Why do some Muslims hate Westerners?

Answer 1

Answer 1

Many non-Muslim westerners respect Islam religion (and even believe Islam religion as true God religion) and respect Muslims although their faith is not Islam.

However, some others hate Muslims and try to fabricate issues and lies against Islam for two main reasons: first trying to deter the Islam growth rate and reduce this rate. Second to convince themselves that they are right in not adopting Islam. Those people:

• claim that Islam is the religion of terrorism and violence.
• claim that Quran is not God revelation but something written by prophet Muhammad or copied from other holy books.
• claim that Islam was spread by war.

Answer 2

One of the major problems with even putting forward a question like this today is the presence of the term "Islamophobia" which has really no definition and can be so easily applied. Any criticism of Islam or of Muslim practices just gets branded with this label, even if the words are spoken by Muslims. Therefore, I propose (in this answer) three separate words to discuss the varied feelings of Non-Muslims towards Islam:

• Anti-Mohammedan(ism) = The belief that Muslims as people are wicked or problematic. This is the Muslim rough equivalent to Anti-Semitism for Jews. The term actually existed historically, but has been "outmoded" because Muslims are no longer called Mohammedans in recognition of the fact that they do not follow Mohammed because he is their Lord and Savior, but only as a Prophet.
• Anti-Islamic(ism) = The belief that the ideology and beliefs of Islam as a religious construction and lifestyle manifesto promotes wrong-doing or are seriously problematic to a multicultural society.
• Anti-Islam(ism) = The belief that Islam as politically manifest and capable of determining actual laws promotes inequality, injustice, and moral incorrectness.

Put most simply: Muslim people are lovable, Islamic religion is salvageable, Islamic politics are insufferable.

Anti-Mohammedanism

Most Non-Muslims (contrary to Muslim assertions) are not actually Anti-Mohammedan. While there are certainly a minority of individuals who say that Muslims themselves are a cancer on society, this is a very limited opinion. Muslims of all backgrounds, like Arabs, Indians, Southeast Asians, etc. are typically warm, hospitable, and loving people. They work diligently at their jobs, aspire for their children to have better lives, and are every bit as caring and nurturing as any other citizen. The TV show "Muslims in America" was cancelled after one season because the participants in the show were "too normal". The only difference between them and non-Muslims were that some of the women wore hijabs and everyone prayed on Fridays instead of Sundays. Their ideologies and views were quintessentially American. Muslims in Dearborn, Michigan famously joined the celebrations when Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan, because they opposed the terror and fear that he represented.

If there may be one thing worth noting here, it is that Non-Muslims hope that Muslims can take a critical look at their past in a way that, up to this point, few of them have dared to do.

Anti-Islamicism

Many more non-Muslims are Anti-Islamic and point to a number of issues with Islamic legal practice and belief. Some of these Islamic "ideas" are incredibly frightening to many non-Muslims. The discussions about declaring Holy Wars on Unbelievers, are very frightening and scary to many who treasure the idea of Freedom of Conscience. Furthermore, Islam as a religion may promote tolerance of other religions, but certainly does not promote equality between religions. Qur'an verse 9:29 which formed the backbone Islamic legal treatment of Non-Muslims historically, says:

Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture - [fight] until they give the jizyah [tax] willingly while they are humbled.

This has led persistently negative treatment of Non-Muslims in Muslim countries. Admittedly, in the Middle Ages, it was superior to European treatment, but today the situation is reversed. Muslims in Europe live without fear that their Mosques could be destroyed or that violence will be used against them. However, Egyptian churches continue to be bombed and Egyptian Christians have no recourse. Lebanese Christians fled Lebanon in the 1920s and 1930s to escape Muslim pogroms. Jews departed from nearly every Muslim-majority country to go to Israeli internment camps because living there was better than their historical ties for centuries to the countries in which they lived. Islam has not learned from this and continues to tell Muslims that they did nothing wrong.

Additionally, Islamic Penal Law makes Non-Muslims very scared. Some particularly problematic issues include: claiming that the rape victim is criminally liable for "getting raped", chopping off a thief's hands as punishment for theft, the execution of homosexuals, blasphemy laws in general, permission given to enslave people, and execution of apostates.

If Islamic views modernizes and its more extreme adherents show that they are willing to compete in the marketplace of ideas instead of just yell, scream, and perform violent acts until everybody listens, Islam may get a fairer shake. Until then, many see Islam as undesirable and regressive. If voices like Tawfik Hamid ring louder than those of Ayatollah Khamanei, Islam may garner many more Non-Muslim advocates or at least alienate far fewer. A link to Tawfik Hamid's "Mr. Tolerance" PDF has also been provided to get a flavor of the type of Islam that he advocates.

Anti-Islamism

The overwhelming majority of Non-Muslims oppose (either strongly or weakly) Muslim attempts to impose Islamic Laws on a country's citizens and people. Given that many Non-Muslims find the Islamic Penal Law outdated and horrendous and see that Islam seeks to repress religious minorities, they are not interested in a government that seeks to rule by exactly these mechanisms. This is not opposition to Muslim politicians like Keith Ellison, since he is not an Islamist, but merely a politician informed by values. An Islamist actively seeks the implementation of part or the whole of Shari'a Law, with the intent of creating an Islamic State. Many Non-Muslims in the West hold dearly to the idea that religion should stay out of politics in order to allow every religion the freedom to operate and discuss its views. An Islamist State would also be very restrictive to Muslims, forcing them to live in a Puritanical Way that would prevent differing local customs from informing the cultural richness that can be found in Islamic countries. Islamist regimes (like Iran) are notoriously violent to their own citizens and Non-Muslim compassion for Muslims (Anti-Anti-Mohammedanism) is greatly saddened when such regimes come to power.

Answer 3

Most westerners way of religion and life are far different from Muslims so i would guess they just wont accept change

Answer 2

Answer 1

There are some hateful people in every culture. You might as well ask why some Westerners hate Muslims, see the Related Question below.

Answer 2

It is worth clarifying that not all Muslims hate Westerners and many Muslims have sought refuge in Western countries, fought in Western armies, and defended Western virtues. However, for those who do feel that way, there are several major grievances.

Colonization of Islamic Countries: Using brutal methods, the Western Powers in the 19th and 20th centuries colonized almost the entire Islamic World. During this period, Muslims felt humiliated. The resources produced around the Islamic World were fed into the European industrial machine. Indonesia and Malaysia had rubber trees, the Indian subcontinent was known for its spices, and the Persian Gulf is known for petroleum, etc. The people were also relegated to a lower status than foreigners in their own countries. Many feel that Westerners owe them some sort of restitution for the history of colonization.

Support for Certain Countries: There are two parts to this. Firstly, the United States and other Western countries help to prop up states that other countries vehemently oppose. Some such countries include: Israel, Taiwan, South Korea, East Timor, Turkey, Georgia, etc. Arab hatred of Israel, Chinese hatred of Taiwan, North Korean hatred of South Korea, Armenian hatred of Turkey, and Russian hatred of Georgia, lead to the citizens of those countries disliking American policy. Of course, this is not to say that the Western action is illegitimate or incorrect, but Westerners have chosen a side and naturally the opposition will feel anger.

Secondly, in the Middle East, the United States supported Hosni Mubarak and Mohammed Morsi, two individuals who have consistently attacked and demonized the citizens of Egypt. The USA also supported the Christian Falangists in Lebanon, the Turkish government in Ankara, gives aid to Saudi Arabia, and provides military protection for Kuwait.

Islamophobia and Anti-Islamic Sentiment: In a number of Western countries, especially in Europe, there are strong movements opposed to Muslims and Muslim immigration. They argue that Muslims are causing domestic problems and that Muslims are as barbaric, backwards, and outmoded. This incenses Muslims who believe that Europeans are actively rejecting them on account of their religion and their beliefs as opposed to judging them based on their desire to work and live in peace. Additionally, they find that there are numerous economic and political opportunities that they are not really allowed to partake in due to their religion.

Wars in the Islamic World: Many Muslims deeply resent the fact that NATO invaded Afghanistan and caused death and destruction there as well as the more recent Iraq War led by the United States. Many Muslims empathize with their brethren who suffer in these countries. There is also the Israeli-Palestinian situation that many Muslims see as an extension of these wars and an extension of the Colonization campaign.