![[Farid Hafez]](https://bridge.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-04-at-10.45.01-AM.jpeg "Farid Hafez")
The Bridge Initiative is a multi-year research project on Islamophobia housed in Georgetown University.
The Bridge Initiative aims to disseminate original and accessible research, offers engaging analysis and commentary on contemporary issues, and hosts a wide repository of educational resources to inform the general public about Islamophobia.
Research & Resources
Hijab Ban: As the Far Right Targets Muslims, Austria’s Response Is an Ugly, Complicit Silence
This op-ed by Bridge Initiative Senior Research Fellow Farid Hafez originally appeared in Haaretz. The new Austrian government is today one of several coalition governments in Europe with a far right populist party in a position of power. At the beginning of 2018 it seemed that the coalition was potentially fragile: it was constantly queried…
Islamophobia and move towards authoritarianism
This op-ed by Bridge Initiative Senior Research Fellow Farid Hafez originally appeared in Andolu Agency. While most far-right political parties are still in opposition, some have gained major influence by becoming governing parties, as the Austrian, Bulgarian, and Finnish cases indicate. More than that, the politics of the far-right receives wide appreciation, even among center-right…
Legalizing Othering
Two Islamophobic Hawks in the Trump Administration In a week from now, John Bolton will become National Security Advisor of the United States. This is just another pick of an Islamophobe to get a high-ranking influential political position. Meanwhile, Mike Pompeo was just nominated as Secretary of State (confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin this…