Causes of antiislamism in the West

[politicus]

Anti-Islamism seems to be on the rise in the US. All though it is probably not yet on European level.
What do you think are the main causes for the growth in anti-islamism?

In my country it is:

1. Perceived Muslim hypocrisy: Muslims wanting equal rights but many of them claiming women are inferior to men and  harassing  gays and Jews.

2. Pesky "un-Scandinavian" macho attitudes

3. High crime rate/ gang activity

4. Many Muslims on welfare + cheating with welfare and/or taxes

I would assume that Islamic terrorism and killing of US soldiers plays a bigger part in the rise of US anti-Islamism.

[politicus]

I would assume that Islamic terrorism and killing of US soldiers plays a bigger part in the rise of US anti-Islamism.

I believe you assume correctly, sir.

Verbal sex change operation ;-)

[politicus]

It's generalized hatred of a vague other, since most people haven't ever seen one of them in the flesh.

Sorry, but I'm a bit an antiislamist after I saw this:
http://ottenki-serogo.livejournal.com/191194.html
IN A F^^^KING CHRISTIAN CITY.

Moscow is Christian in the same way that Stockholm is Christian (hint: they're both not Christian).

They are culturally and historically Christian cities. Which is what matters most in this context.

[politicus]

Anti-Islamism seems to be on the rise in the US. All though it is probably not yet on European level.
What do you think are the main causes for the growth in anti-islamism?

In my country it is:

1. Perceived Muslim hypocrisy: Muslims wanting equal rights but many of them claiming women are inferior to men and harassing gays and Jews.

2. Pesky "un-Scandinavian" macho attitudes

3. High crime rate/ gang activity

4. Many Muslims on welfare + cheating with welfare and/or taxes

I would assume that Islamic terrorism and killing of US soldiers plays a bigger part in the rise of US anti-Islamism.

Historically Europeans are more anti-Muslim than US people are not for the reasons you mention, but for the reason that the United States hasn't existed for very long.  Anti-Islam started in the Medieval period in Europe (earlier in the Middle East) , although the word Islamophobia doesn't show up till about one hundred years ago.  The Crusades were probably a mini-culmination rather than a cause.  Throughout the Renaissance and Age of Enlightenment there are critical references to Islam. Muhammad figures very negatively in Dante's works. Even well-respected writers like David Hume impugn Muslims. It has long been a part of European history and tradition to isolate, and sometimes murder, Muslims.  

Yes. Islam is historically the arch enemy of Christian Europe. Every 10th coat of arms in the Hungarian nobility includes the chopped of head of a Turk etc. But I don't think this legacy is that relevant today. As I wrote the Muslim macho culture, opposition to the liberal dogma of equal rights for all and failure to integrate in the labour market are the main causes in Denmark (this is also true for the rest of Northern Europe IMO). Those are all modern causes unrelated to history. Most European societies are highly secularized today and the knowledge of history is rather sparse in Western Europe (this is of course very different in the Balkans).

[politicus]

There's something else: familiarity breeds contempt.  I was thinking about this and I found a table of European countries in order of percent Muslim population. Ignoring the three with a majority Muslim population (Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, and Kosovo), the top ten are something like this:

Macedonia [33%], Montenegro [17%], Bulgaria [15%], Cyprus [22%], Georgia [12%], Russia [12%]. Belgium [6%], France [5.8%], Switzerland [5.7%], and Austria [5.7%].

I bet if you could come up with some list of Islamophobia-inspired tensions, and control for economic factors, you'd find a nice correlation between those and percent Muslim populations.  I haven't found such a clean list yet, but I'll search a bit.
Sounds logical, and more relevant than the history thesis. Good luck with your search.

I still claim that the long arc of history provides us the easiest and most tangible answer, and in the spirit of Occam's Razor, I suggest that we at least consider it before dismissing it as irrelevant today.
I am not dismissing it completely. Just sceptical because of the lack of historical knowledge and consciousness in Western Europe. Most people have some vague notion about the crusades, but thats it. In many parts of Europe we never encountered Muslims before the 60s. They were not really on our mental map before that. Therefore no real historical legacy. It exists in Central and Eastern Europe but not really in most of the West. An old colonial power like France is slightly different. But still economic and social factors seems to be much more logical explanations.

[politicus]

It's generalized hatred of a vague other, since most people haven't ever seen one of them in the flesh.

Sorry, but I'm a bit an antiislamist after I saw this:
http://ottenki-serogo.livejournal.com/191194.html
IN A F^^^KING CHRISTIAN CITY.

Moscow is Christian in the same way that Stockholm is Christian (hint: they're both not Christian).

They are culturally and historically Christian cities. Which is what matters most in this context.

Sorry but I'm a bit of an anti-Christian after seeing this:


IN A F^^KING PAGAN CITY!

Historically, it does not matter what Moscow and Stockholm were. It matters that we're supposed to be living in secular, tolerant societies that allow people to peaceably worship whoever they want in public. If you have a problem with this, you're a probably a bigot or a fundamentalist.

I am all for freedom of religion. Just objecting to you saying they are not Christian cities.

[politicus]

Good point.

Unfortunately Wahabism is making some inroads in Bosnia. Jihadists got in during the civil war as mercenaries and control some mountain villages i central Bosnia. Many are married to Bosnian women.
Wahabi foundations also fund mosque building and educational centers in several cities.
Money talks.