6 thoughts on “Policy Options Brief – Islamophobia”

1. In general, you do a good job of explaining the problem and your policy options include a range of solutions that are viable options to address the issue of islamophobia.
   Cultural and social behaviors and views are hard to change, but your policy options cover many different approaches – education of children, religious, and the media.

   One of my questions is: Your proposed policy options propose cultural and social engagements as a way to educate society in general about Islam. However, those individuals/groups that are agains Islam, will not want to participate in social or cultural affairs with and related to Islam. How do you think you can reach those people who will not be interested in learning or participating in activities related to Islam?

   Also, what can the Islamic community itself do to adapt to western culture and values – while still remaining truth to their faith and beliefs?

2. Islamophobia is a serious problem in American and European societies and I think the analysis and proposals provided here are really interesting and insightful. I agree that a conscious effort needs to be made from both ends of the divide to bridge the ‘trust deficit’ between the Muslim and non Muslim communities.
   Education, Interfaith and cultural policy proposals presented here are all excellent starting points, many of these proposals i believe are already in place but more can be done to further the cause.

   I particularly believe that a change in the Media’s approach towards Islam and muslims is the key. Too often, media plays a critical part in forming public opinion and in this case, the media has often asked the wrong questions, fueled hostilities between communities and exploited real issues in a negative way for ratings and to appease and pacify its benefactors.

   Great things can be achieved when communities and people from various religious cultural and ideological backgrounds come together in partnership and make a conscious effort to form bonds of brotherhood. Biases and misinformation is a problem that needs to be addressed in a serious way to make this goal a reality.

   I strongly agree with all the proposals put forward in this memo and I look forward towards reading more about this topic in the future from your group.

3. Americans tend to unfairly generalize, and then subject those that they fear to harsh persecutions. This was true of Japanese Americans during World War II, the Chinese who goldminers feared would take their work, and the Hispanic community for the same reason. No group however, has had the misfortune of one group attacking American citizens (and allies) falsely in their name.

   Islamophobia is a serious problem, and it is one that is so hard to fix because Islam is so easy for Americans to (irrationally) fear. I enjoyed the memo because I agree with it, and so will a representative from the USCMO. For this reason, I think the memo would be made stronger by clarifying the reasons that you feel Americans fear Muslims, and then truly qualifying reasons why they should not. Perhaps you could suggest a new perspective to the USCMO that is not being properly challenged?

   You write that “Muslims themselves, should speak their mind.” Perhaps Muslim communities should do a better job at disassociating from terror. Why? Is this the cause of a sense of vulnerability for Islamophobic communities? Do these communities associate Muslims with terror because they have not been told not to by Muslims themselves? Of course, we know they shouldn’t generalize and damn Muslims simply because they haven’t been told otherwise, but you’ve possibly exposed a serious flaw in these communities’ logic.

   I agree with Maria’s observation that people will be hesitant to take part in your initiatives and I also wonder if your audience would be especially reluctant to listen to what it might deem as biased advocacy.

   In sum, I think the memo could be more descriptive in outlining why Muslims shouldn’t be feared. It’s an obvious point to you and me, but clearly not to others and that is the root of the issue. In order to advocate for policy reform or funding for an initiative, it would be beneficial to elaborate and this, I think, would make a much greater case for some of the initiatives you outline.

4. Your Policy options brief offered a gamut of options in order to impede the rising surge of Islamophobia. Your case for how serious Islamophobia is creates a conundrum of how to deal with bigotry in general. The argument focuses on ways to solve a serious issue but not on who is behind this bigotry . I would like to see more information on where the largest gaps are between the Muslim community and mainstream society and how you would reach those who feel animosity towards the Muslim community.

   There is an extremely strong and fascinating claim made early in the policy brief. Essentially, as the disconnect between the Muslim community and the rest of America grows, there is more likely to be more terrorist attacks. The authors state, “All these Acts caused by Islamophobes give extremists thousand of reasons to go and hurt westerns by using violence to achieve political goals.”I would like to see this claim reinforced with how ostracization causes extremism.

   I strongly agree with almost everything written in this paper. Your solutions are extensive but so diverse it seems that you are just throwing options against a wall and hoping something sticks. What solutions have been shown to work and how would they be implemented. Bigotry isn’t new to this country, so it wouldn’t be a crime to use similar cases as inspiration for solutions.

   I think the most effective strategy to change the perspective of Islamophobic America would be to educate children and younger generations of everything the Muslim community has to offer as well as correcting the misinformation they might have
   heard.

5. 1) Is the case for the seriousness of the problem sufficient? If not, how could it be stronger?
   I think you made a great case for the problem but might need to ellaborate on exactly what are the specific issues that non-muslims stereotype and work on fixing those. They can then be incorporated into policies like interfaith outreach to really educate people on common anti-mulsim stereotypes and fears.
   2) Can you think of any options not mentioned by the author(s) that might solve the problem? What are they?
   Even Irina Bokova of the UN stressed that children need to be educated not to hate from a young age, this makes a great point that the key target could be bigotry that is learned from a young age in schools and working on that issue above all else first. The next generation will need to be protected from growing up with an irrational prejudice and fear of muslims.
   Also, There doesn’t seem to be a clear dissassociation from terrorists by Islamic communities, but rather a scattered one. Muslims around the world need to send a clear and unified message that they abhor the violence and terror of fundamentalists, and help to project that in our media as well.
   3) Do you have all the information you need to make a decision about which option(s) to choose? What more would it be helpful to know.
   It would definitely be helpful to know what initiative muslim communities and muslim countries have in place right now to fight this problem. If muslim communities and countries are not commited right now to recognizing the need to protect the view of Islam in the world by education and outreach initiatives, then a structured plan will not be put in place. For example, if the vatican is not on board with something concerning catholics, then you can’t expect catholic communities worldwide to change as well.
   4) Which option or options seem best to you? Why?
   definitely education in primary schools in the US is crucial, since prejudice has been shown to be learned froma young age. I also think the policy of faith based is crucial. People who live alongside muslims will be less compelled to stereotype when they feel involved and welcome to learning about Islam through everyday contact with their muslim neighbors, and this can only happen if people are open to sharing and inviting others to learn about their religion. Growing up I had a muslim friend whose family invited me for dinner and and welcomed non-muslims with open arms into their home. They encouraged their children to make friends with non-muslims to learn about other cultures. Promoting this type of behaviour to muslim communities through their faith is crucial I feel.

6. Definitely a pressing concern for our society, because it’s just as important to not alienate Muslim youth in the country. I think many issues arise when a community feels that it is mistreated by the majority, and this situation is no different. A great start to an important topic that must be shared among all of us, because no one community will resolve the prejudice at hand alone.

   One thing we never talk about in the U.S. is how despite all of these different cultural groups coming together, many of us tend to stick to what we identify with. I think engagement options (cultural, interfaith) are a great way to bring divided groups together, and I like that you guys included such solutions inherently in all of your suggestions.

   Very detailed policy options! I like that you guys approach resolving Islamophobia from so many angles. I would try to narrow down the initiatives in some of options: what are the best approaches within this option and why?

   And to echo the other posts, I think an option on what the Muslim community can do to show a united rejection of extremists would be beneficial.

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