Islamophobia serves structural rewards for media and political elites, not just bigots

Evidence

It is hard to say whether the organized networks of Islamophobia have in fact had the chief responsibility for pushing American opinion against Islam. There are clearly sectors of American culture that are predisposed to be hostile to Islam in any case. While it is true that conservative and evangelical circles typically hold anti-Islamic attitudes, as Juliane Hammer points out in her essay, there are also plenty of liberals who are quick to denounce the alleged sins and shortcomings of Muslims. Furthermore, as Kambiz GhaneaBassiri observes, news media and elected officials benefit from the fear of Muslim terrorism with enhanced revenue or political power. So, in effect, Islamophobia fits into certain structural aspects of the way American society deals with recent minorities during times of crisis. — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 35

Categorization

• SEED: An essay angle: fear-as-infrastructure — showing how institutional incentives, not just prejudice, manufacture Islamophobia because someone profits.
• XREF: Connects to Cohen’s moral panic theory (rewarded moral entrepreneurs) and to the reader’s interest in fear serving a function for the fearer. — connects to: Ex-Muslim identity functions as a profitable career asset in the Islamophobia industry. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 702
• DEEPTHINKING: Undermines the simple ‘prejudiced people vs. enlightened institutions’ framing: prejudice is structurally rewarded, so even non-bigots (liberals, revenue-seeking media) reproduce it.