Are people to be blamed for bigotry, or are they just being cautious in light that radical terrorism in the name of islam makes people distrust Muslims in general?
Who's fault is it when people are made to feel that way? Themselves, media, or Islamist jihad?
If we're talking about Muslims as the collective billion and a half people, then I think it's bigotry to be distrustful of them in general. On the other hand, if we're talking about individual Muslim communities, such as ones where most are conservative and hold beliefs that are homophobic and sexist, then I don't think distrusting such communities in general is necessarily bigoted.
It seems to me that "Islamophobia" is one of the most misused, exploited, and misleading terms as it is used in a lot of religious and political discussions. Semantically, it is fear of Islam the religion, not Muslims as people, and as far as that goes, I think fear of Islam is perfectly fine and even advisable in more than one way. We're talking about a religion whose core scripture contains quotes like these:
Qur'an 24:2 said:
The [unmarried] woman or [unmarried] man found guilty of sexual intercourse - lash each one of them with a hundred lashes, and do not be taken by pity for them in the religion of Allah, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a group of the believers witness their punishment.
Qur'an 4:56 said:
Indeed, those who disbelieve in Our verses - We will drive them into a Fire. Every time their skins are roasted through We will replace them with other skins so they may taste the punishment. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted in Might and Wise.
Qur'an 14:49 said:
And you will see the criminals that Day bound together in shackles,
Qur'an 14:50 said:
Their garments of liquid pitch and their faces covered by the Fire.
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Source of translation.)
Only a few examples.
Merriam-Webster lists the definition of "Islamophobia" thus:
Merriam-Webster said:
irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against
Islam or people who practice Islam
This "or" between "Islam" and "people" is, in my opinion, the most problematic part about this definition. It doesn't just leave a door open for equivocation and misunderstanding; it creates an entire gate through which disingenuous apologists can comfortably pass. I think there's a huge difference between aversion to Islam and aversion to Muslims, even though the line is sometimes very blurry between the two.
I believe that fearing a religion whose core scripture contains sexism, demonization of non-believers, and support for punishments like lashing and cutting off thieves' hands is definitely justified, whereas fearing a religious demographic consisting of more than a billion and a half people isn't. Inability or refusal to distinguish between fear of Islam and fear of Muslims can be a hindrance to tackling issues like extremism and terrorism effectively.
Also, so-called "jihadism" and terrorism are actually toward the bottom of the list of things that make me fear a lot of the Muslims I regularly deal with. I have literally never feared dying from a terrorist attack, because it's such a relatively unlikely and exaggerated risk. On the other hand, I consistently have to hide a lot of my views for fear of discrimination or unnecessary, extensive trouble if I said the wrong thing or offended the wrong person.
Terrorism and "jihadism" are two of the most overblown and cliched talking points in discussions and debates about Islam as well as the Muslim world. A tiny minority of Muslims are terrorists, but
Muslims who believe that apostasy is punishable by death are far from a tiny minority, for example—and this is not the only poll result showing that many Muslims have troublesome beliefs. After all, there's a reason Islamists won elections in Egypt and Tunisia right after "Arab Spring" revolutions.
So, if Islamophobia is used to refer to fear of Muslims in the world in general—which I think is a misuse and exploitation of the word in many cases—then yes, it is bigotry. But if it refers to fear of Islam and certain Muslim communities that hold dangerous beliefs that may not even have anything to do with "jihadism," "radicalism," or terrorism but rather with curtailing civil rights and abuse of certain minorities, then absolutely not: "Islamophobia" in that sense becomes a reasonable and arguably even necessary stance.