Religious Jurisprudence and Islamophobia, The United States, France, and Canada

Abstract

This research aims to take a deeper look into Islamophobia, which is discussed as indiscriminate negative attitudes or behaviors directed at Muslims and Islam in the United States, France, and Canada. This research takes the perspective of Islamophobia as an important contemporary social justice issue, and focuses on the factors that surround and facilitate Islamophobia in the United States, France, and Canada. While this research makes special note of the importance of political rhetoric and the media as driving forces behind the continuation of Islamophobia, it focuses on the ways in which the presence or absence of, and type of national policy regarding the separation of religion and government impacts both legal issues surrounding Islamophobia and the larger social atmosphere regarding Islamophobia. After discussing the differences and similarities of Islamophobia in each of the three case studies, this research provides evidence that Canadian multiculturalism is a policy that better facilitates the integration of Muslims than the policies of separation used by both the United States and France.