Some people in the western states consider Islam to be a religion of violence and its practitioners as the people who want to bring the Western Civilization down. Islamophobia is on the rise, not only in the West but in almost every state of the world. There is a general view that the incidents of 9/11 gave birth to the concept of Islamophobia. But that is not entirely true because it existed well before September 11, 2001. It can be defined as hatred towards Muslim community or an irrational fear of Islam. 9/11 attacks simply amplified this fear. Moreover, after these attacks the lives of Muslims changed, as they were blamed for these attacks, specifically in the United States. Muslim states and scholars tried to counter this narrative, but they are facing challenge in doing so, because several media houses as well as some politicians have started to sell this narrative. This study, while using content analysis as methodological design, intends to find out what exactly Islamophobia is and how did this phenomenon get intensified after 9/11. The role of media and politicians is also critically evaluated. Lastly, this paper explores how this phenomenon is impacting the lives of Muslims.
Key words: Islamophobia, United States, Media, Terrorism, Hate Crimes, White Supremacist
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