The Return of Islamophobia

Muslims fear the islamophobia that ran rampant after September 11, 2001, has returned. Actually, it never really left.

When a Muslim community center and mosque was proposed for a site that already contained a place for Muslim prayer in lower Manhattan in 2009, right-wingers went insane, dubbed it the “Ground Zero Mosque,” and began a national campaign to prevent it from being constructed. Fueled by Islamophobia, haters said it would be a “victory memorial” for Islamic terrorists. One of the loudest critics was Donald Trump.

During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump proposed a ban on Muslims entering the country and surveillance of every mosque in the United States. As president (sic), he initiated a ban on travelers entering the United States from several Muslim nations.

While the war between Israel and Hamas is taking place mostly in Gaza, at least 76 Muslims have been killed in the West Bank since the war began two weeks ago. It’s been reported that Israeli forces have killed at least one Muslim per day over the past two years in the West Bank, but many of these killings since the start of the war have been committed by Israeli settlers.

Republicans are criticizing Muslim U.S. Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar for calling for a cease-fire and for their support of Palestinians, ignoring that both have criticized Hamas and condemned attacks on Jewish citizens in Israel. Yesterday, the United States vetoed a U.N. resolution to condemn all violence against civilians in the Israel-Hamas war and to urge humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza. Why is it more radical to call for peace and a cease-fire than to reject condemning violence against civilians?

Right-wing cartoonist Michael Ramirez produced a cartoon using the Palestinian flag, not the Hamas flag, for promoting “death to Israel.”

Last week, six-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume was murdered by his landlord who stabbed him 21 times, blaming all Muslims for the war between Israel and Hamas. He also stabbed Wadea’s mother who survived. The 71-year-old landlord had previously bought the boy toys, let him swim in a makeshift pool, and even built him a tree house, but then he was radicalized by right-wing talk radio. The attack didn’t occur in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, or Lebanon. It happened in unincorporated Plainfield Township, outside Chicago.

Several years ago, I had a Muslim housemate and when I told this information to a guy spewing hate in a bar, he said, “I hope he’s one of the good ones.”

Antisemitism is on the rise too. The FBI says that hate crimes against Jews rose by 37 percent in 2022. Synagogues and Jewish centers across the United States are increasing security. A synagogue in Berlin was hit with two gas bombs this week.

This must be a great time to be a white nationalist.

Music note: I listened to The Strokes.

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