Islamophobia, defined as “indiscriminate negative attitudes or emotions directed at Islam or Muslims” and also known as anti-Muslim discrimination, is both an organic and manufactured phenomena that has deep historical roots in orientalism whose origins date back several centuries ago. With that being said, the scope of this paper deals with the modern emergence of Islamophobia in the United States, particularly in the last three decades. Significant events such as the September 11, 2001 attacks (a watershed moment in American history), the emergence of extremist groups such as al-Qaeda, and domestic terrorist attacks such as the 2015 San Bernardino shootings lead to negative media rhetoric that paints American Muslims with a broad brush. Often
