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41. Is a Genocide of Muslims Underway in India?

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
10-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Over the past decade, India has experienced a dangerous rise in Islamophobia. There are near daily episodes of harassment, public beatings and mob assaults, destruction of property, and lynchings that have created an atmosphere of fear for the country’s 200+ million Muslims. The rise in this bigotry has largely come into being with the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a right-wing Hindu nationalist party. Videos of BJP politicians and right-wing Hindu religious leaders calling on Hindus to bear arms and to kill Muslims have become a normal feature in Modi’s India, where the Prime Minister has failed to condemn such rhetoric or speak out against the rising instability and divisions within society. The inaction and appeasement by the judiciary, law enforcement, and senior levels of government has signaled to the followers of Hindutva, a far-right political ideology that advocates for Hindu supremacy, that those in power support their efforts to carry out their mission of making India a Hindu-only nation. With this, the threat of mass atrocities is growing and becoming a dangerous reality. This report examines the situation in India utilizing Gregory Stanton’s 10 stages of genocide, and finds that examples of the first 8 stages of genocide are present in India. Currently, the country is teetering at stage 8 (persecution) with the indicators of stage 9 (extermination) becoming more and more visible. Islamophobia has been central to the BJP and the Hindu nationalist movement, as their goals are reliant on the subordination and dehumanization of Indian Muslims.
Topic:
Genocide, Islamophobia, Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Muslims
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

42. Factsheet: Susanne Raab

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
10-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Susanne Raab is the current Minister of Women and Integration of Austria. She joined the government of Sebastian Kurz of the Austrian People’s Party, which was responsible for many anti-Muslim legislations that have meanwhile been rescinded by various courts. Raab has been a key figure in supporting anti-Muslim policies in Austria.
Topic:
Domestic Politics, Islamophobia, Muslims, and Susanne Raab
Political Geography:
Europe and Austria

43. Factsheet: Ednan Aslan

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Ednan Aslan is a Turkish-German Professor of Islamic Religious Education at the University of Vienna in Austria. Aslan is frequently interviewed by mainstream media as an expert on Islam and a critical voice on Muslims. He has been a vocal supporter of the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s anti-Muslim policies, and also served in the Documentation Center Political Islam, a federally funded center that monitors, surveils, and maps Muslims in Austria.
Topic:
Surveillance, Islamophobia, Political Islam, and Ednan Aslan
Political Geography:
Europe and Austria

44. The Terror Trap: The Impact of the War on Terror on Muslim Communities Since 9/11

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
On October 7, 2021, 20 years since the U.S. launched the War in Afghanistan as part of its Global War on Terror, a group of seven civil society and research organizations, including The Bridge Initiative, are releasing a detailed report on the impact and consequences of the War on Terror. In The Terror Trap: The Impact of the War on Terror on Muslim Communities Since 9/11, thirty international scholars provide a critical assessment of the U.S-led “counterterrorism” apparatus and its policies and tactics, which have criminalized and securitized Muslims in the U.S. and around the world. The report examines the various dimensions of the so-called War on Terror, and its devastating impact on communities and nations worldwide. Some of the topics explored include the racist history of targeting minorities in the U.S.; the roots of the “terrorism” industry; the role of the Islamophobia industry in exploiting post-9/11 fears; the restructuring of the national security and surveillance state; the use of torture, rendition, black sites, Guantanamo Bay prison, and drone warfare; Countering Violent Extremism programs; the destructive wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; the destruction of Muslim civil liberties through the policies of infiltration, entrapment, and manufacturing crime; and further repression of American Muslims through the use of “terrorism” sentencing enhancement and discriminatory prison conditions. The report also documents the human impact of these policies, focusing on the widespread harm and trauma that has been caused, and often not documented, on communities, individuals, and families that were placed under suspicion. The report then seeks to provide a new way of thinking about abolishing the War on Terror as well as providing a pathway for communities to reflect on their current engagement with the structures of policing and counterterrorism. Finally, the report provides detailed recommendations signaling the need for systemic changes at almost every level.
Topic:
Counter-terrorism, Trauma, Islamophobia, 9/11, and War on Terror
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

45. Factsheet: The Patriot Act

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
The “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001,” commonly known as the Patriot Act, was passed less than two months after September 11, 2001. The act greatly expanded the surveillance powers of the U.S. Government, allowing the National Security Agency to access phone metadata, authorize roving wiretaps, and detain individuals at the U.S. border. Congress has authorized the extension of certain portions of the act numerous times, however, as of December 2020, key provisions of the Patriot Act have expired.
Topic:
National Security, Surveillance, War on Terror, and Patriot Act
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

46. Factsheet: Éric Zemmour

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
12-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Éric Zemmour is a far-right French writer and political pundit who supports the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory, peddles historical revisionism, and has a history of making racist and anti-Muslim comments. He has been fined for and convicted of inciting racial hatred in France. Zemmour formally announced in November 2021 that he is running in the French presidential election in April 2022, and polls indicate that he could have enough support to qualify for the second-round runoff between the two leading contenders.
Topic:
Islamophobia, Far Right, Polls, and Great Replacement Theory
Political Geography:
Europe and France

47. Factsheet: Documentation Center Political Islam (Dokumentationsstelle Politischer Islam)

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
12-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
The Documentation Center Political Islam is a fund of the Republic of Austria according to the Law on Trusts and Funds 2015. It was established in July 2020 by the center-right New Austrian People’s Party’s (ÖVP), which has instituted a number of anti-Muslim policies. The Center’s academic advisory board hosts several experts who hold anti-Muslim views. The Center has usually presented its output alongside the Minister of Integration Affairs.
Topic:
Islamophobia, Far Right, Political Parties, and Muslims
Political Geography:
Europe and Austria

48. Factsheet: Public Opinion Polls on Muslims and Islam in Australia

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
02-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Public polling data in Australia (2007–2020) reveals that most Australians have little to no reported close contact with Muslims, significant negative feeling towards Muslims, and concerns about immigration from Muslim countries. The polls also show that Muslims report high levels of discrimination. Despite this, there is strong support for immigration and multiculturalism in Australia. Public opinion polls typically receive wide-spread coverage in Australia’s mainstream national media, and have been cited in outlets such as ABC News, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Guardian, and the Australian.
Topic:
Islam, Public Opinion, Polls, and Muslims
Political Geography:
Australia

49. Factsheet: Scott Morrison

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
02-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Scott Morrison is the current prime minister of Australia. He has called for tightening Australia’s immigration policies, for Christian refugees to be prioritized over Muslim refugees and portrayed asylum seekers who arrive by boat as a health and security risk to Australians. As other countries condemned then-U.S. President Donald Trump’s Muslim ban, Morrison described it as implementing an election promise.
Topic:
Refugees, Domestic Politics, Islamophobia, Immigration Policy, and Scott Morrison
Political Geography:
Australia

50. Factsheet: Heiko Heinisch

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Heiko Heinisch is a German political commentator and writer on Islamism. Heinisch is often presented as an expert on Islam and Islamism by the far-right Austrian government and the Austrian media. He serves on the academic advisory board of Austria’s Documentation Center for Political Islam, a federally funded center for monitoring, surveilling and mapping Muslims in Austria.
Topic:
Surveillance, Islamophobia, Far Right, and Islamism
Political Geography:
Europe, Germany, and Austria