Sahar Aziz - Author, Professor, and Advocate

How a Leading Definition of Antisemitism Has Been Weaponized Against Israel’s Critics [The Nation]

The chorus of criticism of Israel’s indiscriminate bombings and denial of food, water, and other humanitarian aid to 2 million Palestinians trapped in Gaza has only grown louder as the Palestinian death toll has skyrocketed beyond an estimated 22,000, nearly half of whom are children. Too often, however, supporters of continued military action by Israel respond not by debating the merits of a cease-fire but through McCarthyistic campaigns to silence human rights advocacy in public and on college campuses. Among the most effective strategies of censorship is a politically… Continue reading

Muslim women in the West in the crosshairs of Zionists, white ‘feminists’ [Al Jazeera]

At the forefront of numerous grassroots, intellectual, and political movements opposing Israel’s ongoing war crimes, in the United States and elsewhere in the staunchly pro-Israel West, are Muslim women. Courageous Palestinian, Arab, South Asian, and Black women are leading mass protests, political action campaigns, teach-ins at universities, fundraisers for humanitarian aid, and writing letters to university presidents, demanding they protect their Palestinian and Muslim students from doxing, harassment, and intimidation by Zionist organizations on and off campus.These Muslim women’s civic and political engagement is almost always met with attacks on… Continue reading

Sure, the US cares about human rights — when it benefits us [The Hill]

President Biden’s red-carpet treatment of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is another nail in the coffin of U.S. human rights policy. Such willful blindness to India’s poor human rights record extends to the Middle East. Indeed, human rights advocates have long criticized the U.S. government for its selective, politicized enforcement of human rights laws and policies in furtherance of one goal: to remain the sole “Great Power” in the Middle East and North Africa. U.S. hegemony in the region has five main goals: first, to retain control over the distribution and… Continue reading

The Hamline Controversy and the Real Threat to Academic Freedom [Al Jazeera]

Over the past few weeks, there has been much debate about academic freedom in the United States. It was sparked by the decision of Hamline University not to renew the contract of an adjunct professor who showed a famous 14th-century Persian painting of the Prophet Muhammad and Angel Gabriel in her art history class. The decision was made following the complaint of a Muslim student who felt offended. “We now find ourselves at the heart of a purported standoff between academic freedom and equity.” These words by Hamline University President Fayneese… Continue reading

Egypt Isn’t Qualified to Host COP27 [TIME]

Climate change has no regard for state borders. Nor does a nation’s wealth or power immunize it from the annual rise in temperatures exacerbating extreme flooding, droughts, and storms. This reality is bringing together nearly 200 nations for COP27, to be held in Egypt—a nation highly vulnerable to climate change but antagonistic toward an essential stakeholder in the climate conversation: independent civil society. Indeed, the Egyptian government has given summit access only to local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that support the regime. With only 3.4% of its land arable and… Continue reading

Confronting Liberal Islamophobia [ACS]

Islamophobia, like other systems of bias, operates in both liberal and conservative spaces in American society, albeit in different ways. Islamophobia by conservatives is easily identifiable through hateful speech, hate crimes and support for state national security and immigration practices targeting Muslims. The absence of such observable factors in liberal circles, however, does not make Islamophobia any less of a problem. To the contrary, the stealth of liberal Islamophobia arguably makes it more insidious. Liberals proudly boast their support for multiculturalism and pluralism, which purportedly includes Muslims. Their discourse follows… Continue reading

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and America’s Moment of Racial Reckoning [Al Jazeera]

Today, the United States is experiencing a new moment of racial reckoning. A rapidly diversifying population is demanding systemic equity and meaningful access to constitutional freedoms. This transformation for the better is neither complete nor progressing without resistance. In an historic first, an African American woman, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, has been nominated to the Supreme Court. Her nomination to the highest judicial body of the nation is rightfully seen as a product of the United States’ current moment of racial reckoning. Despite being well-qualified for the position, she has baselessly been… Continue reading

9/11 and the Racial Limitations of Religious Freedom [Al Jazeera]

Each anniversary of the 9/11 attacks generates debates on how to balance security with liberty in the United States. What is often lost in the conversation is the role that race plays in constraining civil liberties for religious minorities. Today, the targets are Muslims. A century ago, it was Jews and Catholics. The racialisation script is the same. First, the religious minority is vilified in the media and among public officials as a disloyal fifth column. Then, the religion’s followers are racialised as a threat to the (Anglo-Saxon Protestant) American way of… Continue reading

The Power of Language in Combating Islamophobia [ACS]

Twenty years ago, America experienced the worst terrorist attack in its history, triggering a “War on Terror” against Muslim communities. Today, our nation is undergoing a moment of racial reckoning. Tens of millions of Americans, especially our youth, are recognizing that systemic racism is pervasive. Their attempts to upend such systems offers an important insight: words matter. How we describe a particular act can skew public opinion in support of government programs designed to subordinate specific minority communities. Take the word terrorist, for example. For the 97 percent of Americans… Continue reading

Cornel West’s Resignation: When Anti-Black and Anti-Palestinian Racism Converge [New Arab]

It is no secret that Palestine is taboo in US academia. Harvard’s recent denial of tenure to renowned race scholar Cornel West is the most recent instance. For decades, Arab American faculty have faced tenure denial or termination; students have been reprimanded and some even criminally charged; and Middle East studies programmes are under constant threat of defunding. All based on the fallacious claim that teaching, research, and activism that brings to light Israel’s rampant violations of Palestinian human rights is axiomatically anti-Semitic. Big donors, alumni, and well-funded legal advocacy groups unabashedly command… Continue reading

Author | Professor | Advocate

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