A 130 page study, Fear, Inc.: The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America, tells about the “Islamophobia echo chamber” — a well financed network of bigots — and how this influential group acts as a relentless propaganda machine, shamelessly attacking Islam and Muslims.
The report states: “These attacks go right to the heart of two critically important national issues: the fabric and strength of our democracy and our national security.
- Contending that some religions are not part of the promise of American freedoms established by our founders directly challenges who we are as a nation.
- One of Al Qaeda’s greatest recruitment and propaganda tool is the assertion that the West is at war with Islam and Muslims — an argument that is strengthened every day by those who suggest all Muslims are terrorists and all those practicing Islam are jeopardizing U.S. security.”
The report shows that the manifesto written by Anders Breivik — the 32 year old “self-described Christian conservative” who murdered 76 people in Norway — contained many references to American writers and speakers who are leaders in the Islamophbia network.
The purpose of the report, published by The Center for American Progress: “A first step toward the goal of honest, civil discourse is to expose — and marginalize — the influence of the individuals and groups who make up the Islamophobia network in America by actively working to divide Americans against one another through misinformation.”
Over the last 10 years a number of tax exempt foundations have funneled over $42 million into funding “misinformation experts,” some with impressive academic credentials, and all well paid, for the “myths and lies about Islam and American Muslims” they produce.
The work of these “experts” then becomes part of the echo chamber where prominent personalities push their messages of hate. A lot of people are making money by keeping the hate stirred up, and, amazingly, many of these claim to be followers of Christ. The report cites right wing religious leaders: Pat Robertson, John Hagee, Ralph Reed, and Franklin Graham. It cites politicians: Newt Gingrich, Rep. Peter King, Rep. Sue Myrick, Rep. Allen West, Rep. Renee Elmers, Rep. Paul Broun and Rep. Michele Bachmann.
The venom is all heated up via hate radio and Fox News with personalities such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mike Savage, and Glenn Beck. And well organized “grassroots” organizations, such as Brigitte Gabriel’s “ACT! For America” and Pamela Geller’s “Stop Islamization of America,” keep the hate stirred up.
The report says,
“These efforts recall some of the darkest episodes in American history, in which religious, ethnic, and racial minorities were discriminated against and persecuted. From Catholics, Mormons, Japanese Americans, European immigrants, Jews, and African Americans, the story of America is one of struggle to achieve in practice our founding ideals. Unfortunately, American Muslims and Islam are the latest chapter in a long American struggle against scapegoating based on religion, race, or creed.
Due in part to the relentless efforts of this small group of individuals and organizations, Islam is now the most negatively viewed religion in America. Only 37 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of Islam: the lowest favorability rating since 2001, according to a 2010 ABC News/Washington Post poll. According to a 2010 Time magazine poll, 28 percent of voters do not believe Muslims should be eligible to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, and nearly one-third of the country thinks followers of Islam should be barred from running for president.
It is our view that in order to safeguard our national security and uphold America’s core values, we must return to a fact-based civil discourse regarding the challenges we face as a nation and world. This discourse must be frank and honest, but also consistent with American values of religious liberty, equal justice under the law, and respect for pluralism. A first step toward the goal of honest, civil discourse is to expose — and marginalize — the influence of the individuals and groups who make up the Islamophobia network in America by actively working to divide Americans against one another through misinformation.”
The report hold out hope for change and cites businessman Herman Cain, who, it says, “once was a favorite on the Islamophobia network for his outspoken views about Sharia law when he first launched his campaign for the Republican Party nomination for president.”
“Since then, Cain has walked back from such extremism — and in the process irked the Islamophobia network to no end. Most recently, he retracted and publicly apologized for a number of these views. Cain in July went to the ADAMS Center in Northern Virginia, where he broke bread with Imam Mohamed Magid, the executive director of the center, and other Muslims. After the meeting, he said he was “humble and contrite for any statements I have made that might have caused offense to American Muslims and their friends.”
Furthermore, he said he was “truly sorry” for creating the impression that he was against the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion. “We discovered we have much more in common in our values and virtues,” he said about his meeting. “In my own life as a black youth growing up in the segregated South, I understand their frustration with stereotypes. Those in attendance, like most American Muslims, are peaceful Muslims and patriotic Americans whose good will is often drowned out by the reprehensible actions of jihadists.”
Cain’s experience is instructive. Once he detached himself from the web of the Islamophobia network, he encountered American Muslims who shattered many of the false impressions and stereotypes he held. Cain also regained his place supporting American values of religious liberty, freedom, and equal justice under the law.
Of course, the Islamophobia network was utterly contemptuous of Cain’s efforts to reach out to moderate Muslims. At the Western Conservative Conference in Denver this summer, Frank Gaffney alleged that Cain had actually met with members of the “Muslim Brotherhood apparatus in Washington, D.C.” Gaffney added, “If, in fact, he’s now changed his position in ways that are being reported, that’s even more troubling than if he was spending time with Muslim Brothers.”
Such unchecked bullying by the misinformation experts should not be tolerated. Our nation needs more responsible conservatives to stand side by side with progressives to safeguard our national security and uphold America’s core values of religious freedom and respect for ethnic diversity. A required first step is to expose the influence of the organizations, individuals, and groups who make up the Islamophobia network in America.”
“Islam has bloody borders.” So said Samuel Huntington in his 1973 book “A Clash of Civilizations.” He concluded that where muslim culture come up against non-Muslims, such as Egypt, Singapore, India, there was violence by muslims against non-muslims. That is a fact. Radical Islam was at war against the US and Western Europe but we were too stupid to notice. E.g., USS Cole, the Khobar Towers, the bombings of our embassys in Africa, the first Twin Towers attack.
Islam may not be at war against the West but radical Islam is.
Rick, I’m not familiar with the book you cite, but, I agree that there are fundamentalist, anti-rational, radical, Muslims who use their religion to preach hate and practice violence.
This article deals with a well funded “Islamophobia Network” that seeks to defame American Muslims and to degrade the religion of Islam. This “Network” fuels demagoguery and bigotry by ginning up unreasonable fear, via the spreading of lies and hate.
Mike, we should have a reasonsable fear of those American muslims who are fundamentalist and actively working to promote Jihad. CAIR, Council on American Islamic Relations has been shown to be working collaboratively with extremist groups. Loath and fear all American muslims? No. But be aware that some of them want to impose Sharia law in the US.
Actually American Muslims have turned in some of those that you describe. Bloody borders have not been unknown in Christian Europe (or on its descendants with the people they found in the Americas). While Islam is less pacifistic than Christianity, at least as Christianity was preached by Jesus (the Bible as a whole has its share of violent warfare that exceeds the Koran) Islam’s scripture contains many limits on violence within warfare that have not been adhered to by Jihadists, just has Christians have not all followed the sermon on the mount in dealing with their conflicts over wealth and power. A bigger problem may be to get religious adherents of all faiths to follow their scriptures. We may want to wonder how a relatively small shadowy group of figures whose most violent act against America was highjacking planes with box cutter knives, have managed to replace the Soviet Union as justification for a military industrial complex, spending something like $680 billion a year, and committing the US to military solutions to the world’s problems. There are something like 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, the huge majority of whom are not a threat to the American way of life, although there are certainly cultural differences and geopolitical issues between most Americans and many countries where Moslems live. Fear of this religion that has been around for 1400 years and of its adherents, some of whom are our neighbors, is as unwarranted as the historic fears and resulting violence between Christian sects that was instrumental in many people coming to America, and which America’s founders rejected in favor of free exercise of all religions.