Islamophobia & Europhobia: Expanding Rhetorics of Exclusion

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between Islamophobic and Europhobic rhetoric in Europe. Whereas Islamophobia revolves around the assertion that Islam poses a grave threat to the West, Europhobia asserts the reverse. This article spotlights three examples of Islamophobic othering and Europhobic reverse othering in Europe. European Islamists counter the claim that Islam is incompatible with democracy by contending that European democracy is a hypocritical sham when it comes to equal rights for Muslims. Islamists reverse the claim that Islam is misogynistic by arguing that Europe sexualizes and thereby represses women. Islamists oppose the claim that Islam is inherently expansionist by insisting that Europe continues to the harbor (neo)imperialist designs toward the Islamic(ate) World.