Islamophobes, not Muslims, constitute the gravest threat to American civil liberties

Evidence

Failing to frame Islamophobia as a system of bigotry not only endorsed and emboldened by law, but also carried out by government actors, severely underestimates the scale of its menace and the process by which it inflicts injury and authorizes popular behavior. Failing to account for the law’s role in authorizing and executing Islamophobia overlooks the relationship state actors have to the hateful violence of individual bigots, and it ignores the reality that the state enlists private citizens to partake in the national project of identifying and punishing individuals stereotyped as presumptive terrorists. — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 82 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The Muslim Brotherhood designation would threaten constitutional rights of US Muslims. — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 662; Substantial minorities of Americans endorse curtailing Muslim civil liberties — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 756; Private citizens surveil Muslim religious practice as a threat to American values. (+2 more)

Related

• The Muslim Brotherhood designation would threaten constitutional rights of US Muslims. (similarity 0.84)
• Substantial minorities of Americans endorse curtailing Muslim civil liberties (similarity 0.84)
• Large minorities of Americans hold unfavorable views of Islam and Muslims (similarity 0.83)
• Muslims are positioned as an external threat against America’s internal enemies. (similarity 0.82)
• Islamophobia is produced by state action, not only cultural bias (similarity 0.82)
• Islamophobia has become a mainstream civil rights issue framed alongside racism and sexism. (similarity 0.81)
• Even Muslim civil rights organizations are surveilled and discredited by the state (similarity 0.81)
• Islam in America operates as a political identity of otherness beyond religion (similarity 0.81)
• Muslim Americans appeared only as hypothetical threat in 1789, not as real persons (similarity 0.81)
• Islamophobia is a state-authorized system, not merely private prejudice (similarity 0.81)
• Islamophobia has moved from academic usage into mainstream national discourse. (similarity 0.80)
• Muslims were more vulnerable than Cold War Russians to private and structural bigotry. (similarity 0.80)
• Islamophobia is driven by state violence rather than mere ignorance (similarity 0.80)
• A third to two-fifths of Americans endorse special restrictions on Muslims. (similarity 0.80)
• Only conservative Republicans hold majority support for heightened Muslim scrutiny (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Among American Muslims who said it has become more difficult to be a Muslim in the U.S. in recent years, the second most-answered reason for this was ‘negative media portrayals.’ In addition, 53%… #exemplifies (0.75)
• Islamophobia is a state-authorized system, not merely private prejudice #expands (0.70) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 82