Full Description
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 Islamophobia, an idea that has become the handmaiden of imperialism. Islamophobia examines the current backlash within the context of anti-Islamic origins, in the historic relationship between East and West.'
Contents
Section 11. The Historic Encounter between the East and the WestThis chapter begins with the birth of Islam and the consequent encounters with Europe. It traces the key moments of this history from Andalusian Spain to the crusades, as well as the reconquest etc. The key point of this chapter is to show that this encounter has not always been hostile-rather it has been both hostile and congenial depending on particular contexts.2. European Colonialism and OrientalismThis chapter lays out modern colonialism in the post-Enlightenment period, and the need therefore for a racist ideology to justify conquest. Looks at the key thinkers of Orientalism, institutional centers, colonizing missions-particularly Napolean's invasion of Egypt in 1798, as well as British colonialism (Kipling etc.). It highlights the key ideas central to Orientalist modes of thought. The main argument is that Orientalism is a racist ideology used to manufacture domestic consent for the colonization of Muslim majority lands.3. American OrientalismThis chapter examines the entry of Orientalism into the American context. While there have been US authors of racist anti-Muslim ideas (sadly Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad is one of them) the relative lack of contact with the "Muslim world" means that the US also inherits an entire set of ideas from Europe. In the Post WW2 era it inherits Orientalist thinkers as well, such as Bernard Lewis who takes a position at Princeton University. The chapter will trace the history of American Orientalism but also examine its contradictory attitude towards Islam and Islamism. The contradictions stem from the Cold War policy of supporting Islamist organizations as a bulwark against secular nationalism, thus the birth of the "good Muslim, bad Muslim" strategy (Afghanistan vs. Iran). The collapse of the Soviet Union leads to the search for new enemies-it is in this context that the "Islamic terrorist" becomes one many options. Also, this is the period when there are two versions of US imperialism in the post-Cold War era on offer: unilateralist (arrogant) and multilateralist (humanitarian). The latter holds the day during the 1990s.Section 2: Islamophobia after 9/114. Bush and the "Clash of Civilizations"The unilateralist cabal, organized in the Project for a New American Century, are now in power and 9/11 offers them an opportunity to enact their vision of pax Americana. They opt for a virulent form of Orientalism/Islamophobia informed by the Huntington-Lewis civilizational theory of conflict. This is not surprising given that Lewis was on various commissions and secret meetings at the White House to plan the US's response to 9/11. The chapter will then flesh out the key ways in which Muslims were talked about post 9/11 as way to justify the "war on terror" 5. Liberal Imperialism and Liberal IslamophobiaThe failure of Bush era policies and the domestic and global backlash prompted a more liberal defense of imperialism and a shift from the arrogant unilateralism of the Bush era to multilateralism and "soft" power and "smart" power options. Various think tanks (CSIS, sections of CFR etc.) were a part of this shift. And academic liberals joined in as well. Liberal Islamophobia comes out of this paradigm and is differently articulated compared to the hard right wing "clash" ideologues.6. The Danish Cartoon controversy (reprint my two pieces on this issue)Concrete example of liberal Islamophobia.Section 3: Islamophobia in the Obama Era7. Obama and Enlightened IslamophobiaThis chapter will begin with Obama's Cairo speech and the shift in rhetoric that it inaugurated 8. Green Scare: The Making of the New Muslim EnemyObama's Islamophobia and his failure to stand up against attacks that "accused" him of being a secret Muslim, opened the door for the conspiracy that there are "Greens menaces" in our midst plotting to take over the country (earlier conspiracy theories get more of a hearing thanks to Tea Party and other right wing groups). Will include sections on how the mainstream media were party to this process of fomenting fear and suspicion of Muslim Americans.9. The "Ground Zero Mosque" Controversy and the Far RightSection 4: Fighting Islamophobia10. Fighting IslamophobiaReview how the "war on terror" relies on Islamophobia, and review how the Right uses it for political gain. The way to fight it then is to fight the "war on terror" and the entire right wing as well as liberal imperialist agenda. I will also lay out a polemic against various "native informants" like Imam Rauf, Hirsi Ali etc. who have aided the war on terror and debunk the notion that being a "good Muslim" and cooperating with the state is what is needed to overturn Islamophobia (Dabahsi's book "Brown Skin, White Masks" is quite useful here). I will instead point to the increase in Muslim activism after the Cordoba house controversy particularly in mosque defenses and participation in the anti-war movement.
