Open AccessIslamophobia: A Projection of the West's 'Dark Side'
Author(s) -
Arthur F. Buehler
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
islam and civilisational renewal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2041-8728
pISSN - 2041-871X
DOI - 10.52282/icr.v2i4.603
Subject(s) - islamophobia , humanity , great rift , nationality , politics , sociology , phenomenon , media studies , racism , political science , adversary , gender studies , aesthetics , law , epistemology , immigration , philosophy , computer security , physics , astronomy , computer science
Islamophobia: A Projection of the West's 'Dark Side'
Humankind is more interconnected now than ever before. Some celebrate this shared humanity while too many others appear fixated more on their own ethnic group, nationality, or religion. In the personal view of the author, ‘islamophobia’ is an ungrounded fear of something/someone that does not exist in reality and which involves a psychological projection to create ‘the other’ as enemy. The focus of this spirited article is on the development of ‘islamophobia’ out of an earlier ‘syndrome’ of religio-political antagonism. It is seen by the author as spreading via the mass media ‘like a virus’. He argues that this phenomenon is a psychological defence mechanism involving the projection of what he refers to as ‘the West’s dark side’ onto Islam and its followers.