From the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York to the Madrid and London bombings of 2004 and 2005, the presence of Muslim communities in the West has generated security issues and major political concern. The government, the media, and the general public have raised questions regarding potential links between Western Muslims, radical Islam and terrorism. This speculation has given rise to popular myths concerning the Islamic world and led to a host of illiberal measures such as illegal warranting, denial of Habeas Corpus, "black prisons" and extreme torture throughout the democratic world. This book challenges the authenticity of these myths and examines the ways in which they have been used to provide an ideological cover for the "war on terror" and the subsequent Iraq war. It argues that they are not only unfounded and hollow, but have also served a dangerous purpose, namely war-mongering and the empowering of the national-security state. It further considers the origin and transmission of these myths, focusing on media, government policy and popular discourse.
Author(s): Tareq Y. Ismael; Andrew Rippin
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 294
Tags: Islam; West; Middle East; International Politics; Terrorism; Global War on Terror
Book Cover
Title
Copyright
Contents
Contributors
Preface
Introduction: The “West” and the Islamic world: patterns of confrontation and paths to reconciliation
1 The origin of difference: Edward Said, Michel Foucault and the modern image of Islam
2 Demonizing the enemy in the War on Terror
3 Islam and Muslims as seen by the Christian Zionists
4 Vigilante masculinity and the ‘War on Terror’
5 Islam in the US: The contemporary scene
6 ‘Jihadiology’ and the problem of reaching a contemporary understanding of Jihad
7 Islam, Muslims, neighbors in Asia? The transformation of Japan’s perceptions of Islam as shown in its media
8 U.S. politics, media and Muslims in the post-9/11 era
9 Self and Other in a time of terror: Myth, media and Muslims
10 Understanding the Muslim world: We can do better
11 Applying “the McCarthy Test” to Canadian and American security legislation: A 10-year retrospective on the impact of September 11, 2001 on privacy rights
12 Huntington’s “clash of civilizations”: Rumours and clarification
13 Getting it wrong yet again: America and the Islamic mainstream
Index
