Apply Now
Muslim Americans are encouraged to vote, run for office, and participate in democratic life. Yet political participation and electoral success can also prompt accusations of disloyalty, extremism, and foreign influence. What happens to equal citizenship when participation itself becomes a source of suspicion? Drawing on Punished for Participating: Islamophobia in U.S. Electoral Politics, a report from Rutgers Law School’s Center for Security, Race and Rights, this public lecture examines how anti-Muslim rhetoric and political mobilization shape U.S. elections and Muslim Americans’ participation in public life.
Professor Faisal Kutty will explore the distinction between legitimate scrutiny of political candidates and demands that Muslims prove their loyalty or justify their place in public life. He will also examine religious tests for public trust, campaigns against “Sharia law,” and narratives that frame Muslim political participation as a national security threat.
The lecture will also explore the relationship between domestic exclusion and U.S. foreign policy, including how debates over Israel and Palestine, military intervention, and national security can shape questions of belonging and influence democratic debate.
The discussion will consider the broader implications of these dynamics for political equality, democratic participation, and equal citizenship in the United States.
The event will be held in English.
