PRESS CALL TODAY: CAP to Release New Report “Fear, Inc., The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America”

August 26, 2011

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Contact: Christina DiPasquale
Phone: 202.481.8181
Email: cdipasquale@americanprogress.org

Washington, D.C. — The inclusion of more than 200 references to the anti-Muslim rhetoric espoused by American bloggers and misinformation experts in the manifesto of Anders Brevik, the Norwegian responsible for the killing of 76 people, prompted news agencies to question the source of this distorted world view. In the United States, where much of this hate rhetoric originated, the issue stands at a critical point. Twenty-three states have some kind of legislation or law to ban the nonexistent threat of Sharia law being used in their courtrooms. A 2010 Washington Post-ABC news poll showed nearly half of Americans held an unfavorable view of Islam and a 2010 Time magazine poll found 28 percent of voters do not think Muslims should sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, while almost one-third of the country thinks that followers of Islam should be barred from running for president.

The Center for American Progress report "Fear Inc., The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America," shows that, contrary to the popular belief that there is a vast right-wing conspiracy behind the Islamophobia movement, the message of religious intolerance against American Muslims is being perpetrated by a small, tightly knit group of individuals sustained by money from a clutch of key foundations, and their misinformation campaign is being directed to millions of Americans through effective advocates, media partners, and grassroots organizing.

Please join the authors of this report to discuss their findings, which include profiles of the five key people and organizations responsible for spreading hate rhetoric against Muslim Americans, details on the sources of funding for this movement, background into the origins of language used in states with anti-Sharia laws and legislation, as well as how some elected officials and political players rely on this network and promote anti-Muslim messages.

What: A press call to discuss a new CAP investigative report on the rise of Islamophobia in America, to include the small, tightly networked group of misinformation experts that generate the false facts, the foundation money that sustains the movement and the national and global reach of this campaign of religious intolerance.

Who:

Wajahat Ali, writer, attorney, and Associate Editor of AltMuslim

Eli Clifton, National Security Reporter, Center for American Progress

Faiz Shakir, Vice President, Center for American Progress

When:

Friday, August 26, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. EDT

Call info: 877.210.8943

Conference ID: 95133258

RSVP

Please contact Christina DiPasquale at 202.481.8181 or cdipasquale@americanprogress.org.

**Please note, this call will be recorded. By participating in the call, you consent to being recorded.**

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