Search

Begin New Search Political Geography North America Author Bridge Initiative Team

21. Factsheet: Quilliam

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
The Quilliam Foundation is a “counter-extremism” think-tank that has worked with a number of individuals and organizations that promote anti-Muslim views. The organization has called for tougher action on “non-violent extremism” and supports CVE policies, which many civil rights organizations state are based on faulty science and only seek to criminalize and securitize Muslims. The think-tank shut down in April 2021 citing “lack of funds.”
Topic:
Islamophobia, Civil Rights, Think Tanks, and Countering Violent Extremism
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

22. 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

23. Factsheet: Ann Corcoran

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
02-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Ann Corcoran is an anti-refugee activist, author, and blogger who advocates lowering refugee admissions and writes on the purported dangers of the United States Refugee Admissions Program. She is the founder of the blogs Refugee Resettlement Watch and Fraud, Crooks, and Criminals, which both amplify anti-refugee rhetoric. Corcoran has spread fears of the establishment of sharia law in the United States, claimed that the Islamic concept of Hijra (migration) is a form of jihad to take over the West, and warned that Muslim legal immigration is the greatest long-term threat to the United States. She has frequently collaborated with the Center for Security Policy, run by anti-Muslim activist Frank Gaffney, and US Inc, run by anti-immigration activist John Tanton.
Topic:
Refugees, Islamophobia, Xenophobia, and Ann Corcoran
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

24. Guantanamo Bay Military Prison: Narratives and Numbers

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
The Guantánamo Bay Data Project serves as a central source of information on the Guantánamo Bay Military Prison. This project provides a comprehensive picture of the prison, centering the lives of the boys and men detained at the naval base. It depicts the global impact Guantánamo has had on the lives of hundreds of Muslims, their families, and communities as a whole. Many discussions of the U.S. Guantánamo base focus solely on the role, legal rationale, costs, and management of the U.S. government. However, this project seeks to highlight the trauma inflicted upon those held at the prison and the larger ‘war on terror’ apparatus that has wielded Islamophobia to justify the 780 Muslim boys and men, many of whom were subject to . This resource provides visualized demographic data on every single person who has been imprisoned at Guantánamo, including age, country of origin, country of repatriation, “non-enemy combatant” status, and listed mental illnesses. We also provide an overview of the history, laws, and policies of the naval prison, a more in-depth discussion of the aggregated data, the status of those who remain imprisoned, and future plans for the prison.
Topic:
Torture, Prisons/Penal Systems, War on Terror, and Guantanamo Bay
Political Geography:
North America, United States of America, and Guantanamo

25. Factsheet: Louie Gohmert

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Louie Gohmert is a Republican representative from Texas with a long history of anti-Muslim rhetoric, including claims that “terror babies” were being raised to destroy the American “way of life.” Gohmert has connections with prominent anti-Muslim organizations, including ACT for America, and associations with individuals in the transatlantic anti-Muslim movement.
Topic:
Domestic Politics, Islamophobia, Far Right, and Republican Party
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

26. Factsheet: The History and Evolution of Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, located in Cuba, was chosen as the site of a detention center due to its uncertain legal status—allowing the U.S. government to argue that those detained at the base were not entitled to certain rights under U.S. laws. The prison at the base consists of several distinct camps, each with differing security levels, transparency, and categories of detainees. Former President Barack Obama promised to close the prison but failed to do so. Former President Donald Trump pledged to not only keep the prison open but fill it with more detainees. Current President Joe Biden has promised to shut down the military prison.
Topic:
Prisons/Penal Systems, War on Terror, Detention, and Guantanamo Bay
Political Geography:
Cuba, North America, and United States of America

27. Factsheet: The Human Cost of Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Guantánamo Bay military prison is a site of egregious and ongoing human rights violations perpetrated by the United States government. Opened in early 2002 on a U.S. naval base in Cuba, the prison has housed 780 adults and minors from around the world—all Muslim—most of whom have been subjected to torture and severe abuse at the hands of the U.S. armed forces and the CIA. Most were never formally charged with any crime and were detained for years without trial. As of 2022, thirty-nine remain imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay prison.
Topic:
Human Rights, Torture, Prisons/Penal Systems, War on Terror, Guantanamo Bay, and Arbitrary Detentions
Political Geography:
Cuba, North America, and United States of America

28. Factsheet: Kayleigh McEnany

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
10-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Kayleigh McEnany is a political commentator, devout Christian, and vocal defender of U.S. President Donald Trump. She currently serves as the White House press secretary, and has previously worked for both CNN and Fox News. McEnany has a history of defending and making false, anti-Muslim statements.
Topic:
Politics, Islamophobia, Donald Trump, and Kayleigh McEnany
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

29. Factsheet: Steven Emerson

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
10-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Steven Emerson is a national security and terrorism journalist and pundit. He is the founder of the Investigative Project on Terrorism and has a history of promoting falsified information and conspiracy theories about Islam and Muslims. These include claims that there are “no-go zones” in the United Kingdom, that the Oklahoma City Bombing was carried out by an Arab because it had “a Middle Eastern trait,” and that American Muslim civil rights organizations are “infiltrating” Congress and the media.
Topic:
National Security, Terrorism, Islamophobia, Journalism, Conspiracy Theory, and Steven Emerson
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

30. Factsheet: Mark Krikorian

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Mark Krikorian is the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), an anti-immigration research organization that advocates lower immigration levels. He is a regular contributor to the National Review online, and has been cited in a number of media outlets, including the Washington Post, the New York Times, Fox News, and CNN. Krikorian frequently amplifies anti-Muslim rhetoric—stoking fears about mass Muslim immigration, condemning immigrant enclaves as safe havens for potential terrorists, and expressing discontent with the number of Muslim Syrian refugees entering the United States. He has also made statements critical of asylum seekers, defended the condition of immigration detention centers where children were separated from parents, and questioned why older and disabled individuals need to become citizens.
Topic:
Immigration, Research, Islamophobia, and Mark Krikorian
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America