Altering Our Commitments: How to Defeat Islamophobia in the US

Race & Religion Altering our Commitments: How to Defeat Islamophobia in the United States Moustafa Bayoumi Thurs, May 16th, 6 PM Lecture/MCC Theater In todays United States, Muslimswho have been here since before the nations foundingare routinely and repeatedly considered to be outsiders, dangerous newcomers who must tirelessly and continuously prove their loyalty to the country. Not only does this fiction that American Muslims are new members of American society distort our national history, but it also enables a way of thinking about Islam that reinforces decades of disastrous American foreign policy. In this lecture, Moustafa Bayoumiauthor of This Muslim American Life, among other workswill describe the little-known Muslim past of the United States, how the Islamophobic present functions to buttress traditional American power and racism, and the surprising opportunity created by this moment to forge a new, more equitable future. Moustafa Bayoumi is a Professor of English at Brooklyn College, City University of New York (CUNY) and the author of the critically acclaimed How Does It Feel To Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America.