Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy
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Review
This slim volume by Gottschalk and Greenberg is a splendid teaching tool for classroom use, not only because it provides a readily accessible narrative about American stereotyping of Islam and Muslims, but also due to its focus on the political cartoon. This would be a beneficial text for undergraduate courses on Islam or the Middle East, since it is both accessible and tackles a popular art form that has almost universal appeal.--Varisco, Daniel Martin "Contemporary Islam, December 3, 2008 "
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In the minds of many Americans, Islam is synonymous with the Middle East, Muslim men with violence, and Muslim women with oppression. In the post-9/11 world, a clash of civilizations appears to be increasingly manifest and the War on Terror seems a struggle against Islam. These are symptoms of Islamophobia. The term 'Islamophobia' accurately reflects the largely unexamined and deeply ingrained anxiety many Americans experience when considering Islam and Muslim cultures. Historically, Americans have seldom given voice to these anxieties since they have had, until the last half-century, few connections to Muslim cultures and a small domestic Muslim minority. However, in times of crisis, such as the Iranian hostage situation or, most recently, the September 11th attacks, the long-simmering resentments, suspicions, and fears inherited along with a Christian European heritage manifest themselves most directly in conditions that appear to affirm Americans' darkest concerns. Like a vicious cyclone feeding off of its own energy, Islamophobia takes uncommon events as evidence fitting its worst expectations and turns these into proof that perpetuates those ill-informed expectations. Islamophobia explores the presence of these anxieties through the political cartoon--the print medium with the most immediate impact. This book shows graphically how political cartoons dramatically reveal Americans' casual demonizing and demeaning of Muslims and Islam. And the villainizing is shown to be as common among liberals as conservatives. Islamophobia also discusses the misunderstanding of the Muslim world more generally, such as the assumption that Islam is primarily a Middle Eastern religion, where as the majority of Muslims live in South and Southeast Asia, and the misperception that a significant portion of Muslims are militant fundamentalists, where as only a small proportion are.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Very easy to read book and the argument is extremely well-built. Those wishing for concrete examples in the US media and politics that leads to Islamophobia should read this book. I bought it for my thesis and I am glad I did...
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
28 of 32 people found the following review helpful
A Necessary Read for All Americans
31 Dec 2007
Format:Hardcover
Ever since 9/11 I have been on the lookout for any book dealing with changed perceptions or heightened generalizations regarding Islam and Muslims. "Islamophobia" by Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg is one of those books that must be read by Americans in this post-9/11 world.
This book starts off by reviewing the reaction of Muslims to the cartoon that appeared in the Danish news paper Jyllands-Posten, which portrayed the prophet Muhammad in a less than stellar light. From here the authors trace the depiction of Islam and Muslims throughout history and how this idea of the religion and its followers as backward, violent and primitive remains well-entrenched in the minds of many Western non-Muslim people. In the introduction, the authors make a statement that I think is right on target: That is they (views held by Americans) demonstrate how natural for so many Americans the image of Muslims as irrational aggressors and Americans as righteous innocents abroad and at home has become, so that any other perspective becomes not a counterargument but a challenge to an unquestionable world order." The authors skillfully present information to back up this statement.
From the history of Western perceptions of Islam, the authors go on to analyze political cartoons depicting Islams. Just before doing this they make a necessary distinction between caricature and stereotype. This is key, because I think for many people, caricatures and stereotypes are one and the same. Most people respond to visual stimuli and in the case of the cartoons, their lack of familiarity with Islam, coupled with a general post-9/11 resentment toward Muslim culture, allows them to formulate opinions based on the animations they read in the newspapers. For example, how many people know the difference between a Muslim and an Arab? The authors contend that too often people categorize all Muslims under the same category (violent, backward, oppressive, etc.)without any reference that may inhibit the formatin of inaccurate perceptions.
I could go on, but it is best for readers to read this book for themselves. I found it very interesting that in the 1950s cartoonists depicted Muslims as lazy and effeminate. Now, the depictions are much more savage in their portrayals. It seems that many cartoons follow the political winds blowing from Washington, DC.
This book starts off by reviewing the reaction of Muslims to the cartoon that appeared in the Danish news paper Jyllands-Posten, which portrayed the prophet Muhammad in a less than stellar light. From here the authors trace the depiction of Islam and Muslims throughout history and how this idea of the religion and its followers as backward, violent and primitive remains well-entrenched in the minds of many Western non-Muslim people. In the introduction, the authors make a statement that I think is right on target: That is they (views held by Americans) demonstrate how natural for so many Americans the image of Muslims as irrational aggressors and Americans as righteous innocents abroad and at home has become, so that any other perspective becomes not a counterargument but a challenge to an unquestionable world order." The authors skillfully present information to back up this statement.
From the history of Western perceptions of Islam, the authors go on to analyze political cartoons depicting Islams. Just before doing this they make a necessary distinction between caricature and stereotype. This is key, because I think for many people, caricatures and stereotypes are one and the same. Most people respond to visual stimuli and in the case of the cartoons, their lack of familiarity with Islam, coupled with a general post-9/11 resentment toward Muslim culture, allows them to formulate opinions based on the animations they read in the newspapers. For example, how many people know the difference between a Muslim and an Arab? The authors contend that too often people categorize all Muslims under the same category (violent, backward, oppressive, etc.)without any reference that may inhibit the formatin of inaccurate perceptions.
I could go on, but it is best for readers to read this book for themselves. I found it very interesting that in the 1950s cartoonists depicted Muslims as lazy and effeminate. Now, the depictions are much more savage in their portrayals. It seems that many cartoons follow the political winds blowing from Washington, DC.
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Excellent work on analyzing Islamophobia through the medium of political cartoons
21 Aug 2007
Format:Hardcover
The new book Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy by Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg, is an excellent addition to the growing literature, study, and analysis of Islamophobia in the West. The authors give a working definition of what Islamophobia consists of in relation to other phobias in their introduction.
The first chapter deals with a very good but brief overview of Western interaction and reaction to Islamic civilization and Muslims. What is important to note is that this all came about way before 9/11 and that because of this long history, people in the West have an ingrained and often warped image about what the religion of Islam represents.
In this book, the focus is primarily the role of political cartoons in mainstream media that help shape everyday peoples' image of Islam and Muslims. The proceeding chapters give excellent examples of the imagery and effectiveness of conveying stereotypical images of Muslims and Islam.
For those interested in learning about Islamophobia, I recommend this book along with Dr. Mohamed Nimer's Islamophobia and Anti-Americanism: Causes and Remedies. For good essay on the topic, I recommend Dr. Ibrahim Kalin's essay entitled "Roots of Misconception: Euro-American Perceptions of Islam Before and After 9/11" which can be found online.
The first chapter deals with a very good but brief overview of Western interaction and reaction to Islamic civilization and Muslims. What is important to note is that this all came about way before 9/11 and that because of this long history, people in the West have an ingrained and often warped image about what the religion of Islam represents.
In this book, the focus is primarily the role of political cartoons in mainstream media that help shape everyday peoples' image of Islam and Muslims. The proceeding chapters give excellent examples of the imagery and effectiveness of conveying stereotypical images of Muslims and Islam.
For those interested in learning about Islamophobia, I recommend this book along with Dr. Mohamed Nimer's Islamophobia and Anti-Americanism: Causes and Remedies. For good essay on the topic, I recommend Dr. Ibrahim Kalin's essay entitled "Roots of Misconception: Euro-American Perceptions of Islam Before and After 9/11" which can be found online.
4 of 12 people found the following review helpful
the israel border problem is the issue
2 Feb 2008
Format:Hardcover
i think one of the issue(i say its one of the issue) in islam is the the border drawn in 1947 which the palestine is asking nothing more.why not stick to that border rather than expansion into palestine territory
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