What is the Problem?

The problem is people who do not have enough knowledge about Islam,
attacking the religion because of what is shown in the media, since the
event of 9/11 occurred in New York. The September 11 attacks were
carried out by a Muslim terrorist group known as Al-Qaeda led by Osama
bin Laden. Islamic extremists hijacked four planes, two of them hitting the
Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, another crashing into the U.S.
military headquarters in Washington D.C. and another crashing into a field.
This was a big moment in history and drastically changed the way people
viewed Muslims. Ever since then, there has been an increase in attacks
against American Muslims.
This is known as Islamophobia. Islamophobia can occur in many ways, for
example: calling a Muslim a terrorist, deliberately attempting to remove a
woman's headscarf etc. These are small examples but it can also occur
when the media portrays the religion as something completely different
than what it is and by using bias opinions. The problem exists worldwide,
but this project will focus on Islamophobia in the United States of America.
Islamophobic Incidents
On November 13, 2015, coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris were carried
out by the Islamic extremist group known as ISIS. The first of three attacks
occurred outside the Stade de France stadium. The second attack occurred
outside another stadium’s entrance.The third attack was carried out at a
food-outlet outside near the stadium. All three explosions were carried out
by suicide bombers. Other attacks were also happening in restaurants,
bars, and a concert hall simultaneously. This left 130 people dead and
hundred wounded.
After these attacks, Muslims in America experienced many acts of
Islamophobia. An article by The Huffington Post titled “A Running List Of
Shameful Islamophobic Acts Since The Paris Attacks” listed a lot of these
Islamophobic incidents. The list had to be updated continuously as well.
(Link:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/all-the-islamophobic-acts-in-us-canad
a-since-paris_us_564cee09e4b031745cef9dda​)

Hate Crimes Post Terrorist Attacks

In an online article published by the Newsweek titled: ​Islamophobia in
America: Rise in Hate Crimes Against Muslims Shows What Politicians Say
Matters,​ research shows that islamophobic incidents reported to the police
after 9/11 were several times higher than hate crimes before 9/11. As
quoted: “According to the FBI’s data, hate crimes against Muslims that
were reported to police surged immediately following the terror attacks of
9/11. There were 481 crimes reported against Muslims in 2001, up from 28
the year before.” Similarly, there was a rise in hate crimes against Muslims
after the Paris attacks: “In 2015, for example, we found​ ​45 incidents of
anti-Muslim crime in the United States in the four weeks following the
November 13 Paris terror attack.”
Media Coverage on Terrorist Attacks
Why is there an increase in hate crimes against Muslims after these type of
terrorist attacks? Simply because of news coverage. An article titled
Non-Muslim attackers get a lot less media coverage than those who claim
Islam ​published by ThinkProgress states: “According to a new​ ​study
covered in a Washington Post op-ed in March, attacks by people claiming
to be Muslim received 449 percent more coverage on average in recent
years than those perpetrated by virtually anyone else.” Not only is there
more coverage on these attacks, but the media is quick to use the term
“terrorist” to describe Muslim attackers but not white or non-Muslim
attackers, as stated in the same article: “The paper also touched on a stark
double standard within the media regarding the use of the term ‘terrorist,’
noting that ‘the key difference…is the perpetrator(s) social identity.’ For
example, while there were debates over whether to use the moniker to
describe recent attacks carried out by white men — such as the murder of
nine African American worshipers in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015 or
the​ ​shooting at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs that same
year — the word “terrorist” was ascribed almost immediately to the
gunman who perpetrated the Pulse Nightclub attack in Orlando, Florida.”
The media’s over coverage on attacks carried out by Muslims and quickly
labelling the attackers as terrorists leads to more hate crimes against
Muslims because there is more reason to blame and hate them.
Causes
Islamophobia is not result of Muslims doing bad things. It is the extremist
Muslims doing harm, which creates a negative image of all Muslims. The
attacks are carried out by extremists, just not the average muslim. It is also
the way that the public portrays the religion, resulting with people getting a
different view of islam. The leading cause of Islamophobia is
misinformation from the religion. People get a different image from the
religion, therefore resulting them into disliking or being afraid of the religion.
What is most often misunderstood is that Islam does not promote violence.
Islam means peace, so what is being heard are misconceptions of the
religion.

Effects
Islamophobia creates a sense of fears into Muslims, causing them to feel
unsafe or uncomfortable wherever they are. It also goes vice versa,
causing Non- Muslims to fear Muslims or feel uncomfortable around them.
It also increases the fear of anti-Muslim crimes occuring in communties.
Possible Solutions
Some ways both non-Muslims and Muslims can help decrease the issue of
Islamophobia are:
● Report hate crimes to local police departments and local FBI offices
● Educate others
● Have local libraries purchase books and articles on the matter
● Educate yourself by researching thoroughly and scoping out the false
and inaccurate information in news reports etc.
● Form an understanding of what the problem is (can be compared to
anti-Semitism and discrimination)
● Bring up the topic of Islamophobia during interfaith programs
● Write to politicians
● Speak out on social media
● Hold protests
● Host open forums where people can discuss the issue
● Submit articles to local newspapers
Definitions
A list of commonly used terms when it comes to terrorist attacks in the
news and their dictionary definitions:

Terrorism​: /​terəˌrizəm​ /​the unlawful use of violence and 

intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of 
political aims 
 
Terror Attack​:​ ​a surprise ​attack​ involving the deliberate
use of violence against civilians in the hope of attaining
political or religious aims

Terrorist​: ​a person who uses unlawful violence and

intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of
political aims

Jihad​: ​a struggle or fight against the enemies of Islam

Martyr​: a person who is killed because of their religious or

other beliefs