Washington, D.C. — The terrorist attacks in Paris last week have provided fodder for a renewed wave of Islamophobia. The calls for rejecting Syrian refugees from many political leaders are rooted in dubious legal authority and inaccurate information and only create a climate of fear against innocent Muslims who are fleeing from persecution at the hands of the very same people who perpetrated the terrorist attacks.
A column released today by the Center for American Progress shows how this new wave of Islamophobia flies in the face of American values and plays right into the hands of ISIS.
“ISIS’s intentions and tactics are clear: It wishes to sow seeds of Islamophobia in order to further the radicalization of Western Muslims to their own ends,” said Ken Gude, CAP Senior Fellow. “The climate of fear perpetuated by public figures looking to close our borders and turn our own people against one another plays right into its hands. The fact is, Muslims have had a positive role in American history since before we were a nation, and they have contributed to every aspect of American society. Ginning up the very Islamophobia that ISIS wants to create goes against hard fought values that Americans of all races, religions, and political affiliations hold dear and only aids ISIS in the clash of civilizations it desires.”
The column is an analysis of ISIS’s stated goal of using fear and intimidation to force Western governments to implement draconian policies against Syrian refugees with the aim of turning refugees against the West and incentivizing radicalization. By seeking to “destroy the grayzone” between itself and the forces aligned against it, ISIS is looking to provoke the United States and other Western nations into hostility against their own Muslim populations.
Click here to read the column.
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, contact Tom Caiazza at [email protected] or 202.481.7141.
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