Capital instrumentalizes Islamophobia rather than being driven by it

Evidence

If we persist in portraying Islamophobia as an irrational force of misperception—the bad citizen’s response to the bad Muslim—we will render ourselves oblivious to Islamophobia’s ultimate causes, which are not simply ignorance or xenophobia. Pastor Terry Jones is rightly criticized for both, but he has never invaded and occupied an independent (Muslim-majority) nation-state, authorized the torture of (Muslim) alien combatants held in secret prisons, killed hundreds of innocent (Muslim) people in unmanned drone attacks, propped up (Muslim) dictators against the will of their (Muslim) subjects, and given orders to detain, deport, and assassinate (Muslim) terror suspects without trial. — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 706 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: Populist rhetoric can forge hegemonic alliances binding the people to capital.; Islamophobia functions as scapegoating that diverts attention from capitalism’s failures. — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 40; Islamophobia has material and political causes beyond ignorance or xenophobia — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 706 (+3 more)

Related

• Islamophobia operates as ambient background noise masking concrete injustices (similarity 0.89)
• Islamophobia is a largely unwarranted social anxiety about Islam and Muslims (similarity 0.89)
• Islamophobia has material and political causes beyond ignorance or xenophobia (similarity 0.89)
• Islamophobia is powered by the overlap of Muslims being both inside and outside (similarity 0.87)
• Islamophobia arises from multiple forces, not a single conspiracy. (similarity 0.86)
• Islamophobia is driven by state violence rather than mere ignorance (similarity 0.85)
• Islamophobia predates organized networks and serves structural functions across the political spectrum (similarity 0.85)
• Islamophobia is increasingly theorized as a form of racism rather than mere religious prejudice (similarity 0.85)
• Islamophobia stems from nationalism’s ambiguities rather than fear of Islam (similarity 0.84)
• Capital, not religious ideology, drives Islamophobia’s political deployment. (similarity 0.83)
• Islamophobia’s salience stems from state control efforts, not just culture. (similarity 0.82)
• Islamophobia is an ideological construct with real consequences, not mere discourse (similarity 0.82)
• Islamophobia includes a latent assumption of Muslim cultural inferiority to the secular West. (similarity 0.82)
• Islamophobia has multiple sources and resists single-source critique (similarity 0.82)
• Islamophobia grows from convergence and proximity, not from cultural separation or polarization. (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• Islamophobia has material and political causes beyond ignorance or xenophobia #corroborates (0.75) — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 706