On November 1, less than a month after Israel’s onslaught on Gaza, the US administration of President Joe Biden announced a national strategy to combat Islamophobia. The move comes amid a rise in anti-Muslim incidents across the country.
On October 14, 6-year-old Palestinian-American Wadea Al-Fayoum was stabbed to death in Chicago, and his mother was seriously injured in a racially motivated assault by her landlord. Five days later, Jasmer Singh, a 66-year-old Sikh man, was bludgeoned to death in New York City by a man who shouted “Turban Man.” On October 28, Muslim American doctor Talat Jehan Khan was stabbed to death in Texas.
Mr. Biden’s efforts are echoed by some U.S. academic institutions, which have adopted anti-Islamophobia measures, usually alongside anti-anti-Semitism policies. Stanford University, University of Maryland, Columbia University, and Harvard University are among the institutions that have announced such initiatives.
But the White House’s strategy to combat Islamophobia has been met with widespread scorn and ridicule. X (formerly Twitter) users responded to Vice President Kamala Harris’ announcement of the initiative with criticism and pointed questions about US complicity in the atrocities taking place in the Gaza Strip. On campus, the crackdown on pro-Palestinian and advocacy efforts belies the university’s anti-Islamophobia efforts.
These reactions reflect a growing rejection among Muslim Americans of attempts to replace systemic political demands with a focus on intolerance and exclusion. This marks a break from the past two decades, which have shaped Muslim American advocacy and organizing with a focus on cultural acceptance and interfaith dialogue rather than political criticism and action.
This change was evident at the funeral of the murdered child Wadea, which was attended by thousands and became a genuine Free Palestine rally. Speakers denounced the pro-Israel slant of U.S. media coverage, the blank checks the U.S. gave to Israeli occupation forces that committed atrocities, and the years-long siege of Gaza that has disrupted the lives of its residents. Wadea’s death was mourned not as a matter of anti-Muslim bigotry or hatred, but as a dark domestic flashpoint in the US-Israel alliance.
A similar position was taken in the November shootings of three Palestinian university students, whose keffiyeh scarves were likely a sign of the attack. When asked about the attack, Kinan Abdalhamid, one of the survivors, insisted the focus should remain on calls for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, rather than his personal experience.
Abdulhamid’s friend Hisham Awartani, who was paralyzed from the waist down in the shooting, also refused to see his ordeal as an example of anti-Muslim intolerance. Mr Awartani said he was “just another victim in a broader conflict”. If I had been shot in the West Bank, where I grew up, the medical services that saved my life here would likely have been withheld by the Israeli military. The soldier who shot me will not be found guilty when he goes home. ”
Meanwhile, Muslim and Arab communities have joined en masse in demonstrations demanding an end to U.S. material aid to Israel and an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
As my research on Muslim multiculturalism during the War on Terror shows, this mobilization is very different from the momentum of the past two decades.
After 9/11, Muslim American organizations engaged in cultural and attitudinal projects aimed at combating misconceptions about their community. Many people believe that changing American perceptions (by teaching about the importance of Hajj and Ramadan, and countering stereotypes about hijab) justifies the presence of Muslims in America. Ta. In my ethnographic fieldwork, I was told that questioning U.S. militarism would jeopardize the fragile project of Muslim American legitimacy.
In recent years, cultural awareness events have increased rapidly. On university campuses, Muslim student organizations organized Islamic Awareness Weeks, also motivated by the belief that correcting misconceptions about Muslims would overcome Islamophobia. The annual International Hijab Day called on non-Muslim women to wear headscarves in solidarity with Muslim women. The museum’s exhibits featured inventions from the Islamic world.
Diversity efforts, such as Gap’s efforts to feature Sikh actor Waris Ahluwalia in an ad campaign, have been widely praised. After one of his billboards carrying this ad was defaced with racist graffiti, Gap used the ad as his Twitter banner, praising its diverse casting and featuring Sikhs and Muslims. We spread the #ThankYouGap campaign across America.
Muslim-American activists also support the Sisterhood of Salam Shalom, which aims to bridge the gap between Muslims and Jews through dialogue and friendship, and the Sisterhood of Salam Shalom, whose mission is to bridge the gap between Muslims and Jews. He participated in various interfaith initiatives, including New Ground: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change. Jewish relations.
Not all Muslim Americans embraced these efforts. Some often marginalized voices have denounced such programs as “faith washing,” using interreligious dialogue to distract from the Israeli state’s colonial-era violence against the Palestinian people. Some people were harshly critical. For these critics, the bromide of tolerance and understanding turns Palestinian dispossession into a matter of opinion and personal differences, while opposition to Israeli apartheid speaks to the “fundamental differences” between Jews and Muslims. hostility, which could be overcome through social interaction.
Similar rifts have emerged around the White House’s annual Ramadan dinner, which convenes Muslim-American leaders for an iftar meal with the president. President Bill Clinton’s administration was the first to hold a White House community iftar, and every president since has followed suit. Donald Trump, who issued the “Muslim Ban” during his presidency, also hosted the event during his term.
While some saw the White House iftar as a chance for Muslims to connect with American power brokers, participants were joined by the architects of coups, assassination plots, and systematic surveillance and deportations of Muslims in the Muslim world. Some accused participants of breaking bread. Many Muslim-American groups boycotted the 2021 White House iftar because of Biden’s policies toward Israel.
Today, these rifts within the Muslim and Arab communities are closing. Muslim Americans are becoming more passionate and united in demanding a change in US policy in the Middle East.
The refusal of Muslims and Arabs to support Biden, especially in key states like Michigan, has alarmed Democratic leaders. “In my opinion, liberals who hope that Arab Americans will forget about Biden’s support for Zionist genocide in November are gravely mistaken,” said Palestinian American scholar Stephen Salaita. ” he wrote.
Rejection of attempts to cleanse the faith is now widespread. Muslim Americans are joined by legions of non-Muslims seeking the liberation of Palestine. They are now overseeing the perpetuation of the apartheid regime and its undeniable project of ethnic cleansing and genocide, rather than hoping for more diverse conferences and government contact points on Islamophobia.
Biden’s national strategy on Islamophobia is unpopular among Muslim voters. It remains to be seen whether this will be enough to move this voting bloc beyond two-party electoralism and opt instead for third-party options and mass movement organizing. But this signals a seismic shift in Muslim American consciousness, no longer accepting cultural tolerance and interfaith understanding as solutions to the problems of empire.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of Al Jazeera.