The Islamophobia industry actively manufactured belief in Obama’s secret Muslim identity.

Evidence

The Islamophobia industry also misrepresented Obama’s rhetoric and policies to bolster their claims of his secret Muslim identity. On June 4, 2009, Obama gave his first international speech in Cairo, Egypt, in which he stated, “I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition.” Frank Gaffney, who would later serve as a campaign adviser to Donald J. Trump, condemned Obama as an apologist for Islamic extremism and an enabler of the establishment of Sharia in the United States. Gaffney stated, “For a man who now pridefully boasts of his intimate familiarity with Muslims and their faith, it raises troubling questions about his own religious beliefs.” By 2010, the number of Americans who believed Obama was a Muslim had increased to 50 percent. — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 837

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to broader literature on manufactured moral panics and how smear campaigns exploit identity categories.