AN INTERFAITH VIEW: DRIVING ISLAMOPHOBIA
Lawrence Swaim

http://www.infocusnews.net/content/view/10954/135/


In the 1950s, ultra-conservatives torpedoed their critics by calling
them Communist. Today the same tactic is used against Muslim
organizations by calling them apologists for terrorism. And like the
1950s, the intent of the ultra-conservatives today is to distract the
public from their own undemocratic maledictions. As the French say,
"The more things change, the more they stay the same."

It was a déjà vu all over again, too, when Republicans in the House of
Representatives asked Nancy Pelosi to deny the Council on
Islamic-American Relations (CAIR) a capital conference room for a
seminar. If religious McCarthyism is the intent of House Republicans,
so is their ultimate political intent. They want to peel off Jewish
voters from the Democratic base, moving them to the right by an appeal
to Islamophobia. That was precisely the strategy behind Karl Rove's
gambit of putting Daniel Pipes on the Board of Directors at the
Institute of Peace. This latest move also aims to expose the
Democratic leadership as unprincipled flip-floppers by hassling Nancy
Pelosi until she caves in to their demands. The Republicans want more
votes and money from the pro-Israel lobby, while driving the Dems
crazy by threatening their base.

So how does one react to terror-baiting? Go on the offensive. The more
you try to explain that you're not a terrorist, the more the
Islamophobes will control the discussion. Single out your most
vulnerable attackers by name and sue them for defamation. Then show
how they and their friends are undermining religious liberty in
America, and how their political posturing is based on religious
bigotry. Show how they support authoritarian government, torture and
the Iraq war. Root your arguments in religious and political
pluralism, the American constitution, and the American way of life.
Show how religious McCarthyism helps the terrorists and besmirches
America's good name in the Muslim and Arabic-speaking worlds. Insist
that it endangers the lives of our young people in uniform. Fight back
with everything in your legal and rhetorical arsenal.

Secondly, we need to find better ways of confronting the underlying
problem that drives Islamophobia in America. It's all about Israel,
folks, and the way Jews and Muslims get defined by various contending
parties to that issue. More than anything we need a frank and open
national debate about Israel/Palestine and the future of American
foreign policy, but we'll never get there until we confront the
pro-Israel lobby head-on.

What we need more than anything is at least one quality website and
publication dedicated solely to monitoring the activities of "the
lobby." Such a website/publication would recruit the best
writers—Jewish, Christian and Muslim—as well as established experts on
the Middle East. It would research and report on the activities of the
pro-Israel lobby, with profiles of its major actors and public
criticism of their position papers. This news outlet would recruit
sources within "the lobby" to keep activists informed of internals
power struggles. Above all it would track how money is distributed
from the pro-Israel lobby and who receives it.

The problem, of course, is funding for such a watchdog group. Regular
funding sources wouldn't be caught dead helping such a project.
Funding has to come from within the community most affected, which
will be American Muslims. But many well-to-do Muslims haven't yet
figured out the importance of interest organizations in American
politics. They're good at making brick-and-mortar donations for houses
of worship and community centers, and also fund quality educational
programs about Islam, but may not yet see how important it is to carry
on an aggressive daily struggle for Muslim civil rights. That struggle
will be increasingly defined by how well we can open up the discussion
about Israel/Palestine. Without that discussion, the Islamophobes will
use money, influence and gutter politics to impose uncritical support
of Israel. The first target in their sights is the organized Muslim
community.

Lawrence Swaim is the Executive Director of the Interfaith Freedom
Foundation. He taught for eight years at Pacific Union College, and
his academic specialties are American Studies and American literature.
His column addresses current affairs from an American Christian and
Interfaith perspective.