Is “Islamophobia” the right word?

(For those of you who noticed, I edited the title of this post to reflect the real issue I’m discussing.  Specifying the concept itself is another issue.)

There’s an interesting article over at Muslim Wake-Up Call on the term Islamophobia.  It starts off as an examination of the word itself and then moves to a broader critique of the way some Muslims use the term to dodge criticism of Islam.  I’m new to MWU and the article is largely intended for a Muslim audience, but I thought it was brilliant.

I’m interested in the word because I used it in a working paper called “Unveiling Islamophobia: American Attitudes Toward Islam” (PDF, 0.5mb).  To be honest, I don’t like the word and only use it grudgingly.  It’s meant to be the counterpart of anti-Semitism, but I don’t think it does the same work, at least not yet.  When I see the suffix “-phobia” I automatically think of fear, but I’m also interested in aggression and ill-will toward Muslims.  Now of course you could argue that fear, or a sense of being threatened, is at the root of all hostility, but I’m not interested in motivation so much as having a convenient term to describe prejudice and discrimination against Muslims.

But what about xenophobia?  We certainly get a lot of mileage out of that.  Well, it’s precisely because most definitions (and my own understanding) of the word include “irrational fear or dislike” that I was willing to go with Islamophobia for now.  I’ve fudged the term with several caveats, using it to mean unwarranted hostility toward Islam or a negative impression of Islam.  I also use it interchangeably with “anti-Islam sentiment” (the survey data I used asked respondents about Islam, not Muslims, otherwise I would’ve been happy with “anti-Muslim sentiment”).  But I’m still wary of the concerns raised in the Muslim Wake-Up article and of how I think the average person would react to the term.  (”I’m not afraid of Islam, it’s just…”)

Some of you might say, “Whatever.  Sociologists can define concepts any way they want.”  That’s fine, but I think the baggage carried by this term might not be worth it.  I also think the components of the word, Islam and -phobia, suggest too specific and rare a phenomenon, namely, fearing a particular religion.  At least xenophobia and anti-Semitism are a little more ambiguous–are we talking about people, a culture, or what?  I don’t think I’ve ever met any Xenos.

I’m sure someone out there knows the research on the diffusion of new words and could enlighten us; perhaps it’s only a matter of time before Islamophobia catches on (I know it’s already much more common in the UK than the US).  It’d also help to know the history of the word anti-Semitism.  I wonder if it encountered similar debates before being widely adopted?

I’m interested in hearing what you think, especially on these questions:

1. Had you ever heard the term Islamophobia before reading this?  If so, in what context?
   Have you ever used it yourself?  If so, when?
   Is it worth using?  If not, what would you suggest as a replacement?