(Trump’s first 100 days in Office — a period of time historically used as a benchmark to measure the potential of a new president — PRA will share readings, videos, and tools for organizing to inform our collective resistance based on principles for engaging the regime, defending human rights, and preventing authoritarianism. Daily readings will be posted on our Facebook and Twitter accounts and archived HERE.)
Week 2: Islamophobia & Antisemitism
Contemporary Islamophobia rests on a long history of conflict and it is important to to be aware of how Islam was seen in Europe over many centuries, because these tropes are the basis for most contemporary narratives. There are complex interactions among Islamophobic prejudice, discrimination, exclusion, and violence and it may be more accurate to discuss the topic as “Islamophobias” rather than as a single phenomenon.
Antisemitism is a durable and unique historic and contemporary form of prejudice or demonization appearing at various times based on perceptions of religion, ethnicity, and race. In the U.S., Christian supremacist notions created systems of oppression that kept Jews in a second-class status until after WWII. While institutionalized antisemitism as a form of oppression is no longer a major force, prejudice and demonization remain. Although Jews are actually a diverse ethnoreligious group, their biased critics often project on them a racial identity that has motivated intimidation and violence.
Featured resources
- Pro-LGBTQ Smokescreens for Anti-Muslim Attacks by Cole Parke
- Richard Spencer’s Mom Spins Victim Narrative for Self, While Neonazis Target Jews by Adele M. Stan
- Terror Network or Lone Wolf?: Disparate Legal Treatment of Muslims and the Radical Right by Naomi Braine
- Constructing Campus Conflict: Antisemitism and Islamophobia on U.S. College Campuses, 2007-2011, edited by Chip Berlet, Debra Cash, and Maria Planansky
Additional Readings
- Manufacturing the Muslim Menace: Private Firms, Public Servants, & the Threat to Rights and Security by Thom Cincotta
- Muslim Community Resistance: Organizing and Advocacy in a Time of Struggle by P. Adem Carroll
- The Right Hand of Occupy Wall Street: From Libertarians to Nazis, the Fact and Fiction of Right-Wing Involvement by Spencer Sunshine
- The New Christian Zionism and the Jews: A Love/Hate Relationship By Rachel Tabachnick
Engage
Do’s and Don’ts for Bystander Intervention: If you witness public instances of racist, anti-Black, anti-Muslim, anti-Trans, or any other form of oppressive interpersonal violence and harassment, use these tips on how to intervene while considering the safety of everyone involved.