QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER WITH THE RESOURCES
We created the questions below to help facilitate meaningful discussion and analysis that draw upon the various resources.
Liberal Islamophobia
What do you think “liberal Islamophobia” means? What are some examples from things you’ve heard or read or experienced? What are the possible consequences and impacts of ignoring this kind of Islamophobia?
What are some of the shared premises of right-wing and liberal Islamophobia? What are some of the ways that liberal Islamophobia is particularly insidious?
What are some liberal Islamophobic examples you have seen or experienced: In media? In government? In your home? School? Work?
How has the “othering” of those assumed to be Muslim contributed to liberal Islamophobic assumptions, stereotypes, and unquestioned beliefs? And how do these impact global and national targeting and stigmatization?
Is one version of Muslim identity more visible than others in public representation? How does liberal Islamophobia reinforce these concepts?
Why do many liberals (with Islamophobic beliefs) consider “counterterrorism” programs to be fair and necessary even though their they are rooted in the belief that the government should be targeting Muslims?
How do Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) programs, which many liberals and conservatives support, connect to other forms of racism and criminalization?
What are some of the issues with a liberal/progressive multicultural assimilationist view of/towards Muslims?
What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “good Muslim/bad Muslim”? How might the framing of the “good Muslim/bad Muslim” paradigm perpetuate Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism?
What are the implications of the assumption, held by conservatives and many liberals, that Muslims should be responsible for condemning all violence committed by anyone who identifies as Muslim? What do people who have this assumption require or ask of Muslims? How do they thereby further stigmatize and unfairly target Muslims?
How does progressive media perpetuate Islamophobia? What are some examples you have seen or heard? How do media representations of Muslims contribute to further stereotyping or one-dimensional portrayals of them?
Women’s bodies are so often the premise and ground for political debate. How does the common idea, expressed by liberals/progressives and conservatives alike, that Muslim women (assumed by them to be oppressed victims) are in need of “saving” or “rescuing” from a “uniquely sexist” religion and culture, connect to the notion that the United States needs to bring “freedom” to “backward” countries?
Why is the Israel-related litmus test applied by many liberal groups unfair? What are the connections between anti-Muslim policies and Israel’s anti-Arab politics?
Examples of Pre-9/11 Government Anti-Muslim Racism in United States
In what ways has the government used the monitoring and profiling of those assumed to be Muslim as a preemptive tactic? How do these actions relate to public perception/fear?
Historically, how does state surveillance of Black political groups connect to the post-9/11 monitoring of African American and African-immigrant Muslims and the broader surveillance of other American-born and immigrant Muslims?
How does surveillance contribute to the assumption that a Muslims and other targeted groups are a threat to “American values”? How does surveillance contribute to furthering racial, ethnic, and religious profiling?
How do government policies convince many people that a particular group of people should be targeted? What policies have contributed to the assumption that all Arabs are potential terrorists?
How has the government used immigration laws to suppress dissent and curtail constitutionally permitted political or other behaviors or activities?
How has the government used laws and policies to punish and deport non-citizens because of their actual or alleged political beliefs? How have these same laws allowed for the profiling, surveillance, and intimidation of Muslim and Arab Americans?
How have McCarthy-era laws morphed into contemporary targeting, suppression, and exclusions?
We know that movies and popular media representation perpetuate stereotypes and unfair portrayals of Muslims and Arabs. What are some such media representations that you are aware of? Have they changed over time? Why is it particularly dangerous that the government, through proving military technical support for Hollywood films, influences and helps create racist portrayals of Muslims and Arabs?
How does the policing and profiling of Muslim subjects and communities lead to increased arrests in targeted communities, regardless of actual links to or association with “terrorist” activities? How does the government use these arrests to justify continued surveillance, targeting, and policing, regardless of the basis of or “justification” for arrests?
How has the government changed immigration laws to allow for greater use of deportation and detention? How and why have these laws been used to target Muslims and Arabs?
How does the government use secret evidence in deportation and detention cases, and how does this impact criminal convictions? How do stereotypes impact and allow for the government use of tactics that target Muslims and Arabs?
Islamophobes Connected to Government
What is “the Islamophobia network in America”? How does the network affect government policies and social/cultural norms/understandings?
What is the implication of U.S. government officials participating in anti-Muslim propaganda? If you or someone you know or know about has lived in a community in which the local government has supported anti-Muslim laws, policies, or actions, what role did government officials and private anti-Muslim ideologues play?
How do government officials use “anti-sharia” laws/legislative templates and inflammatory speech to stigmatize/otheizer/alienate Muslims?
How does state-sponsored Islamophobia affect the legality and definitions of “hate crimes” and the reliability of “hate crime” data? How do these definitions impact individuals and institutions?
Post-9/11 State-Sponsored Islamophobia
How do stereotypes, which portray Islam as “Other”–foreign, with values “irreconcilable” with America–influence policies that profile and police Muslims (or those assumed to be Muslim)? How do policies presume the guilt to Muslims and diminish their civil liberties?
What are some of the problems with generally applicable laws, policies, and programs that are disproportionately enforced against Muslim communities? How are these different from laws that are explicitly discriminatory?
How do anti-Muslim individuals and groups manipulate/construct the popular U.S, understanding of Sharia, or Islamic law, for political purposes? How do they use “anti-Sharia” bills to support anti-Muslim political or public views? How is the “anti-Sharia” movement legalizing the Othering of Muslim communities across the nation?
How do Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) programs and the FBI’s use of informants connect to the “good Muslim/ bad Muslim” paradigm?
How does police surveillance reflect anti-Muslim bias, and what effect does that have on Muslim communities?
How do policies like the USA PATRIOT Act, National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), and No-Fly “travel ban” stigmatize Muslims and contribute to a stereotype of Muslims as foreign and other? Are other groups treated in this or similar ways, and if so, what is the broader connection between these laws and policies and how the targeted groups are seen?
What are some of the connections between Islamophobia and the “war on terror”? How is anti-Muslim bias connected to the bombing of predominantly Muslim countries?
How does de-funding Muslim organizations contribute to the economic marginalization of Muslims?
How/why is the term “terrorism” racialized and politicized? And why is that problematic regarding the targeting of Muslims?
Jews Challenging Anti-Muslim and Anti-Arab Racism
How do your identities (as a Jew or otherwise) relate to your interest and/or work in opposing anti-Muslim and anti-Arab racism?
What Jewish institutions are you familiar with or involved with? Who is involved? How are different identities represented, reflected, or brought into the conversation?
How does white or European Jewish dominance contribute to Islamophobia in the United States and to racism and the shaping of a racial and cultural narrative in the Middle East?
How do Jewish organizations that you know about, or are affiliated with, support Israel? How does this connect to Islamophobia?
How does U.S government support for Israel contribute to Islamophobia?
How does pro-Israel advocacy within and outside Jewish communities perpetuate anti-Muslim campaigns, bigotry, and racist ideologies?
What do you know about the organizations that provide financial support to anti-Muslim hate groups? How can you and others in your community hold accountable organizations that have funded or continue to fund anti-Muslim hate groups?
What are the connections between Islamophobic funding outlets and Israel?
What are examples of ways to challenge Islamophobia? What work are you already a part of that addresses Islamophobia?
What resources have been useful to your organizing and activism (including those available on the JAAMR site and elsewhere)?