Islamophobia or Muslimophobia: The Thin Line Between "Free and Hate Speech"

Islam is the second largest religion in the world, and also has the fastest growing rate in terms of new converts. Especially since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the hatred and fear from Muslims has been very prominent in the Western world, particularly in the United States. This is phenomenon is mostly referred as "Islamophobia" and is used mostly to refer to discrimination and prejudice towards Muslims, and also Islam. Recently Bill Maher, a liberal-leaning TV personality, was accused of Islamophobia because of his comments about the religion of Islam. In parallel with these, this paper attempts to analyze the thin line between freedom of speech and hate speech, primarily focusing on Islam and Muslims. In short, this study asks the questions: "In a free and democratic country, are we allowed to criticize religions without being accused of being a type of a 'phobic'? Or is there a way to be both critical but respectful, as there is not only a thin line between free and hate speech, but also a very thin line between the association of members of a religion and the religion itself, which is actually an idea and an ideology mostly based on a book.