Islamophobia

Chris Allen, Research Fellow, The Institute of Applied Social Studies, University of Birmingham, UK

'Christopher Allen has been a dominant voice in debates on 'Islamophobia". His book is both timely and relevant and provides the depth of enquiry and investigation needed to deal with a highly contested phenomenon.' Ron Geaves, Liverpool Hope University, UK and Chair of the Muslims in Britain Research Network 'This timely and accessible book rests upon many years of careful research by a scholar whose early career has been devoted to understanding and critically evaluating the complex notion of Islamophobia. It will become a standard work of reference, as well as stimulating future discussion. There are insights in Allen’s work that deserve to be appreciated by students from a variety of disciplines, as well as a more general readership'. Sophie Gilliat-Ray, Director, Islam-UK Centre, Cardiff University, UK ’Over the last couple of decades Islamophobia" has become common currency in public arguments about Islam and Muslims. It has been used unquestioningly by Muslims and others to score points in national and international political debates. Does any critique of Islam amount to Islamophobia? Does an accusation of Islamophobia amount to an attempt to suppress freedom of expression? Or is Islamophobia a form of hate speech or even racism, similar to anti-semitism? In this thoughtful and critical study Chris Allen looks at the origins of the term and its insertion into the British public debate in the 1990s sparked by a report from the Runnymede Trust. He follows the term’s adoption by the media and places it in a broader discussion of racism and xenophobia, relating it also to the debate on Orientalism. In conclusion he seeks a redefinition of Islamophobia designed to make the concept both credible and useful. Allen has been a participant in much of the debate around Islamophobia since the 1990s and here takes a critical distance which allows him to make a substantial contribution to clearing up much of the confusion around

• Part 1 Introduction; Chapter 1 The First Decade of Islamophobia; Part 2 History in Context; Chapter 2 Revelation to Reformation, Orientalism and Colonialism; Chapter 3 From Revolution to Revival, Rushdie and the Clash of Civilisations; Part 3 A Decade of the Runnymede Report; Chapter 4 Recognition: A New Reality that Needed Naming; Chapter 5 Runnymede: An Open and Closed Case; Part 4 Islamophobia in Context; Chapter 6 ‘They’re All the Same’: Islamophobia in the Context of the UK; Chapter 7 Different Forms of Discourse, Speech and Acts: Islamophobia in Europe; Part 5 Towards a New Theory and Definition of Islamophobia; Chapter 8 What is Islamophobia?; Chapter 9 Islamophobia: Comparisons and Correlations; Chapter 10 Islamophobia: A New Ideology for a Media Generation; Chapter 11 Towards a New Definition of Islamophobia; Part 6 Conclusion; Chapter 12 Tentative Steps into the Twenty-First Century;