The Criminalization of Islamophobia Studies

Announced by the University of Pittsburgh

In November 2020, Dr. Farid Hafez’s home was one among 60 homes targeted by the Austrian authorities as part of Operation Luxor. It was later revealed that the Austrian government targeted Dr. Hafez due to his scholarly work on Islamophobia. Following the two year battle, the charges against Dr. Hafez were dropped as they had no legal standing but the long-lasting impact of the raid illustrates the increasing hostility academics and Muslim civil society are experiencing in Europe.
Over the past few years, a number of European governments, especially those led by right-ward leaning parties, have taken aim at academics and activists who call attention to the state’s discriminatory policies against Muslims. Scholars who have produced important work analyzing the state’s role in promoting and supporting Islamophobia have been subject to smear campaigns accusing them of being tied to extremism and terrorism. Additionally, organizations, such as the Collective Against Islamophobia (CCIF) in France, that have documented the rising hate crimes against Muslim communities have been shut down by the state and many others continue to face intimidation and harassment by the authorities.
The Bridge Initiative brings together a panel of experts who have faced targeted harassment for their scholarly work on the state’s role in promoting Islamophobia, to discuss this growing and dangerous phenomena and the impact it’s having on academic freedom and civil society.

Speakers

Dr. François Burgat: is a political scientist and arabist, Former Senior Research Fellow (Directeur de recherches) at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) posted at IREMAM (Institut de recherches et d'études sur le monde arabe et musulman) in Aix-en-Provence. He is the former head of the French Center for Archaeology and Social Sciences in Sanaa (CEFAS 1997-2003) and of the French Institute in the Near East, in Damascus (Ifpo 2008-2013). He has also been the Principal Investigator of the European Research Council (ERC) Research Program, "When Authoritarianism Fails in the Arab World”. His latest books include “Understanding Political Islam” and “The History of Islamist mobilizations (19-21st centuries), from Afghani to Baghdadi.” Burgat is also a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).

Dr. Farid Hafez is a Vienna-based political scientist at Salzburg University, Department of Political Science and Sociology. In 2017, Farid was a Fulbright Visiting Professor at University of California, Berkeley and in 2014, a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University in New York City. He is the founding editor of the German-English Islamophobia Studies Yearbook (since 2010) and co-editor of the annual European Islamophobia Report (since 2015), a collaborative work with 40 scholars covering more than 30 European countries. Hafez regularly appears on prominent media outlets throughout the world. He was awarded the prestigious 2010 Bruno Kreisky-Award for the Political Book of the Year for his anthology on Islamophobia in Austria. Hafez has more than 100 publications and publishes in internationally renowned journals such as Politics and Religion, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, Patterns of Prejudice, German Politics and Society.

Moderator

Dr. John L. Esposito: is Distinguished University Professor, Professor of Religion and International Affairs and of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, John L. Esposito is Founding Director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding in the Walsh School of Foreign Service. Esposito has served as consultant to the U.S. Department of State and other agencies, European and Asian governments and corporations, universities, and the media worldwide. He is a former President of the American Academy of Religion, the Middle East Studies Association of North America and of the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies, Vice Chair of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, and member of the World Economic Forum’s Council of 100 Leaders, and member of the E. C. European Network of Experts on De-Radicalisation and Board of Directors of the C-1 World Dialogue.

Register Here: https://georgetown.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xzkYHQnSRiGKQFAe3gWCmA#/r...