Original sentence: " Malik cites Yasmin Alibhai Brown, who writes: "It is not Islamophobia that makes parents take 14 year old bright girls out of school to marry illiterate men ..." Malik argues that it confuses discrimination against Muslims with criticism of Islam, and is used to silence critics of the religion, including Muslims who want to reform it.British writer and academic Kenan Malik has criticized the concept, calling it a "myth.Islamophobia is, literally, "fear of Islam" though the term can be used for a variety of purposes, and is sometimes used to criticize people opposed to Islam.Its use has increased since the September 11, 2001 attacks.Novelist Salman Rushdie and others signed a manifesto entitled Together facing the new totalitarianism in March 2006 calling Islamophobia a "wretched concept that confuses criticism of Islam as a religion and stigmatization of those who believe in it.Reacting against a proposed UK law curtailing religious criticism, actor and comedian Rowan Atkinson drew the distinction between racism and criticism of religion: "To criticise a person for their race is manifestly irrational and ridiculous but to criticise their religion, that is a right... A law which attempts to say you can criticise and ridicule ideas as long as they are not religious ideas is a very peculiar law indeed.The term is recorded in use as early as 1976, but came into greater currency in the late 1980s and early 1990s
Edited sentence: Islamophobia is prejudice or discrimination against Muslims.Its use is recorded as early as 1976, but it came into greater currency in the late 1980s, and has been used frequently since the September 11, 2001 attacks.Novelist Salman Rushdie and others criticize the concept, having signed a manifesto entitled Together facing the new totalitarianism in March 2006 calling Islamophobia a "wretched concept that confuses criticism of Islam as a religion and stigmatization of those who believe in it