Aston Webb building on the University of Birmingham campus

The first contemporary occurrence of the term Islamophobia appeared in the 1997 Runnymede report ‘Islamophobia: a challenge for us all’ to acknowledge discrimination against Islam and Muslim immigrants in the UK.  Since 9/11, it has gained political traction over Europe and the USA to decry all types of ethnic and religious prejudice against Muslims who are not only immigrants but also citizens. In the last decade, the surge of Islamophobia has become worldwide, reaching India, China and even Muslim countries. This geographic expansion goes hand-in-hand with an expansion and intensification of the discrimination not only of Muslims but also of Islam, both of which are seen as an existential threat.