Dual Loyalty - Historical Accusations

Historical Accusations

Other historical examples of actual or perceived "dual loyalty" include the following:

• During World War II, a number of United States citizens of Japanese, German, and Italian ancestry, including some born in the U.S., were confined to internment camps. (See: Japanese internment in the United States)
• Roman Catholics are subject to the Pope on religious matters. This has often perceived as dual loyalty by powers opposed to the Holy See.
  • During the English Reformation, many important English and Scottish figures, such as Thomas More, Mary, Queen of Scots and Edmund Campion, were tried and executed for their alleged double loyalty to the Papacy and infidelity to the Crown.
  • During the Third Republic in 19th-century France, citizens were routinely divided between clericals and anticlericals because of long-lasting loyalty related conflicts between the French secularist government and the Holy See.
  • During John F. Kennedy's campaign for and brief tenure as U.S. President, some opponents questioned whether a Roman Catholic President of the United States had a divided loyalty with respect to the Papacy and Vatican City.
  • The Chinese Catholics have been forced by the government of the People's Republic of China to substitute the Roman Catholic Church in China by the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.
• Jews in the Jewish Diaspora have been accused of dual loyalty by the Romans in the 1st century, by the French in the Dreyfus Affair in the late 19th century, in Stalin-era Soviet Union in the 20th century. Before the creation of Israel, Jewish anti-Zionists used the accusation against other Jews. While today some use the phrase in a "neutral and non-pejorative fashion," this use can obscure the fact that home nations and Israel may have sharp political differences. The 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq lead to such accusations against Jewish neoconservatives, vocal proponents of war against Iraq who allegedly sought to undermine Arab nations hostile to Israel (i.e., the term "Israel-firster").
• The loyalty of many Americans to the U.S. government was called into question during the Cold War due to alleged Communist sympathies, resulting in "witch-hunts" of various government officials, celebrities and other citizens. (See: McCarthyism)
• Muslims living in Western countries, especially during periods of heightened tensions, such as after September 11, 2001, or during the Danish Cartoon Controversy of 2005–2006, are sometimes accused of being more loyal to the Muslim ummah than to their country.
• "Dual loyalty" continues to be a concern of critics of the U.S.'s immigration policy, particularly in those states which border Mexico.
• The Hindu minority in Muslim-majority Bangladesh has often been accused of dual loyalty to neighboring India by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and even by Sheikh Hasina who heads the largest political outfit in Bangladesh hailing secularism.
• The Congressional Black Caucus has sometimes been accused of dual loyalty to Africa, that as they were vociferous in their criticisms of nations such as Israel and apartheid South Africa, the CBC stayed largely silent about the numerous human rights abuses of black African dictators.
• The government of Iran accuses the Bahá'í minority of having loyalty to foreign powers (see Iranian anti-Bahá'í conspiracy theories).