Counterterrorism programs targeting only Muslims serve anti-Muslim racism more than national security

Evidence

That CVE programs focus exclusively on Muslim communities signals to the public that Muslims warrant collective suspicion and confirm international terrorists’ narratives that America is at war with Islam. The Trump administration made clear its exclusive focus on terrorism committed by Muslims when, in January 2017, the name of the CVE program was changed to “Countering Islamic Extremism.” Meanwhile, White supremacist violence has been growing at an alarming rate over the past decade, culminating in a right-wing insurgency on January 6, 2021, evincing that counterterrorism is more about anti-Muslim racism than national security. — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 950 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Despite this rise in right-wing extremism, national security resources have focused exclusively on Muslim communities. And young, progressive Muslims are taking note. They are joining dissident movements that view the American government as an imperialistic and racist power. For them, get out the vote campaigns grounded in a neoliberal colorblind paradigm fail to address the structural causes socially constructing and oppressing the Racial Muslim. The interfaith approach falls short by dealing only with the symptoms of anti-Muslim racism. These young Muslim progressives critique how Religious and Secular Racial Muslims attempt to prove they are loyal and peaceful rather than upend the White Christian supremacist structures causing broader structural racism that harms Muslims. — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 1029 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Anti-Muslim racism is systemic, not fringe, and requires dismantling the national security state — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 766; Counterterrorism targets Muslims while downplaying surging White supremacist violence — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes…, 950; Counterterrorism programs like CVE target and criminalize black Muslims and activists — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes…, 1058 (+10 more)

Broader Connections

• Counterterrorism targets Muslims while downplaying surging White supremacist violence #corroborates (0.94) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 950
• US national security resources target Muslims while ignoring right-wing extremism #corroborates (0.93) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 1029
• Counterterrorism rhetoric masks an offensive campaign against Muslims. #corroborates (0.92)