Islamophobia: The Bigger Picture
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This article maps the emergent field of Islamophobia Studies through a discussion of recently published monographs, representing the broad spectrum of theoretical and analytical approaches to the phenomenon. Strengths and deficiencies in recent works of Nathan Lean, Deepa Kumar, Chris Allen, David Tyrer and Anne Norton are discussed. I argue that in different ways, a more thorough engagement with critical and Marxist theories of racism could contribute to a more accurate understanding of the phenomenon. This, however, is predicated on recognising and theorising Islamophobia as racism – albeit one ‘without races’ – and a discussion about its differences from and similarities to other kinds of racism.
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Allen Christopher & Nielsen Jørgen S. , Summary Report on Islamophobia in the EU after 11 September 2001 , (EUMC , Vienna 2002 ).
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Delphy Christine Broder David , Separate and Dominate: Feminism and Racism after the War on Terror , (Verso , London 2015 ).
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John L. Esposito & İbrahim Kalın (eds), Islamophobia: The Challenge of Pluralism in the 21st Century , (Oxford University Press , Oxford 2011 ).
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Marc Helbling (ed), Islamophobia in the West: Measuring and Explaining Individual Attitudes , (Routledge , London 2012 ).
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Huntington Samuel P. , Who Are We? The Challenges to America’s National Identity , (Simon & Schuster , New York 2004 ).
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Klug Brian , '‘Islamophobia: A Concept Comes of Age’ ' (2012 ) 12 (5 ) Ethnicities : 665 -681 .
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Kumar Deepa , Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire , (Haymarket Books , Chicago 2012 ).
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1
Huntington 2004, p. 262.
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2
Cf. Allen 2004, Kundnani 2014, and the books discussed below.
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3
Cf. Morey and Yaqin 2011; Rana 2011, pp. 74–93.
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4
Mastnak 2010.
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5
Runnymede Trust 1997, p. 4.
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8
Sayyid and Vakil (eds.) 2010.
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9
Lean 2012, p. 10.
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11
Lean 2012, pp. 41ff. Their organisation ‘Stop Islamization of America’ has since gained even more prominence, sponsoring racist ad campaigns on public transit systems in San Francisco, New York City, and Washington, dc.
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12
Lean 2012, p. 182.
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13
Lean 2012, p. 184.
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14
Kumar 2012, p. 199.
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15
Kumar 2012, pp. 175ff. This is not to say that there is nothing to be gained from a systematic comparison between McCarthyist anti-Communism (or other domestic reactionary traditions) and contemporary anti-Muslim racism in the us. Unfortunately, neither Lean nor Kumar pursue such a comparative perspective. ‘McCarthyism’, in both books, is used as a keyword invoking the intentional creation of an ‘atmosphere of mounting fear and panic’ (Lean 2012, p. 31), or ‘a climate of fear that bolsters the aims of empire’ (Kumar 2012, p. 176), and referring to the strategic instrumentalisation of this manufactured climate for a coordinated attack on political enemies abroad and dissent at home.
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16
Kumar 2012, p. 3.
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17
Kumar 2012, pp. 113ff.
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18
Kumar 2012, p. 42, emphasis in original.
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19
Kumar 2012, p. 9.
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20
Kumar 2012, p. 176.
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22
Kumar 2012, p. 132.
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23
Kumar 2012, p. 133.
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25
Kumar 2012, pp. 41ff.
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26
Kumar 2012, p. 3.
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27
Kumar 2012, p. 133.
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28
Kumar 2012, pp. 132, 188, 132.
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29
Allen and Nielsen 2002.
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30
Allen 2010, pp. 7ff. For the first recorded usage of the term Islamophobia in print, Allen refers to a French article published in 1925 by the painter and Islamic convert Étienne Dinet and his Algerian co-religionist Slima Ben Ibrahim, but claims that their usage of the term differed widely from today’s meaning. That this is not entirely correct has since been shown by Fernando Bravo López in an article published a year after Allen’s book. According to Bravo López, ‘Islamophobia’ was used as early as 1910 both by the French Africanist Maurice Delafosse and the colonial bureaucrat Alain Quellien, and its referent – ‘the belief that Islam and Muslims were the implacable, absolute and eternal enemies of Christianity, Christians, Europe and Europeans’ – seems to be not as far removed from modern usage as Allen seems to suggest (Bravo López 2010, pp. 568ff.).
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31
Allen 2010, p. 16.
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32
Runnymede Trust 1997, pp. 1, 4.
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33
Allen 2010, p. 79. Allen echoes earlier criticism by Fred Halliday (cf. Halliday 1999).
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34
Allen 2010, p. 187.
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35
Allen 2010, p. 188.
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36
Allen 2010, p. 167.
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37
Allen 2010, pp. 171ff.
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38
Allen 2010, p. 164; Hall, Roberts, Clarke, Jefferson and Critcher 1978.
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39
Thompson 1990, p. 53.
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40
Allen 2010, p. 61.
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41
Allen 2010, p. 136.
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42
Cf. Meer and Modood 2010, Tyrer 2013, Rana 2011, Shooman 2011, Müller-Uri 2014, and Müller-Uri and Opratko 2014.
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43
Allen 2010, p. 10.
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44
Allen 2010, pp. 62ff.
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45
Allen 2010, p. 153.
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46
Barker 1982.
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47
Allen 2010, p. 155.
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48
Tyrer 2013, p. 22.
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49
Tyrer 2013, p. 23.
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50
Tyrer 2013, p. 53.
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51
Tyrer 2013, p. 33.
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52
Tyrer 2013, p. 31.
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53
Tyrer 2013, p. 121.
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54
Tyrer 2013, p. 122.
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55
Allen 2010, p. 153.
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56
Tyrer 2013, p. 80.
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57
Tyrer and Sayyid 2012, p. 354.
-
58
Tyrer 2013, p. 44.
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59
Tyrer 2013, p. 29.
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60
Tyrer 2013, p. 44.
-
61
Tyrer 2013, p. 46.
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62
Tyrer 2013, p. 36.
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63
Tyrer 2013, p. 28.
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64
Tyrer 2013, p. 172.
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65
Tyrer 2013, p. 36.
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66
Tyrer 2013, p. 68.
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67
Balibar 1991, p. 22. Balibar’s intervention at that time was directed at those on the anti-racist left struggling to come to terms with the permutations of European, and especially French, right-wing populism. It must be noted, however, that the idea of a ‘cultural’ racism has a much longer history in anti-racist and anti-colonial thinking. It emerges as early as 1956 in a speech given by Frantz Fanon, and informs Edward Said’s writings on colonialism from the late 1970s onwards, to mention just two obvious examples (Fanon 1967, pp. 29–44).
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69
Hund 2010, p. 59.
-
70
Hund 2007, p. 9.
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71
Laclau and Mouffe 2001, p. 153.
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72
Tyrer 2013, pp. 153ff.; Norton 2011.
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73
Norton 2013, p. 2.
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74
Norton 2013, p. 35.
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75
Norton 2013, p. 44.
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76
Norton 2013, p. 11.
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77
Norton 2013, p. 195.
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78
Norton 2013, p. 226. The reference to Andalusian territory is to what she interprets as the peaceful coexistence of Muslims, Christians and Jews in ‘moorish’ Al-Andalus.
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79
Strabac and Listhaug 2008, p. 281.
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80
Strabac and Listhaug 2008, p. 280.
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81
Leibold 2010, p. 154.
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82
Gilroy 2005.
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84
Morey and Yaqin 2011, p. 177.
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85
Kumar 2012, pp. 44–5.
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86
Lentin and Titley 2011, p. 121.
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Islamophobia: The Bigger Picture
In: Historical MaterialismSearch for other papers by Benjamin Opratko in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
This article maps the emergent field of Islamophobia Studies through a discussion of recently published monographs, representing the broad spectrum of theoretical and analytical approaches to the phenomenon. Strengths and deficiencies in recent works of Nathan Lean, Deepa Kumar, Chris Allen, David Tyrer and Anne Norton are discussed. I argue that in different ways, a more thorough engagement with critical and Marxist theories of racism could contribute to a more accurate understanding of the phenomenon. This, however, is predicated on recognising and theorising Islamophobia as racism – albeit one ‘without races’ – and a discussion about its differences from and similarities to other kinds of racism.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 1678 | 375 | 31 |
| Full Text Views | 464 | 33 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 373 | 69 | 0 |