The Non-Muslim Victims Of Islamophobia
March 29, 2017
Most people associate Islamophobia with hatred and vitriol directed toward the Muslim community. However, there are many victims who are targeted by Islamophobes simply due to the color of their skin or the clothes they wear. These victims must be recognized as well.
Just before mass on March 19, Rev. Tomy Kalathoor Mathew, an Indian priest, was stabbed in the neck right before services in Melbourne, Australia. The perpetrator confronted Rev. Mathew, with witnesses claiming that the man accused him of being “a Hindu or Muslim” before brutally attacking him. The 72-year-old attacker was taken into custody after the incident and Rev. Mathew was taken to the hospital. Thankfully, he survived his traumatic injuries, though the psychological trauma he likely suffered is another matter all its own.
This isn’t the first attack of its kind by any stretch of the imagination. Attacks against Southeast Asian-Americans have made the news more often as of late. The perpetrators often associate the victims with Islam, even though they’re not Muslim. This demonstrates how the victims of Islamophobia aren’t just Muslims—despite what many may believe—and that the racialized component of Islamophobia, or the association made between skin color, language and national origin, leaves a direct impression on Islamophobes and allows for them to widen the scope of anti-Muslim violence.
