Vilifying Muslims Is Un-American

by Moustafa Bayoumi | published March 24, 2006

Muslim-bashing has become socially acceptable in the United States.

A new Washington Post/ABC News poll found that 46 percent of Americans hold negative perceptions of Islam, 7 percentage points higher than after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The poll also discovered that a third of the respondents have recently heard prejudiced comments against Muslims. Even more depressing is that one in four openly acknowledges harboring prejudice toward Muslims.

Is this surprising? Unfortunately, it’s not. The vilification of Islam and Muslims has been relentless among segments of the media and political classes for the past five years.

Fort Hood Shootings: Again We Will Be Judged for Acts We Didn't Commit

by Moustafa Bayoumi | published November 6, 2009

So much is still unknown about the shooting at Fort Hood Army base and the motives of the alleged shooter, Nidal Malik Hasan, but still I have that same queasy feeling in my stomach that I've had before: this will not be good for Muslims.

First things first. Major Nidal Malik Hasan is in custody. We should judge him fairly and, if he is found guilty, punish him accordingly.

The same is true for Sergeant John M Russell. In May 2009 Russell shot and killed five of his comrades at a combat stress clinic in a US Army base in Iraq. Before that, Sergeant Joseph Bozicevich killed two American soldiers at his base just outside Baghdad in September 2008. What do these incidents point to?

"Let Us Be Moors"

Islam, Race and "Connected Histories"

by Hishaam Aidi
published in MER229

A Part of US or Apart from US?

Post-Septmeber 11 Attitudes Toward Muslims and Civil Liberties

by Kathleen Moore
published in MER224

Is the American public willing to accept suspended freedoms, if not for everyone, then for a select few disfavored groups, such as Muslims and Arab-Americans? Much press reporting has said yes, but a survey conducted directly after the September 11 attacks says no.

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Jihadis in the Hood

Race, Urban Islam and the War on Terror

by Hishaam Aidi
published in MER224

No Longer Invisible

Arab and Muslim Exclusion After September 11

by Louise Cainkar
published in MER224

Unlike other ascribed and self-described "people of color" in the United States, Arabs are often hidden under the Caucasian label, if not forgotten altogether. But eleven months after September 11, 2001, the Arab-American is no longer invisible. Whether traveling, driving, working, walking through a neighborhood or sitting in their homes, Arabs in America -- citizens and non-citizens -- are now subject to special scrutiny in American society. The violence, discrimination, defamation and intolerance now faced by Arabs in American society has reached a level unparalleled in their over 100-year history in the US.

Arabs, Race and the Post-September 11 National Security State

by Salah Hassan
published in MER224

In the face of a post-September 11 wave of racially motivated attacks against people from the Middle East and South Asia, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division announced in a September 13, 2001 press release that "any threats of violence or discrimination against Arab or Muslim Americans or Americans of South Asian descent are not just wrong and un-American, but also are unlawful and will be treated as such."

Targeting Muslims, at Ashcroft's Discretion

by Louise Cainkar | published March 14, 2003