These controversial and often belligerent articles are an inside closed-view of how Westerners view Islam, which is as disassociated and conflicting from the West/Christianity, subordinate to the West, an enemy to it, and as a premeditative and scheming quasi-religious political presence, critiquing the West is erroneous and simply inaccurate within the closed-view, while blatant discrimination against Muslims is guarded and welcome, and Islamophobia is seen as a "natural response" to a supposed menacing and hazardous threat
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Consciously and willfully perpetuating unfounded and harmful stereotypes about Muslims is done for an assortment of reasons, 1.) to gain a political advantage during elections, 2.) to earn money via perpetuating Islamophobic jokes/stereotypes in popular media which appeals to a wide majority of citizens, and 3.) to embed the West in a position of influence and power against Muslims. Mohamed Nimer, acclaimed author and professor, notes that "in political seasons, fear of Islam and Muslims has proven to be a useful mobilizer across party lines. The rumor about President (then Senator) Obama's being secretly Muslim serves as a vivid illustration." (2) The allegation was used to discourage Americans from voting for Obama, though he did quickly and successfully disprove the accusations. This illustrates that "Muslim" is such a deprecatory label in the United States today that no good could come from the situation, thus Obama had to separate himself from any sort of signifiers completely, which is no surprise when examining the contemporary state of the USA. Gallup's 2010 publication Religious Perceptions in America: With an In-Depth Analysis of U.S. Attitudes Toward Muslims and Islam "is a study of Americans' opinions regarding a number of world religions with a special focus on Islam and Muslims." Of all the religions that citizens were asked about (Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism), Islam was perceived in the most negative light.
