Islamophobia Grows in America, as Xenophobia Grows Around the World

The word “Islamophobia” has been in the news a lot this week, after TIME magazine ran a cover article wondering when America had become Islamophobic. So, is America Islamophobic? The question arises from the debate over the “Ground Zero” mosque and the lack of aid given to Pakistan after the epic floods.

I’ve been startled by the level of irrational Islamophobia, especially on the right, that I’ve seen in the last couple of weeks because of these two stories.

But I see it as the mirror reflection of the widespread xenophobia from the left, directed at Christians and even America in general. A few people in every political and ideological group today are simultaneously xenophobic toward someone and outraged at other groups’ xenophobia.

These kinds of xenophobia are growing, and something that I’ve been discussing for years on my web site. Generational Dynamics predicts that this kind of xenophobia grows in all societies in a generational Crisis era, once the survivors of the previous crisis war (WW II) all disappear (retire or die), all at once.

It’s worth pointing out that the level of xenophobia in America hasn’t grown to the level it has in Europe. I’ve reported on such events for years: the sudden growth in popularity of the British National Party in the UK, and how Holland became increasingly nationalistic when filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered by a Muslim extremist. And this week we’ve seen stories in France about expelling the Gypsies.

These kinds of stories come and go during any generational era, but in a generational crisis era they grow and become more frequent, and become manifest in discussions about terrorism, immigration, and ethnic violence.

Let’s return to the subject of the floods in Pakistan, and American and European xenophobia about Pakistan. The floods been going on for three weeks now, and incredibly, they keep getting worse, and more regions, especially in the Sindh province in the south, are being flooded. One-fifth of the entire country is now under water.

People should realize that the vast majority of Pakistanis are ordinary people with families who are suffering enormously because of the floods.

Pakistan has been much more victimized by al-Qaeda and Taliban violence than almost any other country in the world, including the US. Suicide bombings, beheadings, blowing up girls’ schools, etc., have forced millions of Pakistanis, especially in Swat Valley, to flee for their lives — and this was before the floods. (See “After a week of terrorist carnage across Pakistan, the army declares war on militants.”)

Terrorist attacks in Pakistan have targeted ordinary civilians, police installations, and even other Muslim sects. (See “10-Jul-10 News — Pakistan shocked again by terrorist attack.”) So Pakistanis have suffered far more from Islamist terrorism than Americans have.

Anti-Americanism in Pakistan is widespread, but it’s not because Pakistanis hate Americans, any more than Americans hate Pakistanis; it’s because Pakistanis blame the rise of Taliban and al-Qaeda violence on actions by the Americans in the Afghan war and in bombing Pakistan’s tribal areas. This conclusion is irrational.

Thus, Pakistani xenophobia about Americans is parallel to, and just as irrational as, American xenophobia about Pakistanis.

Some people are claiming that God is using the floods to punish the Pakistanis for hating Christians and Jews. By EXACTLY the same reasoning, you should conclude that Allah used 9/11 and Katrina to punish Americans for hating Muslims and Arabs.

This kind of xenophobia is occurring around the world, and Generational Dynamics predicts that it’s going to continue to grow, as more and more people in the generations of World War II survivors die off. In particular, the mutual xenophobia between Americans and Chinese has been growing for years, and will continue to grow. As the xenophobia keeps growing, it’s only a matter of time before someone gets pissed off and starts a world war.