Xenophobic political rhetoric out of touch with reality

When freshman Texas state Representative Molly White’s (R) troubling Facebook post aimed at Muslim-Americans recently garnered national attention, White not only alienated Texans across the state, she also joined a growing trend of political candidates using anti-Muslim sentiment to pander to the American conservative right-wing. 

The level of disconnect between White’s statements on Muslim-Americans and their true commitment to putting down roots in Texas is not only alarming, it is outright disturbing.  Similarly, the strain of anti-Muslim sentiment underlying comments by 2016 GOP presidential hopefuls – with its potential to increase distrust, violence, and hate crimes against South Asian-Americans – is dangerous.

{mosads}White’s comments, which questioned Muslims’ loyalty to the United States and demanded they denounce terrorism as they were exercising their quintessential American civic duty by meeting with their state government representatives, are not only out of touch with the demographic reality of her district and region in Texas; they spur misplaced distrust of Muslim-Americans and South Asian communities nationally, leading to a perception of being suspect and political disenfranchisement for an entire community.  As the executive director of a national South Asian organization, this hits home for me: roughly one-third of Muslim-Americans are South Asian.  At last count, over 440,000 Muslims call Texas home, and Texas’ demographic reality points to a booming South Asian population across the nation: South Asian populations experienced an unprecedented increase, growing nearly 81 percent between 2000 and 2010.  Yet despite this rapid growth, South Asian Americans also register to vote at the lowest rate among major U.S. racial groups, indicating that the community is already reluctant to participate in the political process.

South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)’s September 2014 analysis, Under Suspicion, Under Attack, situates Rep White’s statements in a growing wave of xenophobic political rhetoric that is increasingly and overwhelmingly aimed at Muslims, South Asians, Sikh, Hindu, Middle Eastern, and Arab communities in the U.S. We found a 40 percent increase in xenophobic political rhetoric between 2010 and 2014.  Unfortunately, these statements are increasingly frequent and overwhelmingly anti-Muslim: more than 90 percent, to be exact. White’s comments follow similar statements made in 2010 by presidential candidates former Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.): “If you just objectively look at every action that Barack Obama has taken as President of the United States, the fruit of his actions have lifted up the aims and goals of the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic Jihad…”; and Herman Cain:  “there is a greater dangerous part of the Muslim faith than there is in any of these other religions;” and ones made recently by former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.): “We’re at war…we need to begin profiling who our enemy is in this war: young Muslim men;” and Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.): “How many Muslims in this world agree with these radicals” who “do not believe in freedom or common decency?” 

White’s statement perpetuates a misguided and divisive narrative that paints our communities as un-American, unwelcome, and disloyal, leaving our community members feeling unsafe and excluded from the political process. Our public officials should consider fostering government participation as their patriotic duty, as it furthers the ideals of democracy and freedom for all of our nation’s citizens, dispelling fears that many immigrants have of government as a result of their experiences in their home countries.  The Executive Director of CAIR-Houston, Mustafa Carroll, opined after White’s comments: “Many of our folks have come from places where they never had any contact with government and if they did it wasn’t always good. So many of them are afraid to even be here, and this was a way of opening that up so that this mystique about government wouldn’t affect them.” (USA Today)

What would the Muslim-American constituents attending Texas Muslim Capitol Day have discussed with Rep. White, or with any political candidate if given the chance? We can speculate that their concerns mirror those of so many Americans: education, the future of their children, the economic outlook of the country.  As Americans, it is our duty to combat discriminatory rhetoric aimed at a particular demographic, particularly as we near the 2016 Presidential election.  We must hold public figures and elected officials accountable to ensure that the concerns of all our citizens are heard.

Raghunathan is the executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), a national organization which seeks to amplify South Asian American voices.