The USA Today reports a Delaware man threatened his neighbors who he believed to be Muslims. The man – Gerard Medvec (63 years old) – alluded to firebombing their house – or “taking the fight to them” – and said he “seriously thought about throwing some Molotov cocktails” at his neighbors’ house, according to court…… Continue reading The Latest Wave of Islamophobia: Hate Crimes Against Non-Muslims
My new peer-reviewed journal article is now published by Religions. Here is the abstract: This paper explores the intersectionality of race and Islamophobia by using a set of empirical data relating to the experiences of American Muslims and non-Muslims in the United States. Through a multi-tiered methodology, the paper reveals how racialization processes interact with…… Continue reading The Racialization of Islam in the United States
One afternoon in the summer of 2013, I sat down with a young Ahmadi American Muslim of Pakistani descent. He told me an unsettling story, one that touches on some of the most pressing issues of the post-9/11 era. The young man, henceforth “Muhammad,” was traveling on an Amtrak train along the East Coast. Sitting…… Continue reading Islam, Race, and Pluralism in Diaspora: Experiences of Young Pakistani Men in Boston and Dublin
In March 2009, President Barack Obama made a startling comment about Pakistan and its links to the so-called “War on Terror.” The President referred to a part of the country as “the most dangerous place in the world.” In other words, Pakistan was a threatening “Islamic state” that had turned “anti-American” due largely to the efforts of…… Continue reading New Book Explores the Pakistani Diaspora in Boston and Dublin
By Tayyib Rashid Dr. Craig Considine should be applauded for his effort to learn, understand and educate the public about Pakistanis in diaspora and advancing his relentless pursuit to build bridges of understanding, and tolerance. In doing so Dr. Considine adds another brick to the foundations of inter-racial peace in American society. Islam, Race, and…… Continue reading Muslim Marine Reviews: Islam, Race, and Pluralism in the Pakistani Diaspora
Rice University News and Media has written the first news article about Islam, Race, and Pluralism in the Pakistani Diaspora. This book is due to be published on July 11, 2017. Many of the young Pakistani men that I interviewed in Boston and Dublin see Pakistan, their country of origin, as being alien to them, but at the…… Continue reading Rice University News and Media Introduces “Islam, Race, and Pluralism in the Pakistani Diaspora”
Let me explain to you why it is hypocritical to say that Islamophobia is a simple result of “rational disagreement” with the tenets of Islam and not the distrust of people who look different from “normal” Americans. Consider this CNN story which documents another hate crime perpetrated by Islamophobic individuals. Again and again, we are witnessing how…… Continue reading Attacks on Sikhs Prove Islamophobia is More Than “Rational Disagreement” With Islam
Islamophobia is real. An event like “2 Indian-Americans Shot, Mistaken for Arabs” reminds us that Islamophobic sentiments are currently produced through a racialization that includes a combination of “old racism” (skin color and ancestry) and “new racism” (culture and religious background). The shooter in this event linked imagined features of “Muslim-ness” to people who are not…… Continue reading The Racialization of Islam and Attacks On Non-Muslims
You’ve seen it on my page before – “race is a social construct and not a biological reality.” Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah of NYU is a leading thinker on this subject, and he concurs: “The way we talk about race today is just incoherent. The thing about race is that it is a form of…… Continue reading Race is a Social Construct, Not a Biological Reality
A new News.com.au piece by Emma Reynolds cites my article “Muslims Aren’t A Race, So I Can’t Be Racist, Right? Wrong”. Reynolds wrote the following: Sociologist Craig Considine points out in the Huffington Post that White and Black, Asian and Indigenous Americans are not races either. He says race is not a biological reality but…… Continue reading Cited in “Pauline Hanson’s Claims on Islam, Broken Down”
By Amy McCaig Published first on Rice University News and Media Second-generation Pakistani-Irish individuals are facing identity challenges among Ireland’s mainstream views of national identity or “Irishness,” according to a new study from Rice University. “What Does It Mean To Be ‘Irish’? Perceptions of Irish Identity Among Young Pakistani Men” appeared in a recent edition…… Continue reading Second-generation Pakistani-Irish Individuals Face Identity Challenges
The following lecture, which I broadcasted first on Periscope, is based on my recent article, “Muslims Aren’t A Race, So I Can’t Be Racist. Right? Wrong”. I argue that although Islam is not a race, Islamophobia should be treated as a form of racism.
A new Salon article by Qasim Rashid cites a few passages from my recent piece titled “Muslims Aren’t A Race, So I Can’t Be Racist. Right? Wrong.” Rashid wrote the following: Some are quick to argue, “Muslims aren’t a race, so I can’t be racist.” Rice University sociologist Dr. Craig Considine repudiates this simplistic understanding of racism, writing,…… Continue reading Cited in “We’re Not Taking Islamophobia Seriously”
“Nonsense.” That is what people say when I accuse them of being racist. Their argument goes something like this: “Muslims are not even a race, so how the hell could I even be racist? You’re an idiot.” Because Muslims are not a race, people believe that any type of violence or oppression directed towards them…… Continue reading Muslims Aren’t A Race, So I Can’t Be Racist. Right? Wrong.
Islam, Race, and Pluralism in the Pakistani Diaspora. Published by Routledge – Taylor & Francis Group in July 2017 This book explores the Pakistani diaspora in a transatlantic context, enquiring into the ways in which young first- and second-generation Pakistani Muslim and non-Muslim men resist hegemonic identity narratives and respond to their marginalised conditions. Drawing on…… Continue reading Multiculturalism in Ireland – Fighting Racism Against Pakistanis in Dublin
Source: Electronic Intifada By Ali Abunimah Despite the government having fairly clear definitions of what constitutes an act of “terrorism,” the terms “terrorist” or “terrorism” are used not to describe actions but to label people. It is clear these are racialized terms, applied in a discriminatory way to people perceived as Muslim, Arab or nonwhite.…… Continue reading “Terrorist” as a Racist Term
Although they are typically seen to represent overwhelming opposites, the Prophet Muhammad and America’s founding fathers shared many common characteristics and beliefs, which can be seen in historical documents. By comparing the speeches and texts that they left behind, we can learn of the similar viewpoints that Muhammad and the founding fathers held on issues…… Continue reading Documents Show Prophet Muhammad and US Founding Fathers Were Kindred Spirits
This is what sociologists call microaggression: ‘Why isn’t there a White Entertainment Television?’ ‘Jews were slaves too, but you don’t hear us complaining about it all the time…’ ‘You can say the N word but I can’t? How is that okay?’ ‘He’s so cute for a black guy’. ‘The thing I like about them is like…… Continue reading Video: I’m not racist, but… (Shit White Girls Say… to Black Girls)
Stuart Hall is a theorist who has contributed a great deal to our understanding of identity and racism. He is one of the ‘founding fathers’ of cultural studies and here discusses race as a floating signifier. I was not able to find all the videos but you should be able to search for them on…… Continue reading Sociology: The way to understand ‘race’ and ‘racism’
One can only face in others what one can face in oneself. On this confrontation depends the measure of our wisdom and compassion. This energy is all that one finds in the rubble of vanished civilizations, and the only hope for ours. – James Baldwin, ‘NOBODY KNOWS MY NAME’
Derald Wing Sue et al. (2007) posit that micro-aggression racism is: a contemporary form of racism that is invisible, unintentional, subtle in nature, and typically outside the levels of conscious awareness, but it creates a hostile and invalidating climate nonetheless. According to Sue and Colleagues, the cumulative of micro-aggressions may be just as harmful as…… Continue reading How You Could Be Racist and Not Even Know It
I’m excited that Metro Éireann is publishing my article on the story of my Pakistani friend here in Dublin. The article is set to be published on May 1st. Below is some information cut and pasted from Wikipedia. Metro Éireann is Ireland’s multicultural newspaper. It is published by Metro Publishing and Consultancy Limited. The tabloid-format paper was established by…… Continue reading My forthcoming publication in Metro Éireann
I’m heading tomorrow morning to meet with a Pakistani friend who I met back in January. This young man, whose name I’ll keep anonymous for security purposes, is a native of Islamabad, Pakistan. He arrived to Dublin via work visa over eight years ago. When his work visa ended he filed the necessary paperwork to live (legally) in Ireland. His…… Continue reading Wondering About Ireland’s Immigration System
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