Graphic from Paul Woodward.
On Friday, the Center for American Progress published an important and excellent study, called Fear, Inc: The roots of the Islamophobia network in the US. The study shows that the wave of Islamophobia in the U.S. --Americans mistrust Muslims more than they did even after 9/11-- is the product of a few energized individuals. And they're polluting our political discourse.
Specifically, it's a handful of exponents of Islamophobia, among them Daniel Pipes, Sharia-law "expert" David Yerushalmi (whom the NYT profiled in more neutral terms a couple weeks back), David Horowitz, and Steve Emerson, the CNN expert turned wingnut.
Yes, I noticed that they really stepped it up starting 1-1/2 or 2 years ago. It was noticeable because there was no change in world events, no particular event or phenomenon that it seemed linked to. There may just be a handful of them but they have many deputies and adherents.
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