Islamaphobia Result of Old Tensions

Dr. Louise Cainkar gave a lecture at UWM’s Hefter Center, where she discussed the pre-existing racism towards Arabs and Muslims in America, and how the Bush Administration used 9/11 to gain widespread acceptance of the Islamaphobia idea.

About 20 people from varying cultural and professional backgrounds attended the event.  Students, professors, anthropologists and members of the Arab American and Muslim American communities filled most of the seats.

Cainkar gave her lecture in a small, intimate conference room, which allowed the lecture to transform into a free-flowing discussion between the event attendees and speaker.

The lecture focused on the research found in Cainkar’s book Homeland Insecurity:  The Arab American and Muslim American Experience After September 11, which lays out the information Cainkar has amassed from three years of ethnographic research and over 100 in-depth interviews with Muslims and Arabs living in the Chicago metro area after 9/11.

During the lecture Cainkar discussed:

• The already present Islamaphobic beliefs in America
• How the Bush administration played off of these beliefs
• How Arab Americans and Muslim Americans felt post 9/11

The lecture was given as part of a series, which was paid for through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education.  The purpose was to help promote the study of the region, the Arabic language and the religions of the area.

Most of the lecture attendees agreed that events like this one, and other chances for cultural education, help people to become more racially integrated and have a better understanding of one another.

Pre-existing Racism

The lecture began with an abundance of demographic information, which provided a factual backdrop to show a brief history of when Islamaphobia began to appear in America.

Cainkar described a pre-existing stereotyping and prejudice toward Muslims and Arabs before 9/11 occurred.

According to Cainkar, 9/11 did lead to more widespread acceptance of the idea of Islamaphobia, but the idea had already been seeping into American society for some time.

“My analysis is that it’s because of these pre-existing, negative attitudes toward stereotypes held about Arabs and Muslims that all Arabs and Muslims were held responsible for the attacks,” Cainkar said.  “It’s the notion that they are all an unbarring collective that then allows you to say, well then we can hold everybody accountable.”

U.S. Government’s Use of “Islamaphobia,” and Muslim and Arab American Fear

Cainkar discussed how race could be used as a wedge to increase hostility towards a group.  She believes the Bush Administration used this tactic in the post 9/11-era in a way to increase the acceptance of the Islamaphobia campaign.

She discussed policies that were enacted by members of the Bush Administration after the attacks on 9/11.  These included the interviewing of 8,000 Arabs and Muslims entering the country on non-immigrant visas and the deportation of 15,000 Arab and Muslim men, which was never talked about.

Cainkar believes these policies exhibited Islamaphobia because they invaded the privacy of Muslims and Arabs and turned the entire Middle East into a single target of fear.

“These, “us and them discourses,” that members of the Bush Administration were saying all the time created this sense among the American population.  That there are we—who need to be protected, and they—those who threaten our lives,” Cainkar said.

Those who Cainkar interviewed for her research, revealed they had been frightened that Islamaphobia had wrapped such a tight grip around America, that it would lead to widespread acceptance of mass deportation or internment camps in the post 9/11 era.

“People were really, really afraid—it’s hard to even think back to that,” Cainkar says.”

Attendee Response

Andrea Joseph is the adviser for the Center of International Education and was the event coordinator for Cainkar’s lecture.  She believes learning about other cultures will expedite the process of racial integration.

“The government really felt it was important to promote the study of it to create a better understanding for people,” Joseph said.  “Events like these, and other events that we hold, really put a face to all of these issues, and I think that helps people better understand.”

A student at the event, Autumn Henze, was also enthusiastic about Dr. Cainkar’s aim.  Henze hopes lectures like these can begin to bring more diverse people together.

“It [the lecture] can help point out similarities between Islam and Christianity, and get rid of some of the misconceptions that a lot of people have,” Henze said.  “I think that especially with the Middle East, the culture is misunderstood and the cultural differences would immediately cause a divide between people, just based on beliefs right away.”

Cainkar, Joseph and Henze all agree that a major step towards racial integration is to learn about one another, instead of fearing one another.

However, it still seems that a lot more work needs to be done to get everyone on the same page.

“Islamaphobia” Today

Nine years after Sept. 11, there are still signs of Islamaphobia.  A modern day example of this, is the mass protest that occurred about the Mosque being built near Ground Zero.

Cainkar suggests that Islamaphobia today, is spread and accepted by people who lack knowledge about Muslim and Arab cultures, and this now corresponds more closely to a person’s political stance.

“71 percent of Republicans say they know enough about Islam and don’t want to learn more.  68 percent of Democrats say they would like to know more about Islam,” Cainkar said.  “It’s now determined by party lines, and this is not what the polls showed five years ago.”

Dr. Cainkar is now planning for her next research project.  She will be travelling to the Middle East and plans to spend most of her energy focusing on her lectures and talks, continuing to educate people on the issues of racism and discrimination.

“I think homophobia and Islamaphobia are the two wedged political issues today,” Cainkar said.  “Everyone needs to remember that we are all humans and everyone has a right to be here.”