Journal Article — Discrepancies Around the Use of the Term “Islamophobia” — by Javier Rosón Lorente

In this article we shall deal with criticisms and/or discrepancies around use of the term Islamophobia, though not without making clear that from our standpoint the term was coined because there is a new reality which needs a name. This reality must be described and defined, for objectively the prejudice against Muslims has grown considerably and so quickly and exponentially that in recent years a new term had to be coined into the vocabulary, able to identify and act against a wide range of acts and attitudes which particularly oppose the Arab and/or Muslim communities residing in Europe and the West. Criticism voiced around the term Islamophobia is diverse in form and content, although closely linked both internationally and in the Spanish national context. Such criticism over ‘acceptance’ or not of the term in turn makes use of alternative concepts based on three major critical currents: religious, racial and ethnocultural. To this are added etymological, identitary and political aspects, and those regarding freedom of expression or even ideological discourses.