Description
Book SynopsisIn 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.
Trade ReviewAs 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
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
