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Empire Files

An Autopsy on Liberal Feminism & American Islamophobia

Empire Files

Empire Files

News

4.8754 Ratings

🗓️ 3 December 2021

⏱️ 61 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Professor Deepa Kumar joins Abby Martin to discuss the failed ideologues that have driven the last 20 years of war. Support our ad-free work and get EXCLUSIVE content by supporting us at www.patreon.com/empirefiles or donate at www.paypal.com/paypalme/empirefilesinc [Empire Files is a 501(c)(3) - Donations are tax-deductible!] FOLLOW // twitter.com/EmpireFiles // www.instagram.com/empirefiles/ LIKE // www.facebook.com/TheEmpireFiles MERCH // https://empirefiles.store

Transcript

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0:00.0

We recently passed the 20-year anniversary of the 9-11 attacks,

0:12.1

which subsequently marks 20 years of the war on terrorism,

0:15.8

a broad and open-ended campaign to militarily dominate entire regions of the world.

0:21.3

Islamophobia is an essential component of this imperialist violence, making it okay for the U.S.

0:26.8

to be waging war against Muslims for decades, with no end in sight.

0:31.7

Racism and dehumanization of the other underpins U.S. foreign policy.

0:36.3

Islamophobia took center stage for the war on terror, but it's been pervasive throughout our history.

0:42.4

As the empire sets its sights on new targets, how will it continue to play a role in American politics?

0:49.1

Today I'm talking to Deepa Kumar, professor of journalism and media studies at Rutgers University.

0:55.6

She just released the second edition of her book, Islamophobia, and the politics of empire. Deepa, thank you so

1:02.1

much for joining me on the Empire Files podcast. Thank you, Abby. It's always a pleasure to speak with

1:08.0

you. So I want to get your reaction to this statement by Sam Harris

1:12.3

to start out. You know, he's this thought leader in the new atheist movement. In an article

1:17.9

years ago by the Atlantic, he is asked what his reaction is to the term Islamophobia. He points to a

1:25.5

tweet saying, quote, Islamophobia, a word created by fascists, used by cowards,

1:31.9

to manipulate morons. He then goes on to say, quote, Islam is not a race, ethnicity, or nationality.

1:38.4

It's a set of ideas. Criticism of these ideas should never be confused with an animus toward people.

1:45.1

And yet it is.

1:50.5

I'm convinced this is done consciously, strategically, and quite cynically as a means of shutting down conversation on important topics. Deepa, what is your response?

1:56.7

Yeah, I think the same applies to Sam Harris, which is his deliberate misrepresentation of Islamophobia as criticism of Islam, serves as a way for him to endorse policies that really are fundamentally racist.

2:15.5

Now, where he is correct is when he says that Islam is a religion,

2:21.8

but religions have been racialized. That is to say, adherence of a particular religion

...

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