What Actually Causes American Fear of Islam and Muslims?
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2015/02/what-causes-american-fear-of-islam-and-muslims
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An ambitious 81-page document, Fear, Inc. 2.0: The Islamophobia Network's Efforts to Manufacture Hate in America, just appeared from the Center for American Progress, a liberal Democratic organization. Unlike its first iteration,
in which a group with a $40-million annual budget and deep ties to big
business had the nerve to claim that seven much smaller institutions
were overpowering the country through their financial clout, this one
looks at what the alleged "Islamophobia network" actually does.
The
report, written by Matthew Duss, Yasmine Taeb, Ken Gude, and Ken Sofer,
makes for interesting reading. Its premise is that critics of Islamism
(1) are really anti-Islamic and (2) have single-handedly distorted a the
fundamental American value, namely a "basic respect for the rights of
minority groups throughout the country." According to the CAP study,
"the views of anti-Muslim actors stand in stark contrast to the values
of most Americans."
By dint of hard work, however, "a well-funded, well-organized fringe movement can push discriminatory policies against a segment of American society by intentionally spreading lies while taking advantage of moments of public anxiety and fear." This effort "takes many shapes and forms": a general climate, cynical political efforts, and institutional policies. Despite some setbacks, continues the CAP narrative, the network's efforts "continue to erode America's core values of religious pluralism, civil rights, and social inclusion."
Those fingered as part of this network (I am one) should be perversely proud of our accomplishment: Just a handful of lying individuals manage to subvert a core American value – and all this with what CAP itself estimated to be less than $5 million a year!
But there is a more convincing reason why Americans fear
Islam and Muslims. The news is filled almost daily and even several
times daily with bulletins from one Islamist front or another. I hardly
need rehearse the repertoire; just turn to the day's headlines. ISIS and
the Charlie Hebdo-like massacre most dominate the news, but
Islamists are all the time winning unfavorable attention for themselves
by making aggressive cultural demands (say, wearing a face-covering
burqa in the courtroom), pushing the superiority of Islam (don't dare
say a negative word about Muhammad), or apologizing for some repulsive
practice (such as honor killings or female genital mutilation).
Another way of putting it: the United States hosts about as many
Buddhists and Hindus combined as it does Muslims. Yet, when did
Buddhists or Hindus try to change the existing order or engage in
violence on behalf of their faiths? Who ever hears about them? Who fears
them?
Maybe it's Islamists who are prompting powerful and spontaneous responses through their threatening behavior. Maybe we critics are not "intentionally spreading lies" but honestly interpreting Islamist aggression and supremacism. Maybe CAP and its ilk should blame the fear of Islam less on us critics and more on the Islamists themselves. (February 13, 2015)
Feb. 13, 2015 addendum: Invitations to Islamist rather than anti-Islamist Muslims is hardly anything new for the U.S. government. Naser Khader, the Danish political leader now at the Hudson Institute in Washington, offers the example of an iftar hosted by James Cain, U.S. ambassador to Denmark, in 2006. I documented this concerning a White House iftar in 2011. And don't forget the Islamists who boycott iftars they were not invited to attend.
The
report, written by Matthew Duss, Yasmine Taeb, Ken Gude, and Ken Sofer,
makes for interesting reading. Its premise is that critics of Islamism
(1) are really anti-Islamic and (2) have single-handedly distorted a the
fundamental American value, namely a "basic respect for the rights of
minority groups throughout the country." According to the CAP study,
"the views of anti-Muslim actors stand in stark contrast to the values
of most Americans."By dint of hard work, however, "a well-funded, well-organized fringe movement can push discriminatory policies against a segment of American society by intentionally spreading lies while taking advantage of moments of public anxiety and fear." This effort "takes many shapes and forms": a general climate, cynical political efforts, and institutional policies. Despite some setbacks, continues the CAP narrative, the network's efforts "continue to erode America's core values of religious pluralism, civil rights, and social inclusion."
Those fingered as part of this network (I am one) should be perversely proud of our accomplishment: Just a handful of lying individuals manage to subvert a core American value – and all this with what CAP itself estimated to be less than $5 million a year!
The (Hindu) Rama Temple in Lemont, Illinois, raises few issues.
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Maybe it's Islamists who are prompting powerful and spontaneous responses through their threatening behavior. Maybe we critics are not "intentionally spreading lies" but honestly interpreting Islamist aggression and supremacism. Maybe CAP and its ilk should blame the fear of Islam less on us critics and more on the Islamists themselves. (February 13, 2015)
Feb. 13, 2015 addendum: Invitations to Islamist rather than anti-Islamist Muslims is hardly anything new for the U.S. government. Naser Khader, the Danish political leader now at the Hudson Institute in Washington, offers the example of an iftar hosted by James Cain, U.S. ambassador to Denmark, in 2006. I documented this concerning a White House iftar in 2011. And don't forget the Islamists who boycott iftars they were not invited to attend.
Related Topics: Conservatives & Liberals, Muslims in the United States
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