“Islam is a political ideology that wants to overthrow the U.S. Constitution.” “Islam is an ideological illness.” These are just a sampling of statements and accusations I come across on a daily basis in my role as a researcher on Islamophobia. While such pernicious declarations are most visible on social…
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In May 2010, the Regional Planning Commission of Rutherford County in Tennessee approved a request for the construction of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro (ICM). It was a straightforward request that, legally speaking, should have garnered no controversy. But in a post-9/11 context, and in light of the heated and…
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As a theologically conservative evangelical Christian who attends a predominantly White church, it is mind boggling to me that some in our communitywould contend that Islam is not a religion, but a political ideology undeserving of religious freedom. If there is anything that the White evangelical community should be learning during…
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Approximately 1.8 billion people around the globe identify as Muslim today, which makes Islam the world’s second-largest world religion. This is a fact. At the same time, some on the far right in the United States deny that Islam is a real religion. Theologians of different stripes have made this…
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Increasingly, I find myself unable to follow each ebb and flow of the news cycle. It feels redundant and it creates despair. But I feel a responsibility, personally and professionally to both know what’s going on. It helps if I think in themes instead of occurrences: If I can be conscious that white supremacy…
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Over the past year, particularly after the Supreme Court’s ruling last summer in Trump v. Hawaii (the travel ban case), many Americans have been asking, “Does religious freedom apply equally to all religious communities in America?” The matter again came to the fore with February and March cases involving death…
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As a white convert to Islam, the typical American sees me as a curiosity rather than a threat to their way of life and demographic hegemony. I have the privilege of being seen by most as a young man going through a spiritual phase, “sewing my wild oats,” so to speak,…
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I converted to Islam in the 1990s. At the time, the decision was a radical transformation. It brought my life into a relationship with a moral ideal embodied by the Prophet Muhammad that placed productive demands on my daily life. Becoming Muslim didn’t require submission to a law of violence…
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All human beings want to be seen, heard and valued. It is the most basic of our needs. In the last decade, I have experienced times when I feel like my Muslim faith is not a religion worthy of importance. Two instances that give rise to these feelings are when…
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Anxiety and fear were palpable among American Muslims last week after the mass slaughter in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand: Would a violent attacker enter their mosque, too? But even in their moment of vulnerability, one lawmaker insisted Muslims were the “real cause of bloodshed.” Fraser Anning, a senator…
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