In this chapter I argue that the right-wing Islamophobes are not a fringe minority but rather part and parcel of the structures of mainstream American society. Like Senator Joseph McCarthy before them, the new McCarthyites play a collective role in ramping up fear and hatred against Muslims, with the full consent of both the Republican and Democratic parties. Just as McCarthy was enabled by a political system that found his antics useful in the prosecution of the Cold War, the new McCarthyites of today are useful in pushing the envelope and advancing the War on Terror.

XREF: Parallels historical patterns of the Cold War McCarthy era to the War on Terror; the reader may know McCarthy-era history well enough to weigh this analogy critically.

Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politi…, loc. 34