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ORIGINS
Islamophobia has always existed throughout the ages: Pre-Islamic Arabs Christian Crusaders Colonialist Period Present day

PRE-ISLAMIC ARABS
The Quran talks extensively about the abuse Muslims suffered at the hands of the oppressors in Arabia. Hence Makkan Surahs focuson building patience through struggle and Madinan Surahs focus on more practical elements.

O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed and fear Allah that you may be successful.Quran 3:200

Figures such as Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab and Umm Jameel were the influential Islamophobes of their time

Geert Wilders-Dutch Freedom Party

Robert Spencer-Jihad Watch

Pamela Geller-Stop Islamization of America

Similarly, you had non Muslims that spoke up for Muslim rights, such as Abu Talib

Jody McIntyre-political activist and blogger

Robert Fisk-journalist

Jeremy Corbyn MP

CHRISTIAN CRUSADERS
They have occupied more and more of the lands of those Christians, and have overcome them in seven battles. They have killed and captured many, and have destroyed the churches and devastated the empire. If you permit them to continue thus for awhile with impurity, the faithful of God will be much more widely attacked by them.-Pope Urban II to the Crusaders

Bongars, Gesta Dei per Francos, 1, pp. 382 f., trans in Oliver J. Thatcher, and Edgar Holmes McNeal, eds., A Source Book for Medieval History, (New York: Scribners, 1905), 513-17

Ludovico Maracci, confessor to Pope Innocent XI

COLONIALIST PERIOD
Two of the biggest empires of the world were of the French and the British, particularly in Muslim lands. The Spanish and Dutch did conquer some Muslim lands, though not as much. Main opponent of the West European colonialists was the Islamic Ottoman Empire (Khilafah Othmaniyeh).

French colonies 1534-1980

British colonies 1497-1997

During Western European colonialism, large amounts of propaganda against Muslims was created to aid demoralising the Muslims. Divide and conquer tactics were used, to which we are still today, victims.

La Vie de Mahomet by M. Prideaux 1699 Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

ERAS OF ISLAM IN BRIEF 1

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) Righteous Caliphate Ummayad Dynasty Abbasid Dynasty Ottoman Dynasty Present Day

No. of Muslims Strength and belief

Time

ERAS OF MUSLIMS IN BRIEF 2

As shown on the previous slide, as time goes on, the number of Muslims has increased and yet our strength and belief (Eemaan) has decreased! A frightening Hadeeth below highlights our reality Anas ibn Malik said, "I shall tell you a hadith which I heard from the Messenger of Allah, and which no-one will tell you after me. I heard him say, 'Among the signs of the Hour will be the disappearance of knowledge and the appearance of ignorance..' " Saheeh Bukhari and Muslim

SO, HOW DID WE GET INTO THIS MESS???

DESTRUCTION OF IDENTITY 1
Islamic identity was slowly eroded by the introduction of un-Islamic ideologies such as nationalism, capitalism, anthropomorphism, monarchy (to name a few). These new ideologies, fuelled by the desires of men began to fester rifts between Muslims over centuries. An indication of this is that after the death of Imam Ali, subsequent dynasties were named after tribes (i.e. Umayyad after Banu Umayyah (Amawy))

Abbasid Dynasty control

DESTRUCTION OF IDENTITY 2
Lands were corrupted due to greed over Islam. At the end of the 800 odd years that Muslims had been in the Iberian Peninsula (modern day Spain, Portugal and part of the south of France), the Peninsula was made up of many competing kingdoms, as opposed to a unified Islamic governance Ideologies coming from the Roman Empires, as well as Greek philosophy which were unIslamic crept in. These ideologies were used to divide the Muslims further.

DESTRUCTION OF IDENTITY 3
By the time the Ottoman era kicked in, nationalism crept in, such that mainland Turkey stopped making Arabic language compulsory This caused the parrot-fashion style of memorising the Quran, which is prevalent in many Mosques today, where we learn the words without comprehension

DESTRUCTION OF IDENTITY 4
During the 11th Century, things became worse. Muslims lost territory such as Sicily, South France, Jerusalem (1st Crusade). By 1492, all of Spain and Portugal expelled Jewish and Muslim communities. In 1258, Baghdad (Capital of the Abbasid Dynasty) was destroyed by the Mongols under Hulagu Khan. Baghdad (Iraq) and Toledo (Spain) were two great centres of civilisation in the Muslim world. With those two cities now destroyed, the Ummah was in ruins. Many great scholars and inventers died during the collapse of Al Andalus (Iberia) and Baghdad.

DESTRUCTION OF IDENTITY 5

With most of the major scholars dead, many new scholars felt uncomfortable performing Ijtihad. Hence there are relatively few memorable scholarly and thinkers names, after the sacking of Baghdad, compared with the eras before As a result, old Fatawa were recycled without considering new ruling, and scholars were fiercely divided over Madh-hab.

Masjid al Haram with four jamaat

Muhammed Abduh

Jamal ud-Din Al Afghani

DESTRUCTION OF IDENTITY 6

As a lot of new ideas from various thinkers were forming, there were many attempts to infuse Islam with another ideology. Many ideologies were there to help the European Colonialists in their attempts to divide and conquer the Muslim lands. Sykes-Picot agreement was a British and French collaboration to divide lost Ottoman territory between themselves.

Far right: Sir Mark Sykes. Middle: Franois Picot

Mirza Ghulam Ahmed

DESTRUCTION OF IDENTITY 7

The Islamic Leadership was being destroyed due to the successful divide and conquer tactics of the Colonialists. Ideologies based on nationalism and secularism were becoming prevalent and aided in the destruction of Islamic State. The Ottoman Empire became reduced after World War I, causing Turkey to become a secular republic. Other states were created on the basis of Muslims fighting one another such as Saudia Arabia, UAE, Morocco, Mauritania and Algeria among others.

Sultan Abdlmecid II, Last Sultan of Ottoman Empire

Sheikh AbdulKader ElDjazeiri, Algerian Liberator

Sheikh Omar Al Mukhtar, leader of Libyan resiance

DESTRUCTION OF IDENTITY 8
In Libya, the Italians caused a lot of destruction. As the European Colonialists were enjoying post-Renaissance era enlightenment, the Muslim nations continued to regress. All the centres of intellectual development were in Western Europe. The consequence of this was that Muslims became secular and turned Islam into a purely spiritual and ritualistic entity. The Muslims continued to give less importance to Islam and instead were obsessed with appeasing their colonial masters. This generated an inferiority complex

University of Sorbonne

Keble College, University of Oxford

DESTRUCTION OF IDENTITY 9

Even during World War I, Muslim lands and armies of Muslims were on both sides. Muslims from India aided the British Empire, North Africans aided the French Empire and the Germans were aided by the Turkish Ottomans (who disintegrated after WWI via various treaties). Post-WWI Muslim leaders were/are either colonialist or colonialist supported (Kemal Attatrk was supported by the British), there was no proper Islamic leadership left.

Mustafa Kemal Attatrk, 1st President of the Republic of Turkey

King Abdul Aziz Aal Saud, first declared King of Saudia Arabia

Shah Reza Pahlevi, first Shah of Iran

DESTRUCTION OF IDENTITY 10
Socially, the Muslims became destroyed, as the best minds were sent to learn science, whereas the ones who were less academic were sent to Mosque schools. This instigated a vicious cycle where the strict Muslim was the Mosque going, culturally conservative, generally deemed to be backward type; and the Muslim that has a more Westernised appearance and spoke French or English was the forward thinking,, fashionable type.

MODERN DAY CONSEQUENCES 1

Muslims are always divided due to a false sense of religiosity and religiousness. There is no proper leadership among the Muslims. Anybody who tries to re-establish any Islamic practice is seen as an extremist.

Sheikh Yusuf al Qaradawi

Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Baz

MODERN DAY CONSEQUENCES 2

Despite large numbers of Muslims on Earth, we are easily the most oppressed and humiliated. Most scholars are out of touch with society and vice versa due to secularism. As the great Muslim thinkers are seldom encouraged into Islamic development, the scholars in this day and age are often not the best minds. Muslim lands contain schools that are British, French or American in syllabus. Seldom is the Islamic and Muslim history taught anywhere.

MODERN DAY CONSEQUENCES 3

As Muslims are powerless, we are often exploited by the media, bankers and politicians. We are always trying to please by attempting to integrate; we see it as trying to fit in with modern and contemporary society and believe we are giving Islam a good name. The reality however, is contrary. The old colonialists see it as a deficiency in the Muslims and believe that the fact you are trying to integrate with them shows a lack of strength. Look now at France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark etc.

ISLAMOPHOBIA HAS ALWAYS EXISTED

Right from the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) through to today, Islamophobia has always existed , and is seen in all forms of media. The difference now is that Muslims are powerless and hence, we are feeling the effects of Islamophobia much more than before.

RESOURCES
Chronicles of Shariah: Evolution of Fiqh, Al Kauthar Institute Evolution of Fiqh, Abu Ameenah Bilal Phillips History of Islam, Akbar Shah Najeebabadi The History of Islamic Spain, Syed Aziz ur-Rehman Usool ut-Tafseer Module Two, Islamic Online University Movie: Lion of the Desert (1981) starring Anthony Quinn and Oliver Reed The Rise and Fall of Al Andalus (audio), Sheikh Tawfique Choudhary The Hidden Debt to Islamic Civilisaton, Dr. S. E. Al-Djazairi