Why the United States Needs a Special Envoy to Combat Global Islamophobia
By Zai Rutter, the Communications Coordinator with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR National
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After years of escalating discrimination and violent attacks against Muslim communities around the world, some might wonder if this is the new normal. Islamophobia has reached unprecedented heights, with more than several mass killings being perpetuated in the past three years. And while it seems that each of these assailants are lone wolves, Islamophobia is their connected life force. A phenomenon which fuses these individual assaults into a sole juggernaut.
On July 21st, Rep. Ilhan Omar and twenty-three other members of Congress joined together on Capitol Hill to call on President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to appoint a Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Global Islamophobia. During their press conference, Rep. Omar encapsulated the call pointedly, saying; “It is time for us to treat these problems as interconnected and genuinely global.”
The appointment of a Special Envoy for Islamophobia is pertinent for the United States; a recent mid-year report published by CAIR has documented over 500 incidents of Islamophobia between January and July 2021. CAIR’s Civil Rights report which documents hate crimes in the year 2020 saw over 6,000 complaints, an increase of 9% since past years.
The appointment would also demonstrate the government’s leadership in the issue and signify that the experiences and the preservation of religious liberties of Muslims are an important feature in America’s democracy. Rep. Omar said she would introduce legislation that would give this envoy the force of law, an important facet that would turn this role away from a nominal gesture into a tactical means to curb islamophobia.
A special envoy, in short, is a position that a President can create without the vote of Congress, which makes it unique from cabinet positions. It is used generally, but also for urgent matters. There are currently several envoy positions in Biden’s staff and most faith groups have historically been granted envoys, such as the Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism. These figures have the most impact in areas of foreign diplomacy, and the Special Envoy for Islamophobia is exceptional in that it straddles a domestic trend with international reach.
March 15, 2019, marks one of the most heinous attacks on Muslim places of worship, the Christchurch Mosque shooting. The incident shocked the world for its severity, but also for its pellucid broadcasting of Muslim death on Facebook live. This incident has gone on to inspire other attacks, including one this year that was plotted in Singapore but was ultimately interrupted by law enforcement.
And so is the chain of transmission, the Christchurch Mosque assailant was similarly inspired, and his manifesto demonstrated that he received his revelation from American far right extremist propaganda. The Quebec City Mosque attack in 2017 was also influenced by American islamophobia and may have inspired the attack in London Canada which killed a family of four.
Treating Islamophobia domestically is a necessary step, but it must also be targeted on the global stage. In response to the recent terror attacks, Canadians are also calling for an envoy on Islamophobia. Quoting that their current institutions are unequipped to handle the rampant white supremacist ideologies infiltrating their education and government.
The U.S. special envoy is well suited to pioneer an international network to curb these terror attacks. It can lobby Senate committees, such as the Committee on Foreign Relations, and joined with a larger network of countries it can make imperatives on international diplomacy requiring other nations to afford rights and religious freedoms to Muslims abroad.
The annual report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) specified China, India and Burma as “Countries of Particular Concern” for their systemic and exigent crackdowns on Muslim faith practices. Focusing the rights of Muslims in diplomacy has powerful effects on curbing systemic global islamophobia.
Islamophobia and white supremacy have undeniable roots in American far-right politics that has inspired a slew of attacks on Muslims. The appointment of a US Special Envoy to counter Islamophobia can position the United States as the exponent to finally curtail this growing terror threat. The call for this envoy position is long overdue but far from late, as many other Western democracies experience calls to implement their own policies.
Zai Rutter is the Communications Coordinator with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.
