How Islamophobia Is Manufactured: Media Narratives and Western Fear of Muslims

On a grey morning, while sipping his usual coffee at a café on Edgware Road—known for its Arab gatherings in London—a heated yet friendly discussion broke out between British teacher Thomas Wilkins and a group of young people of Arab, Asian, and European backgrounds in a neighborhood known for its dense immigrant communities. Suddenly, everyone reacted in shock as the radio announced a terrorist attack targeting civilians celebrating a Jewish holiday on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.

As one young Briton moved toward a physical altercation with an Asian youth—who had praised the attack because it targeted “the cursed Jews”—the Briton’s face flushed with anger, accusing all Muslims in his country of being potential bloodthirsty terrorists.

The group quickly intervened to break up the fight. One attendee, speaking calmly and confidently, condemned the killing of civilians as an act of terrorism that neither serves Muslims nor represents them, stressing that such attacks only fuel the rise of Islamophobia.

The Growth of Islamic Presence

For decades, Wilkins had walked the streets of London, the city he moved to early in life. He noticed the increasing visibility of Islamic culture: “halal” signs on shop windows, the growing number of Muslim women wearing hijab, and the vibrant community activities hosted by major mosques for Muslims and non‑Muslims alike. None of this, in his view, threatened the identity of a country long accustomed to diversity despite being a bastion of classical European culture.

He often met his Muslim African and Asian students at the university where he teaches comparative literature, forming genuine friendships that transcended the walls of hatred woven daily by the media.

Wilkins recently read a Pew Research Center survey showing the rising number of Muslims in Europe and the United States, leading to greater Muslim representation in public life. Among the examples was the election of Muslim politician Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York—an act seen as a direct challenge to President Donald Trump’s anti‑Muslim, anti‑immigrant policies. Even earlier, Sadiq Khan, a Labour Party politician of Pakistani origin, became London’s first Muslim mayor in 2016 and was re‑elected three times due to his success in reducing social divisions and improving quality of life.

Scrolling further, Wilkins paused at a striking statistic: by 2050, the Muslim population is expected to rise from 4.9% to 7.4% of Europe’s population—and under high‑migration scenarios, potentially up to 14%, driven by immigration and higher birth rates among Muslim families.

Western media outlets such as The Times and The Guardian discussed these demographic projections cautiously, with political debates about identity, pluralism, and predictions of the “Islamization of the West” or rising Muslim influence.

He also recalled a 2024 report by the Council on American‑Islamic Relations (CAIR) documenting a sharp rise in hate crimes against Muslims and Palestinians in the first half of the year, alongside efforts by the growing far‑right to restrict Islamic organizations in Europe and the US—such as the French Muslim Councils, the Muslim Council of Britain, the Islamic Society of North America, and student and women’s associations—by linking them to political groups and labeling them extremist.

Threat or Opportunity for Coexistence?

To Wilkins, the media narrative often felt like a conspiracy. Every terrorist incident was generalized as if synonymous with Islam itself, while most Western outlets ignored the genocide unfolding in Palestine—the mass killing of civilians, the erasure of an entire city within months, and more than 70,000 innocent people killed by Israeli bombs and bullets, leaving the rest as prisoners, wounded, or refugees in tattered desert tents ravaged by disease and harsh weather.

His heart ached during protests as he saw images of Palestinian children and women. He felt disgust toward European governments that failed to stop the slaughter—and even armed it—while issuing vague political statements of “condemnation.”

He asked himself: “Is this the Islamic terrorism they warn us about invading our countries? Or is terrorism a craft born from our own Western history—from the colonial campaigns that looted and killed across Arab and Muslim lands, and still do?”

A colleague in digital communications once explained to him how major social media algorithms—such as Facebook’s—reinforce negative stereotypes about Muslims and suppress criticism of Israel or right‑wing policies when Muslims are involved. A 2019 study by Bertram Vidgen on anti‑Islam hate speech in Britain confirmed that these algorithms amplify anti‑Islam narratives while strengthening “antisemitism” accusations tied to Muslims.

Wilkins knew that migration from outside Europe had increased the visibility of Muslims, and that some Europeans felt uneasy when encountering visibly Muslim individuals. Irregular migration surged after the Arab Spring: over 5 million Syrians fled their country, with nearly 4 million stuck in Turkey seeking safe passage to Europe, while others reached Europe through smuggling networks.

Statistics from 2020 indicated that Western Europe had around 20 million Muslims—6 million in France, 5 million in Germany, over 3 million in Britain, and 2 million in Spain. The US had around 4 million Muslims, and Canada about 1 million, according to Pew Research.

Yet conservative elites warned of demographic shifts: Europe’s Christian population is projected to decline by 100 million between 2010 and 2050, while the Muslim population is expected to rise from 43 million to 71 million.

Unfortunately, this new religious landscape may heighten social tensions. A Swiss Digital Publishing Institute report on “Media and Islamophobia in Europe” noted that hostility toward Muslims is strongest among those who feel their cultural or religious identity is threatened.

A Path Toward Dialogue

Wilkins decided to gather his team of researchers and students to join a new UK‑based initiative combating anti‑Muslim hatred. They began speaking with angry individuals in shops and streets, carrying signs and images promoting the true message of compassion at the heart of Islam. Wilkins encouraged them to write in unbiased newspapers about the achievements of Muslims in their countries and how they have contributed to national progress, expanding the space for coexistence and understanding the other half of the world.