Europe has been rocked by a horrific massacre in Norway where over 90 people were slaughtered in two attacks.

Many people will question what it is that motivated the alleged killer – Anders Behring Breivik. However, others will question what motivated the British media and so-called ‘experts’ to launch all out blame against the Muslim community shortly after the event, armed only with sparse facts, base prejudices and overinflated egos.

Within minutes they were recklessly speculating that ‘Islamic terror groups’ were most likely responsible. Yet, once it became clear that no Muslims were involved, the language changed. The ‘Islamist terrorist’ turned into a ‘lone madman’ and word ‘terrorism’ was dropped by politicians and media alike.

In contrast to the hyperbole calling for clamping down on Muslims alleged to have ‘radicalised’ and influenced proponents of violence during previous incidents, the issue has been isolated to one individual, not addressing the wider political trends in society out of which this individual grew.

Furthermore, the British media decided to ignore their original errors, failing to educate their audience that the European Union’s  Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2010 stated that of the 294 ‘terrorist’ incidents in Europe in 2009, only 1 was perpetrated by Muslims.

The reasons for this Islamophobia across Europe’s media and politicians needs to be understood.

One aspect is the racist bigotry of Jahiliyya – European xenophobia that is characterised by the anti-Muslim sentiments of Breivik, hostility towards immigrants and minorities. These views, which are those of the British National Party (BNP) and English Defence League (EDL) in the UK, have grown since the ‘War on Terror’ but are also because of the poor economic situation in Europe. Such racism thrives in Europe because the secular creed has, despite centuries of implementation, failed to elevate man from the base inclinations and unite people on a bond based on sound intellectual reasoning.

But the more sinister Islamophobia is that of the politicians and the ideological media who have fuelled a climate of hate in Europe against Islam and Muslims as part of their ‘War on Terror’ . In February 2011, UK Prime Minister David Cameron spoke at a security conference in Munich, where he attacked the doctrine of multiculturalism linking it to a call for Muslims to become more Westernised. The speech was praised by the leader of France’s racist National Front, Marine Le Pen.

Cameron, like Blair before him, and like Sarkozy in France, attacks Islam because he realises that in today’s world, where secular capitalism is failing, people are looking for an alternative.  Muslims, will inevitably look to Islam for an alternative. So, they put pressure on Muslims to westernise, secularise, leave Islamic values and leave the call for the implementation of Islam in the Muslim world. They ban hijab and niqab in Europe, whilst saying that Islamic government is not an option to replace secular dictators in the Arab uprisings.

As these politicians, and their allies in the media, demonise Islam, this has created a climate where ordinary people fear and hate Muslims, adding to the pressure on the Muslim community.

In such a climate the Muslim community has to realise the challenge – to hold on to these values – and indeed to invite others to look at this beautiful deen with its comprehensive way of life.