead of assigning labels, journalists can deepen public understanding by thoughtfully analyzing the specific commitments and principles held by sources who disagree on what constitutes Islamophobia.
Additional resources
- Covering American Muslims objectively and creatively (ISPU)
- Covering Muslims
- Reporting on Islamophobia in Politics (AMEJA)
- Good Muslim, Bad Muslim
Summary
Rooted in longstanding tropes that frame Muslim people, beliefs, and practices as alien and threatening, Islamophobia refers to discrimination, hatred, and violence toward Muslims and the religion of Islam. It is distinct from anti-Arab or anti-Palestinian racism, which are not inherently tied to religion. Related terms include “anti-Muslim hate” or “anti-Muslim bigotry.” There is debate as to which term is appropriate and when; some argue that the term anti-Muslim hate centers the experiences of Muslim individuals and communities more than Islamophobia, which calls to mind hatred of Islam’s ideas and beliefs.