Editorial: Islamophobia

The announcement that the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations [CAIR] is to launch a media campaign to create a better understanding of Islam and Muslims in the US is welcome, though not before time. The cancer of anti-Muslim feeling in the US had begun to spread well before 9/11. Since then, it has been on the rampage. If anything, the assessment in a recent Cornell University survey that around half of Americans have a negative view of Islam and want the US government to curb the political activities of Muslims in the country is almost certainly a considerable underestimation of the problem.

Arab News runs a worthwhile editorial commenting on American attitudes toward Islam. The piece cites a study by Cornell University, Restrictions on Civil Liberties, Views of Islam, & Muslim Americans [8-page PDF document], that is sobering.

The Cornell report seems to show several correlations. One is between the amount of attention one pays to TV news appears to be correlated with the level of fear one experiences, at least among the surveyed audience. Another link is found between the level of religiosity (low-medium-high) and the level of animus toward Islam, with the more religious Americans more showing more enmity toward Islam. The report does not provide raw data or levels of confidence in the statistical analysis, unfortunately. Let us, for the sake of argument, accept the figures presented in the survey.

I believe that Arab News is right in thinking that misunderstanding of Islam is the core problem. But it’s not the only problem. A major part of the issue is that the vast majority of terrorist acts known to a typical American are related in some way to “Islam”, regardless of whether or not that “Islam” represents true Islamic values. Fear, as noted in the survey, is a major factor, with those who watch TV news the most showing most fear. I suspect, as well, that those who claim high levels of religiosity also feel a greater degree of threat from another religion.

Education about Islam would certainly help the situation. More Islamic voices–on American TV–condemning brutality and violence committed in the name of Islam would help, too. For example, I’ve yet to find any Arab editorial condemning the mutilation of two American soldiers earlier this week. Nor, for that matter, is there much that condemns the decapitation of innocents in Iraq.

What will not be of great service, though, is relying on CAIR to fix the problem. CAIR has a noble goal, no question about it. But it has put itself in the situation of “the boy who cried wolf.” It seems that every slight to a Muslim, in CAIR’s view, is a manifestation of Islamophobia. Sometimes it is, but often it’s just an ignorant act that happens to involve a Muslim. CAIR does itself and its purpose a major disservice in trying to make every unpleasant event that involves an American Muslim into an overt and direct attack. Worse, when an act is later identified as not having such a motivation, CAIR doesn’t retract its previous allegations. Consequently, the count is only an increasing one, never stable or declining. And, let’s face it, CAIR can exist only while it has a purpose; it will do everything to ensure its continued survival by making sure that there is a “need” for its services, real or not.

So yes, work on educating Americans about Islamic values in a manner separate from TV news. But also make sure that TV news is hearing the full story, not just the one put out by terrorists. And keep in mind that people do not react to fear in always rational ways.