Anti-Muhammad tropes were repurposed to attack domestic political figures

Evidence

These two early examples demonstrate three significant dimensions of Anglo-American Islamophobia that would be rehearsed repeatedly over succeeding centuries. First, depictions of Muslims— and of the final Islamic prophet in particular—often served as a foil serving social critiques of British and American domestic issues entirely unconnected to Islam. Just in the various editions of the two influential examples noted above, depictions of Muhammad’s life aided endeavors to warn Britons and Americans against deism, federalism, political tyranny, religious apathy, and religious zealotry. — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 106 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Islamophobia was not merely an appeal for votes, but a resonant message that would drive policy and inform immigration and national security policing. … In exchange, he delivered on his explicit and “dog whistle” campaign messaging by generating real Islamophobic policies, programs, and action. Trump, like many candidates before him and others who will follow, traded a grand narrative of nativism and hate for votes—which registered to great success at the ballot box. — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 57 (#expands, via linked claim)

The “clash of civilizations” rhetoric therefore became dominant in the aftermath of 9/11 and was the ideological basis for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as well domestic attacks on Muslims and Arabs. For a while it appeared that the neocons were unstoppable—but they overplayed their hand. During its first term, the Bush administration built a “coalition of the willing” to invade Iraq, rejecting criticisms from allies it derogatorily labeled “old Europe.” The war on Iraq, however, did not go the way the neocons wanted it to. Instead of greeting US forces as liberators, the Iraqi people resisted and rejected US hegemony. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 421 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: Medieval anti-Muslim rhetoric borrowed bodily-debility tropes from anti-Jewish writing; A Qur’anic verse was distorted into an incitement to fight non-Muslims — Asena Karipek, Portrayals of Jihad: A Cause of…, 46; Muslim depictions served as foils for unrelated domestic critiques — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 106 (+10 more)

Related

• Islamophobic power can deploy oppositional tactics to advance Muslim marginalization (similarity 0.85)
• Anti-Muslim images were deployed against unrelated domestic targets (similarity 0.84)
• Orientalism supplied the pre-existing tropes that the War on Terror redeployed against Muslims (similarity 0.83)
• The Bush administration’s Iraq war justifications rested on three anti-Muslim stereotypes (similarity 0.82)
• The War on Terror was a globalized crusade recruiting nations for domestic political gain (similarity 0.82)
• Clash-of-civilizations rhetoric ideologically legitimized both foreign wars and domestic attacks (similarity 0.81)
• Bush’s ‘crusade’ rhetoric revived medieval holy war framing against Islam (similarity 0.80)
• Trump’s campaign statement ‘I think Islam hates us’ and his proposed total shutdown of Muslims entering the U.S. constitute vitriolic anti-Muslim rhetoric foregrounded by an unprecedentedly… (similarity 0.80)
• Muslim depictions served as foils for unrelated domestic critiques (similarity 0.80)
• Right-wing politicians stoked a clash-of-civilizations narrative that globally increased Islamophobia. (similarity 0.79)
• Revolutionary rhetoric can mask active counterrevolutionary alliances (similarity 0.79)
• Secularists and Christians alike deployed Muslims as foils (similarity 0.79)
• Islamophobic campaign rhetoric is traded for votes and converted into policy (similarity 0.79)
• Trump marked a new phase where rhetorical Islamophobia aligned openly with policy (similarity 0.79)
• The War on Terror was ideologically framed as a civilizational clash (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Muslim depictions served as foils for unrelated domestic critiques #corroborates (0.80) — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 106
• Clash-of-civilizations rhetoric ideologically legitimized both foreign wars and domestic attacks #expands (0.60) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 421
• Islamophobic campaign rhetoric is traded for votes and converted into policy #expands (0.60) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 57
• Anti-Muslim hate replicates anti-Semitic tropes and spreads between targeted groups #expands (0.50) — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 210
• Anti-Muslim prejudice was deliberately deployed by elites at specific political moments. #expands (0.50) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 25
• Anti-Muslim sentiment operates independently of local political ideology #contradicts (0.50)
• The good Muslim bad Muslim binary paved the way for political Islamophobia #corroborates (0.40) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 262
• Orientalism supplied the pre-existing tropes that the War on Terror redeployed against Muslims #complicates (0.40)