Terrorism is a racial construct that excludes white freedom fighters

Evidence

Donald Trump also once famously said that “anyone who cannot name our enemy is not fit to lead this country.” In light of his statements giving white supremacists a free pass for their terrorism—by explicitly refusing to name them—there’s compelling evidence that he has helped weaponize Islamophobia. By only condemning dark-skinned people and people with minority religions, and by failing to publicly condemn the right-wing racists who terrorize our fellow Americans more and more each year, he has only added fuel to the fire. — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 229 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

In the decade after 9/11, the approach to law and order in the United States changed drastically with surveillance being a necessary and supported tactic in a society hyperconcerned with preventing another terrorist attack. Surveillance is the observation and monitoring of behaviors and actions that are deemed suspicious. The domestic and international War on Terror legitimizes the political and economic need for increased surveillance, resulting in the corporatization and federalization of surveillance. In other words, surveillance has become big business in the United States, where companies profit from surveillance technologies and tools, such as maintaining databases of information on the general public and then selling them to the government for purposes of security. A surveillance society can only survive as long as there is a need to monitor and observe bodies that threaten security. The War on Terror created conditions where Muslim bodies are racialized, justifying the need for their surveillance. But surveillance does not impact Muslim men and women in the same way; rather, surveillance is gendered, highlighting how racialization is also gendered. — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 29 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: Powell’s study concludes that white, non-Muslim men who commit domestic terrorism or other mass shootings are frequently described as being ‘mentally unstable,’ whereas Muslim terrorists are frequently described as angry extremists who are motivated primarily, if not solely, by religion.; State definitions of terrorism excluded white domestic bombers like McVeigh. — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 260; White supremacist killers are prosecuted as hate criminals rather than charged as terrorists — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 226 (+14 more)

Related

• The War on Terror racially constructed Muslims as terrorists. (similarity 0.87)
• Terrorism declined while mass shootings rose, yet only Muslims faced surveillance (similarity 0.86)
• The War on Terror racialized Muslim bodies to justify their surveillance (similarity 0.85)
• Surveillance targets Muslims while ignoring white supremacist militias (similarity 0.84)
• White supremacist violence is analyzed without racial profiling theories. (similarity 0.84)
• Refusing to name white nationalists while condemning Muslims weaponizes Islamophobia (similarity 0.83)
• Muslims are uniquely cast as counterterrorism soldiers while white Americans never are (similarity 0.83)
• Socioeconomic status does not protect Muslims from racialization during war (similarity 0.83)
• Support for a targeted minority doubles as surveillance and control of that minority (similarity 0.82)
• State definitions of terrorism excluded white domestic bombers like McVeigh. (similarity 0.82)
• Powell’s study concludes that white, non-Muslim men who commit domestic terrorism or other mass shootings are frequently described as being ‘mentally unstable,’ whereas Muslim terrorists are… (similarity 0.81)
• Mass surveillance based on racial stereotypes weakens democracy without preventing terrorism. (similarity 0.81)
• Terrorist designations function as tools to criminalize Muslim civic participation. (similarity 0.81)
• Muslim names alone can racialize phenotypically white people (similarity 0.81)
• Terrorist racialization is gendered, targeting men differently than women (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Refusing to name white nationalists while condemning Muslims weaponizes Islamophobia #exemplifies (0.85) — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 229
• State-perpetuated fear racializes Muslim bodies as terrorist enemies #expands (0.70)
• The War on Terror racialized Muslim bodies to justify their surveillance #expands (0.60) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 29
• Muslim names alone can racialize phenotypically white people #expands (0.50) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 91
• Socioeconomic status does not protect Muslims from racialization during war #expands (0.40)