Before the Paris bombings, stereotypes about Muslims were bad, but now things have got really out of hand. European countries are seriously considering closing their borders, and being a Muslim in Europe, even if they have lived there peacefully for a generation or two, is becoming more difficult.
ISIL, who excel in professional media management, seems to take delight in encouraging Islamophobia in western countries and they are doing a very good job. Publics are encouraged by right wing, and now centre left governments to think that their national cultures are under threat from Islamic extremists, despite the fact that migrants are themselves running away from Islamic extremists.
Joining host John Harrison to discuss these issues is Dr Istvan Kristo Nagy, a Lecturer in Arabic and Islamic Studies, at the University of Exeter, and Oliver Scharbrodt, Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Chester, Director of the Chester Centre for Islamic Studies (CCIS), and Editor-in-Chief of the Yearbook of Muslims in Europe (Brill).
Stereotypes discussed include Islamic ‘subjugation of women’, and the inherent ‘violence of Islam’. Important issues such as the manipulation of public opinion by ISIL with the goal of convincing us that all Muslims are extremists are also discussed.
