Neocons recruit non-Western voices to delegitimize Muslim critiques of US policy

Evidence

Not only did AVOT set out to influence public opinion, it also sought to silence dissenting views. As its website declared, AVOT has a “steadfast commitment to attacking those who would blame America first.” This was part of a larger strategy that targeted all dissenters but particularly, as noted above, the Arab American Left. The neocons have vigorously argued that the United States has been a force for good in the Middle East and that people in that region therefore had only themselves to blame for the state of their countries. This argument has been articulated not just by the likes of Pipes and Lewis, but also by mainstream figures like Fareed Zakaria and Thomas Friedman. Neocon Ayaan Hirsi Ali has given legitimacy to this argument through her status as a “native informer.” Ali, who blames Islam for her difficult childhood in Somalia (and pretty much everything else), asks: “Why are Muslims so hypersensitive to criticism and why don’t they do anything with it except to respond by denying it or playing the victim?” In short, Muslims who attempt to articulate criticisms of US policy do not have any legitimate grounds. Irshad Manji, another ideological collaborator with empire, puts it more condescendingly when she tells her “fellow Muslims” to “grow up,” lecturing forcefully that the United States has been a champion of human rights and that “neither Israel or America lies at the root of Muslim misery.” — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 676 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

As its website proudly declares, AVOT has a “steadfast commitment to attacking those who would blame America first.” This is an open declaration of war on Muslims and the left. Its targets are people in Muslim-majority countries, particularly Arabs, and the left in the West, particularly the American left. Neocons have vigorously argued that the United States has been a force for good in the Middle East and that people in that region therefore have only themselves to blame for the state of their countries. This argument is peddled not just by the likes of Pipes and Lewis but also by mainstream figures like Fareed Zakaria and Thomas Friedman. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a close associate of the neocons, gives legitimacy to this argument through her status as a “native informer.” — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 541 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Ayaan Hirsi Ali had a short career in Dutch politics before accepting a position at the neocon-dominated American Enterprise Institute think tank. Ali, who is originally from Somalia, was forced to resign her seat in Parliament after it was revealed that she lied in her application for political asylum in the Netherlands. The neocons welcomed her with open arms, and her book Infidel became a New York Times bestseller for a few weeks. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 702 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Neocons recruit Muslim ‘native informers’ to delegitimize Muslim criticism of US policy — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 676; Native-informant Muslim figures preemptively delegitimize Muslim criticism of US policy; Both neocons and realists deploy an Islamic threat frame serving shared US dominance — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 744 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Neocons recruit Muslim ‘native informers’ to delegitimize Muslim criticism of US policy #corroborates (0.97) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 676
• Neocons weaponize native informers to silence criticism of US policy #corroborates (0.95) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 541
• Neocon institutions recruited even a disgraced exile as an Islam-critical voice #exemplifies (0.88) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 702
• Native-informant Muslim figures preemptively delegitimize Muslim criticism of US policy #expands (0.82)
• Islamophilia serves assimilationist interests and exonerates neoconservative foreign policy #complicates (0.78)
• US policy factions on Islamism differed in strategy, not hegemonic goals #qualifies (0.74) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 416
• Both neocons and realists deploy an Islamic threat frame serving shared US dominance #qualifies (0.72) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 744
• Islamophobia discourse weaponizes Muslim women’s oppression for a neoconservative agenda #complicates (0.72) — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 532