As the 2016 American Presidential election reaches full swing, there has been a noticeable uptick in Islamophobia in the United States. Republican nominee Donald Trump has even campaigned on a ban on all Muslim immigration to the U.S.
It has become increasingly important to understand the reasons for the rise of Islamophobia, and its implications for the country’s political climate. Former GPPR editor Case Boeshaar had the opportunity to interview Georgetown University’s Dr. John Esposito, the Founding Director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding in the Walsh School of Foreign Service and Project Director of The Bridge Initiative, a multi-year research project that connects the academic study of Islamophobia with the public square.
The interview details the history of Islam, discrimination against minorities in the United States, the numerous misconceptions surrounding both Muslims and Muslim Americans, and ways for Georgetown students and the general public to approach it.
For more information on Dr. John Esposito and the Bridge Initiative’s work, please visit their website at: http://bridge.georgetown.edu/
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Established in 1995, the Georgetown Public Policy Review is the McCourt School of Public Policy’s nonpartisan, graduate student-run publication. Our mission is to provide an outlet for innovative new thinkers and established policymakers to offer perspectives on the politics and policies that shape our nation and our world.
Everything from Georgetown and the Bridge Initiative must be filtered through the knowledge that they have been heavily funded by the Saudi royal family. $20 million is the low estimate.
As for John Esposito, please remember that he won the 1996 World Book prize from the Islamic Republic of Iran for a book he wrote. Not many American college professors can say one of their books found favor with an Islamic regime known for the religious oppression of millions of people.
Esposito also defended his “good friend”, Sami Al Arian, who ultimately pled guilty to aiding a terrorist organization.