American Muslims as radicals? A critical discourse analysis of the US congressional hearing on ‘The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and That Community’s Response’

Abstract

Using critical discourse analysis, this article seeks to study the ‘reproduction of racism’ against Muslim Americans in the United States Congress based on the case of the congressional hearing held on March 10, 2011, by the Homeland Security Committee of the United States House of Representatives and entitled ‘The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and That Community’s Response’. The study reveals polarization among US representatives on the issue. Two competing discourses emerge. On the one hand, the supporters of the hearing dismiss opposition as hysteria and an irresponsible call to political correctness that doesn’t consider the looming threat from Muslim radicalization emanating from ‘discredited’ Islamic organizations such as CAIR (Council on American–Islamic Relations), ‘jihadist’ imams, and an acquiescent silent Muslim majority. The opposition attacks the hearing as a case of unjustified stereotyping against a whole religious community, an action that is counterproductive and ‘un-American’. While the first discourse introduces the Muslim community as the problem, the second discourse assesses it as part of the solution. The hearing mutes the voices of major Muslim-American organizations, as no representatives of mainstream Islamic organizations are called upon to testify as expert witnesses and some are expressly discredited, as in the case of CAIR.