What is Islamophobia and its effects on the Western society?

Islamophobia has become embedded in the modern lexicon, particularly since the beginning of this century. The 9/11 atrocities in the USA brought the question of terrorists promoting an anti-West agenda firmly to the forefront like no other act of terrorism up until that point, prompting the so-called 'War on Terror' that has engulfed Afghanistan, and then, indirectly, Iraq, Libya and more recently, Syria. Unfortunately there is a common denominator among the nihilist murderers who do what they do in the name of some fantastical notion of a just cause. Their murderous activities are framed in the context of a 'holy war' or 'jihad'.

Because of this, ignorant minds are all too quick to conflate the tiny number of activists describing themselves as islamist militants as somehow representative of Islam. This is evidenced in the reaction to the appalling massacre that took place at the Manchester Arena, when a bomber allegedly detonated a suicide bomb in the foyer of the concert hall, killing 22 people and injuring many more.

Amidst the widespread revulsion following this utterly senseless crime - a cowardly mass murder and certainly nothing deserving the term 'political' - ordinary Mancunians of all faiths opened their doors to strangers when public transport was curtailed. The other effect of the carnage was to bring Islamophobes out in their droves, on social media, or to graffiti mosques or smash the windows of Muslim-owned businesses.

Like the anti-semitism that drove mid-20th century fascism, ultimately leading to the Holocaust, Islamophobia is worrying because it has the potential to be so corrosive and divisive. Western society is becoming increasingly segregated into liberalism and rightwing populism. Rightwingers blame jihadi crimes on the way western societies have become multicultural, while liberals regard scapegoating an entire swathe of the population after the actions of a few lunatics as something that will only alienate Muslims further and play into the hands of those seeking to radicalize youth.