The Bridge Initiative researches allegations of anti-Muslim sentiment in America and provides commentary, reports, and other materials related to its mission. ¹ It is an initiative of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University. ²

Funding

The Bridge Initiative’s funding comes from the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. The Center was founded in 1993 “to build stronger bridges of understanding” between Muslims and Christians, and especially “to…enhance understanding of Muslims in the West.” The Center received $20 million in 2005 from Saudi prince, philanthropist, and multi-billionaire businessman Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. It was subsequently renamed for Prince Alwaleed. ²³⁴

Prince Alwaleed has faced a number of controversies. He was arrested and later released in 2017 as part of an alleged corruption crackdown by the Saudi Arabian government, though he declared his innocence as the Saudi government sought six billion dollars for his release. ⁵ He also declared his opposition to the existence of Israel and Tweeted that he carries a Palestinian passport. ⁶

Initiatives

The Bridge Initiative focuses exclusively on anti-Muslim animus, known as “Islamophobia.” ^{7 8 1} On its website, the Bridge Initiative defines “Islamophobia” as “an extreme fear of and hostility toward Islam and Muslims which often leads to hate speech, hate crimes, as well as social and political discrimination,” and does not include “rational criticism[s] of Islam.” ⁹ The Initiative claims that Islamophobia is responsible for the “mass surveillance, incarceration (imprisonment), and disenfranchisement” of Muslims, and “those perceived as Muslims” and has been present in the West since the Middle Ages. ⁹

The Initiative has published several extensive reports since the first election of Donald Trump as President of the United States in 2016. One of those reports, published in June 2017, concluded that anti-Muslim views were mainstreamed by the by the Trump campaign and Administration. ¹⁰¹¹

The report relied heavily on viewpoints held by individuals in the administration and administration allies in addition to several policies which were proposed and/or enacted. The report provided an expansive view of “anti-Muslim” actions and viewpoints which led the report to include mainstream conservatives such as Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the same category as prominent critics of Islam and Islamist politics such as Center for Security Policy Founder Frank Gaffney. ¹²¹³

An infographic likewise tied then-Trump White House spokesperson Kellyanne Conway and then-Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson to three groups which are critical of Islam and Islamist politics. ¹⁴

The Initiative also released a report in 2018 which concluded that attacks against American Muslims were tied to critiques of Muslims by presidential candidates, especially Republicans and most especially then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in 2015 and 2016. ¹⁵ The Initiative hosted a panel discussion about “Islamophobia” in the Trump era, with an Initiative staffer concluding that the level is “unprecedented.” ¹⁶

In April 2019, the Initiative co-signed a letter to “America’s CEOs” urging companies to not hire Trump administration officials who were involved in creating and enacting the administration’s immigration policies. ¹⁷

The Bridge Initiative claims to provide research in the form of “Factsheets” on individuals, organizations, and pieces of legislation it argues are allegedly Islamophobic have engaged in racist behavior. Those listed include President Donald Trump, right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson, right-wing Dutch politician Geert Wilders, the German far-right party Alternative for Germany, and the USA PATRIOT Act. ^{18 19}

The Initiative also manages the Islamophobia Resource Center, a collection of news articles and academic reports that claim to report on global trends of alleged Islamophobia. ²⁰

Criticism

Watchdog group Middle East Forum has criticized the Bridge Initiative for being part of what it calls the “Islamophobia Industry,” or a group of academics and nonprofits that received funding while making exaggerated claims about the presence of anti-Islamic sentiment from organizations and individuals. The Forum has also criticized the Initiative for supporting restrictions on free speech (such as outlawing the burning of the Qur’an), as well as low-quality scholarship, including regular “name-calling, defensive posturing, and shallow arguments.” ²¹

Stop Hindusheva, an organization opposed to anti-Hindu sentiment, has criticized the Initiative for allegedly being a propaganda tool of Islamist regimes and Muslim intellectuals to deflect legitimate criticisms of Islam. The organization claims that the Initiative engages in biased and low-quality research to support its ideological goals and has erroneously accused numerous Hindu organizations of Islamophobia. ²²

Operation Luxor

In November 2020, the Austrian government launched “Operation Luxor,” an initiative meant to identify and combat radical Islamist terrorism within the country that included raiding several homes belonging to Muslim families. One included the home of Farid Hafez, an Austrian national and senior researcher with the Bridge Initiative. According to a regional court, Hafez was targeted due to his “activities in the preparation of the so-called Islamophobia Report and activity with the Bridge Initiative at Georgetown University” which is allegedly “intended to disseminate the fighting term ‘Islamophobia’ with the goal of preventing any critical engagement with Islam as a religion […] in order to establish an Islamic state.” ²³ Hafez claims he did not commit any crimes and moved to the United States following the raid. ^{24 25}

Leadership

Professor John Esposito is the founding director of the Bridge Initiative. Esposito also is the founding director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and has previously been involved in religious studies. He works as a professor of religion and international affairs and of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University and has published books on aspects of Islam. Esposito has also has been an advisor to the U.S. Department of State, as the president of the American Academy of Religion, president of the Middle East Studies Association of North America, as president of the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies, the vice chair of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Council of 100 Leaders. ²⁶

1. The Bridge Institute, Accessed June 17, 2019. https://bridge.georgetown.edu/
2. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, About ACMCU, Accessed June 17, 2019. https://acmcu.georgetown.edu/about
3. Philanthropy News Digest, “Saudi Prince Alwaleed Pledges $32 Billion Fortune to Charity,” July 2, 2015. Accessed June 17, 2019. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/saudi-prince-alwaleed-pledges-32-billion-fortune-to-charity
4. Elizabeth Redden, “Detained prince is major donor to universities,” November 9, 2017. Accessed June 19, 2019. https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2017/11/09/detained-prince-major-donor-universities
5. Gareth Browne, “Saudi Arabia demands $6 billion for the release of Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal, one of the richest men in the world,” December 25, 2017. Accessed June 17, 2019. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/25/saudi-arabia-demands-6-billion-release-prince-al-waleed-bin/
6. Mamoon Alabbasi, “Fabricated quotes attributed to Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal on Israel-Palestine go viral,” October 29, 2015. Accessed June 17, 2019. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/fabricated-quotes-attributed-saudi-prince-alwaleed-bin-talal-israel-palestine-go-viral
7. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, ACMCU Courses Fall 2019, Accessed June 17, 2019. https://acmcu.georgetown.edu/course-description-fall2019
8. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Research & Publications, Accessed June 17, 2019. https://acmcu.georgetown.edu/research
9. “What is Islamophobia?” Bridge.Georgetown.edu. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://bridge.georgetown.edu/about-us/what-is-islamophobia/.
10. The Bridge Institute Report Summary, “A new era in American politics: The Trump administration and mainstream Islamophobia,” June 23, 2017. Accessed June 17, 2019. https://bridge.georgetown.edu/research/a-new-era-in-american-politics-the-trump-administration-and-mainstream-islamophobia/
11. The Bridge Institute Report, “A new era in American politics: The Trump administration and mainstream Islamophobia,” June 23, 2017. Accessed June 17, 2019. https://bridge.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/final-trump-admin-report.pdf
12. Center for Security Policy, Center Staff, Accessed June 17, 2019. https://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/about-us/staff/
13. Center for Security Policy, CSP Press, Accessed June 17, 2019. https://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/publications/csp-press/
14. Infographic, “The Trump administration and anti-Muslim groups,” June 29, 2017. Accessed June 17, 2019. https://bridge.georgetown.edu/research/the-trump-administration-and-anti-muslim-groups/
15. The Bridge Initiative, “When Islamophobia turns violent: The 2016 U.S. presidential elections,” November 2018. Accessed June 17, 2019. https://bridge.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/When-Islamophobia-Turns-Violent.pdf
16. Deepika Jonnalagadda, “Experts talk Muslim ban, Islamophobia in Trump era,” February 23, 2018. Accessed June 17, 2019. https://www.thehoya.com/experts-talk-muslim-ban-islamaphobia-trump-era/
17. “An open letter to America’s CEOs,” April 6, 2019. Accessed June 17, 2019. https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/04/Restore-Public-Trust-Open-Letter-Asylum-04.2019.pdf
18. “Factsheets.” Bridge.Georgetown.edu. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://bridge.georgetown.edu/research-publications/factsheets/.
19. “Factsheet: DONALD TRUMP AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.” Bridge.Georgetown.edu. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://bridge.georgetown.edu/research/factsheet-donald-trump-as-president-of-the-united-states/.
20. “Islamophobia Resource Center.” Bridge.Georgetown.edu. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://bridge.georgetown.edu/projects/resource-center/.
21. Caschetta, A.J. “Georgetown University’s Bridge Initiative Opposes Free Speech.” Middle East Forum. August 16, 2023. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://www.meforum.org/georgetown-university-bridge-initiative-opposes-64698.
22. Bansal, Dr. Jai G. “Islamist Influence in Western Academia: The Bridge Initiative and Georgetown University’s Dilemma.” Stop Hindusheva. December 6, 2023. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://stophindudvesha.org/islamist-influence-in-western-academia-the-bridge-initiative-and-georgetown-universitys-dilemma/.
23. Hafez, Farid. “Enemies of the State.” August 26, 2024. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://newlinesmag.com/first-person/how-prominent-muslims-in-austria-were-painted-as-enemies-of-the-state/.
24. ^[1] Hafez, Farid. “Enemies of the State.” August 26, 2024. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://newlinesmag.com/first-person/how-prominent-muslims-in-austria-were-painted-as-enemies-of-the-state/.
25. “Austria’s Operation Luxor: Anti-terrorism or Islamophobia?.” Al Jazeera. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://www.aljazeera.com/program/al-jazeera-world/2022/5/18/austrias-operation-luxor-anti-terrorism-or-islamophobia.
26. The Bridge Institute, Meet the team, Accessed December 11, 2024.  https://bridge.georgetown.edu/about-us/meet-the-team/