Key points
- Attacks on Muslim politicians have been proliferating in the U.S.
- Derogatory stereotypes have dehumanized practitioners of Islam, who are often blamed for the U.S.’s problems.
- Islamophobia has led to policies that threaten the civil liberties of all Americans.
On January 1st of this year, Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as the first Muslim mayor of New York City. Throughout his campaign, he was the target of attacks from other politicians, such as his opponent, Andrew Cuomo, who called him a “terrorist sympathizer.”
Though many Americans clearly recognized these comments as Islamophobic, the outpouring of faith-based prejudice continues. The reception to Mr. Mamdani continues a pattern of targeting high-profile Muslim politicians. Representative Ilhan Omar is another example: She has regularly received death threats, had noxious substances thrown at her, and the president has more than once suggested that she does not belong in the country
These attacks aren’t isolated incidents; they reflect a broader climate that shapes how Americans see Muslims and how policy treats them. Obviously this type of bigotry has negative effects on the Muslim-American community, but Muslims are not the only ones harmed by such unchecked critiques by politicians
The normalization of attacks on Muslims reflects a radicalization of American politics that leverages religious bigotry and racial fear to fuel immigration enforcement. This form of xenophobia relies on the belief that alleged foreigners pose an a priorithreat to national security. That belief undermines the civil liberties of all Americans
So, how did our country get to the point where such hate is deemed acceptable?
Media, Stereotypes, Dehumanization, and Blame
Decades ago, writer and lecturer Jack Shaheen documented pervasive negative stereotypes about Muslims and Arabs in American media. Unfortunately, although negative portrayals of some minority groups are now understood as grossly stereotypical and derogatory, the portrayals of Muslims and Arabs are not
Recent research bears this out, indicating that news coverage of Muslims is more frequent and more negative than that of any other minority group. The same research shows that when acts of violence are committed by a Muslim they receive outsize coverage. Scholars also point out that Muslim-perpetrated aggression is regularly defined as terrorism while violence carried out by a white Christian is more likely to be framed as a mass shooting
American media outlets often portray Muslims not only as different but as dangerous to the country. These media practices are consistent with anthropologists’ understanding of the “orientalization of difference.” Orientalization requires not only that Asian and Middle Eastern peoples are viewed as different but that they are also dehumanized. In this act of dehumanization, the “Self” is valorized while any “Other” is vilified
A recent social-psychological investigation demonstrated that many individuals exhibit blatant dehumanization of Muslims, viewing them as less evolved and civilized than other groups and more animal-like. Such views are associated with a support for violence and vengeance against Muslims
The assumption that Muslims are fundamentally different from practitioners of other religions, especially Christianity, is largely based on misunderstandings of Islam and lack of contact with Muslims. We speak in the U.S. of “Judeo-Christian values” ignoring the fact that Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are all similar to each other in some ways and different in others. In fact, some theologianssuggest that Islam and Judaism share fundamental values and are more similar to each other than either is to Christianity.
Importantly, even some social scientists have endorsed the idea that Muslims pose a threat. The “clash of civilizations” thesis put forth by political scientist Samuel Huntington suggested that post-Cold War conflicts would mainly be driven by cultural differences between groups, particularly between primarily Islamic countries and the “West.” He endorsed the idea that practitioners of Islam do not share “Western” values
Though his view has been criticized on a number of grounds, the currently radicalized American political system arguably endorses a version of it. For example, polls show that a large segment of U.S. citizens believe that Islam is incompatible with democracy. More specifically, there is evidence that people who believe Muslims don’t value protecting the vulnerable and reducing suffering tend to hold more Islamophobic views
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Making matters worse, people have a tendency to blame all members of a dehumanized group for the acts of any members of that group. Social-psychological research has documented that blaming innocent Muslims results in attitudinal and behavioral outcomes, such as feeling prejudiced against Muslims, supporting anti-Muslim policies, social acceptance for severe counterterrorism measures, and signing petitions targeting Muslims
The good news is that this study also revealed that making respondents aware of the hypocrisy of blaming all Muslims for the acts of a few while not doing so for white and/or Christian perpetrators reduces these negative outcomes. Of course, in the absence of such an intervention, the pernicious effects continue
Policy Fallout: Security, Surveillance, and Civil Liberties since 9/11
The scapegoating of Muslims as responsible for many of America’s problems, which rose dramatically after the 9/11 attacks, has continued unabated and is often used by politicians to generate viral soundbites that appeal to some members of society. Scapegoating offers a simple solution: If a particular group is held responsible for a country’s problems, one need simply eliminate that group. Post-9/11, anthropological research demonstrates that U.S. society turned the religious experience of Islam into a political category where Muslim character is regularly assessed to differentiate between “good Muslims” and “bad Muslims.” This discourse has had a significant impact on American society writ large.
Scholars from anthropology, media studies and law, have all found that Islamophobia post 9/11 has been used tojustify the design of surveillance systems of American citizens, define civic activism as terrorism and allow deportations of suspected “terrorists” without evidence, policies that are currently in play in ICE operations. The mobilization of Islamophobia to radicalize and securitize immigration and immigrants clearly has effects beyond Muslims
It can be argued that “terrorist” has become a flexible label for whomever the state currently seeks to exclude. In this case, what began as a hunt for the “bad Muslim” has hardened into a logic that can be turned on any citizen marked as dangerous
