By Jasmin Zine, Wilfrid Laurier University | – (The Conversation) – In political communication, a big lie — what is known as the “illusory truth effect” — is when the constant repetition of misinformation makes people more likely to accept it as truth. Repetition is how lies gain traction. The more exposure to specific ideas […]
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Islam-hatred
Muslims are understandably Protesting Qur’an Burning in Sweden, but the Qur’an itself urges them to do so Peacefully
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Swedish police permitted the burning of the Muslim scripture, the Qur’an (Koran) in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, on the grounds that previous attempts to stop such acts have been overruled by the courts on freedom of speech grounds. Hate acts targeting minorities are not actually free […]
Faustian Bargain: On pretext of Israel, Republicans oust Ilhan Omar from Committee to please White Nationalist Base
Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment) – Congressional Republicans are more interested in grandstanding than governance, and political persecution rather than functional democracy. The banishment of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from her assignment on the Foreign Affairs Committee by Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) illustrates how Republican candidates and office holders try to outdo each other with […]
McCarthy’s Vendetta against Rep. Ilhan Omar Recalls Congress’s Refusal to seat first African-American Elected to House in 1869
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is making an attempt to keep Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from taking her seat on the Foreign Affairs Committee. Omar is the only African Muslim woman in the House, and it is hard not to conclude that she is being targeted on racial and […]
The Catholic Reconquista in Spain outlawed Islam in 1502, but Secret Muslims kept their culture — and Cuisine — Going
By Aleks Pluskowski, Guillermo García-Contreras Ruiz, and Marcos García García | – Granada, in southern Spain’s Andalusia region, was the final remnant of Islamic Iberia known as al-Andalus – a territory that once stretched across most of Spain and Portugal. In 1492, the city fell to the Catholic conquest. In the aftermath, native Andalusians, who […]
“The most significant civil rights bill for Muslim Americans in our country”: House Bans Trump’s Muslim Ban as Dingle, Tlaib Preside
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In a largely party-line vote by 233-183, the House of Representatives voted Wednesday to overturn Trump’s Muslim ban, according to Hassan Abbas at The Arab American News. The floor debate was presided over by Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Michigan), and the final vote was presided over by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan). […]
Biden: Muslim Americans took full Brunt of Vile Trump Hatred of Minorities; Pledges to Reverse Muslim Ban
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Joe Biden addressed the Million Muslim Votes organization on Monday. In the context of the extreme hatred for Muslims of the Trump administration and the wider Trump movement, his remarks were crucially significant but probably won’t be noticed on cable news. Biden said in part, “I wish we taught more […]
Does anti-Muslimism enable anti-Semitism?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The outbreak of violence in the past week by two far right extremists, one of them a big Trump fan and the other inspired by Trump talking points but somewhat to the president’s right, has been deeply entangled with violence against minorities. Cesar Sayoc, the would-be pipe bomber, targeted billionaire […]
Trump and the American Fearscape as Hell for Muslim-Americans
By Nate Terani | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – Understand this: I’m an American veteran. I’m also a Muslim-American in a country in which, in these years, that hasn’t exactly been the happiest category to fall into. Now, let me tell you a little story. Recently, I had an ominous dream. It was noon on […]