Islamophobia Explained:

A Conversation With Muslim Public Affairs Council’s Alejandro Beutel

Dec 27th, 2010 - Not since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 has the fear and loathing of Muslims been as virulent, as widespread among Americans, and as close to morphing from hateful rhetoric into life-threatening violence.

It was against that background that TPR correspondent William Fisher sat down to discuss these key issues with Alejandro J. Beutel, government liaison for the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC). MPAC is one of the principal organizations for Muslim-Americans and for Muslims who are being persecuted all over the world. But much of MPAC’s focus is Washington and the U.S. Government, where the organization appears top be as sophisticated and well informed as any DC lobbying outfit.

Beutel has authored several academic papers, articles and reports on topics of Islam, international security, religious liberty and democratization. He has also been quoted and featured in various media outlets such as the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, the Boston Globe, CNN, Al-Jazeera English, and MSNBC. He is the author of MPAC’s counterterrorism policy paper “Building Bridges to Strengthen America.” and a co-author of MPAC’s immigration policy paper, “Ineffective and Unjust: Fixing Our Broken Immigration System.” {conversation continued}