About Le Anne Clausen Expertise I can answer questions about human rights work as a vocation, human rights as they pertain to the Middle East and/or Muslim world, particularly Palestine/Israel, Iraq, and Afghanistan. While in Iraq, I helped to investigate prisoner abuses, including those at Abu Ghraib. I can also answer questions on women's rights in the Middle East. I cannot give you legal advice.
Experience I was a human rights worker for four years in the Middle East, including Palestine, Israel, and Iraq. I also participated in a human rights delegation to Afghanistan in summer 2005. I have an MA in Christian-Muslim relations, with special study on women's issues; I also worked one year for an Arab women's grassroots human rights organization. I am currently working to build an interfaith peace-teams based human rights organization
Publications "Be the Healers" (considering next steps for addressing the Abu Ghraib scandal), July 2004 edition, "The Lutheran" magazine.
Also: www.christian-muslim.net; www.young-activist.blogspot.com; additional interviews and articles about me are available via Google search.
Question Do you think that muslims and arabs are hated? is islamaphobia growing? how much percent of the world hate muslims?
Answer Hi Sam, thanks for your question.
While it is hard to quantify a sentiment such as hatred toward any group of people (without say, a carefully prepared research survey covering multiple regions of the planet), I would tend to say that Islamophobia has been steadily growing over the past decade and that there are many negative stereotypes portrayed in the media (news, plus entertainment sources) towards Arabs and/or Muslims. I think there are a few reasons for this, such as the current Middle East crises and the foreign policy stance of the U.S. government, as well as propaganda statements made by the present administration. Also, there is more awareness that Arabs and Muslims 'exist,' given the current political situation (they're 'on the radar' in the way say, Eastern Europeans and/or Communists no longer are).
I can suggest a few thought-provoking resources for you on stereotypes and perceptions:
'Reel Bad Arabs', by Jack Sheehan, indexing the movie industry's portrayal of Arabs and Muslims
'30 Days', an FX series produced by the same guy as did 'SuperSize Me' --he's done some work on breaking down stereotypes on the Muslim community.
You should be able to find both, and more, via Google search or Amazon, or the search engine of your choice.
You may also like to consult the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, www.adc.com.
