Islamophobia, Xenophobia, and Anti-Immigrant Sentiment

When an Islamic terrorist group attacks, the masses are quick to indict the entire religion — and the right-wing media is always there to fuel the flames of distrust and fear. The fact of the matter is that only a tiny minority of people who identify as Muslim commit terrorist acts. The likelihood of white Europeans and Americans alike committing an act of terror is exponentially greater than that of Islamic extremists (cops in the U.S. kill exponentially more than both of these groups combined).

Distrust of Muslims has been growing in France for several years, and the Paris attacks have only served to amplify this xenophobia. Rallies for peace and solidarity in Paris over the weekend were interrupted by anti-Muslim protesters shouting, “throw out Islamists!”

The “Jungle” refugee camp in Calais, France, which largely houses Muslims fleeing the war-torn Middle East, caught fire on Friday night. While the cause of the fire is still unknown, anti-immigrant groups in France took to social media to applaud the fire’s destruction.

In the United States, many media outlets are fear mongering with anti-immigrant propaganda, and right-wing politicians are feeding right into it. At least half a dozen Republican governors have already announced plans to resist the settlement of Syrian refugees in their states in the wake of the Paris terror attacks. However, many people on social media are countering the fear mongering:

Dan Holloway @RFCdan

To people blaming refugees for attacks in Paris tonight. Do you not realise these are the people the refugees are trying to run away from..?

My Comment:  True, so very true.  The innocent ones trying to escape terrorism will unfortunately be targeted by anti-Muslims like the ones here: