Sahar Aziz spoke with TIME Magazine about the historical roots of Islamophobia in the U.S., the effects of viewing Muslims as a “suspect race” and the significance of the hateful comments recently made by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) about Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota).
TIME: There’s an interesting dichotomy you repeatedly describe in the book—that the same people defending religious freedoms for Christians also support violating the civil rights of Muslims through policies that discriminate against them, like intrusive surveillance measures and the ‘Muslim ban.’ You also write about how the rhetoric from some elected officials assures people that treating Muslims as suspects and discriminating against them is not un-American because Muslims adhere to a political ideology, not a legitimate religion. Could you unpack this?
Aziz: Every country has its nationalist myths. One of our nationalistic myths is that we are a land of refuge for religious minorities, especially those fleeing religious persecution. That undergirds the story of the Puritans and Protestants. While many of our laws do provide protection for those who are facing religious persecution, when you look at the history of the U.S., there is a long record of religious discrimination at the very least, and arguably religious persecution at the worst, against various groups, including Jews, Catholics and Mormons.
That narrative was necessary for primarily Republican and evangelical Christian voters, who tend to feel that their own religious freedom rights are under attack by so-called liberal elites when it comes to issues around same-sex marriage and abortion. By fueling Islamophobia, Republicans put their constituents in this paradox. How can you on the one hand feel aggrieved that religious freedom is under attack in the U.S., and on the other hand directly support government practices that persecute a religious minority? Either you have to admit that you are a hypocrite and lose credibility in your own fight for religious freedom, or you have to find a way to reframe Muslims as not a religious minority, but a national security threat and a suspect race.
To read the full interview, click here.
To purchase The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes Religious Freedom, click here.
