I had learned in my Islam religion class from a podcast that he would be much richer if he chose to speak for islamophobia, rather than against it. This intrigued me. I did some further research about the industry of islamophobia and found that the industry that promoted fear and hatred of muslims is worth 200 Million dollars in the United States.
I found an Al Jazeera article about the industry (http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/06/report-islamophobia-multi-million-dollar-industry-160623144006495.html)
The research was founded by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the University of California, Berkeley.
I am so intrigued by how this industry effects muslim views on americans around the world. When I travelled to South Africa I had lunch at a muslim couples home and was able to get a tour of the history of islam and the muslim neighborhoods in Cape Town. The women said to me “So many South African muslims assume americans will be mean and nasty, but we meet wonderful american students like you and understand how the media changes our views on humanity for the worst.”
I want to understand the global relationship muslims who don’t interact with americans have with America and how the islamophobic industry in the United States impact the altered views we white americans have with muslims.
Quotes:
”Meira Neggaz, the executive director of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) – a US-based think-tank, told Al Jazeera a poll published in March showed that one out of every five American Muslims had experienced discrimination on a regular basis, while more than half of them had faced some discrimination.”
“She also noted that the rise in anti-Islamic sentiment was more tied to political rhetoric than terrorist events.
“2008 and 2012 – the years of election campaigns – saw spikes in Islamophobia that had nothing to do with terror. And we are now seeing similar trends in this election cycle.”
Rifai, Ryan. “Report: Islamophobia is a multimillion-Dollar industry.”Human Rights | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 24 June 2016, www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/06/report-islamophobia-multi-million-dollar-industry-160623144006495.html.