Fear of Muslim violence serves the interests of media and political elites

Evidence

Focusing on the contemporary situation, Kambiz GhaneaBassiri draws upon survey data and American religious history to discuss the treatment of Muslims as “out-groups,” like other racial and religious minorities that have come under suspicion and persecution in the past. Anti-Muslim prejudice today, driven by fears of threats to national security, sees Islam as a dangerous movement bent on world domination, and therefore views Muslims as potentially disloyal and un-American. While it is true that a small group of individuals and well-funded organizations are responsible for manufacturing anti-Muslim propaganda, often channeling it into protest against the construction of mosques, there are larger factors behind this complex and multifaceted problem. Both the news media and the political elite seem to thrive on the fear of Muslim violence. Journalists routinely refer to religion as the basis of terrorism, and their lack of incentive to explain complex issues often ends up reinforcing existing prejudices. Politicians of all stripes have been quick to meet fears of violence by expanding state power, which is rarely curtailed. — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 41

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Chomsky’s manufacturing-consent thesis and the idea that fear legitimates state power expansion — an institutional-functional reading of anxiety. — connects to: A top commentator framed Muslim identity itself as a turn toward violence — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 607; Sustained media focus reframed Muslim citizens as enemies of the state; Fear of Arab attackers inflates support for security measures targeting minorities. — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 267