[Thread] Throughout my research on #Islamophobia, one of the most common tactics by anti-Muslim figures is to smear politically active Muslims/Muslim orgs, who are critical of govt policy, as "#Islamist."
As, @andreas_krieg states, the word is vague, & remains a contested catch-all concept, describing ideology, political movements, & forms of government that borrow Islamic references but are essentially presented as separate from Islam. lobelog.com/laying-the-isl…
@andreas_krieg In the Middle East, Arab autocrats use the label to dispel any social movement calling for #democracy. foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/11/sau…
@andreas_krieg In western politics, the word is often used to mark politically active Muslims as a threat. Great piece here by @mehdirhasan: theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
@andreas_krieg @mehdirhasan Take for ex. Rep. #IlhanOmar, who has been the target of numerous anti-Muslim conspiracy theories, including claims peddled out by Islamophobic orgs (& #DonaldTrump) tht she is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. thedailybeast.com/fox-news-guest…
@andreas_krieg @mehdirhasan In this worldview, Islamist=MuslimBrotherhood=AQ=ISIS & so on. In other words, any #Muslim who dares take part politics & is critical of policies tht hurt Muslims & other minorities is automatically considered a terrorist. @TheMuslimGuy
washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/0…
washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/0…
@andreas_krieg @mehdirhasan @TheMuslimGuy This is not only grotesque but also dangerous. You will often hear these claims & conspiracy theories repeated by individuals who commit hate crimes targeting #Muslims. theguardian.com/us-news/ng-int…
@andreas_krieg @mehdirhasan @TheMuslimGuy In the United States, Muslim politicians increasingly face these threats online as detailed here: nytimes.com/2019/11/05/opi…
@andreas_krieg @mehdirhasan @TheMuslimGuy The man convicted of making death threats ("Somebody ought to put a bullet in her skull. I’ll put a bullet in her [expletive] skull") against Rep. #IlhanOmar also asked her staff “Do you work for the Muslim Brotherhood?” & called Omar a "terrorist." washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/11…
@andreas_krieg @mehdirhasan @TheMuslimGuy We can see how smearing politically active #Muslims as "Islamist" is a tactic used to silence #Muslims & Muslim orgs. Such smears add fuel to the already rampant fire of #Islamophobia & are used by many individuals to justify their threats & attacks against Muslims.
