Virtual Commons - Bridgewater State University

Social Justice in America and the Rise of Islamophobia

Burnell 112

We have been witness to rising evidence in the press and recently in the halls of the House of Representatives, to thinly-veiled attacks on the presence of Muslim Americans on the soil of this nation. Much of the discourse is patterned as an examination of a rise in the "Radicalization in the American Muslim Community," the topic of those open hearings in the House Homeland Security Committee. We have gathered four faculty from different disciplines, to contribute to the process of constructing a discourse on the fundamentals of religious freedom for all American citizens. We believe that it is both timely and appropriate to engage with our peers in an examination of the roots of this religious hysteria and attempt to explore ways in which the university might contribute to a constructive conversation within society about the nature of religious freedom in our country and the ultimate price of bigotry.