Islamophobia: A Jungian Analytical Perspective

Abstract

Xenophobia in general and Islamophobia in particular is a manifestation of the dark side-the shadow on the individual and cultural psyche. Shadow is the unconscious, inferior, and underdeveloped aspect of the human potential and is projected onto another individual, group, culture, or race that we may consider as inferior. This leads to acrimony but also to curiosity about the other. It may lead to a deeper understanding of the underdeveloped and inferior parts of our unintegrated potentials and thus facilitate their integration and enrichment of our personality. The archetype of the shadow leads to strife and discord, but in the very depth of darkness and chaos, the forces of compensation and enantiodromia-a return to the opposite-lead to the activation of the archetype of order, structure, and function. This is the eternal cycle of creation, consolidation, and destruction in the human psyche leading to a gradually higher degree of adaptation. The consequences of Islamophobia are significant for both the victims and the perpetrators of this dyad. Both groups are victims. The chronic suspiciousness of a large sector of citizens leads to lowering our sense of integrity and soulfulness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)