States across the power spectrum weaponize Islamophobia for national and imperial projects

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

Categorization

• SHARE: The specific inventory of who weaponizes Islamophobia—Israel, India, Myanmar, China, Russia, European far-right—would interest someone tracking state use of racism, especially the 2010 European far-right electoral turning point.
• CANDY: Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, weaponized Islamophobia to legitimate genocide of the Rohingya—a compact striking juxtaposition.
• XREF: connects to: Islamophobia is produced by state action, not only cultural bias; Islamophobia spans the political spectrum and is embedded in empire’s infrastructure; Islamophobia functions as a transnational tool advancing American imperial aims — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 1826 (+15 more)

Broader Connections

• Islamophobia is produced by state action, not only cultural bias #corroborates (0.92)
• Islamophobia spans the political spectrum and is embedded in empire’s infrastructure #expands (0.90)
• The War on Terror functions as an imperial project spreading Islamophobia globally #exemplifies (0.90) — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 43
• Islamophobia functions as a transnational tool advancing American imperial aims #exemplifies (0.88) — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 1826
• Islamophobia is driven by state violence rather than mere ignorance #corroborates (0.88)
• Islamophobia’s salience stems from state control efforts, not just culture. #corroborates (0.87) — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 347
• Islamophobia is a US political weapon deployed through proxies in India and China #exemplifies (0.85)
• Islamophobia networks are structurally integral to US empire #expands (0.85) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 89
• Islamophobia became a globally networked condition spread across states #expands (0.85) — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 37
• Islamophobia is partly a product of state attempts to police Muslims. #corroborates (0.85)
• Islamophobia is an empire advanced by a network of governments with distinct crusades #expands (0.83)
• Islamophobia operates as an empire advanced by cooperating governments with distinct anti-Muslim agendas #expands (0.82)
• Islamophobia spans the American political spectrum. #corroborates (0.82) — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 361
• Islamophobia now wages wars across both Western and non-Western states #expands (0.80) — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 1226
• Weak states, subempires, and European far-right parties all weaponize Islamophobia independent of US empire #qualifies (0.80) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 91