ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how Islamophobia can be understood as a form of racism. It explains the historical emergence of Islamophobia through the concept of Orientalism that describes the creation of a binary of the norm and the 'Other' as a reflection of Western superiority that emerged during the historical period of modernity – the transformation of the world into a modern capitalist one since the industrial revolution. The challenge to positivist epistemology is a central aspect of intersectionality theory. Intersectionality theory also demands a relativist methodological approach, referred to as standpoint, that prioritizes the experiences and knowledge of subordinate groups and asks researchers to lay bare their own social position in relation to these groups. Islamophobia has clearly been accepted as an extant social phenomenon by governments, IGOs and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academics and in public discourses on multiculturalism.
