Formaldehyde
Both Fair And Balanced
The Center for American Progress, which is a progressive group that sponsors a number of social programs, has come up with a very interesting collection of reports about the groups which directly fund Islamophobia in the US, as well as detailing the activities of the primary group of so-called experts behind the movement. Here is their primary report which has just been released:
Fear, Inc. The Roots of Islamophobia in America
These groups are alleged to have provided $42.6 million to Islamophobic think tanks from 2001 to 2009. And these think tanks create propaganda that was echoed by Anders Breivik, right-wing media outlets like Fox News, Washington Times, the Wall Street Journal and the NY Post, and even Republican politicians now running for president, such as Newt Gingrich, who recently warned:
From the Intro and Summary: The Islamophobia echo chamber
Conclusion:
Think Progress: Meet An Islamophobia Network Funder: Richard Scaife
Note: Questions were edited from the original ones.
Do you think their effort to expose the Islamophibia Network will be successful as the nation approaches the 10th anniversary of 9/11? Or do you think there is no such network, or that it serves a useful purpose?
Will Muslims continue to be scapegoats of those who don't really want to discuss the real issues? Or is Islam really to blame for terrorism as the individuals identified in this article seem to allege?
Will people who blame Muslims and Islam in general consider the fact that the Al Qaeda actually kill 8 times as many Muslims than non-Muslims? Or does it really not matter, even though the vast majority of Muslims are completely opposed to the Al Qaeda because terrorism is contrary to the basic tenets of Islam which do not allow the killing of civilians?
Fear, Inc. The Roots of Islamophobia in America
These groups are alleged to have provided $42.6 million to Islamophobic think tanks from 2001 to 2009. And these think tanks create propaganda that was echoed by Anders Breivik, right-wing media outlets like Fox News, Washington Times, the Wall Street Journal and the NY Post, and even Republican politicians now running for president, such as Newt Gingrich, who recently warned:
... a conservative audience at the American Enterprise Institute that the Islamic practice of Sharia was “a mortal threat to the survival of freedom in the United States and in the world as we know it.” Gingrich went on to claim that “Sharia in its natural form has principles and punishments totally abhorrent to the Western world.”
Sharia, or Muslim religious code, includes practices such as charitable giving, prayer, and honoring one’s parents—precepts virtually identical to those of Christianity and Judaism. But Gingrich and other conservatives promote alarmist notions about a nearly 1,500-year-old religion for a variety of sinister political, financial, and ideological motives. In his remarks that day, Gingrich mimicked the language of conservative analyst Andrew McCarthy, who co-wrote a report calling Sharia “the preeminent totalitarian threat of our time.” Such similarities in language are no accident. Look no further than the organization that released McCarthy’s anti-Sharia report: the aforementioned Center for Security Policy, which is a central hub of the anti-Muslim network and an active promoter of anti- Sharia messaging and anti-Muslim rhetoric.
The terrorist attacks on 9/11 alone did not drive Americans’ perceptions of Muslims and Islam. President George W. Bush reflected the general opinion of the American public at the time when he went to great lengths to make clear that Islam and Muslims are not the enemy. Speaking to a roundtable of Arab and Muslim American leaders at the Afghanistan embassy in 2002, for example, President Bush said, “All Americans must recognize that the face of terror is not the true faith—face of Islam. Islam is a faith that brings comfort to a billion people around the world. It’s a faith that has made brothers and sisters of every race. It’s a faith based upon love, not hate.”
The White House recently released the national strategy for combating violent extremism, “Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States.” One of the top focal points of the effort is to “counter al-Qa’ida’s propaganda that the United States is somehow at war with Islam.” Yet orchestrated efforts by the individuals and organizations detailed in this report make it easy for al-Qa’ida to assert that America hates Muslims and that Muslims around the world are persecuted for the simple crime of being Muslims and practicing their religion.
Sadly, the current isolation of American Muslims echoes past witch hunts in our history—from the divisive McCarthyite purges of the 1950s to the sometimes violent anti-immigrant campaigns in the 19th and 20th centuries. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has compared the fear-mongering of Muslims with anti-Catholic sentiment of the past. In response to the fabricated “Ground Zero mosque” controversy in New York last summer, Mayor Bloomberg said:
In the 1700s, even as religious freedom took hold in America, Catholics in New York were effectively prohibited from practicing their religion, and priests could be arrested. Largely as a result, the first Catholic parish in New York City was not established until the 1780s, St. Peter’s on Barclay Street, which still stands just one block north of the World Trade Center site, and one block south of the proposed mosque and community center. ... We would betray our values and play into our enemies’ hands if we were to treat Muslims differently than anyone else.
This report shines a light on the Islamophobia network of so-called experts, academics, institutions, grassroots organizations, media outlets, and donors who manufacture, produce, distribute, and mainstream an irrational fear of Islam and Muslims. Let us learn the proper lesson from the past, and rise above fear-mongering to public awareness, acceptance, and respect for our fellow Americans. In doing so, let us prevent hatred from infecting and endangering our country again.
In the pages that follow, we profile the small number of funders, organizations, and individuals who have contributed to the discourse on Islamophobia in this country. We begin with the money trail in Chapter 1—our analysis of the funding streams that support anti-Muslim activities. Chapter 2 identifies the intellectual nexus of the Islamophobia network. Chapter 3 highlights the key grassroots players and organizations that help spread the messages of hate. Chapter 4 aggregates the key media amplifiers of Islamophobia. And Chapter 5 brings attention to the elected officials who frequently support the causes of anti- Muslim organizing.
Before we begin, a word about the term “Islamophobia.” We don’t use this term lightly. We define it as an exaggerated fear, hatred, and hostility toward Islam and Muslims that is perpetuated by negative stereotypes resulting in bias, discrimination, and the marginalization and exclusion of Muslims from America’s social, political, and civic life.
It is our view that in order to safeguard our national security and uphold America’s core values, we must return to a fact-based civil discourse regarding the challenges we face as a nation and world. This discourse must be frank and honest, but also consistent with American values of religious liberty, equal justice under the law, and respect for pluralism. A first step toward the goal of honest, civil discourse is to expose—and marginalize—the influence of the individuals and groups who make up the Islamophobia network in America by actively working to divide Americans against one another through misinformation.
From the Intro and Summary: The Islamophobia echo chamber
The religious right
Pat Robertson
John Hagee
Ralph Reed
Franklin Graham
The media
Fox News Channel
David Horowitz
Freedom Center
Pamela Geller and Atlas Shrugs
Washington Times
The National Review
Christian Broadcast Network
Clarion Fund
Rush Limbaugh
Sean Hannity
Mike Savage
Glenn Beck
Mark Levin
Bryan Fischer
The political players
Rep. Peter King
Rep. Sue Myrick
Rep. Allen West
Rep. Renee Elmers
Rep. Paul Broun
Rep. Michele Bachmann
The grassroots organizations
Brigitte Gabriel’s ACT! For America
Pamela Geller’s Stop Islamization of America
Eagle Forum
Tennessee Freedom Coalition
State Tea Party movements
American Family Association
The leading lights of the Islamophobia network
The main players who conjure up and spread misinformation about American Muslims and Islam in the United States
Steven Emerson - The Investigative Project on Terrorism
Frank Gaffney - Center for Security Policy
Daniel Pipes - Middle East Forum
Robert Spencer - Jihad Watch & Stop Islamization of America
David Yerushalmi - Society of Americans for National Existence
Nonie Darwish - Former Muslims United and Arabs for Israel
Zuhdi Jasser - American Islamic Forum for Democracy
Walid Phares - Future Terrorism Project
Walid Shoebat - Former purported Islamic terrorist turned apocalyptic Christian
Brigitte Gabriel - ACT! for America
Pamela Geller - Stop Islamization of America
David Horowitz - David Horowitz Freedom Center
Conclusion:
As the 10th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, the Islamophobia network will be working overtime. The anniversary could be manipulated to ratchet up the nonexistent threat of Sharia and warn of apocalyptic dangers stemming from Muslims living in America.
We want this report to help create a resilient and secure America by providing the public with fact-based knowledge, rather than shrill, fear-based attacks. Violent extremism exists in America. But it does not lie solely within Muslim American communities. Across the globe, there are terrorists killing in the name of Islam,
but a new study from the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point Military Academy shows that al Qaeda attacks kill eight times more Muslims than non Muslims.1
Extremist attacks need to be vigorously investigated and effectively thwarted, wherever they are found.2
In the past few years we have seen high-profile acts of violence perpetrated by American Muslims, such as the senseless murder of 13 soldiers at Fort Hood by Major Nidal Malik Hasan. We have seen violent attacks prevented, such as the failed New York City Times Square bombing by Faisal Shahzad.3
Such attacks need to be put in context. Since 9/11, authorities have identified 161 Muslim American terrorist suspects and perpetrators, according to a 2011 study by University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill sociologist Charles Kurzman. That’s a lot, yet.the study, “Muslim-American Terrorism Since 9/11: An Accounting,” concludes that “out of the thousands of acts of violence that occur in the United States each year, an efficient system of government prosecution and media coverage brings Muslim-American terrorism suspects to national attention, creating the impression—perhaps unintentionally—that Muslim-American terrorism is more prevalent than it really is.”4
These cases enable the Islamophobia network to peddle their myths and misconceptions about Islam. Their rhetoric and actions are deeply unfortunate because they threaten to isolate and alienate a growing portion of the American population. In 2010, there were an estimated 2.6 million American Muslims. That number is expected to more than double over the next 20 years, to 6.2 million.5
President George W. Bush, of course, drew a distinct line between radical Islamist groups abroad who seek to kill Americans and the overwhelming majority of peaceful Muslims at home and abroad.6
He also stood up to the Islamophobia network with his outreach to American Muslims during his presidency.7
Then there is businessman Herman Cain—once a favorite on the Islamophobia network for his outspoken views about Sharia law when he first launched his campaign for the Republican Party nomination for president. The former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza once was vocal in his anti-Muslim sentiments, stating in March, for example, that:
There is this creeping attempt, there is an attempt to gradually ease Sharia law and the Muslim faith into our government. It does not belong in our government. […] I said the role of Islam in America is for those that believe in Islam to practice it and leave us alone. Just like Christianity. We have a First Amendment. And I get upset when the Muslims in this country, some of them, try to force their Sharia law onto the rest of us.13
Since then, Cain has walked back from such extremism—and in the process irked the Islamophobia network to no end. Most recently, he retracted and publicly apologized for a number of these views.14
Cain in July went to the ADAMS Center in Northern Virginia, where he broke bread with Imam Mohamed Magid, the executive director of the center, and other Muslims. After the meeting, he said he was “humble and contrite for any statements I have made that might have caused offense to American Muslims and their friends.”
Furthermore, he said he was “truly sorry” for creating the impression that he was against the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion. “We discovered we have much more in common in our values and virtues,” he said about his meeting. “In my own life as a black youth growing up in the segregated South, I understand their frustration with stereotypes. Those in attendance, like most American Muslims, are peaceful Muslims and patriotic Americans whose good will is often drowned out by the reprehensible actions of jihadists.”15
Of course, the Islamophobia network was utterly contemptuous of Cain’s efforts to reach out to moderate Muslims. At the Western Conservative Conference in Denver this summer, Frank Gaffney alleged that Cain had actually met with members of the “Muslim Brotherhood apparatus in Washington, D.C.” Gaffney added, “If, in fact, he’s now changed his position in ways that are being reported, that’s even more troubling than if he was spending time with Muslim Brothers.”16
Such unchecked bullying by the misinformation experts should not be tolerated. Our nation needs more responsible conservatives to stand side by side with progressives to safeguard our national security and uphold America’s core values of religious freedom and respect for ethnic diversity. A required first step is to expose the influence of the organizations, individuals, and groups who make up the Islamophobia network in America.
Think Progress: Meet An Islamophobia Network Funder: Richard Scaife
Richard Scaife and his three Pittsburgh-based foundations — the Sarah Scaife, Carthage, and Allegheny foundations — represent one of the biggest contributors to the Islamophobia network with combined contributions of $7.875 million. CAP’s report, Fear Inc., shows that Scaife contributed $3.4 million to the David Horowitz Freedom Center, $1.575 million the Counter Terrorism & Security Education and Research Foundation (CTSERF), and $2.9 million to Frank Gaffney‘s Center for Security Policy.
Scaife has become a reliable funder of right-wing causes and, as the principal heir to the Mellon family banking, oil and aluminum fortune, he has $1.2 billion at his disposal for influencing the U.S. political and cultural landscape.
Serving as the vice chairman of the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank (Heritage president Edwin Feulner serves as a trustee for the Sarah Scaife Foundation), Scaife has positioned himself as a central figure in conservative politics.
A closer examination of his philanthropy reveals that, in 2009 alone, the Sarah Scaife Foundation supported neoconservative mainstays such as the American Enterprise Institute ($550,000), the American Foreign Policy Council ($125,000), and Commentary magazine ($40,000).
Scaife has a nearly 50-year history in philanthropy and has left his mark by staying focused on specific ideological objectives. In 2009, the National Journal reported:
The intellectual flowering of the conservative movement at AEI, Heritage, and elsewhere was possible not only because a few visionaries distilled a movement’s discontent but also because a handful of deep-pocketed, committed, and unusually patient wealthy benefactors such as John M. Olin, Richard Scaife, and foundations affiliated with them were willing to underwrite the broad ideological movement.
His ownership of the Pittburgh Tribune-Review proved valuable in the campaign to attack then-president Bill Clinton as the small publication emerged as the chief source for editorials claiming that Clinton was responsible for the death of Deputy White House counsel Vincent Foster.
Finding relative success in keeping the Vince Foster conspiracy theories alive, Scaife has since expanded his media holdings to include a 42 percent share in NewsMax, a conservative online news outlet that regularly gives a platform to Islamophobes.
The Scaife Foundation’s support of the Islamophobia network is a fraction of Scaife’s overall philanthropy, but it falls in line with his long-history of both creating right-wing echo chambers while, at the same time, funding the “experts” who feed it with soundbite fodder. To our knowledge, Scaife hasn’t publicly commented on whether he supports the anti-Muslim ravings of the people he funds.
Note: Questions were edited from the original ones.
Do you think their effort to expose the Islamophibia Network will be successful as the nation approaches the 10th anniversary of 9/11? Or do you think there is no such network, or that it serves a useful purpose?
Will Muslims continue to be scapegoats of those who don't really want to discuss the real issues? Or is Islam really to blame for terrorism as the individuals identified in this article seem to allege?
Will people who blame Muslims and Islam in general consider the fact that the Al Qaeda actually kill 8 times as many Muslims than non-Muslims? Or does it really not matter, even though the vast majority of Muslims are completely opposed to the Al Qaeda because terrorism is contrary to the basic tenets of Islam which do not allow the killing of civilians?