An academic says Irish society still views Muslims in oversimplified, 'binary ways' - and there's now a need for us all to see the "much bigger picture" about the wide variety of Muslims' lived experiences.
He has also suggested people have found "more sophisticated ways" of disguising discrimination and prejudice.
It comes after new research looked into the gap between what people say publicly about their attitudes to minorities in Ireland and what they say when they are asked anonymously.
The study by the ESRI and IHREC found that social pressures to exhibit tolerance are much greater when people are asked about Black people than when asked about Muslim people coming to Ireland.
It also found that fewer people openly supported more Muslim immigration than more Black immigration.
Elsewhere, the findings indicated that highly educated people who hold negative attitudes are more likely to conceal them.
Amanullah De Sondy, Head of Study of Religions & Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Islam at UCC, spoke to The Hard Shoulder about the findings.
He said he's not really surprised by the findings of the study.
He observed: "I think what we need to try to do is get to the root of the problem: how do people have ideas about 'the other'? How do people get an idea about Muslims or Islam?
"I wonder if we've been fed so many things that they're now embedded in our psyche... when I say to you 'Islam' or 'Muslim', what do you think about?
"I ask my students about this all the time. A lot of the students want to be nice, and come up with nice stuff. But sometimes some students will say 'I think about terrorism, jihad, ISIS, 9/11'... I think what has happened is that is sitting in our head.
"I'm not saying we need to go to a complete opposite end and say Islam is a religion of peace... but I wonder whether what we need to see is a much bigger picture, rather than just these binary ideas that are just not helpful to anybody.
"Not all Muslims are alike, just as not all Christians, Jews, Hindus or Buddhists are alike."
'I really worry for your average Muslim'
Mr De Sondy said that it appears people have found "more sophisticated ways" of disguising discrimination.
He said: "That scares me. Are people actually not willing to say things in public, can hold all these ideas, but they do it privately? Is that why we're seeing so many trolls or whatever we want to call them on social media?
"I really worry for your average Muslim. I live a very privileged life - I'm protected by a university system. I worry for those Muslims who are in direct provision, or are asylum seekers or refugees... who maybe don't have the platform to come and have this conversation. How are they dealing with this?"
He said the over-simplistic, binary views people hold about Islam have a real life impact on Muslims.
However, he suggested "there has to be a way out" of this situation, and that it's important for society to have difficult conversations conversations about these topics.
He argued: "I think we also have to think about constructing something that's going to be helpful... that's going to bring us together."
