The phenomenon of Islamophobia in Western societies was not born today. It appeared decades ago, grew in an influential way, and took bloody forms within a decade with the emergence of terrorist organizations under many names, revealing the extent of the ideological conflict and the stereotypes in Western thought towards the Muslim communities, with the growing role of extremist movements that have taken Islam as a cover for their terrorist operations.

In the minds of Westerners, this phenomenon was reinforced by the bloody behavior of extremist groups, especially the ISIS terrorist organization, which rose after al-Qaeda and carried out numerous attacks throughout Europe, USA and the rest of the world.

Sheikh Dr. Mustafa Rashid, Mufti of Australia and New Zealand and President of the International Federation for Peace, says, “The cause of this phobia is what is found in the books of false hadiths and narratives that ISIS has adopted as its methodology, among those false hadiths is the phrase ‘I have brought slaughter you to’. It is regrettable that these hadiths are now being taught in many religious places and there is no one to announce their invalidity."

In an interview with the International Media Center, Rashid explained that the recent image of ISIS and their crimes has distorted the image of Islam and promulgated ideas contrary to religion and belief. This is the main reason for Islamophobia.

"The world cannot deny that terrorist groups and ISIS are infidels, and it is our duty as clerics to be honest and declare this without hesitation, because terrorism is an anomalous behavior that is not related to religion," added Rashid.

Sheikh Dr. Muhammad Hafizi Jallo, a writer and university lecturer and president of the Ahlulbayt Association for the Propagation of Islam in Guinea, says, "Islamophobia is the enemy of humanity and the enemy of Islam at the same time, because Islam is for humanity."

The president of the Ahlulbayt Association added in an interview with the International Media Center, "What we find today is the desire of many people who belong to other religions to try to convert to Islam, and on the other hand there are those who prevent them and try to distort the image of Islam before them."

"In Western countries, we see people of some religions defend their religion, but they show hostility to Islam, and I think this is negative media," Jallo said.

He believes that it has its benefits, as it leads non-Muslims to enquire about Islam.

The Islamophobia Observatory of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation announced in its 12^th annual report that discrimination and intolerance against Muslims reached their highest levels at the end of 2018.

The report stated that after the slight decrease of Islamophobia recorded over the past year, the wave of Islamophobia and hate speech has escalated again.

Individuals perceived as Muslims, in addition to the increase in the number of attacks on mosques and community centers, especially in Europe and the United States, and discrimination and intolerance against Muslims have increased since June 2018, until they reached their highest levels during the end of the year.

The term "Islamophobia" came into use in the English language in 1997 when a British cell called the Renewed Trust used it to denounce feelings of hate, fear and prejudice directed against Islam and Muslims.

The French dictionary ‘Larousse’ defines Islamophobia as “hostility to Islam and Muslims”, while the Oxford English dictionary defines it as “dislike of or prejudice against Islam or Muslims, especially as a political force”.