THE ROLE OF THE PERCEPTION OF JIHAD REGARDING ISLAMOPHOBIA

Islamophobia refers to prejudice against, hatred or irrational fear of Islam or Muslims. Recently, there is anxiety and fear due to increasing power of Islam and Muslims in the world in general and especially in the West. These anxieties frequently attributed to the verses of jihad. It is understood that the anxiety and fears often tried to be based on the verses of jihad. The jihad verses in the Quran are shown as evidences to this situation. This situation causes negative image for Islam and Muslim in the world. If Islam and Muslims are considered as a threat by a broad community, the primary task of Muslims is to investigate the reasons of this and to resolve the anxiety and the fear which causes by ignorance and misunderstanding. This article intends to contribute to such studies in the field.