1

Grace Atkinson

Dr Landy

Race, Ethnicity and Identity 1

What are the advantages and disadvantages of comparing antisemitism and Islamo-

phobia?

Although the sociological comparison of antisemitism and islamophobia is new-

found, it has provoked a controversial discourse that holds advantages and disadvan-

tages for the field. Analysis of Islamophobia and antisemitism can illustrate their shared

history, commonalities, and prevalence while deepening our understanding of discrimi-

natory structures, religious based discrimination and religious racialisation. However it

can place the groups in direct opposition through oversimplification, controversy, and

contextual differences. The method of sociological comparison had shed light on numer-

ous connected oppressive systems with a focus on mobilisation and rationale. This is

particularly necessary in regards to antisemitism and Islamophobia as it enables an un-

derstanding of its adaptive but pervasive nature. And yet, antisemitism and Islamophobia

studies sustain a ‘nearly total exclusion of race1’ and the necessity of their re-alignment

within racism studies will be outlined as such. Thus, the scope of this essay will delin-

eate ‘how productive it can be for our sociological understanding to connect antisemitism

and racism conceptually, historically and in terms of current trends2’.

1 Hafez, Farid (2016) “Comparing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia: The State of the Field.” Is-
lamophobia Studies Journal, 3 (2), p.25
2Achinger, Christine, and Robert Fine. Antisemitism, Racism and Islamophobia : Distorted
Faces of Modernity. London ; New York Routledge, 2017, p. xii
 2

Much public and scholarly attention has been devoted to defining antisemitism

and Islamophobia, with careful regard to the construction of these complex terms3.

Whilst the distinct etymology of the terms antisemitism and islamophobia are significant,

the focus on their differing origins and compositions has detracted from their similar us-

age4. German intellectuals coined the term antisemitism in the late nineteenth century,

as they foresaw its political, nationalistic and cultural efficacy for their rational conception

of racial categorisation5. Although anti-Judaism or ‘Judenhass’ had long existed on the

basis of religious discrimination6, ’semitism’ newly delineated ‘a body of uniformly nega-

tive traits supposedly clinging to Jews7.’ Therefore, antisemitism can be understood as

the ‘process of turning Jews into ‘Jews’,’ underscoring the racialised ‘collective Jew’ and

the ideological construction of ‘Jewishness8’. This notion of biological Jewishness con-

sequently marked ‘a crucial turning point of the late 19th century … as a shift in alterity

from religion to race9’. Contrastingly, the term Islamophobia was introduced in 1997 to

reflect the increased discrimination towards Muslims as fueled by geopolitics, migra-

tion10 and the war on terror11. Although Islamophobia is comparably recent12, its cultural-

ly racist nature is consistent with that of antisemitism and academics have proposed the

3Klug, Brian (2014) The limits of analogy: comparing Islamophobia and antisemitism, Patterns
of Prejudice, 48:5, p.447
4 Klug, The limits of analogy, p.448
5Meer, Nasar (2013) Semantics, scales and solidarities in the study of antisemitism and Islam-
ophobia, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 36:3, p.502
6 ibid.
7 Klug, The limits of analogy, p.448
8 Meer, Semantics, scales and solidarities, p.502
9 ibid.
10 Meer, Semantics, scales and solidarities, p.502
11Shavit, U. (2021). “Muslims are the New Jews” in the West: Re ections on Contemporary
Parallelisms. In A. Lange, K. Mayerhofer, D. Porat & L. Schi man (Ed.), Volume 5 Confronting
Antisemitism in Modern Media, the Legal and Political Worlds, p. 287
12 Meer, Semantics, scales and solidarities, p.502
ff
fl
 3

term ‘Muslimophobia’ as an alternative to the religious emphasis of 'Islamophobia’13.

Jean-Paul Sartre’s description of political antisemitism ‘if the Jew did not exist, the anti-

Semite would invent him’ as a dualistic worldview between good and evil14 is exemplified

by the contemporary Islamophobic mobilisation by the European far right.

While the complex historical and contemporary contexts of Islamophobia and an-

tisemitism are far too complex to be succinctly detailed, their conceptual and historical

connections provide an instrumental understanding and perspective from which to better

analyse their characteristics15. Despite their differences, Muslims and Jews share the

overarching characteristic of being; ‘the internal ‘other’ of Western civilisation … a

deeply embedded culture16’. Their ‘shared and overlapping racial history17’ is particularly

evident in the exclusion of Jews and Moors during the formative period of European

modernity and Christianity18 as Edward Said echoed in his pivotal work ‘Orientalism’; ‘I

have found myself writing the history of a strange, secret sharer of Western anti- Semi-

tism’19. The ‘unwritten’ histories of antisemitism and Islamophobia remain an ‘entangled

history of othering’ and form the basis of modern ideology and political thought20.

13 Meer, Semantics, scales and solidarities, p.503

14Dobkowski, M. (2015). ISLAMOPHOBIA AND ANTI-SEMITISM: Shared Prejudice or Singular
Social Pathologies. CrossCurrents, 65(3), p.327
15Cousin, G and Fine, R (2012), A common cause: Reconnecting the study of racism and anti-
semitism, European Societies, 14 (2), p.167
16 Hafez, “Comparing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia”, p.19
17Meer, Nasar (2013) Racialization and religion: race, culture and di erence in the study of anti-
semitism and Islamophobia, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 36:3, p.386
18 Cousin, G and Fine, R, A common cause, p.167
19 Meer, Semantics, scales and solidarities, p.454
20Katz B. Ethan (2018), An Imperial Entanglement: Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and Colonial-
ism, The American Historical Review, 123 (4), p.1192
ff
 4

Across cultures, continents and epochs, Islamophobia and antisemitism became

interwoven and inextricable in the minds of Christian nationalists and racial theorists21.

Professor Ethan B. Katz highlighted their distinctive elements while stressing the crucial

role of their entanglement for historical analysis; ‘The respective positions of Jews and

Muslims in modern European history can understood only be examining the two groups

together22’. The two were further linked and ingrained within the imperial European psy-

che following the Enlightenment, the emergence of modern Western liberalism, national-

ism and colonialism23. Whilst the historical comparison of antisemitism and Islamopho-

bia has established their deeply embedded links and has enabled a better sense of the

past, it has furthered the basis for their contemporary comparison.

Many prominent theorists have connected various discriminatory structures

through the pervasive yet consistent nature of prejudice24. Fanon, Du Bois and Arendt

have highlighted its rationale and the imperial mobilisation that ultimately ‘would have

necessitated the invention of racism25’. The maintenance of hierarchical structures, eco-

nomic superiority and status requires targeting certain groups through systematic exclu-

sion26. And yet within the sociological field, antisemitism is rarely related to other forms

of racism or established as a recognised subject of research27. This disassociation of

antisemitism from other racisms and particularly Islamophobia is largely due to their ad-

21 ibid.
22 ibid.
23 ibid.
24 Cousin, G and Fine, R, A common cause, p.166
25 Katz, An Imperial Entanglement, p.1190
26 Dobkowski, ISLAMOPHOBIA AND ANTI-SEMITISM, p. 324
27Achinger, Christine, and Fine, Robert (2017) Antisemitism, Racism and Islamophobia : Dis-
torted Faces of Modernity. London ; New York Routledge, p.1
 5

mittable ‘points of divergence’ and proponents of their comparison duly acknowledge the

limit to their analogy28. Anthropologist Matti Bunzl has illustrated the ‘political choice or

analytic choice … to foreground the similarities or the difference’ between antisemitism

and Islamophobia29. Thus the limit and benefits of their comparison is dependent on a

framework that analogises either their differences or their shared experiences30.

When reviewing the similarities between antisemitism and Islamophobia, it be-

comes clear that the benefits outnumber the disadvantages and their variations. It illumi-

nates the shared patterns of discrimination, stereotyping and particularly how antisemitic

and Islamophobic attacks report simultaneous increases31, echoing Frantz Fanon’s

warning ‘Whenever you hear anyone abuse the Jews, pay attention, because he is talk-

ing about you32.’ As mentioned earlier, relational methodologies have connected racial

logics through the consistent nature of prejudice and hierarchical maintenance33. How-

ever, antisemitic and Islamophobic rhetoric consists of ‘identical styles of arguments, im-

ages and discourses34’ as identified through ‘collective constructions, dehumanisation,

misinterpretation of religious imperatives (proof by ‘sources’) and conspiracy theories35’.

These patterns span various dimensions including; discriminatory ‘humour’ where the

‘underlying logic of racism is the same36’, stereotypes of Jews and Muslims as secret

28 Klug, The limits of analogy, p.454

29 Hafez, Comparing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, p.17
30Bunzl, Matti (2005). Between Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia: Some Thoughts on the New
Europe. American Ethnologist, p.501
31 ibid.
32 Cousin, G and Fine, R, A common cause, p.172
33 Bunzl, Between Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, p.501
34 Hafez, Comparing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, p. 20
35 ibid.
36 Klug, The limits of analogy, p.452
 6

conspirators37, their presumed association with extremism38 and the persistent question-

ing of their ‘loyalty39’. Scholars maintain that this is attributable to the specific and shared

religious dimension of both antisemitism and Islamophobia40 as ‘religion, in this wider

sense, becomes the common thread of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia41’. Their com-

parison thus reveals recurring historical patterns, particularly the security fears associat-

ed with religious minorities that quickly becomes a racialised discourse42. The systemat-

ic exclusion of religious minorities within Europe cements their perception as a ‘state

within a state43’ and an inner enemy that represents an inherent ‘threat to the nation’44.

Accordingly, the consideration of cultural racism as it serves to racialise Jewish and

Muslim people45 is crucial in order to understand the core components of antisemitic and

Islamophobic sentiment46.

Within this contested discourse, antisemitism has been deemed incomparable to

Islamophobia on account of their assimilation into European society and their perception

as ‘white’. Conversely, Islamophobia is stated to be fundamentally distinct from anti-

semitism due to comparably less historical persecution and ideological tropes47.

37 Klug, The limits of analogy, p.455

38 Shavit, U. “Muslims are the New Jews” p. 290
39 Meer, Semantics, scales and solidarities, p.510
40 ibid.
41 Hafez, Comparing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, p. 21
42 Shavit, “Muslims are the New Jews” p. 289
43 Hafez, Comparing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, p. 20
44 Shavit, “Muslims are the New Jews” p. 289
45 Meer, Semantics, scales and solidarities, p.511
46 Meer, Racialization and religion p.390
47 Dobkowski, ISLAMOPHOBIA AND ANTI-SEMITISM, p. 325
 7

However these perspectives neglect the racialisation of both groups, constructed

through cultural portrayals and characteristics that offer ‘reassurance that their differ-

ence could be easily identified by Christians48.’ Although most scholars conceive of race

as a post-Enlightenment construct dependent on observable phenotypical and cultural

differentiation, it was Christianity that first established racial categories49. In fact, the first

time that the concept of race appeared in a sixteenth century dictionary, it was synony-

mous with the words “blood” and “religion50”. Historian George M. Frederickson has fur-

thered this point in his chronological analysis of race and religion in fifteenth and six-

teenth century Spain, arguing that ‘the othering and ethnic cleansing of Jews and Mus-

lims is paradigmatic of European racialisation51.’ Nevertheless, the key role of Jews and

Muslims in the emergence of race is often overlooked with a focus on biology as the

principle marker of difference rather than religion52. This has been explored recently

through the conceptualisation of cultural racism as a ‘new racism’, ‘neo-racism’ and ‘dif-

ferentialist racism’ as its ‘dominant theme is not biological heredity but the insurmount-

ability of cultural differences53’. Contrastingly, the disassociation of antisemitism and is-

lamophobia from other forms of racism devalues them to ‘voluntary religious self-cate-

gorisations’ (disregarding issues of belonging, culture, identity, politics etc.) as opposed

to involuntary gender, racial and sexual categories54. Therefore, the centring of racialisa-

tion as the core component of both antisemitism and Islamophobia enables an en-

48 Meer, Racialization and religion p.388

49 ibid.
50 Hafez, Comparing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, p. 27
51 Meer, Racialization and religion p.389
52 Meer, Semantics, scales and solidarities, p.501
53 Meer, Semantics, scales and solidarities, p.504
54 Meer, Semantics, scales and solidarities, p.511
 8

hanced understanding of racial structures and of historical and contemporary religious

racialisation55.

Additionally, this commonality renders scholarship on antisemitism equally applic-

able to Islamophobia and the analytical comparison can further illustrate the prevalence

of Islamophobia. The work of Fanon and Du Bois on antisemitism as a non-colour-based

racism is particularly relevant in this context, incorporated into Anya Topolski’s essay

‘How Jews and Muslims Become Races’ as she details the chronology of their racialisa-

tion56. Du Bois’ time in Europe widened his understanding of racism as capable of

‘reaching all sorts of people’ and a consequently ‘broader conception of what the fight

against race segregation, religious discrimination, and the oppression by wealth had to

become if civilisation was going to triumph and broaden in the world57.’ The ways in

which Islamophobia and antisemitism are racially mobilised as a tool of power and con-

trol, falls under the multidimensional scope of racism studies rather than singular social,

cultural or religious classifications58. Alana Lentin advises against these alternative cate-

gories as indicative of the separation of race from politics, the declaration of a post-racial

epoch, and the silencing of discussions about race59. Arguably, the separation of anti-

semitism and Islamophobia from other forms of racism perpetuates discriminatory struc-

tures as contended by writer Kenan Malik that ‘the multicultural emphasis on difference

is the glue that conceptually attaches antiracism to the racism it opposes60’. Thus the

55 Meer, Semantics, scales and solidarities, p.504

56 Hafez, Comparing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, p. 24
57 Cousin, G and Fine, R, A common cause, p.170
58 Hafez, Comparing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, p. 25
59 Hafez, Comparing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, p. 23
60 Cousin, G and Fine, R, A common cause, p.174
 9

efficacy and credibility of anti-racism is dependent on the inclusion of antisemitism and

Islamophobia within this collective effort61. The comparison of anti-semitism and Islamo-

phobia illustrates their shared racial history and function which allows for their rightful

positioning within the field and scope of racism studies.

Although the analogy of antisemitism and Islamophobia is not intended to min-

imise their individual characteristics, the distinct historical and socio-political contexts of

both groups can render their direct comparison problematic. As such, it is crucial to

maintain consideration of relevant global-political dynamics and the concept of a New

antisemitism, as detailed by scholars and politicians alike. The divisive consequences of

oversimplification, controversy, and contextual differences exemplify the limit of the

analogy as outlined initially by Matti Bunzl and Brian Klug62. Often scholars have fo-

cused on the terminology of Islamophobia and antisemitism where ‘incessant quibbling

over semantics poses an obstacle’ to the efficacy of their comparison63. Despite the col-

lective categorisation of Jews and Muslims as the ‘Other’ within Europe, their current po-

litical function differs; ‘while anti-semitism was designed to protect the purity of the ethnic

nation-state, Islamophobia is marshalled to safeguard the future of European

civilisation’64. The political use of Islamophobia has been deemed more pressing as the

‘normalisation’ of Jewish minorities and representation constitutes a ‘new anti-semitism’,

one distanced from the extremist antisemitic ideology that plagued eighteenth, nine-

61 Cousin, G and Fine, R, A common cause, p.169

62 Klug, The limits of analogy, p.454
63 Hafez, Comparing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, p. 23
64 Hafez, Comparing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, p. 18
 10

teenth and twentieth century Europe65. David Cesarani declared the analogy of anti-

Semitism and Islamophobia to be ‘positively dangerous66’ and Miriam Shaviv of the Jew-

ish chronicle criticised the ‘perverse comparison67’ of Muslims as the new Jews of Eu-

rope. Scholars, Sabine Schiffer and Constantin Wagner68 disputed this claim in conjunc-

tion with Matti Bunzl’s emphasis that ‘the catastrophe of the Holocaust, is not something

that… is conceivable today for any population69’. Conversely, it is argued that the

uniqueness of the Holocaust should not negate the practicality of its analysis; ‘a com-

parative discussion of its horrors and patterns of its legitimation might be fruitful in mak-

ing sense of modern racisms70.’ The sensitive nature of this analogy can prevent the

recognition of emerging racist mechanisms similar to that of the Holocaust71 and in-

stead, a ‘competition of victimhood’ can arise72. French Philosopher Alain Badiou has

detailed how the ‘signifier ‘Jew’ … now enjoys a victim status that places Jews beyond

reproach and renders invisible other forms of racism73.’ Though it is possible to criticise

the Israeli government without invoking antisemitism74, several scholars identify the pro-

tected category of Jews that serves to deflect criticism, legitimate Israeli violence, and

encourage the mobilisation of Islamophobia75. The Israel Palestine conflict continues to

65 Meer, Semantics, scales and solidarities, p.507

66 Hafez, Comparing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, p. 18
67 Klug, The limits of analogy, p.443
68 Hafez, Comparing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, p. 18
69 Hafez, Comparing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, p. 17
70 Cousin, G and Fine, R, A common cause, p. 168
71 Hafez, Comparing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, p. 18
72 Hafez, Comparing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, p. 21
73 Cousin, G and Fine, R, A common cause, p. 178
74 Achinger and Fine. Antisemitism, Racism and Islamophobia, p.4
75 Cousin, G and Fine, R, A common cause, p. 178
 11

dominate the comparison of antisemitism and Islamophobia whilst the complexity of their

histories and distinct socio-political dimensions undermines their solidarity and com-

monalities.

The similarities between antisemitism and Islamophobia clearly outweigh their dif-

ferences and the fundamental advantages arising from their analogy disregard the nar-

row lens of methodological separatism76. The comparison of Jews and Muslims illus-

trates their shared racial history and the analysis of their commonalities allows for an

enhanced understanding of religious racialisation, racial theory and systematic oppres-

sion. The disadvantages of the comparison of antisemitism and Islamophobia are nei-

ther inherent nor insurmountable but requires a framework that grounds them in their

similarities rather than their contrasting geo-political dimensions. The centring of the

connections between antisemitism and Islamophobia can pave the way for an encom-

passing and inclusive movement, as Franz Fanon implored ‘Why not simply try to touch

the other, feel the other, reveal the other in oneself77’. Therefore, the importance of ap-

proaching this comparison with nuance and sensitivity cannot be understated, especially

when considering the copious advantages of doing so.

76 Cousin, G and Fine, R, A common cause, p. 181

77 ibid.
 12

Reference list

Achinger, Christine, and Robert Fine. Antisemitism, Racism and Islamophobia : Distorted

Faces of Modernity. London ; New York Routledge, 2017.

Bunzl, M. (2005). Between Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia: Some Thoughts on the

New Europe. American Ethnologist, 32(4), 499–508.

Cousin, G and Fine, R (2012), A common cause: Reconnecting the study of racism and

antisemitism, European Societies, 14 (2), pp. 166–185

Dobkowski, M. (2015). ISLAMOPHOBIA AND ANTI-SEMITISM: Shared Prejudice or

Singular Social Pathologies. CrossCurrents, 65(3), 321–333.

Gingrich, A. (2005). Anthropological Analyses of Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism in Eu-

rope. American Ethnologist, 32(4), 513–515.

Hafez, Farid. “Comparing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia: The State of the Field.” Is-

lamophobia Studies Journal, Volume 3, No. 2 (Spring 2016): 16-34.

Katz B. Ethan (2018), An Imperial Entanglement: Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and

Colonialism, The American Historical Review, 123 (4), pp 1190–1209,

Katz, E. B. (2015). SHIFTING HIERARCHIES OF EXCLUSION: Colonialism, Anti-Semi-

tism, and Islamophobia in European History. CrossCurrents, 65(3), 357–370.

Klug, Brian (2014) The limits of analogy: comparing Islamophobia and antisemitism, Pat-

terns of Prejudice, 48:5, 442-459,

Meer, Nasar (2013) Semantics, scales and solidarities in the study of antisemitism and

Islamophobia, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 36:3, 500-515.

 13

Meer, Nasar (2013) Racialization and religion: race, culture and difference in the study of

antisemitism and Islamophobia, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 36:3, 385-398

Shavit, U. (2021). “Muslims are the New Jews” in the West: Reflections on Contempo-

rary Parallelisms. In A. Lange, K. Mayerhofer, D. Porat & L. Schiffman (Ed.), Volume 5

Confronting Antisemitism in Modern Media, the Legal and Political Worlds (pp. 283-306).

Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter.