Islamophobic projects span weak states, hegemons, and European far-right parties alike

Evidence

My focus is on Western imperial powers, particularly the United States. This is not to say that anti-Muslim racism does not exist in other societies. Israel and India are clear examples of subimperial powers that deploy anti-Arab and anti-Muslim racism to shore up both national and geopolitical interests. For Israel the settler colonial project and its geopolitical position within the MENA region, particularly its rivalry with Iran after 1979, play a critical role. For India, its identity as a Hindu majority nation and its use of anti-Islam rhetoric to advance its regional ambitions in relation to its rival Pakistan, not to mention the use of communalism by Hindu elites to advance domestic ambitions, has led to various forms of Islamophobia, from the extreme Hindu nationalist kind to liberal variations. Even weaker states have weaponized Islamophobia as part of various political projects. Perhaps the most disturbing example has been Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi’s Myanmar, which has used Islamophobia to legitimate its ethnic cleansing of the country’s Rohingya predominantly Muslim minority. Higher up the hierarchy of international state power, China and Russia have turned to Islamophobia to justify their national and imperial projects. China has deployed classic racist tropes about Muslims, Islam, and terrorism as part of its repression of the Uighur population in Xinjiang. Russia has done the same as part of its brutal war in Chechnya as well as in its projection of power in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Right-wing parties in Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and Holland have made gains through anti-immigrant and anti-Islam rhetoric. The key turning point was 2010, when Far Right parties across Europe using Islamophobia made unprecedented electoral gains both domestically and in European Parliament elections. Political, economic, and social conditions—both domestic and international—inform projects of racialization. Significantly, as the global hegemon, the United States plays a central role in setting the terms of global discourse and politics. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 79 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Even weaker states have weaponized Islamophobia as part of various political projects. Perhaps the most disturbing example has been Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi’s Myanmar, which has used Islamophobia to legitimate its ethnic cleansing of the country’s Rohingya predominantly Muslim minority. Higher up the hierarchy of international state power, China and Russia have turned to Islamophobia to justify their national and imperial projects. China has deployed classic racist tropes about Muslims, Islam, and terrorism as part of its repression of the Uighur population in Xinjiang. Russia has done the same as part of its brutal war in Chechnya as well as in its projection of power in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Right-wing parties in Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and Holland have made gains through anti-immigrant and anti-Islam rhetoric. The key turning point was 2010, when Far Right parties across Europe using Islamophobia made unprecedented electoral gains both domestically and in European Parliament elections. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 91 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Weak states, subempires, and European far-right parties all weaponize Islamophobia independent of US empire — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 91; States across the power spectrum weaponize Islamophobia for national and imperial projects — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 79; Right-wing Islamophobes are structurally embedded rather than marginal figures — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 34 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• States across the power spectrum weaponize Islamophobia for national and imperial projects #corroborates (0.90) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 79
• Islamophobia spans the political spectrum and is embedded in empire’s infrastructure #corroborates (0.90)
• Weak states, subempires, and European far-right parties all weaponize Islamophobia independent of US empire #corroborates (0.85) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 91
• Islamophobia is produced by state action, not only cultural bias #expands (0.75)
• Right-wing Islamophobes are structurally embedded rather than marginal figures #expands (0.72) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 34