Book Launch—American Islamophobia: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Fear

In his new book, American Islamophobia, Khaled A. Beydoun captures the many ways in which law, policy, and official state rhetoric have fueled the frightening resurgence of Islamophobia in the United States.

The book charts a long and terrible history, from the plight of enslaved African Muslims in the antebellum South and laws prohibiting Muslim immigrants from becoming citizens to the ways the war on terror assigns blame for any terrorist act to Islam and the myriad trials Muslim Americans face in the Trump era.

Through the stories of Muslim Americans who have experienced Islamophobia across various racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines, Beydoun details how U.S. laws result in shattered lives—and explores ways to build successful coalitions for justice for all Americans.

Speakers

• Khaled A. Beydoun serves as an associate professor of law at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, and is senior affiliated faculty at the University of California, Berkeley, Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project. He is a 2018 Soros Equality Fellow.
• Alvin Starks is a senior program officer with the equality team of the Open Society Foundations’ U.S. Programs, overseeing grant making related to racial justice and racial narratives.