Muslims Not Welcome: The Political Ramifications of Islamophobia on Muslim Immigrants in America
The xenophobic rhetoric of the 2016 presidential election has only intensified since Donald Trump took office, and campaign promises have manifested into tangible policies and executive orders that have stalled immigration applications, torn families apart, grounded travelers, and instilled fear in entire immigrant communities throughout the nation. As minorities, Muslims have not been the only target of such attacks, but their vilification has not only persisted; it has become ever more pronounced. Consider, for example, how Trump’s campaign promise to build a “wall with Mexico” has been eclipsed by his repeated attempts to instate a so-called Muslim Ban.
Yet Trump’s policies, however alarming, are part of a longstanding trend in American politics and related media coverage. As a frequent commentator on American Muslim issues, including in mainstream U.S. media, Hussam Ayloush will trace the evolution of Islamophobic policies from the fringe to the mainstream, showing how presidential decrees like the Muslim Ban actually have precedents that are decades old.
CAIR-LA is a grassroots civil rights organization that has worked with the Greater Los Angeles Area Muslim community – a community that numbers some half a million people — for more than two decades. As its founding Executive Director, Mr. Ayloush brings unique insight into the struggle for American Muslim civil rights and will guide us through the ways in which that struggle intersects with the broader discussion around immigrant communities in the United States.