not all Muslims are terrorists, but every single terrorist is a Muslim" was a comment of Native Grossnass on a YouTube video of a Muslim guy explaining that Muslims are not terrorists. Islam, the religion that considers killing single innocent human being more significant than demolishing the Kaaba, the most sacred place on Earth and the house of Muslim's God, is being attached to terrorism in the minds of a huge percentage of people around the world. This attachment of Islam and terrorism has created a fear of Islam, called "Islamophobia". Islamophobia is defined in Oxford Dictionary by "Dislike of or prejudice against Islam or Muslims, especially as a political force". Jack Diliberto, a Middle East expert, defines Islamophobia by saying "people will know largely nothing about Islam, but will be afraid of it". Although Islamophobia is controversial, in terms of how real Islamophobia is and if so, is it a rational fear caused merely by Muslims or not, it does have its effects on societies, communities' structure and the entire world.
Trying to discuss the term Islamophobia and its effects leads us to a fundamental question asked by Kenan Malik, 2005 ". does Islamophobia really exist? Or is the hatred and abuse of Muslims being exaggerated " A question like this can be answered by the statistics that show how Muslims are being hated, profiled and abused for their religion. A 2007 Pew Research Study found that 53% of American Muslims say it has become more difficult to be a Muslim in the United States since September 11, 2001, twenty-five percent of Muslims in the United State say that they have been victims of discrimination (Amany R. Hacking, 2010). For youths and college students, a poll showed that 76% of young Arab Americans of traditional college age, 18 to 29 years, have experienced personal discrimination (cited in Shammas, 2009). Abu El-Haj (2007) reports that several Muslim veiled female students were harassed in their neighborhood school, being told by their teachers that they "look like a disgrace in that thing," while some were threatened with disciplinary sanctions if they did not remove their scarves (cited in Bonet, 2011).
