In a world characterized as extremely globalized, one would assume that this would contribute to a much more loving and peaceful world where everyone thrives. We see globalization as a way to unite and fix the issues that exist around the world together. Many tend to also identify as global citizens, which is commonly defined as being aware of what happens around the world and being apart of the change. However, it continues to be made clear that this is not the case. We see the residual effects of age-old white supremacy permeate every aspect of our society. We see increasing attempts to further marginalize and disenfranchise communities that have been historically left out. We see a resurgence in white supremacy that only continues to grow. We are presented with reasons why we should fear certain marginalized groups and it is handed to us through the main thing that connects the world: the media. A group that is commonly found and negatively presented in the media are Muslims; individuals who follow and practice the religion of Islam. Globalization has and will continue to pave way for Islamophobia which not only affect the Muslims residing in the west but Muslims worldwide. We see the effects that the white savior complex has on families residing in the global south. Islamophobia has always existed, but facts have shown that it has been on the rise since the September 11, 2001 attacks. It is necessary that Muslims are provided with platforms to share their experiences, and to be given the right to live safely and freely. As a society and as global citizens, we need to move beyond accepting the false realities of globalization that continue to pave way for white supremacy.
Cosmopolitanism is an ideology that all human beings belong to a single community based on shared morals and values. We go around preaching the idea of cosmopolitanism when it benefits a few but then continue to create the “us” versus “them” narratives. The idea that globalization is the interconnectedness of the world is only a reality for the people living in the global north. Globalization has continued to create two distinct words where the global south is villainized, infantilized, and demonized. Muslims are constantly represented and portrayed as a monolith. As a society and as global citizens, we need to move beyond accepting the false realities of globalization that continue to pave way for white supremacy.
Globalization has contributed immensely to the growth of Islamophobia today. According to the Globe and Mail, police reported hate crimes rose to nearly 50% in the last year; one of the main targets being Muslims. Three hundred and forty-nine incidents were reported as hate crimes against Muslims, and many of those were reported as violent crimes. A recent incident that happened on January 29, 2017, was the Quebec mosque shooting which left six innocent civilians dead. Six civilians with families, six civilians with friends, six civilians that didn’t get to return to their homes after prayer. There were also many left injured, and one left with life-threatening injuries. Hate crimes against Muslims don't stop here though. There have also been several incidents where mosques have been vandalized. Sixty-three publically reported incidents that targeted mosques were mapped within the months of January to July 2017. On average, that is about nine incidents per month. Mosques have become targets of arson, vandalism, and threats, and has caused many Muslims to fear to go to their local mosques; places of worship and community gatherings. Attacks on mosques have become the norm and creating unsafe spaces for Muslims has become acceptable. We cannot turn a blind eye to the mistreatment of Muslims. We cannot deny Muslims their right to exist. Globalization has allowed for the perpetuations of anti-Islamic rhetoric on the very same platforms that preach its concept.
Voluntourism is often synonymous with globalization for various reason. Voluntourism is known for the act of travelling to a foreign country; predominantly black and Muslim countries, and providing help and support. It is perceived that the act of travelling to volunteer provides “global citizens” with an avenue to practice globalization. Voluntourism has been highly criticized for is perpetuation of the white savior complex and for repeatedly hindering the progression of the very country they attempt to support. The narrative that surround voluntourism are problematic and perpetuate the white savior complex. Voluntourism has been classified as a highly racist and Islamophobic practice. This trillion dollar industry continues to assuage liberal guilt while not truly improving the conditions for people living in the global south. You see how these countries and how they are presented in the media, and that is the exact narrative that these privileged white people are going in with. Islamophobia isn’t exclusive to the discrimination of the faith, but is also predominantly racialized.
Throughout the duration of the term, technology and the media have been defined as the driving force of globalization. We often undermine how crucial the media has been and its importance in an extremely globalized world. Despite narratives around globalization, and the perceived notions that globalization has built a greater sense of awareness of the world around us, we continue to see a rise in Islamophobia which can be directly correlated to the media's negative portrayal of Muslims. The media beautifies and glamorizes the global north while simultaneously demonizes, and terrorizes Muslims. It continues to portray Muslims as a monolith. Muslim are only ever given media attention when they are behind the barrel and not in front. Victims of Islamophobia are not given the media attention that is necessary and their murders are always given the benefit of the doubt. The media has and continues to conflate Islam with terrorism. It has continued to paint every Muslim with the same brush but has separated the crimes of one white man from the rest. This has unquestionably created a hierarchy in lives and their significance. The media rarely challenges simple narratives and stereotypes that are constantly created about Muslims and majority Muslim countries. We are rarely exposed to genocides against Muslims; two of which are happening as we move on with our lives. If it weren’t for the advocating and posts from Muslims about the Palestinian and Myanmar genocide, we would rarely hear about what is going on. It is almost as if children are not white, American or European, they aren't worthy of the support from western countries. It is of great importance that we move beyond accepting simple narratives that are presented the media because ultimately, the west continues to benefit at the expense of historically marginalized communities.
When we look at representation in the media, it is apparent that white people have more spaces than Muslim’s. The attention that is placed in the media about Muslims is almost always in a negative light. After the 9/11 attacks, the media quickly placed blame on the 1.7 billion people that follow the religion of Islam. Maclean’s article, the only nationwide article in Canada published many articles that are deemed as islamophobic. Maclean’s magazine reaches about 2.8 million readers. They released an article written by Mark Steyn called The future belongs to Islam which many Muslims found offensive because of its Islamophobic content. Three Muslims lawyers then requested that Maclean's published their counter argument to which they refused. This led the three Muslim lawyers to file a human rights complaint against Maclean’s; however, no charges were placed on. This incident goes to show that white people are often given more platforms to speak than Muslims. These lawyers wanted to spread some knowledge about the real Islam; the Islam that they know and follow, but the platform was given to a white supremacist. In the scholarly article Muslims and Mass Media, it discussed how there exists a bias against Muslims and the media tends to portray very negatively.
“It was the general view of the discussants in the mass media panel that there exists a fairly widespread bias, both unwitting as well as deliberate, in a significant section of the mass media, not just in India but in the west as well. Abdur Rahim, head of the department of journalism at Hyderabad's Osmania, asserted that Muslims may even be said to be the most closely scrutinised
community in the press.” (Sikand, 2134)
There have been many cases where when Muslims do good for the community, but when it is shared in the media, they leave out the fact that the individual was Muslim. However, the narrative changes when a Muslim commits a crime. The individual is looked at as a terrorist, and someone people should fear. Not only does this happen, but every other Muslim will face some form of scrutiny because of the one crime that was committed. The media has become the one main thing that connects the world and is the driving force of globalizations; however, Muslims continues to be disproportionately affected because of the way they are presented in the media.
Although Islamophobia has always existed, and has been spread through the media, it becomes intensified when groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda commit crimes in the name of Islam. A prime example of this is the 9/11 attacks and how blame was placed on Al-Qaeda; a terrorist group that hijacked the religion of Islam. After the attack on the World Trade Centre, hate crime targeting Muslim was on the rise. “From only 28 incidents and 33 actual crimes in 2000, the rate jumps to 481 incidents and 546 crimes—almost a 15-fold increase” (Kaplan, The Numbers Speak). Although it is important to discuss the significance of the media in the spread of Islamophobia, we also need to discuss how groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda have renewed a false sense of fear of Islam. We also need to acknowledge the root cause of their existence and how western colonialism branded as globalization have played a role in the emergence of these terrorist groups that I, as a visible Muslim often have to publicly condemn. The Islamophobia that is presented in the media and from the terrorist groups have created a divide between the Islamic world and the west. Looking at statistics, it is evident that terrorist attacks receive more than five percent media coverage if the attack is carried out by and individual who identifies as Muslim. Analysis that covered all terrorist attacks between the years of 2011 and 2015 found a 449% increase in media attention if the perpetrator was Muslim. Muslims had only committed 12% of these crimes in those years. Many attacks that are under the guides of terrorism that occur in America, receive a significantly less percentage in media coverage if perpetrator is white. We look at the media and globalization as tools that connect the world, but fail to recognize the divide that has been created because of them. We fail to recognize the unjust system that exists because of globalization.
Over the last several decades, globalization has forced many Muslims out of their home countries to the United States. Muslim immigrants, are border-crossers living in spaces outside of their homelands, and yet not quite in their home countries. They come into western countries carrying their home countries legacy which often has troubled relationships with western and European countries. They also often come from nations that were colonized by European powers. With all this as a burden, it has made their entry that much more problematic and complex than any other immigrant population. These immigrants are often presented as “others” because of the little education that people have on Islam and colonization. “When Muslim and/or Middle Eastern people enter the United States, where a vast majority of U.S. citizens know little of the history of colonization, Islam, or how this global faith is situated in the world, these migrants are set up to be easily Othered.” (Tindongan, 73) What this causes is a visible Muslim woman to be scared to leave the house because she doesn't know if her scarf will be stripped from her, it causes a father to have to fear his children or wife walking home late because of the hatred that exists in people's hearts, it also instills fear in children's hearts who don't know how to freely practice their faith at school, because they don't want to be rejected by their friends. Children who want to go to school to make friends and get their education end up experiencing Islamophobia. In 2007, there were 118 reported cases of discrimination in school, then in 2008, there were 153. When surveys about Islam were conducted in schools in 2010, 38% of students have an unfavorable view on Islam because of the way it was taught and spoken about. As a society and as individuals who identify as global citizens, we need to move beyond accepting the false realities of globalization that continue to oppress Muslims.
The glorified ideas that surround globalization is far from reality. The idea that it is the interconnectedness of all people is a too simplistic way of looking at it. Globalization has continued to place barriers and create wedges between the privilege and the marginalized individuals. Globalization has allowed for the continuation of white supremacy and Islamophobia, and the people who don't have to experience it, turn a blind eye. Islamophobia exists and is an inescapable reality for Muslims all over the world. The idea that Islam is a faith that preaches violence, aggression, and terrorism has been a stereotype and misconception for too long. There is a stigma that has been placed on Muslims historically and continually and globalization has continued to allow for this to exist. The negative portrayal of Muslims that exists on the media; in other words, the driving force of globalization, has and will continue to exist so long as we keep turning a blind eye. Civil rights violations that target Muslims in the workplace, at religious institutions, and in schools have escalated. There has been a rising wave of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the US because of political statements of various military and civil leaders, and the media that projects a negative image of Islam. Since 9/11 the vilification of Muslims has been relentless among almost all political parties. It is said that by many media commentators and authors that politician campaigns are focused on demonizing Islam as a faith and Muslims as a community. It is time to give the platform to the marginalized communities that exist so that we can slowly start to create safer societies and uphold globalization to its potential standards.