Multiculturalism critiques often function as thinly veiled attacks on Muslim identity

Evidence

In those countries across europe where multiculturalism has been heralded as the social model of choice this has resulted in the complete overhaul of thinking about society, identity and immigration. One consequence of this has been the oft repeated question of whether it is now possible to be both ‘Dutch’ and Muslim, ‘Danish’ and Muslim and so on. In some ways, many of the recent attacks on multiculturalism have been little more than a thinly veiled attack on Muslims themselves and the notion of what a Muslim identity is. … For Fortuyn, both Islam as a religion and the culture brought with Muslims had failed to undergo the necessary process of modernisation that was required if Islam and Muslims were to become a part of Dutch society. For him, this meant that both lacked either the ability or even the willingness to accept certain tenets of a Western society. Regarding multiculturalism, his position was possibly most persuasively put when in a televised debate with an imam in 2002 - he baited the imam with his homosexuality. As the imam eventually exploded with rage and denounced Fortuyn in a rage of homophobia, he calmly turned to the camera and addressing viewers directly, told them ‘this is the kind of Trojan horse of intolerance the Dutch are inviting into their society in the name of multiculturalism’. — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 577

Categorization

• SHARE: Fortuyn baiting an imam with his homosexuality to ‘prove’ the Trojan-horse claim is a striking anecdote for anyone working on Islamophobia or Dutch politics.
• XREF: connects to: Critics of multiculturalism deserve reasoned evaluation, not merely rhetorical condemnation. — A. Hussain, N. Meer, Framing Muslim Integration, 601; Liberal gatekeeping defines authentic Muslim identity from outside — A. Hussain, N. Meer, Framing Muslim Integration, 667; Multicultural group-boxing erodes individual citizenship, especially for Muslims — Runnymede Trust (ed. Farah Elahi & Omar Khan), Islamophobia: Still a Challenge for Us…, 685 (+7 more)

Related

• Critics of multiculturalism deserve reasoned evaluation, not merely rhetorical condemnation. (similarity 0.84)
• Anti-multiculturalism arguments frame European identity as white and Christian (similarity 0.83)
• Questioning multiculturalism opened a path from policy critique to blaming Muslims (similarity 0.82)
• Recourse to Muslim culture masks Islamophobia while homogenizing all Muslims (similarity 0.82)
• Liberal gatekeeping defines authentic Muslim identity from outside (similarity 0.80)
• European multiculturalism backlash revitalized anti-Muslim racism as cultural racism (similarity 0.80)
• Multicultural drift is a diagnostic, not a political program (similarity 0.80)
• Muslim identity cannot be reduced to religion alone (similarity 0.80)
• As theological critiques waned, cultural difference became the new anti-Islamic frame (similarity 0.80)
• Anti-Islamophobia must not become the sole analytical frame for studying Western Muslims (similarity 0.79)
• Perceived Muslim rejection of secularism eroded European faith in multiculturalism (similarity 0.79)
• Multicultural group-boxing erodes individual citizenship, especially for Muslims (similarity 0.79)
• Van Gogh’s murder sharply reversed Dutch public opinion against Muslim immigration (similarity 0.79)
• Islamophobia flourishes on both the nativist right and among self-proclaimed liberals (similarity 0.79)
• The clash-of-civilizations lens drives even liberals toward illiberal anti-Muslim policies (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Questioning multiculturalism opened a path from policy critique to blaming Muslims #corroborates (0.95) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 360
• Anti-Muslim discrimination is justified by invidious reference to Muslim cultural practices #corroborates (0.90) — A. Hussain, N. Meer, Framing Muslim Integration, 108
• Perceived Muslim rejection of secularism eroded European faith in multiculturalism #corroborates (0.85) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 359
• Cultural racism targets Muslims’ beliefs and traditions as if they were inherited essence. #corroborates (0.85)
• The closed views typology targets Islam as identity rather than Muslims as people #corroborates (0.80) — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 367
• Anti-Muslim polemics function to define their authors’ identity rather than describe Islam. #corroborates (0.80) — Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg, Common Heritage, Uncommon Fear, 124