Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Sentiment: Picturing the Enemy
In the minds of many Americans, Islam is synonymous with the Middle East, Muslim men with violence, and Muslim women with oppression. A clash of civilizations appears to be increasingly manifest and the war on terror seems a struggle against Islam. These are all symptoms of Islamophobia. Meanwhile, the current surge in nativist bias reveals the racism of anti-Muslim sentiment. This book explores these anxieties through political cartoons and film--media with immediate and important impact. After providing a background on Islamic traditions and their history with America, it graphically shows how political cartoons and films reveal Americans' casual demeaning and demonizing of Muslims and Islam--a phenomenon common among both liberals and conservatives. Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Sentiment offers both fascinating insights into our culture's ways of "picturing the enemy" as Muslim, and ways of moving beyond antagonism.
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Published: United States, 19 July 2018
Format: Hardcover, 296 pages
Age Range: 0+
Other Information: 2 Tables, unspecified; 101 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions: 23.1 x 53.1 x 2.3 centimeters (0.64 kg)
Writer: Peter Gottschalk, Gabriel Greenberg, Gabriel Greenberg
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Note on Terms and Names Introduction to the Second Edition Chapter 1: How Cartoons Work and Why Images Matter Chapter 2: Overview of Western Interactions with Muslims Chapter 3: Symbols of Islam, Symbols of Difference Chapter 4: Stereotyping Muslims and Establishing the American Norm Chapter 5: Extreme Muslims and the American Middle Ground Chapter 6: Moments: 1956-2006 Chapter 7: Since 2006: The Emotions of Resurgent Nativism and Liberal Empathy Chapter 8: Moving Pictures: The Trope of "Islamic Terrorism" Conclusion: common Denominators versus Essential Difference Glossary Notes Bibliography Index About the Authors
About the AuthorPeter Gottschalk is professor of religion at Wesleyan University. His books--which include American Heretics and Religion, Science, and Empire--draw on his research and experience in India, Pakistan, and the United States. Gabriel Greenberg serves as the rabbi of a synagogue in New Orleans, where he lives with his family.
ReviewsAs Islamophobia threatens to become the new anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Sentiment becomes 'must' reading. Gottschalk and Greenberg perceptively and graphically demonstrate the extent to which prejudice and discrimination against Islam and Muslims have become inherent in American mainstream culture. -- John L. Esposito, author, What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam and Sharia: What Everyone Needs to Know
Islamophobia is an important contribution to the understanding of prejudice as a common factor in American culture, particularly in the media. The analysis of political cartoons convincingly shows how pervasively anti-Arab and anti-Muslim attitudes have become accepted, even by people who probably consider themselves fair-minded. This study needs to be read by everyone concerned with the problems of religious and racial bias in America today. -- Carl W. Ernst, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
This ground-breaking book should be read and reread-readers will become acutely aware of how cartoonists have repeatedly disparaged all things Muslim and Arab. The book teaches us to see beyond damaging stereotypes. It is a remarkable achievement, illustrating that there exists a fine line between satire and racism. -- Jack G. Shaheen, author, Reel Bad Arabs