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***Islamophobia Af/Neg***


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Two Denitions or Islamophobia

Denition o IslamophobiaAli et al. 11 (Wajahat, Wajahat Ali is a writer and co-host of Al Jazeera America's social media driven talkshow The Stream. He is the athor of the !la" The #omestic $rsaders and lead athor of the investi%ative re!ort

&ear nc. The )oots of the slamo!ho*ia +etwork in America. The )oots of the slamo!ho*ia +etwork in America$enter for American ro%ress. A%st/ An e0a%%erated fear, hatred, and hostilit" toward slam and 1slims that is!er!etated *" ne%ative stereot"!es resltin% in *ias, discrimination, andthe mar%inalization and e0clsion of 1slims from social, !olitical, and civiclife.

Another Denition o IslamophobiaCAIR 07 (Council of America-Islamic Relations http://www.cair.com/issues/islamophobia/islamophobia.aspx )

slamo!ho*ia refers to nfonded fear of and hostilit" towards slam. Sch

fear and hostilit" leads to discrimination a%ainst 1slims, e0clsion of1slims from mainstream !olitical or social !rocess, stereot"!in%, the!resm!tion of %ilt *" association, and 2nall" hate crimes...slamo- !ho*iahas reslted in the %eneral and n3estioned acce!tance of the followin%

• slam is monolithic and cannot ada!t to new realities.

• slam does not share common vales with other major faiths.

• slam as a reli%ion is inferior to the West. t is archaic, *ar*aric andirrational.

• slam is a reli%ion of violence and s!!orts terrorism.

• slam is a violent !olitical ideolo%".

http://www.cair.com/issues/islamophobia/is-%20lamophobia.aspxhttp://www.cair.com/issues/islamophobia/is-%20lamophobia.aspx


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What is CRT!o"see# $enior %e&t"rer in $o&iolog' at the (ni)ersit' oWol)erhampton# +1(Shirin, What4s the !oint5 Anti-racism and stdents4 voices a%ainst slamo!ho*ia,

)ace 6thnicit" and 6dcation, 7ol. 89, +o. 8, Janar" :;8:, 8;8?>:;89 J$ @/n m" attem!t to %et to the dee!-root of racism in edcation, trn to &riti&al ra&e theor' ($)T/. $)Thas its roots in ($ legal s&holarship, @ell (8:/, $renshaw et al. (89/, #el%ado (89/, andWilliams (8?/, are often referred to as the fonders of this movement. n the last decade $)T has crossed over toother disci!lines incldin% Sociolo%", Histor", Women4s Stdies and 6dcation. And thro%h the work of Bill*orn

(:;;Ca, :;;C*, :;;D/ it has now arrived to @ritain. CRT has no single statement o what it is#rather, as Bill*orn s%%ests, CRT is a perspe&ti)e that is growing# a,apting an,a,opting new i,eas. An, as a perspe&ti)e -it is a set o interrelate, beliesabo"t the signi&an&e o ra&e an, ra&ism# an, how it wors in westernso&ieties. (Bill*orn :;;Ca, 8/. To this end, $)T has a series of de2nin% elements and conce!tal tools.irstl'# it arg"es that ra&ism is en,emi& an, is ,eepl' ingraine, legall'an, &"lt"rall' in $o&iet'. $e&on,l'# the &on&ept ob0e&ti)it' is alse be&a"sethere is no ne"tralit' an, thir,# eperiential nowle,ge o people o &olo"rsho"l, be wel&ome, )ia a -&all or &ontet2 (#el%ado 89/. inall'# an, mostimportantl' to this arti&le# CRT lins anti3ra&ism to so&ial 0"sti&e iss"es.CRT is &onstantl' ,e)eloping an, e)ol)ing thro"gh a &ontin"e, re&ipro&al,ialog"e between s&holarship an, a&ti)ism. Eadson-@illin%s and Tate (:;;C/ were the 2rst toa!!l" $)T to edcation. The" claim that the contined racial discrimination in schools and colle%es, the races!eci2c !eda%o%ic isses of crriclar and the mar%inalisation of *lack stdents in classroom teachin%, contine to*e featres of the edcation instittion in the Fnited States. n this criti3e the" hi%hli%ht the im!ortance of *lackcltral identities in its anal"sis of sch isses. $on- 2rmin% this view, SolGrzano and osso (:;;, 8?:/ ar%es that

Criti&al ra&e theor'... in e,"&ation...wors towar, the elimination ora&ism... 4It5 is a set o insights# perspe&ti)es# metho,s# an, pe,agog'that sees to i,enti'# anal'6e an, transorm the str"&t"ral an, &"lt"ralaspe&ts o e,"&ation that maintain s"bor,ination an, ,ominant ra&ialnarrati)es in an, o"t o the &lassroom


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***A***


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***1ACs***


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1AC 7 %egalism

The 8I2s ,omesti& s"r)eillan&e o 9"slim in,i)i,"als an,organi6ations has tri&le, ,own to the state an, lo&al le)el 7

these ta&ti&s sprea, terror thro"gho"t 9"slim &omm"nitieswhile inno&ent people are harasse,# wat&he,# prole,# an,poli&e, all in the name o prote&ting the nation rom Islamist:tremism$hamas# 1; (#ialaI attorne" at the $reatin% Eaw 6nforcement Acconta*ilit" )es!onsi*ilit" !roject, *ased ot of 1ain Street Ee%al Services at $F+ School ofEawI Where’s the Outrage When the FBI Targets Muslims?,htt!>>www.thenation.com>article>8=C88>wheres-otra%e-when-f*i-tar%ets-mslims/ The +ew ork $it" olice #e!artment has so%ht to !lace an informant on the *oard of a !rominent Ara*-American

or%anization. It has sent "n,er&o)er o


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reactions mask the trth. The +# has ri%htl" come nder 2re, and 1slim +ew orkers have joined forces withother commnities sharin% serios %rievances a*ot +# activities, linkin% sto!-and-frisk with srveillance andshowin% continit" in !ro2lin% !olicies. To%ether, these advocates sccessfll" !assed a historic $it" $oncil *illthat esta*lishes an ins!ector %eneral to monitor the +#, and another one that !rohi*its racial !ro2lin%Kevenoverridin% 1a"or @loom*er%4s vetoes of *oth. 1a"oral candidate and likel" ftre ma"or @ill de @lasio hass!!orted a ftre ins!ector %eneral4s investi%ation into the le%alit" of the +#4s srveillance !ractices. The+#4s law"ers are defendin% the de!artment4s srveillance and intelli%ence-%atherin% !ractices in three diMerentfederal lawsits. This election season in +ew ork $it", candidates have corted the American 1slim vote *"

decr"in% ss!icionless srveillance. A#76)TS616+T et the ma0orit' o o"r &lients at C%:ARare )i&tims o aggressi)e intelligen&e gathering b' the 8I, not the +#. Pf themore than 8;; clientsK!rimaril" 1slim +ew orkersKwe have served, most have *een tar%eted for what are oftenmisleadin%l" termed volntar" interviews. n the oLce, we have come to view most of them as 2shin%

e0!editions. These 8I interrogations are as terri'ing as the' are &l"ms'E

>What Islami& le&t"rers ,o 'o" ollow? >Wo"l, 'o" tra)el to 8angla,esh

"na&&ompanie, b' a male relati)e? Fthis one ,ire&te, at a 'o"ng# ,e)o"t

womanG >What ,o 'o" thin o the Arab $pring? >Do 'o" hate Israel?

>!ow oten ,o 'o" &all 'o"r mother in @emen? Hn a ,ail' basis# o"r

&lients are targete, b' 8I agents in="iring into the most intimate an,

prote&te, areas o their li)es. The' are approa&he, at night at their

homes# stoppe, in ront o their neighbors or &hil,ren# soli&ite, o"tsi,etheir s"bwa' stops or interrogate, at their worpla&es in ront o their&olleag"es an, &"stomers. An, the interrogations are ar rom )ol"ntar'.8I agents reg"larl' warn o"r &lients who in)oe their right to ha)e anattorne' present that >the' &an ,o this the eas' wa' or the har, wa'.? Pneclient was so fri%htened *" the a%ents4 threats that he a%reed to accom!an" them to &@ head3arters and let themstra! him to what the" claimed was a !ol"%ra!h machine for for hors as the" !e!!ered him with 3estions,accsed him of l"in% and then trned arond and asked him to work for them as an informant. While the !recisenm*er of these interviews is not availa*le, or e0!erience s%%ests the" are omni!resent. When $E6A) mem*ers

facilitate Nnow-or-)i%hts worksho!s at mos3es in +ew ork $it", we oten as or a show ohan,s in the room o people who ha)e themsel)es been# or now otherswho ha)e been# interrogate, b' law enor&ement. In man' mos="es# e)er'

han, will go "p. The interro%ations have a devastatin% chillin% eMect on commnities. 8eingpresse, abo"t their religio"s an, politi&al aa&ti)e? 9"slims, and whether their !aste0!erience *ein% 3estioned *" the &@ wold *e *ad for the or%anization, as other stdents ma" hesitate to join.

And the &@ doesn4t jst come in thro%h the front door. Eike the +#, the 8I sen,s inormantsinto 9"slim &omm"nities . The agen&' maintains o)er 1#+++ inormants#

an, tens o tho"san,s more "no


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either. Eike the +#, the a%enc" shr%s oM serios challen%es re%ardin% the harmflness, ineMectiveness andnconstittionalit" of its srveillance !olicies *" !ointin% to the rles within which it o!erates. @t an e0aminationof these rles shows that the" are woefll" !ermissive. The #omestic nvesti%ations and P!erations Bide (#PB/,

which %overns a%ents4 intelli%ence-%atherin% activities, has *een re!eatedl" amended. Toda", base, on++J amen,ments# an agent ma' &on,"&t an >assessment?the lowestle)el o in)estigationwitho"t nee,ing an' appro)al# or showing an'>a&t"al pre,i&ation? o wrong,oing. $impl' p"t# s"spi&ion o &riminal orterrorist a&ti)it' is not nee,e, to interrogate in,i)i,"als or sen,inormants into mos="es# neighborhoo,s or organi6ations. The #PB also!rescri*es domain mana%ement assessments to collect racial and ethnic commnit" demo%ra!hics and allows&@ a%ents to consider focsed *ehavioral characteristics reasona*l" *elieved to *e associated with a !articlarcriminal or terrorist element of an ethnic commnit". n other words, the #PB seems to allow the &@ to do mch

of what the +# is doin%. n sin% these tactics, the 8I is operating on the same a"lt' an,

,angero"s ass"mptions that g"i,e the N@DE that the religio"s pra&ti&es

o millions o or,inar' 9"slims &an be in,i&ators o &riminal a&ti)it' . n :;;=,the +# laid ot its theor" of 1slim radicalization, ascri*in% a ran%e of criminal im!lications to common!lace

reli%ios !ractices. The 8I has propagate, the same logi& in its training

materials or 'ears. 8oth agen&ies &onsi,er wearing religio"s attire an,

growing a&ial hair to be in,i&ators o a potential terrorist . @oth a%encies make ittheir *siness to intrde on sacredKand &irst Amendment

Domesti& s"r)eillan&e o 9"slim &omm"nities s"stains broa,erse&"riti6ation o Islam 7 this is inorme, b' a broa,er &"lt"reo IslamophobiaK"mar L K"n,nani 1 (Arn Nndnani and #ee!a Nmar R)ace, Srveillance, and6m!ire,R res!ectivel" associate !rofessor of 1edia Stdies and 1iddle 6ast Stdies at)t%ers Fniversit" and !rofessor at +ew ork Fniversit", S!rin% :;89, sse C ofnternational Socialist )eview, htt!>>isreview.or%>isse>C>race-srveillance-and-em!ire/ The varios meas"res that the ($ national se&"rit' s'stem has a,opte, in

re&ent 'ears Mow rom an anal'sis o 9"slim >ra,i&ali6ation#? whi&hass"mes that &ertain law3abi,ing a&ti)ities asso&iate, with religio"s

i,eolog' are in,i&ators o etremism an, potential )iolen&e. &ollowin% the

!reventive lo%ic discssed a*ove, the ra,i&ali6ation mo,el &laims to be able topre,i&t whi&h in,i)i,"als are not terrorists now b"t might be at some later,ate. 8eha)ioral# &"lt"ral# an, i,eologi&al signals are ass"me, to re)ealwho is at ris o t"rning into a terrorist at some !oint in the ftre.9 &or e0am!le, inthe 8I2s ra,i&ali6ation mo,el# s"&h things as growing a bear,# starting towear tra,itional Islami& &lothing, and *ecomin% alienated from one4s former life areliste, as in,i&ators# as is >in&rease, a&ti)it' in a pro39"slim so&ial gro"por politi&al &a"se.?C; Ths# signiers o 9"slimness s"&h as a&ial hair#,ress# and so on are t"rne, into marers o s"spi&ion or a s"r)eillan&e ga6ethat is also a ra&ial Fand %enderedG ga6eB it is thro"gh s"&h ro"tineb"rea"&rati& me&hanisms that &o"nterterrorism pra&ti&es in)ol)e the

so&ial &onstr"&tion o ra&ial others. H


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oli&e Department, for instance# the instr"mentali6ing o ra,i&ali6ationmo,els le, to the mass# warrantless s"r)eillan&e o e)er' aspe&t o9"slim lie.

This t'pe o Islamophobia &reates a broa,er state o )iolen&e

against 9"slims 7 this logi& eten,s be'on, the ,omesti& tothe War on Terror that ,r"ms "p s"pport or militari6ationabroa,K"n,nani 1 (&e*. 89, :;89. Arn Nndnani is the athor of The 1slims are$omin% slamo!ho*ia, 60tremism, and the #omestic War on Terror and teaches at+ew ork Fniversit". slamo!ho*ia is jst the latest in a histor" of FS im!erialismThe National. htt!>>www.thenational.ae>o!inion>comment>islamo!ho*ia-is-jst-the-latest-in-a-histor"-of-s-im!erialismfll/The shooting o three Ameri&an 9"slim st",ents in Chapel !ill# NorthCarolina# this month has o&"se, attention on anti39"slim hatre, in the ($. There are stron% reasons for thinkin% the ss!ect, $rai% Ste!hen Hicks, was motivated *" anti-1slim animosit" tomrder #eah @arakat, :?, sor A*-Salha, :8, and )azan A*-Salha, 8. The &@ is now investi%atin% the case as a!ossi*le hate crime, altho%h initial re!orts stated the mrder ma" have *een a*ot a dis!te over !arkin%. n

:;88, s!ent a "ear travellin% arond the FS investi%atin% anti-1slim !rejdice. In a s"b"rbanresta"rant in !o"ston# I saw a poster that pere&tl' &apt"re, the nat"re o the problem. The resta"rant owner ha, "se, a photograph o a l'n&hing inthe earl' +th &ent"r'# eat"ring a tree# a ,ea, bo,' hanging rom abran&h an, a &row, o white people in the oregro"n, looing 0"bilant. Inpla&e o the bla& )i&tim o the original image# the a&e o a stereot'pi&alArab was s"perimpose, with the &aptionE >%et2s pla' &owbo's an,Iranians.? t was a distr*in% si%ht. n the same nei%h*orhood, had heard stories of teena%ers *eaten ! atschool sim!l" for *ein% Ara*, of harassment of mos3e con%re%ations and of death threats a%ainst 1slims aired on

local radio stations. t was also distr*in% *ecase ra&ist imager' appeare, to be a pere&tl'normal wa' to ,e&orate a resta"rant. 8"t the image was also re)ealingbe&a"se it shows anti39"slim sentiment in the ($ is part o a longer ra&ial

histor'. The poster2s &aption pla'e, on the phrase >&owbo's an, In,ians?an, was an impli&it &elebration o the geno&i,e o Ameri&a2s in,igeno"s

peoples b' :"ropean settlers# the rst a&t in the ra&ial histor' o the ($ and one that contines to hant an American cltre o*sessed with enemies at its frontiers. Eikewise, the se of a!hoto of a l"nchin% ties its meanin% to the histor" of racial se%re%ation after the a*olition of slaver", and the wa"s

that violence was sed to maintain white s!remac". Anti39"slim pre0",i&e is the mostre&ent la'er in this histor'# a reworing an, re&'&ling o ol,er logi&s ooppression. rom this perspe&ti)e# Islamophobia# lie other orms opre0",i&e# sho"l, not be seen onl' as a problem o hate &rimes &ommitte,b' lone etremists. The a&ts o in,i)i,"al perpetrators &an onl' be ma,esense o i the' are seen as the pro,"&t o a wi,er &"lt"re# in whi&hglori'ing ra&ial )iolen&e is a&&eptable. All empires re="ire )iolen&e to

s"stain themsel)es# an, the )iolen&e perpetrate, o)erseas *" im!erial !owersalwa's Mows ba&# in one form or another, to the >homelan,. n modern times, that violencealso alwa"s takes on a racial character. The @ritish 6m!ire relied !on racist ideolo%" to maintain its athorit", *othdomesticall" and in colonial settin%s, and !articlarl" in the face of resistance to its rle. @lacks and Asians from thecolonies who settled in @ritain after the Second World War encontered the racism im!erialism had fostered there,!ersistin% lon% after the @ritish 6m!ire itself no lon%er e0isted. Since the end of the $old War, FS forei%n !olic"!lanners have re%arded the 1iddle 6ast as their most tro*lesome territor", where resistance seems to *e

es!eciall" stron% a%ainst the FS4s ke" re%ional all", srael. %arge se&tions o the ($ politi&alan, &"lt"ral elite ha)e t"rne, to ra&ial wa's o eplaining resistan&e to itsa"thorit'. )ather than see the alestinian movement, for e0am!le, as rooted in a str%%le a%ainst militar"


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occ!ation and for hman ri%hts, it has *een more convenient to think that Ara*s are inherentl" fanatical. Inother wor,s# the problem is their &"lt"re# not o"r politi&s. With the War onTerror# that rhetori& was generalise, to 9"slims as a wholeE the religionsomehow espe&iall' prone to terrorist )iolen&e. The ($ go)ernment2s own)iolen&e 7 tort"re# ,rone stries# an, militar' o&&"pations# whi&h res"lt inman' times more ,eaths than >0iha,ist? terrorism 7 &an then be more

easil' ,een,e,. Take, for e0am!le, the pop"lar ($ writer $am !arris, one of the so-called new atheists who seem to have inOenced $rai% Hicks in $ha!el Hill. Harris has said that slam is the

mother-lode of *ad ideas and that we are misled to think the fndamentalists are the frin%e. He &laimsh"man rights problems in what he re,"&ti)el' &alls >the 9"slim worl,?are &a"se, b' Islam# as i it is a monolith that me&hani&all' ,ri)esollowers to a&ts o barbarism. 8"t belies reMe&t so&ial an, politi&al&on,itions as m"&h as the' shape them. Blo*al o!inion !olls s%%est that whether onethins that )iolen&e against &i)ilians is legitimate# or eample# has moreto ,o with politi&al &ontet than religio"s belie. $"&h )iolen&e is&onsi,ere, more a&&eptable in the ($ and 6ro!e than ever"where else in the world. ndeed,Sam Harris himself has written in s!!ort of killin% civilians for the *eliefs the" hold. n his *ook, The 6nd of &aith,

he sa"s that >some propositions are so ,angero"s that it ma' e)en be ethi&al

to ill people or belie)ing them?. !e maintains this is what the ($

attempte, in Aghanistan. t is what we and other western !owers are *ond to attem!t, at aneven %reater cost to orselves and to innocents a*road, elsewhere in the 1slim world, he wrote. We will

contine to s!ill *lood in what is, at *ottom, a war of ideas. n this ar%ment, religio"s belie be&omesa pro' or imminent threat in or,er to 0"sti' wars o aggression againsta pop"lation ,ene, b' its religion. !is arg"ment not onl' pro)i,esrhetori&al s"pport or wars that have led to the deaths of at least half a million !eo!le since theattacks of Se!tem*er 88, :;;8, b"t also gi)es a rationale or a&ts o Islamophobi&

)iolen&e at home. Since :;;8, ,o6ens o people ha)e been ille, in the ($ b'

right3wing etremists who ha)e absorbe, the ra&ist logi& o Ameri&an

imperialism < more than *" the jihadists re%arded as the chief threat of terrorism. However the onlineres!onse to the $ha!el Hill mrders shows there is also another America < one that recentl" took to the streets to!rotest a%ainst !olice racism with the slo%an @lackEives1atter. (This month, the slo%an 1slimEives1atter also

*e%an to trend on Twitter./ or this other Ameri&a to o)er&ome the ($2s long ra&ialhistor'# it will nee, to "n,erstan, that Islamophobia is more than thehatre, o a small n"mber o in,i)i,"als# b"t a s'stem o )iolen&e an,oppression# inherentl' &onne&te, to imperialism.

In a,,ition# western nowle,ge is gro"n,e, in Hrientalism 7This epistemi& ra&ism la's the o"n,ation or an "ntol, amo"nto )iolen&e ,one in the name o "ni)ersal# ne"tral# )al"e3ree)al"es inten,e, to prote&t white &i)ili6ation

rosog"el# Asso&iate roessor o :thni& $t",ies# an,9ielants# Assistant roessor in $o&iolog'# ++O()amGn, Fniversit" of $alifornia at @erkele", 6ric, $olle%e of Arts and Sciences at&air2eld Fniversit", -:?-:;;C, The Eon%-#rUe 6ntan%lement @etweenslamo!ho*ia and )acism in the 1odern>$olonial $a!italist>atriarchal World-S"stem An ntrodction,htt!>>scholarworks.m*.ed>hmanarchitectre>vol9>iss8>:>, accessed =>9>:;89 J$@ V B#/

http://scholarworks.umb.edu/humanarchitecture/vol5/iss1/2/http://scholarworks.umb.edu/humanarchitecture/vol5/iss1/2/


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The m'th abo"t Western males2 &apa&it' to pro,"&e a nowle,ge that is"ni)ersal be'on, time an, spa&e was "n,amental to imperial/global,esigns. The $artesian e%o!olitics of knowled%e ina%rated what $olom*ian !hiloso!her Santia%o $astro-Bomez called the !oint zero !ers!ective. The !oint zero !ers!ective is the Western m"th of a !oint of view that

assmes itself to *e *e"ond a !oint of view. This m"th allowed Western men to &laim theirnowle,ge to be "ni)ersal# ne"tral# )al"e3ree an, ob0e&ti)e. $ontem!orar"

athors like Samel Hntin%ton (8C/ re!rodce a com*ination of old Pccidentalism with Prientalism. Thes"periorit' o the West is taen or grante, an, the epistemi& pri)ilege oWestern i,entit' politi&s rom whi&h to pro,"&e 0",gments o the >Hther?an, global/imperial ,esigns aro"n, the worl, is an "n="estione,pres"pposition. 1oreover, in a male dominated academic cltre sch as Harvard, a scholar and nationaldefense a!olo%ist sch as Hntin%ton (:;;Q/ s!eci2call" links %eo!olitical concerns and secrit" threats to internal4American identit" isses, most nota*l" comin% from those im!overished immi%rants who ma" have the adacit" tochallen%e Western male !rivile%e, socioeconomicall", !oliticall" and ltimatel" e!istemolo%icall" (6tzioni :;;9/.

What is the relevance of this e!istemic discssion to slamo!ho*ia5 It is rom Western hegemoni&i,entit' politi&s an, epistemi& pri)ilege that the -rest2 o theepistemologies an, &osmologies in the worl, are s"balterni6e, as m'th#religion an, ollore# an, that the ,owngra,ing o an' orm o non3Western nowle,ge o&&"rs. The former leads to e!istemic racism, that is, the inferiorization ands*alternization of non-Western knowled%e, while the latter leads to Prientalism. It is also rom thishegemoni& epistemi& lo&ation that Western thiners pro,"&e Hrientalismabo"t Islam. The s"balterni6ation an, ineriori6ation o Islam were notmerel' a ,owngra,ing o Islam as spirit"alit'# b"t also as an epistemolog'.Islami& &riti&al thiners are &onsi,ere, inerior to the Western/Christianthiners. The s"periorit' o Western epistemolog' allows the West to&onstr"&t with a"thorit' the Islami& >Hther? as an inerior people or&"lt"re ro6en in time# an, lea,s Western s&holars to write entire boosabo"t what went wrong with Islam (e.%. Eewis :;;:/, as if !ro*lems in the 1iddle 6ast or !overt"in re%ions inha*ited *" 1slims can somehow *e nderstood *" e0clsivel" scrtinizin% their reli%ion or theirre%ion, eMectivel" trnin% the slamic World4 into its own nit of anal"sis.? 6!istemic racism leads to the

Prientalization of slam. This is crcial *ecase Islamophobia as a orm o ra&ism is not

e&l"si)el' a so&ial phenomenon b"t also an epistemi& ="estion. 6!istemicracism allows the West to not have to listen to the critical thinkin% !rodced *" slamic thinkers on Western%lo*al>im!erial desi%ns. The thining &oming rom non3Western lo&ations is not&onsi,ere, worth' o attention e&ept to represent it as >"n&i)ili6e,#?>primiti)e#? >barbarian#? an, >ba&war,.? 6!istemic racism allows the West to nilaterall"decide what is *est for 1slim !eo!le toda" and o*strct an" !ossi*ilit" for a serios inter-cltral dialo%e.

Islamophobia as a orm o ra&ism against 9"slim people is not onl'manieste, in the labor maret# e,"&ation# p"bli& sphere# global waragainst terrorism# or the global e&onom'# b"t also in the epistemologi&albattlegro"n, abo"t the ,enition o the priorities o the worl, to,a'.Re&ent e)ents s"&h as the $eptember 11 atta&s on American soil, the riots in arisian*anliees, anti3immigrant enophobia, the demonstrations a%ainst #anish cartoons of the ro!het,the *om*in% of Eondon metro stations, the trim!h of Hamas in the alestinian elections, the resistance of

Hez*ollah to the sraeli invasion of Ee*anon, the *om*in% of S!anish s*r*an trains (?>88/, an, then"&lear energ' &onMi&t with Iran# ha)e been all en&o,e, in Islamophobi&lang"age in the Western p"bli& sphere. Western politi&ians (with some e0ce!tionssch as )odri%ez Xa!atero in S!ain/ an, the mainstream me,ia ha)e been &ompli&it inot a&ti)e parti&ipants o Islamophobi& rea&tions to the o"tline, e)ents.:pistemi& ra&ism as the most in)isible orm o ra&ism# &ontrib"tes tolegitimate an artiller' o eperts# a,)isers# spe&ialists# o


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Islamophobi& pre0",i&es. This artiller" of intellectals !rodcin% Prientalist knowled%e a*ot theinferiorit" of slam and its !eo!le has *een %oin% on since the 8Dth centr" (Said 8=/ and the" contri*te to theWestern arro%ant dismissal of slamic thinkers.

Hrientalism &a"ses ra&ist imperialist )iolen&e an, pre3empti)ewarare

$ai, +;K&rmr !rof, 6n%lish and $om! Eit, $olm*ia. h#, Harvard (6dward, Awindow on the world,htt!>>www.%ardian.co.k>*ooks>:;;?>a%>;:>al3aida.hi%heredcation/ wish cold sa" that %eneral nderstandin% of the 1iddle 6ast, the Ara*s and slam in the FS has im!roved, *talas, it reall" hasn't. &or all kinds of reasons, the sitation in 6ro!e seems to *e considera*l" *etter. WhatAmerican leaders and their intellectal lacke"s seem inca!a*le of nderstandin% is that histor" cannot *e swe!tclean like a *lack*oard, so that RweR mi%ht inscri*e or own ftre there and im!ose or own forms of life for theselesser !eo!le to follow. t is 3ite common to hear hi%h oLcials in Washin%ton and elsewhere s!eak of chan%in% thema! of the 1iddle 6ast, as if ancient societies and m"riad !eo!les can *e shaken ! like so man" !eants in a jar.@t this has often ha!!ened with the RorientR, that semi-m"thical constrct which since +a!oleon's invasion of6%"!t in the late 8Dth centr" has *een made and remade contless times. n the !rocess the nconta*lesediments of histor", a dizz"in% variet" of !eo!les, lan%a%es, e0!eriences, and cltres, are swe!t aside ori%nored, rele%ated to the sandhea! alon% with the treasres %rond into meanin%less fra%ments that were taken

ot of @a%hdad. 9' arg"ment is that histor' is ma,e b' men an, women# 0"st asit &an also be "nma,e an, rewritten# so that Po"rP east# Po"rP orientbe&omes Po"rsP to possess an, ,ire&t. And have a ver" hi%h re%ard for the !owers and %iftsof the !eo!les of that re%ion to str%%le on for their vision of what the" are and want to *e. There has beenso massi)e an, &al&"late,l' aggressi)e an atta& on &ontemporar' Araban, 9"slim so&ieties or their ba&war,ness# la& o ,emo&ra&'# an,abrogation o womenQs rights that we simpl' orget that s"&h notions asmo,ernit'# enlightenment# an, ,emo&ra&' are b' no means simple an,agree,3"pon &on&epts that one either ,oes or ,oes not n, lie :astereggs in the li)ing3room. The *reathtakin% insociance of jejne !*licists who s!eak in the name offorei%n !olic" and who have no knowled%e at all of the lan%a%e real !eo!le actall" s!eak, has fa*ricated an aridlandsca!e read" for American !ower to constrct there an ersatz model of free market Rdemocrac"R. @t there is adiMerence *etween knowled%e of other !eo!les and other times that is the reslt of nderstandin%, com!assion,carefl std" and anal"sis for their own sakes, and on the other hand knowled%e that is !art of an overall cam!ai%n

of self-aLrmation. It is s"rel' one o the intelle&t"al &atastrophes o histor' thatan imperialist war &one&te, b' a small gro"p o "nele&te, ($ o


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D"t&h &on="erors o 9ala'sia an, In,onesia# the 8ritish armies o In,ia#9esopotamia# :g'pt# West Ari&a# the ren&h armies o In,o&hina an,North Ari&a. These !eo!le have now *een joined in ra3 *" a whole arm" of !rivate contractors and ea%erentre!reners to whom shall *e con2ded ever"thin% from the writin% of te0t*ooks and the constittion to therefashionin% of ra3i !olitical life and its oil indstr". 6ver" sin%le em!ire in its oLcial discorse has said that it is notlike all the others, that its circmstances are s!ecial, that it has a mission to enli%hten, civilise, *rin% order anddemocrac", and that it ses force onl" as a last resort. And, sadder still, there alwa"s is a chors of willin%

intellectals to sa" calmin% words a*ot *eni%n or altristic em!ires. Twent"-2ve "ears after m" *ook's !*lication,Hrientalism once a%ain raises the ="estion o whether mo,ern imperialisme)er en,e,, or whether it has contined in the orient since +a!oleon's entr" into 6%"!t two centries a%o.Ara*s and 1slims have *een told that victimolo%" and dwellin% on the de!redations of em!ire are onl" wa"s ofevadin% res!onsi*ilit" in the !resent. o have failed, "o have %one wron%, sa"s the modern orientalist. This ofcorse is also 7S +ai!al's contri*tion to literatre, that the victims of em!ire wail on while their contr" %oes tothe do%s. @t what a shallow calclation of the im!erial intrsion that is, how little it wishes to face the lon%sccession of "ears thro%h which em!ire contines to work its wa" in the lives sa" of alestinians or $on%olese or

Al%erians or ra3is. Think of the line that starts with Napoleon# &ontin"es with the riseo oriental st",ies an, the taeo)er o North Ari&a# an, goes on in similar"n,ertaings in Sietnam# in :g'pt# in alestine an,# ,"ring the entire +th&ent"r'# in the str"ggle o)er oil an, strategi& &ontrol in the "l# in Ira=#$'ria# alestine# an, Aghanistan. Then thin o the rise o anti3&olonial

nationalism# thro"gh the short perio, o liberal in,epen,en&e# the era omilitar' &o"ps# o ins"rgen&'# &i)il war# religio"s anati&ism# irrationalstr"ggle an, "n&ompromising br"talit' against the latest b"n&h oPnati)esR. 6ach of these !hases and eras !rodces its own distorted knowled%e of the other, each its ownredctive ima%es, its own dis!tatios !olemics. 1" idea in Prientalism was to se hmanistic criti3e to o!en !the 2elds of str%%le, to introdce a lon%er se3ence of tho%ht and anal"sis to re!lace the short *rsts of!olemical, tho%ht-sto!!in% fr" that so im!rison s. have called what tr" to do RhmanismR, a word contine tose st**ornl" des!ite the scornfl dismissal of the term *" so!histicated !ostmodern critics. @" hmanism mean2rst of all attem!tin% to dissolve @lake's Rmind-for%'d manaclesR so as to *e a*le to se one's mind historicall" andrationall" for the !r!oses of reOective nderstandin%. 1oreover hmanism is sstained *" a sense of commnit"with other inter!reters and other societies and !eriods strictl" s!eakin% therefore, there is no sch thin% as anisolated hmanist. Ths it is correct to sa" that ever" domain is linked, and that nothin% that %oes on in or worldhas ever *een isolated and !re of an" otside inOence. We need to s!eak a*ot isses of injstice and sMerin%within a conte0t that is am!l" sitated in histor", cltre, and socio-economic realit". have s!ent a %reat deal ofm" life drin% the !ast ?9 "ears advocatin% the ri%ht of the alestinian !eo!le to national self-determination, *t have alwa"s tried to do that with fll attention !aid to the realit" of the Jewish !eo!le and what the" sMered *"wa" of !ersection and %enocide. The !aramont thin% is that the str%%le for e3alit" in alestine>srael shold *edirected toward a hmane %oal, that is, coe0istence, and not frther s!!ression and denial. As a hmanist whose2eld is literatre, am old eno%h to have *een trained Q; "ears a%o in the 2eld of com!arative literatre, whoseleadin% ideas %o *ack to Berman" in the late 8Dth and earl" 8th centries. mst mention too the s!remel"creative contri*tion of Biam*attista 7ico, the +ea!olitan !hiloso!her and !hilolo%ist whose ideas antici!ate thoseof Berman thinkers sch as Herder and Wolf, later to *e followed *" Boethe, Hm*oldt, #ilthe", +ietzsche,Badamer, and 2nall" the %reat :;th-centr" )omance !hilolo%ists 6rich Aer*ach, Eeo S!itzer, and 6rnst )o*ert$rtis. To "on% !eo!le of the crrent %eneration the ver" idea of !hilolo%" s%%ests somethin% im!ossi*l"anti3arian and mst", *t !hilolo%" in fact is the most *asic and creative of the inter!retive arts. t is e0em!li2edfor me most admira*l" in Boethe's interest in slam %enerall", and the 8Qth-centr" ersian S2 !oet Ha2z in!articlar, a consmin% !assion which led to the com!osition of the West-Ystlicher #iwan, and it inOected Boethe'slater ideas a*ot Weltliteratr, the std" of all the literatres of the world as a s"m!honic whole which cold *ea!!rehended theoreticall" as havin% !reserved the individalit" of each work withot losin% si%ht of the whole. There is a considera*le iron" to the realisation that as toda"'s %lo*alised world draws to%ether, we ma" *ea!!roachin% the kind of standardisation and homo%eneit" that Boethe's ideas were s!eci2call" formlated to!revent. n an essa" !*lished in 898 entitled Rhilolo%ie der WeltliteratrR, Aer*ach made e0actl" that !oint. His

%reat *ook 1imesis, !*lished in @erne in 8QC *t written while Aer*ach was a wartime e0ile teachin% )omancelan%a%es in stan*l, was meant to *e a testament to the diversit" and concreteness of the realit" re!resented inwestern literatre from Homer to 7ir%inia WoolfI *t readin% the 898 essa" one senses that, for Aer*ach, the%reat *ook he wrote was an ele%" for a !eriod when !eo!le cold inter!ret te0ts !hilolo%icall", concretel",sensitivel", and intitivel", sin% erdition and an e0cellent command of several lan%a%es to s!!ort the kind ofnderstandin% that Boethe advocated for his nderstandin% of slamic literatre. ositive knowled%e of lan%a%esand histor" was necessar", *t it was never eno%h, an" more than the mechanical %atherin% of facts woldconstitte an ade3ate method for %ras!in% what an athor like #ante, for e0am!le, was all a*ot. The mainre3irement for the kind of !hilolo%ical nderstandin% Aer*ach and his !redecessors were talkin% a*ot and triedto !ractise was one that s"m!atheticall" and s*jectivel" entered into the life of a written te0t as seen from the!ers!ective of its time and its athor. )ather than alienation and hostilit" to another time and a diMerent cltre,!hilolo%" as a!!lied to Weltliteratr involved a !rofond hmanistic s!irit de!lo"ed with %enerosit" and, if ma" se


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the word, hos!italit". Ths the inter!reter's mind activel" makes a !lace in it for a forei%n RotherR. And this creativemakin% of a !lace for works that are otherwise alien and distant is the most im!ortant facet of the inter!reter'smission. All this was o*viosl" ndermined and destro"ed in Berman" *" national socialism. After the war,Aer*ach notes mornfll", the standardisation of ideas, and %reater and %reater s!ecialisation of knowled%e%radall" narrowed the o!!ortnities for the kind of investi%ative and everlastin%l" in3irin% kind of !hilolo%icalwork that he had re!resentedI and, alas, it's an even more de!ressin% fact that since Aer*ach's death in 89= *oththe idea and !ractice of hmanistic research have shrnk in sco!e as well as in centralit". nstead of readin% in thereal sense of the word, or stdents toda" are often distracted *" the fra%mented knowled%e availa*le on the

internet and in the mass media. Worse "et, edcation is threatened *" nationalist and reli%ios orthodo0ies oftendisseminated *" the media as the" focs ahistoricall" and sensationall" on the distant electronic wars that %iveviewers the sense of sr%ical !recision, *t in fact o*scre the terri*le sMerin% and destrction !rodced *"modern warfare. n the demonisation of an nknown enem" for whom the la*el RterroristR serves the %eneral!r!ose of kee!in% !eo!le stirred ! and an%r", media ima%es command too mch attention and can *e e0!loitedat times of crisis and insecrit" of the kind that the !ost-Se!tem*er 88 !eriod has !rodced. S!eakin% *oth as anAmerican and as an Ara* mst ask m" reader not to nderestimate the kind of sim!li2ed view of the world that arelative handfl of enta%on civilian elites have formlated for FS !olic" in the entire Ara* and slamic worlds, aview in which terror, !re-em!tive war, and nilateral re%ime chan%e - *acked ! *" the most *loated militar"*d%et in histor" - are the main ideas de*ated endlessl" and im!overishin%l" *" a media that assi%ns itself the roleof !rodcin% so-called Re0!ertsR who validate the %overnment's %eneral line. )eOection, de*ate, rational ar%mentand moral !rinci!le *ased on a seclar notion that hman *ein%s mst create their own histor" have *een re!laced*" a*stract ideas that cele*rate American or western e0ce!tionalism, deni%rate the relevance of conte0t, andre%ard other cltres with contem!t. erha!s "o will sa" that am makin% too man" a*r!t transitions *etweenhmanistic inter!retation on the one hand and forei%n !olic" on the other, and that a modern technolo%ical societ"which alon% with n!recedented !ower !ossesses the internet and &-8C 2%hter-jets mst in the end *e commanded

*" formida*le technical-!olic" e0!erts like #onald )msfeld and )ichard erle. @t what has reall" *een lost is asense of the densit" and interde!endence of hman life, which can neither *e redced to a formla nor *rshedaside as irrelevant. That is one side of the %lo*al de*ate. n the Ara* and 1slim contries the sitation is scarcel"*etter. As )ola Nhalaf has ar%ed, the re%ion has sli!!ed into an eas" anti-Americanism that shows littlenderstandin% of what the FS is reall" like as a societ". @ecase the %overnments are relativel" !owerless to aMectFS !olic" toward them, the" trn their ener%ies to re!ressin% and kee!in% down their own !o!lations, with resltsin resentment, an%er and hel!less im!recations that do nothin% to o!en ! societies where seclar ideas a*othman histor" and develo!ment have *een overtaken *" failre and frstration, as well as *" an slamism *ilt otof rote learnin% and the o*literation of what are !erceived to *e other, com!etitive forms of seclar knowled%e. The%radal disa!!earance of the e0traordinar" tradition of slamic ijtihad - the !rocess of workin% ot slamic rles withreference to the Noran - has *een one of the major cltral disasters of or time, with the reslt that critical thinkin%and individal wrestlin% with the !ro*lems of the modern world have sim!l" dro!!ed ot of si%ht. This is not to sa"that the cltral world has sim!l" re%ressed on one side to a *elli%erent neo-orientalism and on the other to *lanketrejectionism. East "ear's Fnited +ations world smmit in Johannes*r%, for all its limitations, did in fact reveal a vastarea of common %lo*al concern that s%%ests the welcome emer%ence of a new collective constitenc" and %ivesthe often facile notion of Rone worldR a new r%enc". n all this, however, we mst admit that no one can !ossi*l"

know the e0traordinaril" com!le0 nit" of or %lo*alised world.

The terrible &onMi&ts that her,people "n,er alsel' "ni'ing r"bri&s s"&h as PAmeri&a#P Pthe westP orPIslamP an, in)ent &olle&ti)e i,entities or large n"mbers o in,i)i,"alswho are a&t"all' ="ite ,i)erse# &annot remain as potent as the' are# an,m"st be oppose,. We still have at or dis!osal the rational inter!retive skills that are the le%ac" ofhmanistic edcation, not as a sentimental !iet" enjoinin% s to retrn to traditional vales or the classics *t asthe active !ractice of worldl" seclar rational discorse. The seclar world is the world of histor" as made *" hman*ein%s. $ritical tho%ht does not s*mit to commands to join in the ranks marchin% a%ainst one or anothera!!roved enem". )ather than the manfactred clash of civilisations, we need to concentrate on the slow workin%to%ether of cltres that overla!, *orrow from each other, and live to%ether. @t for that kind of wider !erce!tionwe need time, !atient and sce!tical in3ir", s!!orted *" faith in commnities of inter!retation that are diLclt tosstain in a world demandin% instant action and reaction. Hmanism is centred !on the a%enc" of hmanindividalit" and s*jective intition, rather than on received ideas and athorit". Te0ts have to *e read as te0tsthat were !rodced and live on in all sorts of what have called worldl" wa"s. @t this *" no means e0cldes !ower,since on the contrar" have tried to show the insinations, the im*rications of !ower into even the most recondite

of stdies. And lastl", most im!ortant, hmanism is the onl", and wold %o as far as to sa" the 2nal resistance wehave a%ainst the inhman !ractices and injstices that dis2%re hman histor".

The wa' we ,is&"ss these iss"es matters 7 enophobi&)iolen&e is 0"stie, b' man"a&t"ring s"pport thro"gh ra&isti,eolog'Collins an, lo)er ++


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(John $ollins, Ass. rof. of Blo*al Stdies at St. Eawrence, and )oss Blover, 7isitin%rofessor of Sociolo%" at St. Eawrence Fniversit", :;;:, $ollateral Ean%a%e AFser's Bide to America's +ew War, !. C-=, The )eal 6Mects of Ean%a%e/As an" niversit" stdent knows, theories a*ot the social constrction and social eMects of lan%a%e have

*ecome a common featre of academic scholarshi!. Conser)ati)e &riti&s oten arg"e thatthose who "se these theories o lang"age (e.%., deconstrction/ are >0"st? taling

abo"t lang"age# as oppose, to taling abo"t the >real worl,. The essa"s in this*ook, *" contrast, *e%in from the !remise that lang"age matters in the most &on&rete# im 3me,iate wa' possibleE its "se# b' politi&al an, militar' lea,ers# lea,s,ire&tl' to )iolen&e in the orm o war# mass m"r,er (incldin% geno&i,eG# theph'si&al ,estr"&tion o h"man &omm" nities# an, the ,e)astation o thenat"ral en)ironment. ndeed# i the worl, e)er witnesses a n"&lear holo&a"st#it will probabl' be be&a"se lea,ers in more than one &o"ntr' ha)es"&&ee,e, in &on)in&ing their people# thro"gh the "se o politi&allang"age# that the "se o n"&lear weapons and, if necessar", the destrction of the earth itself # is 0"stiable. &rom or !ers!ective, then, e)er' a&t o politi&al )iolen&eKfrom thehorrors !er!etrated a%ainst +ative Americans to the mrder of !olitical dissidents in the Soviet Fnion to the

destrction of the World Trade $enter, and now the *om*in% of Af%hanistanKis intimatel' line, with

the "se o lang"age. artl" what we are taling abo"t here, of corse, are thepro&esses o manfactrin% consent and shaping people2s per &eption o the worl,aro"n, themB people are more liel' to s"p port a&ts o )iolen&e &ommitte,in their name i the re&ipients o the )iolen&e ha)e been ,ene, as>terrorists#? or i the )iolen&e is presente, as a ,eense o >ree,om.? 1ediaanal"sts sch as +oam $homsk" have written elo3entl" a*ot the corrosive effects that this kind of !rocess has on

the !olitical cltre of s!!osedl" democratic societies. At the risk of statin% the o*vios, however, the most"n,amental efe&ts o )iolen&e are those that are )isite, "pon the ob0e&tso )iolen&eB the lang"age that shapes p"bli& opinion is the same lang"agethat b"rns )illages# besieges entire pop"lations# ills an, maims h"manbo,ies# an, lea)es the gro"n, s&arre, with bomb &raters an, littere, withlan, mines. As Beor%e Prwell so famosl" illstrated in his work, a&ts o )io len&e &an easil'be ma,e more palatable thro"gh the "se o e" phemisms s"&h as>pa&i&ation? or, to se an e0am!le discssed in this *ook, >targets.? t is im!ortant to !oint ot,however, that the nee, or s"&h lang"age ,eri)es rom the simple a&t that the)iolen&e itsel is abhorrent. Were it not or the abstra&t lang"age o >)italinterests? an, >s"rgi&al stries? an, the Mattering lan g"age o>&i)ili6ation? an, -0"st? wars# we wo"l, be less liel' to a)ert o"r mentalga6e rom the ph'si&al efe&ts o )iolen&e.

The (nite, $tates e,eral go)ernment sho"l, &"rtail its,omesti& s"r)eillan&e o 9"slim in,i)i,"als an, &omm"nities.

This sol)es 7 $"r)eillan&e is roote, in Islamophobia an,

)iolates the pop"lation2s "n,amental rights to pri)a&' an,religion.K"n,nani# 1U (Arn NndnaniIleadin% commentator on racism, immi%ration andmlticltralism in @ritain, !rofessor at +ew ork Fniversit"I Stop Spying OnMuslim-Americans, ro!i"ence #ournal, 8 6ditionI Jl" :8, :;8Q 1onda"/The (.$. go)ernment has been snooping on prominent members o the9"slim3Ameri&an &omm"nit', accordin% to docments released *" +ationalSecrit" A%enc" whistle*lower 6dward Snowden and !*licized in a stor" *" Blenn


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Breenwald and 1rtaza Hssain of the online !*lication nterce!t. That stor"reveals that the N$A an, the e,eral 8"rea" o In)estigation &o)ertl'monitore, the emails o )e 9"s3lim3Ameri&ans who ha)e Pall le, highl'p"bli o"twar,l' eemplar' li)es,R the article said. Amon% the 2ve is aisalill# who ser)e, in resi,ent eorge W. 8"shQs Department o !omelan,$e&"rit' an, is a longtime Rep"bli&an art' a&ti)ist. R've done ever"thin% in

m" life to *e !atriotic,R Bill told the nterce!t. R served in the +av", served in the%overnment, was active in m" commnit". 've done ever"thin% that a %ood citizen,in m" o!inion, shold do.R Another victim of this snoo!in% is Niha, Awa,# whohea,s "p the Co"n&il on Ameri&an3Islami& Relations# the largest 9"slim&i)il rights organi6ation in the (nite, $tates. The three others areE Asimhaoor, whom the article identi2es as Pa prominent attorne' who hasrepresente, &lients in terrorism3relate, &asesBP !ooshang Amirahma,i#Pan Iranian3Ameri&an proessor o international relations at R"tgers(ni)ersit'BP and Agha $aee,# Pa ormer politi&al s&ien&e proessor atCaliornia $tate (ni)ersit'# who &hampions 9"s3lim &i)il liberties an,alestinian rights.P t a!!ears that the %overnment s!ied on these 2ve not onthe basis o reasonable s"spi&ion o in)ol)ement in &riminal or terrorist

a&ti)it' b"t simpl' be&a"se o the epression o legitimate religio"s or

politi&al opinions that the go)ernment &onsi,ers "na&&eptable . The

nterce!t article revealed what it called P blatant pre0",i&e against 9"slim3

Ameri&ans .P And it showed %ood !roof Pne +SA docment instrcted staM on

how to draw ! a tar%et list for srveillance. In pla&e o the targetQs real name#

the memo "se, the ollowing ae nameE P 9ohamme, Raghea, .P These

docments s%%est that the %overnment is viewin% all 9"slims 3 be the' Arab#

Asian or Ari&an3Ameri&an 3 as s"spe&t be&a"se o their membership in a

religio"s &omm"nit'. And when their slamic *elief is com*ined with !olitical

o!inions critical of F.S. forei%n !olic", the" *ecome even more ss!icios - to the!oint of *ein% treated as !ossi*le terrorists. This )iolates the irst Amen,ment

o the Constit"tion# whi&h pre)ents ,is&rimination on the basis o oneQs

religio"s or politi&al opinions. It is also a )iolation o the o"rth

Amen,ment# whi&h prote&ts "s rom "nlaw"l sear&hes. The sp'ing on

9"slim3Ameri&ans is all too reminis&ent o the 8IQs CHINT:%RH an, the

N$AQs ro0e&t 9inaret decades a%o, which s!ied on !eo!le like Joan @aez, Jane

&onda and the )ev. 1artin Ether Nin% Jr. We ha)e to strongl' re0e&t the

s"r)eillan&e o 9"slim3Ameri&ans an, re&ogni6e that an atta& on the

rights o one gro"p o people ine)itabl' ans o"t to others. As the (.$.

labor mo)ement on&e p"t it 3 an in0"r' to one is an in0"r' to all.

:n,ing ,omesti& s"r)eillan&e o 9"slim in,i)i,"als an,&omm"nities ,ismantles the legal me&hanisms o ra&ialproling# inltration# an, s"b)ersion that perpet"ateIslamophobia$hamas# 1; (#ialaI attorne" at the $reatin% Eaw 6nforcement Acconta*ilit" )es!onsi*ilit" !roject, *ased ot of 1ain Street Ee%al Services at $F+ School of


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EawI Where’s the Outrage When the FBI Targets Muslims?,htt!>>www.thenation.com>article>8=C88>wheres-otra%e-when-f*i-tar%ets-mslims/

The +ew ork $it" olice #e!artment has so%ht to !lace an informant on the *oardof a !rominent Ara*-American or%anization. It has sent "n,er&o)er o


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the trth. The +# has ri%htl" come nder 2re, and 1slim +ew orkers have joined forces with other commnities sharin% serios %rievances a*ot +#activities, linkin% sto!-and-frisk with srveillance and showin% continit" in !ro2lin%!olicies. To%ether, these advocates sccessfll" !assed a historic $it" $oncil *illthat esta*lishes an ins!ector %eneral to monitor the +#, and another one that!rohi*its racial !ro2lin%Keven overridin% 1a"or @loom*er%4s vetoes of *oth.

1a"oral candidate and likel" ftre ma"or @ill de @lasio has s!!orted a ftreins!ector %eneral4s investi%ation into the le%alit" of the +#4s srveillance!ractices. The +#4s law"ers are defendin% the de!artment4s srveillance andintelli%ence-%atherin% !ractices in three diMerent federal lawsits. This electionseason in +ew ork $it", candidates have corted the American 1slim vote *"decr"in% ss!icionless srveillance. A#76)TS616+T et the ma0orit' o o"r&lients at C%:AR are )i&tims o aggressi)e intelligen&e gathering b' the8I, not the +#. Pf the more than 8;; clientsK!rimaril" 1slim +ew orkersKwehave served, most have *een tar%eted for what are often misleadin%l" termedvolntar" interviews. n the oLce, we have come to view most of them as 2shin%e0!editions. These 8I interrogations are as terri'ing as the' are &l"ms'E







homes# stoppe, in ront o their neighbors or &hil,ren# soli&ite, o"tsi,etheir s"bwa' stops or interrogate, at their worpla&es in ront o their&olleag"es an, &"stomers. An, the interrogations are ar rom )ol"ntar'.8I agents reg"larl' warn o"r &lients who in)oe their right to ha)e anattorne' present that >the' &an ,o this the eas' wa' or the har, wa'.?Pne client was so fri%htened *" the a%ents4 threats that he a%reed to accom!an"them to &@ head3arters and let them stra! him to what the" claimed was a!ol"%ra!h machine for for hors as the" !e!!ered him with 3estions, accsedhim of l"in% and then trned arond and asked him to work for them as aninformant. While the !recise nm*er of these interviews is not availa*le, ore0!erience s%%ests the" are omni!resent. When $E6A) mem*ers facilitate Nnow-

or-)i%hts worksho!s at mos3es in +ew ork $it", we oten as or a show ohan,s in the room o people who ha)e themsel)es been# or now otherswho ha)e been# interrogate, b' law enor&ement. In man' mos="es# e)er'han, will go "p. The interro%ations have a devastatin% chillin% eMect oncommnities. 8eing presse, abo"t their religio"s an, politi&al a


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their families, *t also did not want their nei%h*ors to see them. 4ve hadconversations with colle%e stdents wei%hin% the !ros and cons of takin% ! aleadershi! !osition in their 1slim stdent %ro!. nstead of wei%hin% their classworkload a%ainst their e0tracrriclar commitments, the balan&ing in)ol)e,epos"re to "rther 8I ="estioning i the' were to be&ome more >a&ti)e?9"slims, and whether their !ast e0!erience *ein% 3estioned *" the &@ wold *e

*ad for the or%anization, as other stdents ma" hesitate to join. And the &@ doesn4t jst come in thro%h the front door. Eike the +#, the 8I sen,s inormants

into 9"slim &omm"nities . The agen&' maintains o)er 1#+++ inormants#

an, tens o tho"san,s more "noassessment?the lowest le)el o in)estigationwitho"t nee,ing an'appro)al# or showing an' >a&t"al pre,i&ation? o wrong,oing. $impl' p"t#s"spi&ion o &riminal or terrorist a&ti)it' is not nee,e, to interrogatein,i)i,"als or sen, inormants into mos="es# neighborhoo,s ororgani6ations. The #PB also !rescri*es domain mana%ement assessments to

collect racial and ethnic commnit" demo%ra!hics and allows &@ a%ents toconsider focsed *ehavioral characteristics reasona*l" *elieved to *e associatedwith a !articlar criminal or terrorist element of an ethnic commnit". n otherwords, the #PB seems to allow the &@ to do mch of what the +# is doin%. nsin% these tactics, the 8I is operating on the same a"lt' an, ,angero"s

ass"mptions that g"i,e the N@DE that the religio"s pra&ti&es o millions

o or,inar' 9"slims &an be in,i&ators o &riminal a&ti)it' . n :;;=, the +#

laid ot its theor" of 1slim radicalization, ascri*in% a ran%e of criminalim!lications to common!lace reli%ios !ractices. The 8I has propagate, thesame logi& in its training materials or 'ears. 8oth agen&ies &onsi,er

wearing religio"s attire an, growing a&ial hair to be in,i&ators o a

potential terrorist . @oth a%encies make it their *siness to intrde on sacredKand &irst Amendment


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:n,ing ,omesti& s"r)eillan&e o 9"slim in,i)i,"als an,&omm"nities ,ismantles the legal me&hanisms o ra&ialproling# inltration# an, s"b)ersion that perpet"ateIslamophobia$hahab",,in 1 (1adiha Shaha*ddin is the editor-in-chief of the $ha!man

Eaw )eview, The 1ore 1slim o Are, the 1ore Tro*le o $an @e HowBovernment Srveillance of 1slim Americans 7iolates &irst Amendment )i%hts,&e*rar" 8C, :;89, htt!>>www.cha!man.ed>law>Z2les>!*lications>clr-8D-shaha*ddin.!df , +D/1ost recentl", the post3/11 era has been &hara&teri6e, b' go)ernments"r)eillan&e o 9"slim Ameri&an &omm"nities in the name o&o"nterterrorism eforts. The go)ernment-s &on,"&t in this s"r)eillan&eprogram was highlighte, in news stories that broe aro"n, A"g"st +11abo"t the N@D &on,"&ting mass s"r)eillan&e o 9"slim &omm"nities inNew @or. The Associated ress ran a series of investi%ative re!orts on this to!ic, notin% that the N@Defe&ti)el' >monitore, e)er' aspe&t o 9"slim lie an, b"ilt ,atabases onwhere inno&ent 9"slims eat# shop# wor an, pra'.? And in Jl" :;8Q, it was

re)eale, that the (.$. National $e&"rit' Agen&' FN$AG ha, at the minim"mspie, on )e >politi&all' a&ti)e? 9"slim Ameri&an lea,ers# in&l",ing a past8"sh a,ministration oman"a&t"ring? &o"nterterror prose&"tions that res"lt in>what a e,eral 0",ge has &alle, a -antas' terror operation2? &reate, an,in&ite, b' a go)ernment inormant. $"&h intelligen&e gathering assists thego)ernment >in "rtheran&e o an a,)ersarial s'stem that prioriti6esbolstering the n"mber o terrorism in)estigations# prose&"tions# an,&on)i&tions o 9"slims in Ameri&a.?

http://www.chapman.edu/law/_files/publications/clr-18-shahabuddin.pdfhttp://www.chapman.edu/law/_files/publications/clr-18-shahabuddin.pdfhttp://www.chapman.edu/law/_files/publications/clr-18-shahabuddin.pdfhttp://www.chapman.edu/law/_files/publications/clr-18-shahabuddin.pdf


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The law is e' to &ombat Islamophobia on both a legislati)ean, ,is&o"rsi)e ront 7 we sho"l, "se politi&al &oalitions toengage in in&remental reorms that ,ismantle Islamophobia

@a6,iha 1; (Haj azdiha, h# in Sociolo%" at the Fniversit" of +orth $arolina,REaw as 1ovement Strate%" How the slamo!ho*ia 1ovement nstittionalizes &ear

Thro%h Ee%islation,R Social 1ovement Stdies&irst, the s"&&ess"l "se o law as strateg' brings Islamophobia into an elite

politi&al sphere. An' mo)ement to s"&&ess"ll' &o"nter Islamophobia2s

legislati)e eforts m"st also gain a&&ess to the politi&al arena an, the

s"pport o politi&al elites . This shift in the movement4s !la"in% 2eld raises 3estions a*ot the via*le tactics of

attem!ted conter- movements. !ow might the s"&&ess"l "se o law as strateg'legitimi6e a mo)ement# politi&all' in&orporating an, empowering the movement,sch that it cannot *e directl" challen%ed5 Similarl", as the !olitical !rocess model s%%ests, a mo)ement2s ac3isitionof elite allies &an pro)i,e greater politi&al opport"nities. The Islamophobiamo)ement2s legislati)e s"&&esses ha)e garnere, the s"pport o politi&alinsi,ers like +ewt Bin%rich and 1ichelle @achmann# whi&h onl" ,ri)es frther politi&al a&&ess#

opport"nit' an, power. nsofar as &ear, nc. s%%ests that elites4 s!!ort is %iven in e0chan%e for !oliticaldonations, frther research mi%ht consider the tem!oral relationshi! *etween resorces elite allies and !olitical o!!ortnit". To whate0tent is the sccessfl se of law as strate%" de!endent !on Oid resorces5 &inall", tho%h less readil" measra*le, a shift in*roader discorse sch as the nota*le increase in +ew ork Times articles a*ot Sharia is a si%ni2cant measre of a movement4s

im!act. A shit in &"lt"ral &ons&io"sness an, ,is&o"rse is as m"&h a goal o

the Islamophobia mo)ement as is its legislati)e gains . &rthermore, these *roader

&"lt"ral s"&&esses &reate "rther ,is&"rsi)e opport"nities on whi&hmo)ements &an b"il, an, thro"gh whi&h relate, mo)ements &an berame,.


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1AC 7 Criti&alThe 8I2s ,omesti& s"r)eillan&e o 9"slim in,i)i,"als an,organi6ations has tri&le, ,own to the state an, lo&al le)el 7these ta&ti&s sprea, terror thro"gho"t 9"slim &omm"nities

while inno&ent people are harasse,# wat&he,# prole,# an,poli&e, all in the name o prote&ting the nation rom Islamist:tremism$hamas# 1; (#ialaI attorne" at the $reatin% Eaw 6nforcement Acconta*ilit" )es!onsi*ilit" !roject, *ased ot of 1ain Street Ee%al Services at $F+ School ofEawI Where’s the Outrage When the FBI Targets Muslims?,htt!>>www.thenation.com>article>8=C88>wheres-otra%e-when-f*i-tar%ets-mslims/ The +ew ork $it" olice #e!artment has so%ht to !lace an informant on the *oard of a !rominent Ara*-American

or%anization. It has sent "n,er&o)er o


24/335

other commnities sharin% serios %rievances a*ot +# activities, linkin% sto!-and-frisk with srveillance andshowin% continit" in !ro2lin% !olicies. To%ether, these advocates sccessfll" !assed a historic $it" $oncil *illthat esta*lishes an ins!ector %eneral to monitor the +#, and another one that !rohi*its racial !ro2lin%Kevenoverridin% 1a"or @loom*er%4s vetoes of *oth. 1a"oral candidate and likel" ftre ma"or @ill de @lasio hass!!orted a ftre ins!ector %eneral4s investi%ation into the le%alit" of the +#4s srveillance !ractices. The+#4s law"ers are defendin% the de!artment4s srveillance and intelli%ence-%atherin% !ractices in three diMerentfederal lawsits. This election season in +ew ork $it", candidates have corted the American 1slim vote *"

decr"in% ss!icionless srveillance. A#76)TS616+T et the ma0orit' o o"r &lients at C%:ARare )i&tims o aggressi)e intelligen&e gathering b' the 8I, not the +#. Pf themore than 8;; clientsK!rimaril" 1slim +ew orkersKwe have served, most have *een tar%eted for what are oftenmisleadin%l" termed volntar" interviews. n the oLce, we have come to view most of them as 2shin%

e0!editions. These 8I interrogations are as terri'ing as the' are &l"ms'E







homes# stoppe, in ront o their neighbors or &hil,ren# soli&ite, o"tsi,etheir s"bwa' stops or interrogate, at their worpla&es in ront o their&olleag"es an, &"stomers. An, the interrogations are ar rom )ol"ntar'.8I agents reg"larl' warn o"r &lients who in)oe their right to ha)e anattorne' present that >the' &an ,o this the eas' wa' or the har, wa'.? Pneclient was so fri%htened *" the a%ents4 threats that he a%reed to accom!an" them to &@ head3arters and let themstra! him to what the" claimed was a !ol"%ra!h machine for for hors as the" !e!!ered him with 3estions,accsed him of l"in% and then trned arond and asked him to work for them as an informant. While the !recisenm*er of these interviews is not availa*le, or e0!erience s%%ests the" are omni!resent. When $E6A) mem*ers

facilitate Nnow-or-)i%hts worksho!s at mos3es in +ew ork $it", we oten as or a show ohan,s in the room o people who ha)e themsel)es been# or now otherswho ha)e been# interrogate, b' law enor&ement. In man' mos="es# e)er'han, will go "p. The interro%ations have a devastatin% chillin% eMect on commnities. 8eing

presse, abo"t their religio"s an, politi&al aa&ti)e? 9"slims, and whether their !aste0!erience *ein% 3estioned *" the &@ wold *e *ad for the or%anization, as other stdents ma" hesitate to join.

And the &@ doesn4t jst come in thro%h the front door. Eike the +#, the 8I sen,s inormants

into 9"slim &omm"nities . The agen&' maintains o)er 1#+++ inormants#

an, tens o tho"san,s more "no


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nconstittionalit" of its srveillance !olicies *" !ointin% to the rles within which it o!erates. @t an e0aminationof these rles shows that the" are woefll" !ermissive. The #omestic nvesti%ations and P!erations Bide (#PB/,

which %overns a%ents4 intelli%ence-%atherin% activities, has *een re!eatedl" amended. Toda", base, on++J amen,ments# an agent ma' &on,"&t an >assessment?the lowestle)el o in)estigationwitho"t nee,ing an' appro)al# or showing an'>a&t"al pre,i&ation? o wrong,oing. $impl' p"t# s"spi&ion o &riminal or

terrorist a&ti)it' is not nee,e, to interrogate in,i)i,"als or sen,inormants into mos="es# neighborhoo,s or organi6ations. The #PB also!rescri*es domain mana%ement assessments to collect racial and ethnic commnit" demo%ra!hics and allows&@ a%ents to consider focsed *ehavioral characteristics reasona*l" *elieved to *e associated with a !articlarcriminal or terrorist element of an ethnic commnit". n other words, the #PB seems to allow the &@ to do mch

of what the +# is doin%. n sin% these tactics, the 8I is operating on the same a"lt' an,

,angero"s ass"mptions that g"i,e the N@DE that the religio"s pra&ti&es

o millions o or,inar' 9"slims &an be in,i&ators o &riminal a&ti)it' . n :;;=,the +# laid ot its theor" of 1slim radicalization, ascri*in% a ran%e of criminal im!lications to common!lace

reli%ios !ractices. The 8I has propagate, the same logi& in its training

materials or 'ears. 8oth agen&ies &onsi,er wearing religio"s attire an,

growing a&ial hair to be in,i&ators o a potential terrorist . @oth a%encies make it

their *siness to intrde on sacredKand &irst Amendment

Domesti& s"r)eillan&e o 9"slim &omm"nities s"stains broa,erse&"riti6ation o Islam 7 this is inorme, b' a broa,er &"lt"reo IslamophobiaK"mar L K"n,nani 1 (Arn Nndnani and #ee!a Nmar R)ace, Srveillance, and6m!ire,R res!ectivel" associate !rofessor of 1edia Stdies and 1iddle 6ast Stdies at)t%ers Fniversit" and !rofessor at +ew ork Fniversit", S!rin% :;89, sse C ofnternational Socialist )eview, htt!>>isreview.or%>isse>C>race-srveillance-and-em!ire/ The varios meas"res that the ($ national se&"rit' s'stem has a,opte, inre&ent 'ears Mow rom an anal'sis o 9"slim >ra,i&ali6ation#? whi&h

ass"mes that &ertain law3abi,ing a&ti)ities asso&iate, with religio"si,eolog' are in,i&ators o etremism an, potential )iolen&e. &ollowin% the

!reventive lo%ic discssed a*ove, the ra,i&ali6ation mo,el &laims to be able topre,i&t whi&h in,i)i,"als are not terrorists now b"t might be at some later,ate. 8eha)ioral# &"lt"ral# an, i,eologi&al signals are ass"me, to re)ealwho is at ris o t"rning into a terrorist at some !oint in the ftre.9 &or e0am!le, inthe 8I2s ra,i&ali6ation mo,el# s"&h things as growing a bear,# starting towear tra,itional Islami& &lothing, and *ecomin% alienated from one4s former life areliste, as in,i&ators# as is >in&rease, a&ti)it' in a pro39"slim so&ial gro"por politi&al &a"se.?C; Ths# signiers o 9"slimness s"&h as a&ial hair#,ress# and so on are t"rne, into marers o s"spi&ion or a s"r)eillan&e ga6e

that is also a ra&ial Fand %enderedG ga6eB it is thro"gh s"&h ro"tineb"rea"&rati& me&hanisms that &o"nterterrorism pra&ti&es in)ol)e the

so&ial &onstr"&tion o ra&ial others. H


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mo,els le, to the mass# warrantless s"r)eillan&e o e)er' aspe&t o9"slim lie.

This t'pe o Islamophobia &reates a broa,er state o )iolen&eagainst 9"slims 7 this logi& eten,s be'on, the ,omesti& to

the War on Terror that ,r"ms "p s"pport or militari6ationabroa,K"n,nani 1 (&e*. 89, :;89. Arn Nndnani is the athor of The 1slims are$omin% slamo!ho*ia, 60tremism, and the #omestic War on Terror and teaches at+ew ork Fniversit". slamo!ho*ia is jst the latest in a histor" of FS im!erialismThe National. htt!>>www.thenational.ae>o!inion>comment>islamo!ho*ia-is-jst-the-latest-in-a-histor"-of-s-im!erialismfll/The shooting o three Ameri&an 9"slim st",ents in Chapel !ill# NorthCarolina# this month has o&"se, attention on anti39"slim hatre, in the ($. There are stron% reasons for thinkin% the ss!ect, $rai% Ste!hen Hicks, was motivated *" anti-1slim animosit" tomrder #eah @arakat, :?, sor A*-Salha, :8, and )azan A*-Salha, 8. The &@ is now investi%atin% the case as a!ossi*le hate crime, altho%h initial re!orts stated the mrder ma" have *een a*ot a dis!te over !arkin%. n

:;88, s!ent a "ear travellin% arond the FS investi%atin% anti-1slim !rejdice. In a s"b"rbanresta"rant in !o"ston# I saw a poster that pere&tl' &apt"re, the nat"re o the problem. The resta"rant owner ha, "se, a photograph o a l'n&hing inthe earl' +th &ent"r'# eat"ring a tree# a ,ea, bo,' hanging rom abran&h an, a &row, o white people in the oregro"n, looing 0"bilant. Inpla&e o the bla& )i&tim o the original image# the a&e o a stereot'pi&alArab was s"perimpose, with the &aptionE >%et2s pla' &owbo's an,Iranians.? t was a distr*in% si%ht. n the same nei%h*orhood, had heard stories of teena%ers *eaten ! atschool sim!l" for *ein% Ara*, of harassment of mos3e con%re%ations and of death threats a%ainst 1slims aired on

local radio stations. t was also distr*in% *ecase ra&ist imager' appeare, to be a pere&tl'normal wa' to ,e&orate a resta"rant. 8"t the image was also re)ealingbe&a"se it shows anti39"slim sentiment in the ($ is part o a longer ra&ialhistor'. The poster2s &aption pla'e, on the phrase >&owbo's an, In,ians?

an, was an impli&it &elebration o the geno&i,e o Ameri&a2s in,igeno"speoples b' :"ropean settlers# the rst a&t in the ra&ial histor' o the ($ and one that contines to hant an American cltre o*sessed with enemies at its frontiers. Eikewise, the se of a!hoto of a l"nchin% ties its meanin% to the histor" of racial se%re%ation after the a*olition of slaver", and the wa"s

that violence was sed to maintain white s!remac". Anti39"slim pre0",i&e is the mostre&ent la'er in this histor'# a reworing an, re&'&ling o ol,er logi&s ooppression. rom this perspe&ti)e# Islamophobia# lie other orms opre0",i&e# sho"l, not be seen onl' as a problem o hate &rimes &ommitte,b' lone etremists. The a&ts o in,i)i,"al perpetrators &an onl' be ma,esense o i the' are seen as the pro,"&t o a wi,er &"lt"re# in whi&hglori'ing ra&ial )iolen&e is a&&eptable. All empires re="ire )iolen&e tos"stain themsel)es# an, the )iolen&e perpetrate, o)erseas *" im!erial !owers

alwa's Mows ba&# in one form or another, to the >homelan,. n modern times, that violencealso alwa"s takes on a racial character. The @ritish 6m!ire relied !on racist ideolo%" to maintain its athorit", *othdomesticall" and in colonial settin%s, and !articlarl" in the face of resistance to its rle. @lacks and Asians from thecolonies who settled in @ritain after the Second World War encontered the racism im!erialism had fostered there,!ersistin% lon% after the @ritish 6m!ire itself no lon%er e0isted. Since the end of the $old War, FS forei%n !olic"!lanners have re%arded the 1iddle 6ast as their most tro*lesome territor", where resistance seems to *e

es!eciall" stron% a%ainst the FS4s ke" re%ional all", srael. %arge se&tions o the ($ politi&alan, &"lt"ral elite ha)e t"rne, to ra&ial wa's o eplaining resistan&e to itsa"thorit'. )ather than see the alestinian movement, for e0am!le, as rooted in a str%%le a%ainst militar"occ!ation and for hman ri%hts, it has *een more convenient to think that Ara*s are inherentl" fanatical. In


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other wor,s# the problem is their &"lt"re# not o"r politi&s. With the War onTerror# that rhetori& was generalise, to 9"slims as a wholeE the religionsomehow espe&iall' prone to terrorist )iolen&e. The ($ go)ernment2s own)iolen&e 7 tort"re# ,rone stries# an, militar' o&&"pations# whi&h res"lt inman' times more ,eaths than >0iha,ist? terrorism 7 &an then be moreeasil' ,een,e,. Take, for e0am!le, the pop"lar ($ writer $am !arris, one of the so-called new atheists who seem to have inOenced $rai% Hicks in $ha!el Hill. Harris has said that slam is themother-lode of *ad ideas and that we are misled to think the fndamentalists are the frin%e. He &laimsh"man rights problems in what he re,"&ti)el' &alls >the 9"slim worl,?are &a"se, b' Islam# as i it is a monolith that me&hani&all' ,ri)esollowers to a&ts o barbarism. 8"t belies reMe&t so&ial an, politi&al&on,itions as m"&h as the' shape them. Blo*al o!inion !olls s%%est that whether onethins that )iolen&e against &i)ilians is legitimate# or eample# has moreto ,o with politi&al &ontet than religio"s belie. $"&h )iolen&e is&onsi,ere, more a&&eptable in the ($ and 6ro!e than ever"where else in the world. ndeed,Sam Harris himself has written in s!!ort of killin% civilians for the *eliefs the" hold. n his *ook, The 6nd of &aith,

he sa"s that >some propositions are so ,angero"s that it ma' e)en be ethi&al

to ill people or belie)ing them?. !e maintains this is what the ($

attempte, in Aghanistan. t is what we and other western !owers are *ond to attem!t, at aneven %reater cost to orselves and to innocents a*road, elsewhere in the 1slim world, he wrote. We will

contine to s!ill *lood in what is, at *ottom, a war of ideas. n this ar%ment, religio"s belie be&omesa pro' or imminent threat in or,er to 0"sti' wars o aggression againsta pop"lation ,ene, b' its religion. !is arg"ment not onl' pro)i,esrhetori&al s"pport or wars that have led to the deaths of at least half a million !eo!le since theattacks of Se!tem*er 88, :;;8, b"t also gi)es a rationale or a&ts o Islamophobi&

)iolen&e at home. Since :;;8, ,o6ens o people ha)e been ille, in the ($ b'

right3wing etremists who ha)e absorbe, the ra&ist logi& o Ameri&an

imperialism < more than *" the jihadists re%arded as the chief threat of terrorism. However the onlineres!onse to the $ha!el Hill mrders shows there is also another America < one that recentl" took to the streets to!rotest a%ainst !olice racism with the slo%an @lackEives1atter. (This month, the slo%an 1slimEives1atter also

*e%an to trend on Twitter./ or this other Ameri&a to o)er&ome the ($2s long ra&ialhistor'# it will nee, to "n,erstan, that Islamophobia is more than thehatre, o a small n"mber o in,i)i,"als# b"t a s'stem o )iolen&e an,oppression# inherentl' &onne&te, to imperialism.

In a,,ition# western nowle,ge is gro"n,e, in Hrientalism 7This epistemi& ra&ism la's the o"n,ation or an "ntol, amo"nto )iolen&e ,one in the name o "ni)ersal# ne"tral# )al"e3ree)al"es inten,e, to prote&t white &i)ili6ationrosog"el# Asso&iate roessor o :thni& $t",ies# an,

9ielants# Assistant roessor in $o&iolog'# ++O()amGn, Fniversit" of $alifornia at @erkele", 6ric, $olle%e of Arts and Sciences at&air2eld Fniversit", -:?-:;;C, The Eon%-#rUe 6ntan%lement @etweenslamo!ho*ia and )acism in the 1odern>$olonial $a!italist>atriarchal World-S"stem An ntrodction,htt!>>scholarworks.m*.ed>hmanarchitectre>vol9>iss8>:>, accessed =>9>:;89 J$@ V B#/

http://scholarworks.umb.edu/humanarchitecture/vol5/iss1/2/http://scholarworks.umb.edu/humanarchitecture/vol5/iss1/2/


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The m'th abo"t Western males2 &apa&it' to pro,"&e a nowle,ge that is"ni)ersal be'on, time an, spa&e was "n,amental to imperial/global,esigns. The $artesian e%o!olitics of knowled%e ina%rated what $olom*ian !hiloso!her Santia%o $astro-Bomez called the !oint zero !ers!ective. The !oint zero !ers!ective is the Western m"th of a !oint of view that

assmes itself to *e *e"ond a !oint of view. This m"th allowed Western men to &laim theirnowle,ge to be "ni)ersal# ne"tral# )al"e3ree an, ob0e&ti)e. $ontem!orar"

athors like Samel Hntin%ton (8C/ re!rodce a com*ination of old Pccidentalism with Prientalism. Thes"periorit' o the West is taen or grante, an, the epistemi& pri)ilege oWestern i,entit' politi&s rom whi&h to pro,"&e 0",gments o the >Hther?an, global/imperial ,esigns aro"n, the worl, is an "n="estione,pres"pposition. 1oreover, in a male dominated academic cltre sch as Harvard, a scholar and nationaldefense a!olo%ist sch as Hntin%ton (:;;Q/ s!eci2call" links %eo!olitical concerns and secrit" threats to internal4American identit" isses, most nota*l" comin% from those im!overished immi%rants who ma" have the adacit" tochallen%e Western male !rivile%e, socioeconomicall", !oliticall" and ltimatel" e!istemolo%icall" (6tzioni :;;9/.

What is the relevance of this e!istemic discssion to slamo!ho*ia5 It is rom Western hegemoni&i,entit' politi&s an, epistemi& pri)ilege that the -rest2 o theepistemologies an, &osmologies in the worl, are s"balterni6e, as m'th#religion an, ollore# an, that the ,owngra,ing o an' orm o non3Western nowle,ge o&&"rs. The former leads to e!istemic racism, that is, the inferiorization ands*alternization of non-Western knowled%e, while the latter leads to Prientalism. It is also rom thishegemoni& epistemi& lo&ation that Western thiners pro,"&e Hrientalismabo"t Islam. The s"balterni6ation an, ineriori6ation o Islam were notmerel' a ,owngra,ing o Islam as spirit"alit'# b"t also as an epistemolog'.Islami& &riti&al thiners are &onsi,ere, inerior to the Western/Christianthiners. The s"periorit' o Western epistemolog' allows the West to&onstr"&t with a"thorit' the Islami& >Hther? as an inerior people or&"lt"re ro6en in time# an, lea,s Western s&holars to write entire boosabo"t what went wrong with Islam (e.%. Eewis :;;:/, as if !ro*lems in the 1iddle 6ast or !overt"in re%ions inha*ited *" 1slims can somehow *e nderstood *" e0clsivel" scrtinizin% their reli%ion or theirre%ion, eMectivel" trnin% the slamic World4 into its own nit of anal"sis.? 6!istemic racism leads to the

Prientalization of slam. This is crcial *ecase Islamophobia as a orm o ra&ism is not

e&l"si)el' a so&ial phenomenon b"t also an epistemi& ="estion. 6!istemicracism allows the West to not have to listen to the critical thinkin% !rodced *" slamic thinkers on Western%lo*al>im!erial desi%ns. The thining &oming rom non3Western lo&ations is not&onsi,ere, worth' o attention e&ept to represent it as >"n&i)ili6e,#?>primiti)e#? >barbarian#? an, >ba&war,.? 6!istemic racism allows the West to nilaterall"decide what is *est for 1slim !eo!le toda" and o*strct an" !ossi*ilit" for a serios inter-cltral dialo%e.

Islamophobia as a orm o ra&ism against 9"slim people is not onl'manieste, in the labor maret# e,"&ation# p"bli& sphere# global waragainst terrorism# or the global e&onom'# b"t also in the epistemologi&albattlegro"n, abo"t the ,enition o the priorities o the worl, to,a'.Re&ent e)ents s"&h as the $eptember 11 atta&s on American soil, the riots in arisian*anliees, anti3immigrant enophobia, the demonstrations a%ainst #anish cartoons of the ro!het,the *om*in% of Eondon metro stations, the trim!h of Hamas in the alestinian elections, the resistance of

Hez*ollah to the sraeli invasion of Ee*anon, the *om*in% of S!anish s*r*an trains (?>88/, an, then"&lear energ' &onMi&t with Iran# ha)e been all en&o,e, in Islamophobi&lang"age in the Western p"bli& sphere. Western politi&ians (with some e0ce!tionssch as )odri%ez Xa!atero in S!ain/ an, the mainstream me,ia ha)e been &ompli&it inot a&ti)e parti&ipants o Islamophobi& rea&tions to the o"tline, e)ents.:pistemi& ra&ism as the most in)isible orm o ra&ism# &ontrib"tes tolegitimate an artiller' o eperts# a,)isers# spe&ialists# o


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Islamophobi& pre0",i&es. This artiller" of intellectals !rodcin% Prientalist knowled%e a*ot theinferiorit" of slam and its !eo!le has *een %oin% on since the 8Dth centr" (Said 8=/ and the" contri*te to theWestern arro%ant dismissal of slamic thinkers.

The wa' we ,is&"ss these iss"es matters 7 enophobi&)iolen&e is 0"stie, b' man"a&t"ring s"pport thro"gh ra&ist

i,eolog'Collins an, lo)er ++(John $ollins, Ass. rof. of Blo*al Stdies at St. Eawrence, and )oss Blover, 7isitin%rofessor of Sociolo%" at St. Eawrence Fniversit", :;;:, $ollateral Ean%a%e AFser's Bide to America's +ew War, !. C-=, The )eal 6Mects of Ean%a%e/As an" niversit" stdent knows, theories a*ot the social constrction and social eMects of lan%a%e have

*ecome a common featre of academic scholarshi!. Conser)ati)e &riti&s oten arg"e thatthose who "se these theories o lang"age (e.%., deconstrction/ are >0"st? talingabo"t lang"age# as oppose, to taling abo"t the >real worl,. The essa"s in this*ook, *" contrast, *e%in from the !remise that lang"age matters in the most &on&rete# im 3me,iate wa' possibleE its "se# b' politi&al an, militar' lea,ers# lea,s,ire&tl' to )iolen&e in the orm o war# mass m"r,er (incldin% geno&i,eG# the

ph'si&al ,estr"&tion o h"man &omm" nities# an, the ,e)astation o thenat"ral en)ironment. ndeed# i the worl, e)er witnesses a n"&lear holo&a"st#it will probabl' be be&a"se lea,ers in more than one &o"ntr' ha)es"&&ee,e, in &on)in&ing their people# thro"gh the "se o politi&allang"age# that the "se o n"&lear weapons and, if necessar", the destrction of the earth itself # is 0"stiable. &rom or !ers!ective, then, e)er' a&t o politi&al )iolen&eKfrom thehorrors !er!etrated a%ainst +ative Americans to the mrder of !olitical dissidents in the Soviet Fnion to the

destrction of the World Trade $enter, and now the *om*in% of Af%hanistanKis intimatel' line, withthe "se o lang"age. artl" what we are taling abo"t here, of corse, are thepro&esses o manfactrin% consent and shaping people2s per &eption o the worl,aro"n, themB people are more liel' to s"p port a&ts o )iolen&e &ommitte,in their name i the re&ipients o the )iolen&e ha)e been ,ene, as

>terrorists#? or i the )iolen&e is presente, as a ,eense o >ree,om.? 1ediaanal"sts sch as +oam $homsk" have written elo3entl" a*ot the corrosive effects that this kind of !rocess has onthe !olitical cltre of s!!osedl" democratic societies. At the risk of statin% the o*vios, however, the most"n,amental efe&ts o )iolen&e are those that are )isite, "pon the ob0e&tso )iolen&eB the lang"age that shapes p"bli& opinion is the same lang"agethat b"rns )illages# besieges entire pop"lations# ills an, maims h"manbo,ies# an, lea)es the gro"n, s&arre, with bomb &raters an, littere, withlan, mines. As Beor%e Prwell so famosl" illstrated in his work, a&ts o )io len&e &an easil'be ma,e more palatable thro"gh the "se o e" phemisms s"&h as>pa&i&ation? or, to se an e0am!le discssed in this *ook, >targets.? t is im!ortant to !oint ot,however, that the nee, or s"&h lang"age ,eri)es rom the simple a&t that the)iolen&e itsel is abhorrent. Were it not or the abstra&t lang"age o >)ital

interests? an, >s"rgi&al stries? an, the Mattering lan g"age o>&i)ili6ation? an, -0"st? wars# we wo"l, be less liel' to a)ert o"r mentalga6e rom the ph'si&al efe&ts o )iolen&e.


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The 1AC is a starting3point or b"il,ing resistan&e againstIslamophobia 7 o"r e,"&ational e&hanges ha)e the potentialto ,isr"pt ra&ist tea&hing pra&ti&es an, &"rri&"l"mShirin !o"see 1, Senior Eectrer in Sociolo%", Jan. Q, works at the School of Hmanities,Ean%a%es and Social Sciences, Fniversit" of Wolverham!ton, FN What4s the !oint5 Anti-racism and stdents4voices a%ainst slamo!ho*ia, 7olme 89, sse 8

!a)ing reMe&te, on the two seminar sessions on Islamophobia and the stdentcomments, am convinced that the wor o anti3ra&ism in "ni)ersit' &lassrooms is"n,amentall' important. As one stdent said racism is real. Thro%h racism !eo!le sMer !h"sicall",!s"cholo%icall", sociall", edcationall" and !oliticall". H"r wor in "ni)ersit' &lassrooms is 0"st the beginning o this &hallenge a%ainst racisms and other o!!ressions. Classroom,is&"ssions an, general tea&hing orm a )er' important &ontrib"tion tothis wor o anti ra&ism in e,"&ation. There are no short cts or !ainless ctsI the woro anti3ra&ism is a ,i


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edado%" )eOections from the 6dcational &ront Eines, American Jornal of slamicSocial Sciences :8?As an anti3ra&ism s&holar an, e,"&ator, fellow collea%es and realized from as earl" asSe!tem*er 8: that there was an "rgen&' to rame a &riti&al pe,agogi&al responseto a,,ress an, &hallenge the rampant Islamophobia afe&ting the realitieso 9"slims rom all wals o lie an, so&ial &on,itions. Amon% the most vlnera*lewere children and "oth, who received little s!!ort from schools in dealin% with the *acklash that man" weree0!eriencin% on a rotine *asis. 1ost schools were relctant to en%a%e in an" res!onse *e"ond the !oliticall"netral arena of crisis mana%ement. Amon% the school districts that was in contact with, there was a clearresistance to addressin% or even namin% isses of racism and slamo!ho*ia. n fact, the discrsive lan%a%e toname and de2ne the e0!eriences that 1slims were enconterin% on a da"-to-da" *asis did not even e0ist withinthe edcational discorse. While schools were relctant to name s!eci2c incidents as racism < !art of an all-too-

common denial < the notion o >Islamophobia? ,i, not ha)e an' &"rren&' at all. nfact, it was not a part o the lang"age or &on&ept"al &onstr"&ts &ommonl'"se, b' e,"&ators# e)en b' those &ommitte, to m"lti&"lt"ral an,antira&ist pe,agog'. I reali6e, the "rgen&' to map a new epistemologi&alan, pe,agogi&al terrain b' &reating an e,"&ational ramewor ora,,ressing Islamophobia. Within the eisting e="it'3base, e,"&ationalramewors# one &o"l, n, the &on&ept"al an, pe,agogi&al tools to

a,,ress iss"es o ra&ism# &lassism# seism# homophobia# ableism# an,anti3$emitism. However, the ,is&"rsi)e o"n,ations or ,ealing withIslamophobia an, the a&&ompan'ing e,"&ational reso"r&es simpl' ,i, noteist. #evelo!in% a new framework to 2ll this %a! involved coinin% a new term Anti-slamo!ho*ia 6dcation.8eing able to name an, ,ene the eperien&e o 9"slims as the res"lt oIslamophobia was &riti&al to shaping the in, o inter)entions that wo"l,tae pla&e rom a &riti&al e,"&ational stan,point. 8eore o"tlining ametho,olog' or &on,"&ting anti3Islamophobia e,"&ation# it wasne&essar' to ,e)elop some ,is&"rsi)e o"n,ations, arrive at a de2nition ofslamo!ho*ia, an, &reate an "n,erstan,ing o what it was that we so"ght to&hallenge an, resist. &rom a socio-!s"cholo%ical stand!oint, the notion of slamo!ho*ia is often loosel"translated as an attitde of fear, mistrst, or hatred of slam and its adherents. However, this de2nition !resents anarrow conce!tal framework and does not take into accont the social, strctral, and ideolo%ical dimensions

thro%h which forms of o!!ression are o!erationalized and enacted. A!!l"in% a more holistic anal"sis, far from*ein% *ased on mere i%norance, slamo!ho*ic attitdes are, in fact, !art of a rational s"stem of !ower anddomination that manifests as individal, ideolo%ical, and s"stemic forms of discrimination and o!!ression. The ideathat discrimination, *e it *ased on race, class, %ender, se0alit", a*ilit", or reli%ion, sim!l" stems from i%noranceallows those en%a%ed in o!!ressive acts and !olicies to claim a s!ace of innocence. @" la*elin% slamo!ho*ia as anessentiall" irrational fear, this conce!tion denies the lo%ic and rationalit" of social dominance and o!!ression,which o!erates on mlti!le social, ideolo%ical, and s"stemic levels. Therefore, to ca!tre the com!le0 dimensionsthro%h which slamo!ho*ia o!erates, it is necessar" to e0tend the de2nition from its limited conce!tion as a fearand hatred of slam and 1slims and acknowled%e that these attitdes are intrinsicall" linked to individal,ideolo%ical, and s"stemic forms of o!!ression that s!!ort the lo%ic and rationale of s!eci2c !ower relations. &ore0am!le, individal acts of o!!ression inclde sch !ractices as name-callin% or !ersonal assalt, while s"stemicforms of o!!ression refer to the strctral conditions of ine3alit" re%lated thro%h sch instittional !ractices as

racial !ro2lin% or den"in% jo*s or hosin% o!!ortnities. These e&l"sionar' pra&ti&es are shore,"p b' spe&i& i,eologi&al "n,erpinnings# among them the p"r)e'e,notions ,esigne, to pathologi6e 9"slims as >terrorists? an, impen,ing

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