This is not a policy statement from one of those right-wing populist politicians who seem to have multiplied in recent years. These words come from the distinguished British novelist Martin Amis, interviewed in 2006 about community relations in Britain and the “threat” from Muslims. The unliterary lack of measured reflection in this comment is symptomatic of the heated debate about Islam and Muslims as it occurs today. Where once one might have expected a discussion informed by some degree of sophistication and historical awareness, now the Internet and social media provide an immediate platform for intemperate views to be aired and every ill-informed opinion to be rehearsed. Worse still, violent anti-Muslim rhetoric has become commonplace. When politicians start to articulate prejudice in much the same terms, you know society is in trouble.

QUESTION: When did violent anti-Muslim rhetoric become common in mainstream political speech? Worth tracing the timeline from 2006 forward.

Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, loc. 14