Description
This paper looks at how emotions became a tool of governance in Europe after 9/11, especially in the way Muslim lives were seen, spoken about and managed. It argues that Islamophobia today is not only legal or political but deeply emotional. Fear, humiliation and mistrust have quietly entered the institutions and public spaces that define European liberalism. What began as a security anxiety has turned into a kind of emotional apartheid where whole communities are kept at a distance through suspicion and silence rather than open discrimination.
Drawing on media debates, policy shifts and everyday encounters, the paper shows how the emotional climate of Europe changed over time, producing a sense of belonging for some and rejection for others. It asks what kind of ethics can survive in a society where empathy itself becomes selective. In doing so, it connects the politics of emotion with the moral crisis of freedom and equality in Europe. The paper hopes to bring back the human face to debates on Islamophobia and invites a more honest conversation about how societies feel their politics.
Keywords: Islamophobia, emotions, governance, exclusion, humiliation, Europe, Muslims, ethics
