Islamophobia: Understanding and Responding to Prejudice

Juli 02, 2025

Anna-Sofia Roald is a professor of religious studies at Malm University and a convert to Islam. I want to emphasize that Sweden is more accepting than Denmark, for example. There was a lot of talk in the news about whether or not we could blame Muslims and terrorists for the suicide bomber who set off a terrorist explosion in Stockholm (note: the terrorist explosion in the center of Stockholm happened on December 11, 2010). A lot of people thought the bomber was just a person who was angry with life and decided to end it.

A lot of people in Sweden think we can't fit in with immigrants because we don't have enough good places for them to live. I don't think that's really true. This idea evolves and becomes a serious problem, and Muslims think that the process of integration is bad. I was used to wearing a headscarf, but I knew that the whole world didn't pay attention to what I did. I put myself in a situation where I was shut off, and by taking off my headscarf, I instantly became a part of society. In the genuine sense of the word, I opened the doors and let myself be accepted.

Professor Anna-Sophia Roald

Muslims think they are being blamed and have a terrible name, thus they never want to leave their tiny environment. They don't like it when we treat them unfairly. Not only is the majority discriminating against the minority, but the minority is also choosing to be alone. The Swedish Democrats, an anti-Islam group, have only come now because they are taking advantage of anti-Muslim feelings. It's not something new. The Vlaams Blok, an anti-immigration party, has hosted these kinds of anti-Islam events here for years.

They have suddenly realized that it is easier to give in to anti-Islamic biases than to talk about racism. People say it's an attack on religion. Not people." This is a very easy argument for them, which is why it quickly became part of the language of other political groups. A year ago, a study was done in Flanders on how people feel about Islam. More over half of the people who answered said they didn't have a problem with it. They believe that Muslims are to blame since they don't see anything wrong with their faith and can't hear anything bad about it anyone who were asked said that Muslims are against anyone who think differently. In the end, it's all about Islam, which hasn't changed to fit modern times.

We say that racism is now salonfahig, which means it is now an acceptable component of polite society

People have thought that Muslims and other religions are genetically unable to succeed and fit in since Thilo Sarrazin's book came out. It states that Muslim immigration are ruining German society. He tried to use science to show that it is normal to be prejudiced against Muslims. They couldn't say it out loud before, but now since there seem to be scientific reasons for it, why not? My friends have also told me that other individuals have abused them, spat on them, and even gone to restaurants and been turned away.

Two years ago, this kind of behavior would not have been accepted as normal, but now people have to deal with it. In my experience, this is a clear sign that being against Islam is commonplace in society, especially in schools. No matter what your religion is, you are either a practicing Muslim or you are not. It doesn't matter, but you have to look like one of the people who lives in a Muslim state. I don't feel bad about it on a personal level because it's part of my job, even if I was threatened a few days ago.

But some Muslims think they are being hurt

Most of my pals want to go to the UK or Canada because things are better there in this area. Mario Shaloya, a retired Italian UN ambassador who is now a Muslim, is presently working at the Islamic Cultural Center in Rome. There is hardly little anti-Islamic sentiment or signs of Islamophobia throughout much of Italy, except for the north. This kind of behavior is not okay in this circumstance. I have never had times like these in my life, yet immigrants who came to North Africa might not agree with me.

One reason Italy doesn't have a lot of oil-based or anti-Islamic sentiment might be because mass immigration hasn't hit the country very hard yet. On the other hand, France and other big European countries are going through this right now. This procedure started later in this example, which could be why it happened. In Northern Italy, where immigrants aren't very popular, there are also anti-Islamic feelings. The Northern League, which is right-wing, has a lot of power there. There have also been individual incidents, such when a mosque in Treviso was stoned or when someone dumped a pig in front of a mosque in Pisa.

Conclusion

Most of the issues we have with Muslims and Islam in our society are more about immigration than religion. The "Svoboda" party has made this problem worse and more confrontational on the political level. Svoboda is the first voice, and everyone must listen to it. They don't want solutions; they want guinea pigs. People don't see Muslims as individuals; they see them as a collective. The media don't talk to the Muslim theorists who study the same thing. Not many highly educated Muslims in the Netherlands (or England) want to talk about things like this.

My friends and I started the Democratic Muslim Organization for the successful, educated, and loyal Muslims in Denmark. Before the Cartoon Scandal, they didn't have the right platform and things weren't very well structured. There were Islamist groups, though, and when the media wanted to talk to Muslims, they ended up talking to the Islamists, who are the spokespeople for the minority.

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