Bipartisan Islamophobia: Not a Bug, It's The Feature
Al Jazeera's opinion piece decries bipartisan comfort with Islamophobia, showing 'research' and expressing concern. (Bless their hearts for stating the obvious.) What they won't explicitly connect are the decades of U.S. foreign policy that framed targeted nations as 'Islamic threats,' creating a ripe environment for domestic prejudice. This bipartisan 'comfort' isn't accidental; it’s cultivated,
especially by the same figures who receive substantial backing from lobbies like AIPAC, which championed policies targeting Muslim-majority countries. For instance, OpenSecrets.org clearly shows AIPAC's PAC and individual contributions exceeding $29 million in 2022, often directed to politicians who then consistently vote for militaristic policies in the Middle East. When administrations, both
Republican and Democratic, funnel billions in military aid to actors engaged in conflicts frequently framed via Islamophobic rhetoric, how could Islamophobia *not* be comfortable? Perhaps our politicians aren't 'comfortable' with it; perhaps they're just getting a decent return on investment for the campaign donations that enable such policies. It appears the 'harm' of Islamophobia is only worth
discussing if we don't dare trace it back to the very halls of power making decisions that inflame it.