A small network of model bills drove state anti-sharia and federal Muslim bans

Evidence

Upon the election of Donald J. Trump as President, twenty-three states introduced anti-sharia legislation. As The Tennessean once again notes, the bills are alike because they are based on a model bill. It should surprise no one that “[t]he legislation was developed by the Center for Security Policy, which was founded by Frank Gaffney, a Reagan-era acting assistant secretary of defense, who pushes conspiracy theories alleging radical Muslims have infiltrated the government.” … The sharia bans were followed by the Trump-era Muslim bans, barring citizens of several predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Having fabricated the threat of invasion from a violent horde, all that remained was to prevent them from entering the county. — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 290

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Expands the already-published sharia-panic material with the specific Center for Security Policy / Frank Gaffney origin and the 23-state replication finding.
• XREF: connects to: Twenty-three states adopted an anti-sharia model bill authored by a fringe conspiracy theorist. — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 290; Anti-Sharia legislation spread across 43 states via one network’s fabricated data; Anti-Shari’a bills converted private Islamophobia into state structural policy — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 306 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Anti-Shari’a bills converted private Islamophobia into state structural policy #expands (0.92) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 306
• A single template anti-Sharia bill was introduced 216 times in 43 states #corroborates (0.90) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 804
• Funded think tanks drafted template anti-Sharia laws making belief a felony #expands (0.88) — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 622
• Anti-Sharia initiatives function like anti-gay marriage initiatives as a GOP wedge issue #expands (0.85) — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 602
• Muslim microaggressions stem from state policies that racialize them #expands (0.78) — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 559
• Anti-sharia legislation weaponizes real social problems into paranoid fantasy #complicates (0.75) — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 48
• Anti-Sharia legislation spikes in pre-election years to mobilize conservative voters. #expands (0.75) — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 634
• Presidents across party lines securitized Muslim identity through state action #expands (0.72) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 108