Abstract

Islamophobia explains the exclusionary practices against Islam and Muslims in modern Western societies and is an important socio-political reality of today’s world. This phenomenon, which first showed itself at the level of discourse, over time produced exclusionary mechanisms that directly affect the lives of Muslims. The institutionalization of Islamophobic practices, which has reached radical levels in politics, economy, education and daily life, has become a fundamental problem for Muslims. In addition, Islamophobia is a practice encountered not only in the West but also in Muslim-majority societies such as Egypt, Tunisia, and Turkey, where radical modernization projects have taken place. In this chapter, Islamophobia in Germany and Turkey is comparatively examined; these two sites represent examples of a Western European case (Germany) and Muslim-majority society that has experienced radical modernization (Turkey). Themes such as public space discussions, construction of mosques and masjids, headscarves and circumcision, sacrificial slaughter, opposition to political Islam, and refugees are the main discussion topics chosen to identify similarities and differences. In this context, the chapter is shaped around the following question. In which areas does Turkey, which is a Muslim-majority society, have an Islamophobic discourse similar to Germany?