“This is an extraordinary study about the rise of Islamophobia in the USA. Theoretically sophisticated and methodologically rigorous, this study demonstrates with empirical evidence the Islamophobic realities Muslims live in the USA today. It is a must to read for anyone concerned with the dehumanization racism produces.”
- Ramón Grosfoguel, Associate Professor, Ethnic Studies Department, University of California, Berkeley
Once Upon a Hatred: Anti-Muslim Experiences in the USA reveals the shocking statistic that 30% of Muslims surveyed have experienced a hate-motivated physical attack. This stark figure is one of many statistics gleaned from a 1200 person survey undertaken in 2012 by IHRC, in California. A staggering 88% reported negative experiences in everyday life, the media, political discourse and policy. Whilst perceptions of the US as the model of religious freedom and tolerance attract many to its shores, the reality for Muslims is revealed here as anything but.
In addition to analysing the findings of the survey, the authors provide a historical and political context for the work they have undertaken. This includes a thorough critique of ethnocentrism in academia and in the social sciences in particular. They set this critique within the political history of the USA as a colonial enterprise from the time of Columbus through the founding of the USA until the present day. Muslims, they find, are caught up in a cycle of demonisation and social and statutory targeting that is not new but part of the US’s very DNA when it comes to the treatment of people of colour within and without its shores.
