A review of Islamophobia and the activities of orientalists in the 21st century

„Orientalism‟ is the term that means research and study about Eastern languages, cultures and religions (specially related to Quran, Seerah & Islamic History) by Western scholars or thinkers; and the term „Orientalist‟ is used for those who made the research. Orientalists have done much research work on Islam and founded many primary sources of Islamic history. They have also translated Islamic books into different languages. Their work on Seerah (peace be upon him) has great impact on both Western and Islamic worlds. Obviously, this contribution is very useful for Western world as well as Muslim world. But on the other hand, sometimes orientalists misinterpreted the message of Islam, messenger (peace be upon him) of Islam and Quran. The article describes the activities of such biased orientalists of current era. In 21st century, many groups of orientalists are active which can be divided into traditional, biased, unbiased and reconciliated groups. Many biased Orientalists perform a vital role to instill fear of Islam and Muslims in the hearts and minds of Western nations. They invent and give new terminologies to West such as „Clash of Civilizations‟, „Islamic Fundamentalism‟, „Islamic Terrorism‟, „Islamic Extremism‟, „Radical Islam‟, „Militant Islam‟, „Moderate Islam‟, „Reformers‟, „Secular Muslims‟, „Free Thinkers‟, etc. In this article we have focused on biased orientalists and discussed the impact of orientalism on present Western world and on Islamic World as well.