Bridge Initiative

The Bridge Initiative is a multi-year research project on Islamophobia housed in Georgetown University

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Bridge Initiative Research Publications Policy/Law Page 3

Displaying Research Topic: Policy/Law

Article

31 May 2022 | Policy/Law

The Misappropriation of Islamic Terminology

Phrases such as “Christian Sharia Law” and “election jihad” do two things: 1) use Islam and Muslims as a point of reference for all things bad, evil, and unjust, and 2) acknowledge the negative connotations around Islamic terminology in the post-9/11 world and misappropriate these terms to manufacture a threat. Both scenarios are successful because the association of Islam and Muslims with danger is already ingrained in the public’s mind. It’s not only a replay of age-old orientalist thinking — everything “over there” is bad/uncivilized, and “we” are not “them” — but it’s also a sort of linguistic Islamophobia, instrumentalizing Islamic terminology to connect Muslims with danger, violence, and oppression. read the complete article

Article

28 Apr 2022 | Individuals

The Criminalization of Muslim Civil Society

Writing in The Times this week, Cameron claimed that organizations critical of the government’s PREVENT strategy are advocating for a “separate system [that] threatens the very cohesion we need to foster.” He further accused those critical of counterterrorism of “enabling terrorism.” The distinctive part of the entire article is that the critics he points to are exclusively British Muslim organizations who have spent years highlighting the devastating role PREVENT has had on the community.  read the complete article