Includes bibliographical references (pages 203-224) and index.
Contents:
Images of Islam in Europe -- Early contact with Islam -- Al-Andalus and Muslim rule in Europe -- The Crusades and the Reconquista -- From polemic to indifference -- The Ottomans -- Romanticism and the Enlightenment -- Colonialism and Orientalism -- Napoleon and "enlightened" colonialism -- The characteristics of Orientalism -- American imperialism -- The persistence of Orientalist myths -- Myth one : Islam is a monolithic religion -- Myth two : Islam is a uniquely sexist religion -- Myth three : the "Muslim mind" Is incapable of reason and rationality -- Myth four : Islam is an inherently violent religion -- Myth five : Muslims are incapable of democracy and self-rule -- Allies and enemies : the United States and political Islam -- Islam and modernization -- Saudi Arabia and the King of Islam -- Iran and Afghanistan : irrational mullahs and freedom fighters -- Israel's enemies -- Islamists and the post-Cold War era -- The separation of mosque and state -- Orientalist myths -- The de facto separation of religion and politics -- Modernization and secularization -- The failures of Islamic revivalism -- Radical secular nationalism -- Political Islam : a historical analysis -- What is political Islam? -- The growth of political Islam -- Political Islam : mixed fortunes -- Political Islam through an anti-imperialist framework -- The foreign policy establishment and the "Islamic threat" -- The neocons -- The Israel connection -- Humanitarian imperialism -- September 11 and the Bush doctrine -- Obama and liberal imperialism -- Legalizing racism : Muslims and the attack on civil liberties -- Terrorizing Arabs and Muslims -- Surveillance, detention, and deportation -- Preemptive prosecution -- The terrorism spectacle -- Theories of radicalization -- Green scare : the making of the domestic Muslim enemy -- Manufacturing the green scare -- The "Ground Zero mosque" controversy -- The rise of the Islamophobic network -- Islamophobia and the new McCarthyism -- The new McCarthyites -- "Education" and media propaganda -- Mainstream and liberal enablers -- Systemic racism -- Conclusion : fighting Islamophobia.
Summary:
"In response to the events of 9/11, the Bush administration launched a "war on terror," ushering in an era of anti-Muslim racism, or Islamophobia. However, 9/11 did not create the image of the "Muslim enemy." This book examines the historic relationship between anti-Muslim racism and the agenda of empire building. Beginning in the eleventh century and the context of the Crusades, Deepa Kumar offers a sweeping historical analysis of the changing views of Islam and Muslims in the West, examining the ways that ruling elites throughout history have used the specter of a "Muslim enemy" to justify their imperial projects. The language of Islamophobia that was developed in the context of the European colonization of the Middle East continues to thrive today in the United States. Kumar expertly exposes and debunks various myths about Muslims and Islam that have become widely accepted in the US. She goes on to analyze the US's checkered attitude towards the parties of political Islam, outlining how it has treated Islamists as both allies and enemies. By examining local conditions that have allowed for the growth of Islamists, Kumar shows that these parties are not inevitable in Muslim-majority countries but are rather a contemporary phenomenon similar to the rise of Christian, Jewish, and Hindu fundamentalisms. The final section of the book sheds light on how the use of Islamophobia in justifying foreign policy necessitates and facilitates political repression at home. Attacks on Muslim Americans have spread to attacks on dissent in general. Kumar concludes by making a powerful case for a grassroots movement that challenges anti-Muslim racism and the projects of empire."--Publisher's description.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.