Spreading Islamophobia Online

Spreading Islamophobia Online: The Reality of a Subtle War in the Modern Era

One of the most powerful media in the world today is the ‘Internet’. With this unprecedented expansion of technology, human civilization has entered a new horizon. The Internet is not only a field for the pursuit of knowledge, but also an effective ‘field’ for the conflict and influence of politics, culture, religion and ideology. And in this online world, Islam and the Muslim Ummah have become the most targeted. Islamophobia or Islamophobia is no longer just the mouthpiece of Western politicians, but a secret, clever and purposeful aggressive current in the online world.

This hatred began long ago, but its digital explosion occurred after the 9/11 incident in 2001. Western powers, especially the United States and its allies, wanted to portray Islam as a ‘threat’ in order to launch military aggression against Muslim countries. The media loudly spread that false story among the people of the world. “Islam means terrorism, Muslims mean terrorists”—along with TV channels and newspapers, social media has now become the biggest weapon for spreading this misleading narrative.

Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram—Islamophobic content is constantly being spread on these platforms. A class of individuals are slandering Muslims, mocking their religious beliefs, insulting the Prophet of Islam, and misleading the common people by distorting the verses of the Quran. Some of them openly spread hatred, while others do so under the guise of so-called “intellectuals.”

Sometimes, it is seen that some YouTube channels or bloggers named “Ex-Muslims” spread false information about Islam and claim that they were once Muslims, but have now realized the truth and left Islam. Most of them are basically part of the Western agenda—they operate under the patronage, and the anti-Islamic forces finance them.

They mainly target three things as a strategy to attack Islam:

1. Women's rights,

2. Human rights,

3. Judicial system.

They say that Islam oppresses women, Islamic punishment is barbaric, Sharia law is inhuman. Yet none of this is analyzed in its proper context. The dignity that Islam has given to women, establishing their freedom, security, dignity, and right to property—this is deliberately kept secret. Even the glorious chapters of Islamic history are distorted and presented.

In addition, the modern "meme and culture" system is also being used to ridicule Islam. Through funny videos, pictures, comics, etc., Muslims are portrayed as 'backward', 'terrorist', 'uneducated'. Especially the new generation who do not know the religion deeply, after watching these meme-videos, they subconsciously start to question Islam.

Various anti-Islamic think tanks and state intelligence agencies are also engaged in this work. They control the algorithms in such a way that content that is reasonable for Islam does not reach people easily, while anti-Islamic post-videos go viral quickly. YouTube recommendations, Facebook algorithms, TikTok trends—all are engineered to manipulate public perception against Islam.

In addition, a distorted version called “moderate Islam” or “liberal Islam” is often introduced to spread religious confusion among Muslim youth, so that they abandon fundamental issues such as Sharia, jihad, veiling, prayer, etc., considering them to be “old-fashioned.” Again, many times, Islam is deliberately presented as terrifying by promoting extremist and distorted groups—such as ISIS, Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab, etc.

This Islamophobia is not limited to Muslim countries, but has also made the lives of Muslims living in Western countries miserable. In Europe and America, mosques are set on fire, Muslim women wearing hijabs are harassed, and Islamic schools are attacked—these are now commonplace. Yet these attackers are never called “terrorists.” They are called “mentally unbalanced individuals.” On the other hand, if a young Muslim does something even in self-defense, his religion is immediately blamed.

The question is, what are we Muslims doing to counter this digital aggression?

Sadly, we are still largely reactive, unplanned, and emotional. Our online dawah is lacking, research-based content is scarce, and Islam is not explained to young people in simple terms. Most of the time, we defend, not attack. Yet the time has come for intellectual resistance—with knowledge, with logic, with art and literature.

The younger generation needs to be properly explained the beauty and rationality of Islam. We need video makers, writers, graphic designers, software developers—who can present Islam beautifully on modern platforms. At the same time, this deadly conspiracy must be prevented through dua and spiritual correction.

Finally, I will say that Islam is a religion of light, and darkness is its greatest enemy. Even in this online darkness, those who spread hatred for Islam know that this religion is the only complete way of life. That is why they are afraid. And this fear proves how alive, strong, and globally important Islam is. Our responsibility is to reveal this truth, to bring it to light, and to prepare every Muslim with a storehouse of confidence and knowledge—so that in this digital war too, we can deliver the message of truth with our heads held high.

“And say, ‘Truth has come, and falsehood has vanished; surely falsehood is destined to disappear.’” (Surah Isra: 81)