Inform Your Resistance

In this episode, PRA Principal Research Advisor Steven Gardiner provides astute analysis on what has led us to this moment in history—when Donald Trump and the Republican Party have so decisively won the presidency and both houses of congress. Steven shares likely scenarios that may play out in Trump’s first year back in office, the implications of his chaotic cabinet picks for the implementation of both mundane and reactionary policy, and, most importantly, on the opportunities available to resisting the fascistic capture of the U.S. state.  Steven Gardiner [https://politicalresearch.org/bio/steven-gardiner] is Principal Research Advisor, and formerly Research Director, at Political Research Associates. He has been researching and writing in opposition to the politics of bigotry, violence, and authoritarianism since the early 1990s. In 2004, Gardiner received a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from Cornell University; since earning his doctorate, he has taught more than twenty different courses at eight universities in the United States, Pakistan, and the UAE. Episode resources * PRA Statement on the 2024 National Election [https://politicalresearch.org/2024/11/07/pra-statement-2024-national-election] * Religion Dispatches article: “Authoritarians Must Break Your Will to Resist — So What Can You Do About it?” [https://religiondispatches.org/authoritarians-must-break-your-will-to-resist-so-what-can-you-do-about-it/] by Steven Gardiner * Religion Dispatches article: “While Nixon Sought to Secretly ‘Screw’ Political Enemies Trump’s Dictatorial Desires Are Less Modest” [https://religiondispatches.org/while-nixon-sought-to-secretly-screw-political-enemies-trumps-dictatorial-desires-are-less-modest/] by Steven Gardiner * Religion Dispatches article: “Loyalty and Chaos Play a Role in Trump’s Nominations, But This Schoolyard Tactic May Provide a Better Explanation” [https://religiondispatches.org/loyalty-and-chaos-may-play-a-role-in-trumps-nominations-but-this-schoolyard-tactic-may-provide-a-better-explanation/] by Steven Gardiner * Religion Dispatches article: “Trump’s Cabinet (and Other) Picks Paint Picture of a Christian Nationalist ‘Kakistocracy’” [https://religiondispatches.org/trumps-cabinet-and-other-picks-paint-picture-of-a-christian-nationalist-kakistocracy/] by Annika Brockschmidt and Thomas Lecaque * Religion Dispatches article: “Leading ‘Constitutional Sheriffs’ Org Announces ‘Full Support’ for Trump’s Mass Deportations” [https://religiondispatches.org/leading-constitutional-sheriffs-org-announces-full-support-for-trumps-mass-deportations/] by Ethan Fauré

In this episode of Inform Your Resistance, Koki reads “From Palestine to Atlanta, Outside and Foreign: The Institutional Policing of Dissent [http:///node/8384]” by Habiba Farh, as part of our ongoing From the Archives series. From the Archives features those must read and, now, must listen to pieces from PRA’s more than 40 years of publishing. This article was published in the Spring 2024 issue of The Public Eye magazine, and you can read the article here [http:///node/8384].

This interview with Savera Coalition partners Safa Ahmed and Pranay Somayajula dives into an expose on the immensely influential Hindu American Foundation, or HAF, as a Hindu supremacist institution masquerading as a civil rights organization. We discuss HAF's reputation as a leader in civil rights and its true agenda to perpetuate caste discrimination and support for the authoritarian Indian Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP regime in the United States. We discuss HAF's roots in the Hindu supremacist or Hindutva movement and its recent, more explicit shift towards the broader U.S. multiracial far right. We conclude with a discussion of the Savera Coalition's goals and strategy in bringing it down.  Safa Ahmed is the Associate Director of Media & Communications for the Indian American Muslim Council. She has written on Hindu supremacy and human rights in India for Al Jazeera, The Diplomat, Jacobin, Progressive Magazine, and several others. Pranay Somayajula is an Indian-American writer and organizer, based in Washington, DC. He currently serves as Organizing and Advocacy Director for Hindus for Human Rights, an organization that was founded in 2019 to provide a Hindu voice of resistance to caste, Hindutva (Hindu nationalism), and all forms of bigotry and oppression. His writing has been featured in Jacobin [https://jacobin.com/2022/06/far-right-modi-india-us-great-replacement], The Nation [https://www.thenation.com/article/world/india-israel-bulldozer-demolitions/], and The Drift [https://www.thedriftmag.com/shiny-objects/], as well as on his Substack blog, culture shock. [https://www.culture-shock.xyz/] He is also the host of Return to Bandung [http://www.returntobandung.com], a podcast that explores questions of imperialism, resistance, and internationalist solidarity throughout history and into the present day. Episode resources * “HAF Way to Supremacy: How the Hindu American Foundation Rebrands Bigotry As Minority Rights [https://politicalresearch.org/2024/10/15/haf-way-supremacy],” Political Research Associates and Savera, 2024. * “Hindu Supremacy and the Multiracial U.S. Far Right [https://politicalresearch.org/2024/10/30/hindu-supremacy-and-multiracial-us-far-right],” Savera, The Public Eye, 2024. * “A Global Trail of Violence: India’s Hindu Supremacist Movement and Its Role in the Transnational Far Right [https://politicalresearch.org/2024/05/17/global-trail-violence],” Savera, The Public Eye, 2024. Edited excerpts from Savera’s report, “The Global VHP’s Trail of Violence [https://www.wearesavera.org/resources/reports].”

Koki talks with Ramah Kudaimi about U.S. imperialism and state violence, and its reverberations both domestically and abroad. From the global war on terror, to genocide in Palestine, to anti-Muslim policing and surveillance in our communities, we discuss the ways that imperial power, capitalist interests, and far-right organizing intersect in ways that compound harm and entrench systems of oppression.  We discuss the ways in corporations profit not only from war and militarism, but specifically from Islamophobia and anti-Muslim bigotry and violence. Ramah unpacks the concept of “terror capitalism” or the idea that corporations reap massive profits from labeling entire communities as “terrorists,” who then become the test subjects for technologies of warfare (both at home and abroad) that line the pockets of large corporations and continue the war long after ground troops have come home.  We also discuss the modes of resistance available to us and our movements to counter these forces. Ramah Kudaimi works at the Action Center on Race and the Economy as the campaign director of the Crescendo Project [https://acrecampaigns.org/campaigns/crescendo/], which focuses on researching and campaigning against corporate complicity in Islamophobia and anti Muslim bigotry. Episode Resources * How Big Tech Sells War on Our Communities [https://bigtechsellswar.com/] * “DHS Open for Business: How Tech Corporations Bring the War on Terror to Our Neighborhoods [https://acrecampaigns.org/research_post/dhs-open-for-business/],” a report from Action Center on Race & the Economy, LittleSis, MediaJustice, and the Surveillance, Tech, and Immigration Policing Project at the Immigration Defense Project, 2022.  * Banking on Solidarity [https://www.bankingonsolidarity.org/] CitiBank campaign * Genocide Gentry [https://genocidegentry.org/], a dataset and analysis of weapons company executives and board members with connections to educational and cultural institutions * Shattering Justice [https://www.shatteringjustice.org/], an online visual timeline on the War on Terror in the U.S.

This episode with guest-host Jack Gieseking features an in-depth discussion with Frederick Clarkson about the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), a significant and influential movement within the Christian Right. Clarkson explains the background and history of NAR, as well as its contemporary political significance. The conversation also touches on the relationship between NAR the January 6th 2021 Capitol insurrection, NAR’s relationship with Israel, and their strategy to build their voting block and flip districts, as well as the broader and far-reaching implications NAR has for democracy and religious freedom.  Clarkson emphasizes the importance of understanding this movement, given its significant impact on politics and society. He calls for increased awareness and study of the NAR among all of us who care about fighting rising fascism. The discussion concludes with a call to action, urging listeners to educate themselves about the NAR and develop a common vocabulary to facilitate meaningful conversations about its influence and implications. Episode Resources * The Insurgence: Sheriffs [https://politicalresearch.org/the-insurgence-sheriffs] is a podcast series that uncovers how a national network of far-right sheriffs is mobilizing to create a White Christian republic, one county at a time. The series features first-hand accounts from people across the country who have come up against the sometimes-fatal consequences from the unchecked power of county sheriffs and their growing alignment with the new Far Right. The Insurgence: Sheriffs is created and hosted by investigative reporter and PRA Research Director Cloee Cooper [https://politicalresearch.org/bio/cloee-cooper], and co-executive produced by Political Research Associates [https://politicalresearch.org/] and Cuentero Productions [https://www.cuenteroproductions.com/]. * Christian Right Denialism is More Dangerous Than Ever: A Reporter’s Guide to the New Apostolic Reformation [https://religiondispatches.org/christian-right-denialism-is-more-dangerous-than-ever-a-reporters-guide-to-the-new-apostolic-reformation/], by Frederick Clarkson and André Gagné, Religion Dispatches, 2022.  * Christian Nationalists Dream of Taking Over America. This Movement Is Actually Doing It [https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/10/new-apostolic-reformation-christian-nationalism/] by Kiera Butler, Mother Jones, 2024. * Packed with Threats of Political Violence, Media Largely Ignore the NAR’s ‘Million Women’ Rally in DC [https://religiondispatches.org/packed-with-threats-of-political-violence-media-largely-ignore-the-nars-million-women-rally-in-dc/], by Frederick Clarkson, Religion Dispatches, 2024. * Where’s Wallnau? A NAR Apostle Takes Aim at Swing Counties in ‘The Battle for the Mountain of Government’ [https://religiondispatches.org/wheres-wallnau-a-nar-apostle-takes-aim-at-swing-counties-in-the-battle-for-the-mountain-of-government/], by Frederick Clarkson, Religion Dispatches, 2024. Episode Keywords New Apostolic Reformation, Christian Right, Christian Right leaders, Project 2025, Project 19