A media intellectual framed Muslim-American violence as inherent religious tendency, not breakdown

Evidence

The most virulent expression of this green scare was articulated by NYU professor Tunku Varadarajan. In a November 2009 Forbes article titled “Going Muslim,” Varadarajan argued that what precipitated the tragedy at Fort Hood was not the racist harassment that Hasan faced in the army or the emotionally debilitating pressure of his job as an overworked army psychiatrist, but rather a condition that he suggests is inherent to all Muslims: the tendency toward violence. He argued that Hasan didn’t “go postal”—that is, break down and become violent (the term became popular after a 1986 shooting by a postal worker). Rather, Varadarajan argued, Hasan was simply enacting, in a cold and calculated manner, the teachings of Islam. He was “going Muslim.” — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 504 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Anglo-American press frames Muslim criminals by religion rather than nationality — Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg, Common Heritage, Uncommon Fear:…, 14; Media framing shapes American attitudes toward Islam and jihad — Asena Karipek, Portrayals of Jihad: A Cause of…, 75; A Forbes columnist attributed Muslim violence to inherent religious tendency (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• A Forbes columnist attributed Muslim violence to inherent religious tendency #exemplifies (0.98)
• For one prominent pundit, Muslim violence is inherent, not a stress response #exemplifies (0.96) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 504
• A religion’s violence depends on context, not inherent character #contradicts (0.90)
• Media framing shapes American attitudes toward Islam and jihad #expands (0.85) — Asena Karipek, Portrayals of Jihad, 75