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 Terms/Tropes

Displaying Research Topic: Terms/Tropes

Article

31 May 2024 | Politics

April 2024 Poll: US Jews & Muslims Face Rising Discrimination

In addition to the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the ongoing war in Gaza, the United States is also witnessing a rise in religious discrimination against both Muslims and Jews in the West. An April 2024 poll by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) was part of a three-part series of surveys aimed at assessing the views of Jewish and Muslim Americans (as well as Catholic, Protestant, including white Evangelicals, and those not affiliated with a religious group) on a number of issues related to religious discrimination in the United States. read the complete article

Factsheet

13 May 2024 | Politics

Factsheet: Love Jihad Conspiracy Theory

Love Jihad is a widely debunked conspiracy theory promoted by Hindu nationalists in India to incite fear, animosity, and violence against the country’s 200 million Muslims. The theory claims that Muslim men are luring Hindu women into marriages in an effort to forcibly convert them to Islam. This conspiracy theory has been heavily promoted by Hindu far-right groups, right-wing media, and the leaders of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). As a result of this conspiracy theory, Muslim men have been imprisoned, faced violent attacks, and killed. read the complete article

Article

03 Nov 2023 | Terms/Tropes

Report: Islamophobia Lower Among US Latinos

To understand how Latino people across America view Islam and Muslims, the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) published an October 2023 report, which found that Latinos generally have lower levels of Islamophobia than other racial and ethnic groups in America today. read the complete article

Article

06 Jul 2023 | Policy/Law

Report on #BankingWhileMuslim Analyzes Financial Islamophobia

A March 2023 study from the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) analyzed survey data on banking challenges from financial institutions which millions of American Muslims face today. The study highlighted the impact these restrictions have on the ability for millions of American Muslims to run civic/charitable organizations, open personal bank accounts, or even buy movie tickets via PayPal and Venmo. read the complete article

Editorial

12 Dec 2022 | Terms/Tropes

Western Double Standards & 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup

The recent controversies surrounding the 2022 FIFA World Cup revolve around an ongoing orientalist lens where Western pundits still continue to view the greater Muslim world laced in condescension and double standards not given to other non-Muslim countries, (like China or Russia) who get to host global sporting events without much controversy at all. read the complete article

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

Factsheet

27 Sep 2021 | Terms/Tropes

Factsheet: Reconquista Trope

IMPACT: The historical myth of the Reconquista has been one of the most recurrent tropes used by far-right parties in Spain. The controversial concept—contested by many scholars— has been reappropriated, misinterpreted, and misused to build... read the complete article