"We must be reminded that it is in the nature of authoritarian and antidemocratic governments to seek restrictions and legislative limitations on the liberties of citizens; therefore civil rights organizations are the antithesis to these forms of power in well developed civil societies. When civil rights organizations are preoccupied with assimilation, then the outcome of such an approach is compromising fundamental rights at the cost of access and representation."
-Dr. Hatem Bazian, "Muslims – Enemies of the State: The New Counter-Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO)"
hate by state towards muslims and islam
In the University of California Berkeley's Islamophobia course in Spring of 2013, Associate Professor in Film and Media Studies as well as in the African American Studies School of Humanities at the University of Irvine, Sohail Daulatzai criticized the assumption that civil rights became a reality after the inauguration of Barack Obama as President. This symbolic figure not only became an emancipating fallacy for racial minorities, but also for other groups, such as the Muslim minority, which suffered under unjust treatment by U.S. courts and government.
ANTI-ISLAMIC LEGISLATIONThough many such us Daniel Pipes may publically deny the existence of Islamophobia [here], others like founder of American Laws for American Courts (ALAC), David Yerushalmi, constantly reaffirm the existence of Islamophobia through law. Cair released a document on January of 2013, "A Brief overview of the Pervasiveness of anti-Islam Legislation" which analyzes Islamophobic bills that have been trying to get passed by legislative leaders. According to the Cair document, of the party of bills, 73 bills were from the Republican House, 1 by the Democrats, 3 for bi-partisan, and 1 by a collaboration of Republicans with an Independent [here].
Sharia-law is a nonexistent threat to the U.S. Constitution, but passing bills such as these leads to hateful rhetoric and discrimination against Muslims. "Yerushalmi wrote the model legislation to 'get people asking this question.' What he achieved was an anti-Muslim dialogue characterized by religious intolerance and an absence of an actual problem in an effort that was supported by a troubling number of mainstream, state-level Republican leaders" [here]. |
U.S.A. V. SAMI AL ARIAN (2003)
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Laila Al Arian is a writer and producer for Al-Jazeera English in washington Her father, Sami Al Arian was a computer engineering professor at the University of South Florida professor when he was arrested on February 20, 2003. The government had been trying for a few years to go after him because of his Palestinian and human rights activism. He was a pillar of the community--i.e. an ambassador between the U.S. and the "Muslim world" and representative of the Palestinian people's struggle. And so, after 9/11 when there was an environment of fear and hysteria they built a case against him [here].
According to his daughter when we interviewed her, the trial took place in an environment where people were afraid and intimidated. The idea behind his arrest was to smear his reputation and thus intimidate any other individuals inspired by this human rights activism. With a 6-month trial which cost an estimated $50 million, it is no wonder why there is an environment of fear that pervades the Muslim community, and also the wider society at large that very few people are likely to speak out against these injustices. |
no-fly list and the american muslim
A production of the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), the No Fly List has been a major practice by the U.S. government as a counter-terrorism tactic. Saadiq Long is just one of the thousands of other Muslim American citizens who has been deprived of boarding an airplane or any aircraft for traveling, either told that there are other ways of flying, or not given a reason at all [here]. More individuals names are being placed on the No-List, just recently the following names were added to the ACLU's current lawsuit against the U.S. Justice Department:
These have been included as part of the Latif v. Holder (2012) case but have only received responses by the American government which often successfully avoids any confrontation--e.g. arguing that there are other forms of travel that those individuals take, though the list even restricts individuals on the list from traveling on boat. Similar situations that accuse U.S. citizens without a legal trial are electronic GPS monitoring, security index, communication intercepts. |
Host of MSNBC's Up with Chris Hayes talks with a CAIR representative to the case of USAF veteran and Muslim convert Saadiq Long who received a letter from the airline saying that his name was on the No-Fly List.
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"When civil rights organizations are preoccupied with assimilation, then the outcome of such an approach is compromising fundamental rights at the cost of access and representation."
-Dr. Hatem Bazian, "Muslims – Enemies of the State: The New Counter-Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO)" [here]. |
cointel pro
Published in the Islamophobia Studies Journal at the University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Hatem Bazian's article, "Muslims – Enemies of the State: The New Counter-Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO)," examined the FBI's active role during 20th Century American history as well as during the past decade. Though Bazian in his report says that there aren't any specific domestic legal actions being taken against Arab, Muslim, or South Asians in the United States, there are, however, "counter-terrorism" legal forces which are made to allegedly fight the global "war on terrorism."
Due to the external and foreign affairs, however, internal issues began to arise. Societies' insecurity of Muslim presence quickly transformed from being latent into the ultimate manifestation: COINTEL PRO. With more local police being dressed in more protective apparel as well as prepared for extreme cases, the fear of something happening at any given moment is gradually being established. |
latency of the patriot act
Though the term was coined in 1994, the Islamophobia was truly manifested when the Patriot Act was signed by Bush in 2001 less than a month after the bombing of Twin Towers in the World Trade Center. As a result, many American Muslims have been denied of their natural rights as citizens. According to CAIR staff attorney and deputy executive director of the Greater L.A. Area, Ameen Qazi, "Post-911 government policies have persistently made it more difficult for Muslims to naturalize"[here]. The Patriot Act was renewed for another four years in 2011 by President Obama until 2015.
President of the ASLU, Nadine Strossen discusses the flaws of the Patriot Act and how it is more of an infringement on the American, moreover human rights. Furthermore, she questions the credibility of the 350 page document that which was completed in less than two months barely without any discussion or analysis. |
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anti-sharia laws opposed but continued
LAWSMAKERS IN FLORIDA SPEAKING OUT OPPOSING ANTI-SHARIA LAWS
Lawmakers in Florida spoke out against anti-sharia law, arguing that legalizing it would be unconstitutional, one lawmaker calling it one of many "prejudicial crusades". Another lawmaker warns against that the enforcement of this law would only feed the growing hate and fear of Muslims.
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Sharia law, or Islamic law, "governs everything from the way...[Muslims] eat to how they treat animals and protect the environment, to how they do business, how they marry and how their estate is distributed after death" [here]. But according political public figures such as Newt Gingrich, who has been trying to ban any practice of Islamic law within the U.S., "Sharia is a mortal threat to the survival of [our] freedom...and in the world as we know it." Such a negative portrayal of Islam within the legal system has contributed to the public's dear and hatred of Islam. According to a 2011 study by the Public Religion Research Institute, "[many] Americans haven't heard much about upcoming congressional hearings on the radicalization of U.S. Muslims, yet more than half think it's a good idea."
Furthermore, as Muslims, such as U.S. Representative of Minnesota's fifth congressional district Keith Ellison, are elected and take governmental seats, more crimes against Muslim individuals and assumed to be Muslims as well as hate crimes on Muslim/Islamic property have been reported [here]. Early last year, Michele Bachmann stated that "Sharia law...does not have a place in a United States courtroom, nor should it be followed by the United States judges" [here]. Laws and bills, such as House Bill 4769 [here] do nothing to solve the issue, as is constantly the argument, but rather the outcome is a trend of entailment of fear of Islam and Muslims in America and globally as well. |