Understanding Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Sentiments in the West

Abstract Islamophobia, also known as the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or prejudice against the religion of Islam in general, is rapidly increasing in the West. Western politicians widely adopted the term to link Islam with terrorism after the 11 September 2001 attack. This qualitative research paper has applied Samuel P. Huntington’s ‘Clash of Civilizations’ thesis as a theoretical framework to understand the underlying factors behind the rise of Islamophobia and increasing anti-Muslim sentiment in the West. The paper is descriptive and exploratory and mainly uses secondary data sources. The study reveals that the rise of populist political leaders in the West has led to the rise of Islamophobia, as these leaders have been advancing their political agendas by promoting anti-Muslim sentiment and blaming Muslims for rising unemployment and terrorism in the West. Consequently, Islamophobia has been entrenched through structured laws that prohibit certain Islamic practices and symbols, while also leading to the segregation of Muslims across social, political, economic, educational and digital domains.