Abstrakt
Like in other Central European states, the migration crisis dominated the Czech media space since 2015. Unlike any time before, xenophobic and islamophobic attitudes have left the margins and literally dominated the Czech public space.
Public individuals as well as mainstream media outlets have created and spread a strongly negative image of Islam and Muslims, actively nurtured fear of migrants and prevented a rational debate about the various levels of the crisis. In analyzing the obvious spread of a general phenomenon of islamophobia, it is important to discern its three components: islamophobic attitudes, anti-Islamist ideology and the spread of negative stereotypes in the public sphere.
Islamophobic attitudes have been present in the Czech public sphere for more than a decade. Since 2015, three processes took place: hirtherto marginal attitudes became mainstream and they have even been sanctioned by the highest political figures; a deliberate campaigning spread a new, aggressive form of anti-Islamism during the migration crises and stereotypes became political currency.