Mass progressive protest defeated the Right and secured the Ground Zero mosque
Evidence
In the spring of 2010, news came of plans to build a thirteen-story Islamic community and cultural center in Park Place, Lower Manhattan, a few blocks away from Ground Zero. The aim was to create what James Fenton has described as a Muslim version of the famous Ninety-Second Street Y, a broad-based Jewish cultural center. However, the Islamic basis of the development, including prayer facilities, and its proximity to the Twin Towers site led to Park 51 being dubbed by protesters the “Ground Zero Mosque.” … Nathan Lean traces the orchestration of the protests back to “a tight-knit and interconnected confederation of fear merchants[,] … [b]igoted bloggers, racist politicians, fundamentalist religious leaders, Fox news pundits and religious Zionists,” making up what he calls “the Islamophobia industry.” — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 274 (
#contradicts, via linked claim)
As Max Blumenthal notes, the “Ground Zero mosque” controversy is “the fruit of an organized, long-term campaign by a tight confederation of right-wing activists and operatives who first focused on Islamophobia soon after the September 11th attacks, but only attained critical mass during the Obama era.” He explains that the efforts began in the early 2000s, when a coalition of Jewish groups ranging from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) to AIPAC came together to address what they saw as a sudden increase in pro-Palestinian activism on college campuses. The key targets on campuses were Middle East scholars whose work challenged the right-wing narrative of Middle East politics generally and of the Arab-Israeli conflict in particular. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 526 (
#complicates, via linked claim)
The zealots, who were largely bused in from outside the city, retreated. Park51 opened in 2012. Such efforts have been reproduced around the United States, sometimes resulting in victories, other times in defeats. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 588 (
#corroborates, via linked claim)
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Framing victims as white supremacists won the Ground Zero Mosque battle despite Muslim deaths — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 658; Massive progressive protest forced mainstream media to air dissenting voices and defeated the Right. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 761; Mass progressive mobilization defeated the Islamophobia network in the Ground Zero Mosque fight (+9 more)
Broader Connections
- Progressive counter-mobilization defeated the Park51 mosque opposition
#corroborates(1.00) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 588 - Grassroots counter-mobilization partially defeated the Islamophobia network in the mosque fight
#corroborates(1.00) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 676 - A coordinated Islamophobia industry orchestrated the Ground Zero Mosque protests
#contradicts(1.00) — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 274 - Armed anti-mosque protesters frame Muslim religious freedom as an extremist victory
#contradicts(1.00) — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 579 - The Ground Zero Mosque backlash was orchestrated by organized Islamophobia networks
#contradicts(1.00) — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 274 - Liberal responses to the Ground Zero Mosque controversy tacitly endorsed collective Muslim blame
#complicates(1.00) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 721 - The Ground Zero mosque controversy grew from an organized pro-Israel campus campaign.
#complicates(1.00) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 526