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11. The Racial Muslim with Professor Sahar Aziz, in conversation with Deborah Amos

Author:
Sahar Aziz and Deborah Amos
Publication Date:
04-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
The Institute for the Study of Global Racial Justice at Rutgers University-Newark proudly continues its Race and Religion series with the next spring 2023 signature book talk featuring Sahar Aziz, Rutgers Professor of Law, Chancellor's Social Justice Scholar, founding Director of the Center for Security, Race, and Rights and acclaimed author of The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes Religious Freedom. Professor Aziz will be in conversation with Deborah Amos, Ferris Professor of Journalism in Residence at Princeton University and Award-Winning International Correspondent for National Public Radio.
Topic:
Immigrants, Racism, Freedom of Religion, Muslims, and Book Talk
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

12. Factsheet: The Radicalization Hearings

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
The radicalization hearings were a series of five congressional hearings held between March 2011 and June 2012 on the purported “radicalization” of American Muslims by then-Representative Peter King. Prior to the hearings, King erroneously claimed that “80-85 percent of mosques in this country are controlled by Islamic fundamentalists.” The hearings focused on radicalization and recruitment in the American Muslim community, US prison system, and US military. The hearings were dubbed “McCarthyism 2.0” by critics and were denounced by interfaith and civil rights coalitions.
Topic:
Radicalization, Muslims, and Congress
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

13. Factsheet: Islam, Immigration, and the American Courts

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
07-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
The Naturalization Era (1790–1952) was a defining period for immigration and conceptualizations of citizenship in the United States. During this era, Muslim immigration and naturalization were limited by laws that barred or severely restricted immigration from Muslim-majority areas of the world and court rulings that reserved naturalization rights for white individuals. In the midst of the civil rights movement, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 opened the doors to increased immigration from Muslim-majority countries. In April 2021, the US House of Representatives passed a bill titled the NO BAN Act, which would limit the ability of any US president to impose a travel ban on the basis of religion.
Topic:
History, Immigration, Naturalization, Slavery, Courts, Civil Rights, Nationality, African Americans, and Muslims
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

14. Factsheet: Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a nonprofit organization of nearly fifty private foundations and over 1.9 million members and supporters that lobbies for large-scale immigration reductions. FAIR’s stated objective is to reduce overall immigration to 300,000 a year over a sustained period and the group has argued against birthright citizenship, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and the admittance of Syrian refugees, and praised immigration restrictions issued by the Trump administration. A number of FAIR’s current and former employees are connected to white nationalists such as Peter Brimelow and Jared Taylor, and have previously provided a platform for anti-Muslim actors Robert Spencer and Sebastian Gorka.
Topic:
Immigration, Islamophobia, and Muslims
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

15. Factsheet: Holy Land Foundation

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
The Holy Land Foundation (HLF) was the largest Muslim charity in the U.S. before it was selectively targeted by the Bush administration less than three months after the 9/11 attacks. After years of litigation—including a mistrial and constitutionally-dubious prosecutorial tactics—the federal government eventually secured criminal convictions against HLF and five of its officers/employees, including Shukri Abu Baker, Ghassan Elashi, Mohammed El-Mezain, Abdulrahman Odeh, and Mufid Abdulqader. The Holy Land Foundation case was paradigmatic for the federal government because they viewed it as a high-profile, post-9/11 counterterrorism financing case. The case has also been used by anti-Muslim activists and organizations to smear Muslim American leaders and organizations as ‘terror-linked.’
Topic:
Counter-terrorism, Civil Rights, 9/11, War on Terror, Charity, Muslims, and Holy Land Foundation (HLF)
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

16. Factsheet: Zuhdi Jasser

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
M. Zuhdi Jasser is a Syrian-American physician, author, and commentator. He is the founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) and a co-founder of the Muslim Reform Movement (MRM). Jasser has used his organizations to call for a reform within Islam and “inoculate” Muslim Americans with ideas of liberty and patriotism, reinforcing harmful notions that Muslim Americans must prove their devotion to their country. Jasser has also leveraged his insider identity as a Muslim to advocate increased monitoring of Muslim communities, Countering Violent Islamism (CVI) programs, and ideological vetting of refugees before Congress, at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), and through media appearances.
Topic:
Reform, Ideology, Surveillance, Islamism, Muslims, and Zuhdi Jasser
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

17. Factsheet: The NYPD Muslim Surveillance and Mapping Program

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
05-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
The New York Police Department’s (NYPD) Muslim Surveillance and Mapping Program began under Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2001 and monitored Muslim communities in New York City and nearby states until 2014. A secret unit within the program called the Demographics Unit sent informants into mosques, Muslim student groups, and Muslim-owned businesses to gather information on 28 “ancestries of interest.” The program never generated a lead for law enforcement, faced repeated challenges in court, and was met with accusations of religious and racial profiling. The program also sowed anxiety, suspicion, and distrust of law enforcement within Muslim communities.
Topic:
Law Enforcement, Surveillance, War on Terror, Police, NYPD, and Muslims
Political Geography:
New York, North America, and United States of America

18. Factsheet: Paul Sperry

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
05-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Paul Sperry is an American conservative journalist who previously served as a Washington bureau chief for the right-wing, conspiratorial website, WorldNetDaily. Sperry is a former media fellow at The Hoover Institution and has authored several anti-Muslim books, including Infiltration: How Muslim Spies and Subversives Have Penetrated Washington. Sperry has a long record of promoting anti-Muslim conspiracy theories. In April 2020, President Donald Trump promoted an anti-Muslim tweet by Sperry about Ramadan and COVID-19.
Topic:
Conservatism, Journalism, Conspiracy Theory, Muslims, and Paul Sperry
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

19. Factsheet: Peter King

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Republican Representative Peter King of New York led the 2011 congressional hearings on the “radicalization” of American Muslims. The hearings added further stigmatization to the American Muslim community and were described by legal rights organizations as neo-McCarthyism. Rep. King has a history of making false accusations linking Muslims to violence and has been connected to a number of anti-Muslim organizations, including the Center for Security Policy and Act for America.
Topic:
Radicalization, Islamophobia, Stigmatization, Republican Party, Muslims, and Peter King
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America