Arsalan Iftikhar, Author at Bridge Initiative

04 Mar 2019

Pakistan & Saudi Arabia Throw China’s Muslims Under the Bus

Most people know that Saudi Arabia is home to Islam’s two holiest cities- Mecca & Medina- and that the country of Pakistan is the second most populous Muslim country in the world. Having said that,... read the complete article

Editorial

05 Feb 2019

Muslim Congresswomen Face Islamophobic Dog-Whistles

Political trailblazers like Congresswomen Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) made history during the 2018 midterm elections by becoming the first two female Muslim members of Congress. Since that time, we have also seen... read the complete article

Editorial

21 Sep 2018

Why is Europe Obsessed with Female Muslim Clothing?

A few years back, British superstar celebrity chef Nigella Lawson made global headlines because she decided to wear a full-body modest black wetsuit (aka “burkini”) to an Australian beach as paparazzi clicked away. Internet commentators... read the complete article

Article

27 Aug 2018

Stop Ignoring Genocide Against Rohingya Muslims

The Economist magazine once said that the Rohingya people in Myanmar are “the most persecuted people in the world” and more than 7 Nobel Peace Prize winners have publicly stated that Rohingya Muslims are facing a “textbook case of... read the complete article

Editorial

02 May 2018

American Muslim Poll 2018: From Pride to Prejudice

From Donald Trump’s Muslim travel bans to increased Islamophobic hate crimes across the United States, there are millions of American Muslims who still feel the continuing impact of ongoing xenophobia within their everyday lives. Whether... read the complete article

Editorial

14 Mar 2018

Mike Pompeo said all Muslims are ‘potentially complicit’ in terrorism. He’s unfit to be secretary of state.

This article by Bridge Initiative Senior Research Fellow Arsalan Iftikhar originally appeared on NBC News. The secretary of state is the chief diplomat responsible for guiding the foreign policy for the United States of America,... read the complete article

Article

19 Dec 2017

Protocols of the Elders of Mecca

The following article by Bridge Initiative Senior Research Fellow Arsalan Iftikhar originally appeared in The Islamic Monthly. The Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2017 was a piece of congressional legislation introduced by Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) that advocates... read the complete article

Editorial

11 Dec 2017

Donald Trump Has Never Stopped Lying About Muslims

This op-ed by Bridge Initiative Senior Research Fellow Arsalan Iftikhar originally appeared in HuffPost. It’s been just over two years since then-candidate Donald Trump called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the... read the complete article

Editorial

30 Nov 2017

President Trump’s whole political career has been built on Islamophobia

This op-ed by Bridge Initiative Senior Research Fellow Arsalan Iftikhar originally appeared in The Washington Post. You know things are bad in your country when the former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan praises the president... read the complete article

Research

02 Nov 2017

The ‘Allahu Akbar’ Double Standard of Terrorism

One of the worst mass shootings in modern American history recently took place in October 2017 when a white man named Stephen Paddock shot over 500 people (killing 58 of them) during an outdoor concert... read the complete article