Moving Beyond the ‘Sharia Scare’:
A Guide for Faith Leaders and Allies
How to Understand and Upend Political Fearmongering against Muslims in the U.S.
As in the 2010s, some political activists, media pundits, and elected officials are purposefully generating fears about the Islamic religious term, sharia, to score political points and sow division among our fellow Americans. This rhetoric—and the discriminatory policies that accompany it—are harmful not only to Americans who are Muslim, but to the fabric of the United States and to the ideals that we profess to hold as a nation: equality, dignity, fairness, safety, and religious liberty.
This guide, entitled “Moving Beyond the ‘Sharia Scare’: A Guide for Faith Leaders and Allies” provides insights to help faith leaders and allies understand and pro-actively address the harmful political rhetoric and policies targeting American Muslims.
This guide is not just meant to simply shine a light on what sharia is or isn’t, but also to discuss how this latest iteration of fearmongering around it reflects deeper problems plaguing the United States— othering, scapegoating, and marginalization. We seek to help U.S. faith leaders and all people of goodwill respond to and push back against anti-Muslim political activism in ways that are both effective and in alignment with our religious values and American ideals. The allyship of faith leaders is vital and can make a real difference.
At the end of the guide, we share further resources to support faith allies in taking action, including a Quick Reference Sheet—a chart with messaging suggestions for responding to specific anti-Muslim talking points about sharia. We encourage partners to utilize this sheet, while also digging deeper into the guide for further context and background.
The Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign was founded in 2010 in a moment like this one, amid a similar moment when anti-Muslim political activism was used as a means to sow division. In 2018, we released “A Guide to Addressing the Anti-Sharia Movement in the United States” and we wish to continue to provide timely resources that seek to meet the moment.
As we mark the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding and the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks in 2001, Americans—especially people of faith and conscience—have an opportunity to not just look back, but to decide who we want to be and what we wish to carry forward. Together, we can choose to close the chapter on bigotry and start writing a new story defined by our shared values and ideals.
The Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign is here to support you.
Our team is here to uplift and encourage you in the work however we can. Please let us know how this guide is useful, and if you have any feedback or questions, please contact our team at info@s2scampaign.org.