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Islamisation/ Islamophobia

The term Islamisation is particularly common in right-wing circles. The term expresses the fear from an assumed expansion of Islam in Europe. This alleged Islamisation of Germany has been publically discussed especially since the beginning of the large protests of the racist anti-Muslim organisation Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West (PEGIDA) in 2014. The right-wing populist and Social Democrat Thilo Sarrazin initiated the debate in 2010, when he rendered the discussion about the alleged expansion of Islam socially acceptable. Right-wing populists falsely assume Europe and Germany to have homogenous culture, often as described as “Christian Western” culture that is opposed by Islam, which they falsely assume to be homogenous as well.
Islamophobia means the prejudice and hatred against Muslims and Islam as a religion and people who are assumed to be Muslim according to their appearance or language are discriminated against. Islamophobia literally means the fear of Islam, which can be considered trivialising for the racist practices and ideology. Therefore, the term anti-Muslim racism expresses the racist intentions more accurately.