Is the Anti-Immigrant Movement Ramping up Its Islamophobia in 2011?

White nationalist John Tanton and friends appear to be gearing up for a strong, anti-Muslim initiative in 2011.

Beginning last year, The Social Contract Press, the publishing arm of the Tanton Network, dedicated an entire issue of its quarterly publication (still published by Tanton himself) to “The Menace of Islam.” The Fall 2010 issue employs stereotyping, misconstrued facts, and attacks on Muslims to push for a moratorium on all Muslim immigration to the U.S.

The Social Contract Press (TSCP) received heavy criticism for its Fall issue; so much that it posted a reply to critics in an attempt to justify targeting Muslims for exclusion and deportation.

Long-time critic of TSCP and John Tanton is the Southern Poverty Law Center, which published a feature article on its controversial history. The SPLC apparently struck a nerve, as the Spring 2011 issue of the Social Contract is entirely devoted to attacking the SPLC.

Another recent example of anti-Muslim rhetoric comes from Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) board of advisor Joe Guzzardi. Guzzardi wrote an article in January for Californians For Population Stabilization. In his article, Guzzardi spouts off about the fertility rates in predominantly Muslim nations and attempts to make a correlation between these statistics a “potential terrorist implication […that is] bad for a sustainable America.”

More than anything, Guzzardi seems bothered by the mere idea that Muslims are building families.

Another organization founded by John Tanton, the Center for Immigration Studies, recently published an article calling for stricter immigration laws that would focus on deporting Muslim immigrants.

The author, James R. Edwards Jr., recently wrote another piece on Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, a student at a Texas college recently accused of terrorist plotting, wherein he indirectly accuses all Muslim students in American colleges and universities of being terrorists.

With all the attention given to the subject of Muslim immigration, one has to wonder what the Tanton Network’s intentions are.

Aside from the incredibly obvious, that the Tanton Network is merely continuing its xenophobic, anti-immigrant agenda, one might find the reason for the increased anti-Muslim activity with 9/11 Families for a Secure America.

Another affiliate of the Network, the group recently overhauled its website. With the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 disaster just around the corner, it could be that Tanton and friends are capitalizing on tragedy in order to push their hateful ideology.