Across the Middle East and beyond, anti-American rhetoric is everywhere. Islamist movements burn American flags, chant “Death to America,” attack US interests and openly preach hatred of the West on television, in mosques and across social media.
But this raises an obvious question: Why is America singled out so intensely?
After all, Muslims face far harsher treatment in countries like China and Russia. In China, millions of Uyghur Muslims have reportedly faced mass detention, surveillance and forced assimilation. In Russia, Islamic separatist movements have been crushed with overwhelming force for decades.
Yet the global Islamist movement rarely organizes worldwide protests against Beijing or Moscow. There are no endless university encampments demanding sanctions on China over Xinjiang. There are few mass boycotts of Russia over Chechnya.
