American-Style Islamophobia

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American-Style Islamophobia | Crossroads Arabia

The progressive American political group Center for American Progress has published an extensive report on Islamophobia Fear, Inc.: The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America. The 140-page report (70 double PDF pages at the link) takes a look at what Islamophobia is, who is funding it, who is serving as the ideologues and message carriers. It makes for interesting reading.

The report points to how noted American Islamophobes like Robert Spencer and Daniel Pipes selectively (and often inaccurately) pick information about Islam and Shariah Law, take them out of context, and create frightful scenarios in order to drive anti-Muslim public policy. This is true. The report, however, does its own share of cherry-picking data and ad hominem attacks. Thus, the report needs to be taken with a grain of salt itself.

Robert Spencer retorts with his own heated defense here, finding the report the result of an ‘Islamic Propaganda Machine’. Spencer’s response is full of his own name-calling and casting of aspersions, but he gets his point across.

A more accurate portrayal of Islamic law in America can be found in a The New York Times commentary by Eliyahu Stern:

Don’t Fear Islamic Law in America
Eliyahu Stern

MORE than a dozen American states are considering outlawing aspects of Shariah law. Some of these efforts would curtail Muslims from settling disputes over dietary laws and marriage through religious arbitration, while others would go even further in stigmatizing Islamic life: a bill recently passed by the Tennessee General Assembly equates Shariah with a set of rules that promote “the destruction of the national existence of the United States.”

Supporters of these bills contend that such measures are needed to protect the country against homegrown terrorism and safeguard its Judeo-Christian values. The Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has said that “Shariah is a mortal threat to the survival of freedom in the United States and in the world as we know it.”

This is exactly wrong. The crusade against Shariah undermines American democracy, ignores our country’s successful history of religious tolerance and assimilation, and creates a dangerous divide between America and its fastest-growing religious minority.
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Over the past years, I’ve been writing about the intersection of American secular laws and religious establishments. While the Church and State are separate in the US, American law has always ##en since the time of the writing of the Constitution ##en made room for religious law in certain corners of jurisprudence. This has generally involved matters of arbitration, with the parties being able to decide beforehand which entities would adjudicate contracts of various sorts. It has also involved ‘choice of law‘ provisions in contracts. This is not new; it is not dangerous; it is not some camel’s nose being thrust under the tent of American values.

Fear-mongering can be an effective political tool. It can be used to motivate masses and raise massive funds. It is also despicable. As we come to the 10th anniversary of the tragedy of 9/11, when Muslim extremists – including 15 Saudis – attacked targets in the US, we can expect to see more and sharper criticism of Muslims. That’s unfortunate, but perhaps to be expected. It can be ignored for its political import, but should be condemned for the way it demeans and smears the reputation of the millions of American Muslims who oppose extremism and the billion-plus Muslims around the world.