Asifa M. Hussain and William L. Miller
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199280711
- eISBN:
- 9780191604102
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199280711.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
This book is a pioneering study of how multiculturalism interacts with sub-state nationalism in Britain. It gives equal attention to Scotland’s largest ‘visible’ and ‘invisible’ minorities: ethnic ...
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This book is a pioneering study of how multiculturalism interacts with sub-state nationalism in Britain. It gives equal attention to Scotland’s largest ‘visible’ and ‘invisible’ minorities: ethnic Pakistanis (almost all of them Muslim) and English immigrants; and to the Islamophobia and Anglophobia of majority Scots. Rising Scottish self-consciousness could have threatened both these minorities. But in reality, problems proved to be solutions, integrating rather than alienating. In the eyes of the minorities, the devolution of power to a Scottish Parliament has made Scots at once more proud and less xenophobic. English immigrants also felt that devolution has defused tensions, calmed frustrations, and forced Scots to blame themselves rather than others for their problems. Muslims suffered increased harassment after 9/11, although less in Scotland than elsewhere. Consciously or unconsciously, they continued to use Scottish identities and even Scottish nationalism as tools of integration. Conversely, nationalism in Scotland did not increase the majority’s Islamophobia as it did in England and elsewhere. The book is based on extensive quotations from focus-group discussions with minorities, in-depth interviews with elites, and statistical analysis of large-scale surveys of minorities and majorities.Less
This book is a pioneering study of how multiculturalism interacts with sub-state nationalism in Britain. It gives equal attention to Scotland’s largest ‘visible’ and ‘invisible’ minorities: ethnic Pakistanis (almost all of them Muslim) and English immigrants; and to the Islamophobia and Anglophobia of majority Scots. Rising Scottish self-consciousness could have threatened both these minorities. But in reality, problems proved to be solutions, integrating rather than alienating. In the eyes of the minorities, the devolution of power to a Scottish Parliament has made Scots at once more proud and less xenophobic. English immigrants also felt that devolution has defused tensions, calmed frustrations, and forced Scots to blame themselves rather than others for their problems. Muslims suffered increased harassment after 9/11, although less in Scotland than elsewhere. Consciously or unconsciously, they continued to use Scottish identities and even Scottish nationalism as tools of integration. Conversely, nationalism in Scotland did not increase the majority’s Islamophobia as it did in England and elsewhere. The book is based on extensive quotations from focus-group discussions with minorities, in-depth interviews with elites, and statistical analysis of large-scale surveys of minorities and majorities.
Patricia Owens
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199299362
- eISBN:
- 9780191715051
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199299362.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory, International Relations and Politics
Arendt's apparent exclusion of violence from politics — her definitionally-enforced distinction — actually linked politics and war together in a historically and conceptually rich relationship. She ...
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Arendt's apparent exclusion of violence from politics — her definitionally-enforced distinction — actually linked politics and war together in a historically and conceptually rich relationship. She criticized the dominant Western traditions of social and political thought for borrowing their models of politics from the realm of organised violence, of command and obedience. But it is her political thought that is deeply influenced by the enduring significance of war. It may be necessary now, more than ever, to learn how to think with Arendt, a time that has delivered us moral and political catastrophes, which while not exceeding her day, strongly resemble and are directly linked to those she directly confronted. Postcolonial conflicts, revolutions and occupations, wars of annihilation and crimes against humanity, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and accusations of Islamo-fascism — these are among the social forces relating and separating peoples and states through organised violence.Less
Arendt's apparent exclusion of violence from politics — her definitionally-enforced distinction — actually linked politics and war together in a historically and conceptually rich relationship. She criticized the dominant Western traditions of social and political thought for borrowing their models of politics from the realm of organised violence, of command and obedience. But it is her political thought that is deeply influenced by the enduring significance of war. It may be necessary now, more than ever, to learn how to think with Arendt, a time that has delivered us moral and political catastrophes, which while not exceeding her day, strongly resemble and are directly linked to those she directly confronted. Postcolonial conflicts, revolutions and occupations, wars of annihilation and crimes against humanity, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and accusations of Islamo-fascism — these are among the social forces relating and separating peoples and states through organised violence.
Asifa Hussain and William Miller
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199280711
- eISBN:
- 9780191604102
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199280711.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
Since 9/11, multiculturalism has been under attack and Islamophobia has increased. Questions were placed in the 2003 British Social Attitudes Survey and its Scottish counterpart to compare the level ...
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Since 9/11, multiculturalism has been under attack and Islamophobia has increased. Questions were placed in the 2003 British Social Attitudes Survey and its Scottish counterpart to compare the level of Islamophobia in Scotland and England. Islamophobia was significantly higher in England. Analysis showed that the majority population in Scotland differed significantly from the majority in England. In particular, English nationalism encouraged Islamophobia while Scottish nationalism did not. Unlike elite-level nationalists, street-level nationalists in Scotland were not particularly inclusive or multiculturalist compared to the majority of Scots. Street-level Scottish nationalists were less Islamophobic than the majority of English, and far less Islamophobic than street-level nationalists in England.Less
Since 9/11, multiculturalism has been under attack and Islamophobia has increased. Questions were placed in the 2003 British Social Attitudes Survey and its Scottish counterpart to compare the level of Islamophobia in Scotland and England. Islamophobia was significantly higher in England. Analysis showed that the majority population in Scotland differed significantly from the majority in England. In particular, English nationalism encouraged Islamophobia while Scottish nationalism did not. Unlike elite-level nationalists, street-level nationalists in Scotland were not particularly inclusive or multiculturalist compared to the majority of Scots. Street-level Scottish nationalists were less Islamophobic than the majority of English, and far less Islamophobic than street-level nationalists in England.
Asifa Hussain and William Miller
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199280711
- eISBN:
- 9780191604102
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199280711.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
Questions in the 2003 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey were used to compare Islamophobia with four other Scottish phobias: sectarianism (primarily anti-Catholic), and phobias about Europe, Asylum ...
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Questions in the 2003 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey were used to compare Islamophobia with four other Scottish phobias: sectarianism (primarily anti-Catholic), and phobias about Europe, Asylum seekers, and ‘the auld enemy’(England). Social factors affected all phobias the same way, but political factors discriminated. Conservative voters scored low on Anglophobia but high on every other phobia; SNP voters scored high on Anglophobia but not on other phobias. This suggested that Anglophobia itself displaced Islamophobia by providing another target, and that England itself helped reduce within-Scotland phobias by providing Scots with a common, external and very significant ‘other’. Scotland is too small, too peripheral, and too insignificant to play a corresponding role in displacing phobias within England. However, by stimulating English nationalism without providing a truly significant ‘other’, Scottish nationalism may actually increase Islamophobia in England, but not in Scotland.Less
Questions in the 2003 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey were used to compare Islamophobia with four other Scottish phobias: sectarianism (primarily anti-Catholic), and phobias about Europe, Asylum seekers, and ‘the auld enemy’(England). Social factors affected all phobias the same way, but political factors discriminated. Conservative voters scored low on Anglophobia but high on every other phobia; SNP voters scored high on Anglophobia but not on other phobias. This suggested that Anglophobia itself displaced Islamophobia by providing another target, and that England itself helped reduce within-Scotland phobias by providing Scots with a common, external and very significant ‘other’. Scotland is too small, too peripheral, and too insignificant to play a corresponding role in displacing phobias within England. However, by stimulating English nationalism without providing a truly significant ‘other’, Scottish nationalism may actually increase Islamophobia in England, but not in Scotland.
Asifa Hussain and William Miller
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199280711
- eISBN:
- 9780191604102
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199280711.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
‘Multicultural nationalism’ comes very close to being an oxymoron: devolution increased national self-consciousness and 9/11 added to the problems of multiculturalism everywhere, including Scotland. ...
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‘Multicultural nationalism’ comes very close to being an oxymoron: devolution increased national self-consciousness and 9/11 added to the problems of multiculturalism everywhere, including Scotland. But in practice, potential problems proved to be solutions. Since England has a key role in defining Scottish identity, Scottish nationalism stimulates Anglophobia but not Islamophobia, and Muslims can use Scottish nationalism as a tool of integration. 9/11 made life worse for Muslims in Scotland, but not as much as elsewhere. Thus, 9/11 and the ‘war on terror’ bound Muslims more closely to Scotland. Although both minorities criticized the governing performance of the new Scottish Parliament, both felt that its street-level impact has been more positive than negative. English immigrants feel that devolution has defused tensions, and Muslims self-consciously distinguish between the positive impact of devolution and the concurrent, negative impact of 9/11. Against the odds, multiculturalism and sub-state nationalism have not merely coexisted, but actually interacted positively within post-devolution Scotland.Less
‘Multicultural nationalism’ comes very close to being an oxymoron: devolution increased national self-consciousness and 9/11 added to the problems of multiculturalism everywhere, including Scotland. But in practice, potential problems proved to be solutions. Since England has a key role in defining Scottish identity, Scottish nationalism stimulates Anglophobia but not Islamophobia, and Muslims can use Scottish nationalism as a tool of integration. 9/11 made life worse for Muslims in Scotland, but not as much as elsewhere. Thus, 9/11 and the ‘war on terror’ bound Muslims more closely to Scotland. Although both minorities criticized the governing performance of the new Scottish Parliament, both felt that its street-level impact has been more positive than negative. English immigrants feel that devolution has defused tensions, and Muslims self-consciously distinguish between the positive impact of devolution and the concurrent, negative impact of 9/11. Against the odds, multiculturalism and sub-state nationalism have not merely coexisted, but actually interacted positively within post-devolution Scotland.
Esra Özyürek
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691162782
- eISBN:
- 9781400852710
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691162782.003.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This introductory chapter discusses some questions on the contradictions and challenges in the lives of German converts to Islam. It aims to provide a preliminary understanding of what it means to ...
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This introductory chapter discusses some questions on the contradictions and challenges in the lives of German converts to Islam. It aims to provide a preliminary understanding of what it means to embrace Islam in a society that increasingly marginalizes and racializes Muslims. The chapter begins with a discussion of conversion to racialized religions, before considering whether Islamophobia is similar to anti-Semitism or homophobia. Afterward, the chapter narrows the context to Germany, revealing that even though Germany has a long history of racializing religion, especially Judaism, the racialization of Muslims with a clear class dimension is relatively new. This chapter also discusses the role of converts for a European Islam and Germany's long history of European conversions to Islam. Finally, the chapter lays out the methods and sources of research for this volume.Less
This introductory chapter discusses some questions on the contradictions and challenges in the lives of German converts to Islam. It aims to provide a preliminary understanding of what it means to embrace Islam in a society that increasingly marginalizes and racializes Muslims. The chapter begins with a discussion of conversion to racialized religions, before considering whether Islamophobia is similar to anti-Semitism or homophobia. Afterward, the chapter narrows the context to Germany, revealing that even though Germany has a long history of racializing religion, especially Judaism, the racialization of Muslims with a clear class dimension is relatively new. This chapter also discusses the role of converts for a European Islam and Germany's long history of European conversions to Islam. Finally, the chapter lays out the methods and sources of research for this volume.
Esra Özyürek
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691162782
- eISBN:
- 9781400852710
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691162782.003.0007
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter offers some concluding thoughts on how German converts to Islam apply different and at times conflicting strategies in order to demonstrate how Islam is a perfect—and indeed better—fit ...
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This chapter offers some concluding thoughts on how German converts to Islam apply different and at times conflicting strategies in order to demonstrate how Islam is a perfect—and indeed better—fit for German/European society. It also briefly discusses the significance of Salafi communities in this context. In addition, the chapter tells the story of a moral panic over converts to Islam that swept Germany in the 2000s, which suddenly moved German converts from their previously invisible position to center stage in the media. This account highlights the most novel aspects of Islamophobia, with the reason for the panic being the fear of a potential terrorist attack.Less
This chapter offers some concluding thoughts on how German converts to Islam apply different and at times conflicting strategies in order to demonstrate how Islam is a perfect—and indeed better—fit for German/European society. It also briefly discusses the significance of Salafi communities in this context. In addition, the chapter tells the story of a moral panic over converts to Islam that swept Germany in the 2000s, which suddenly moved German converts from their previously invisible position to center stage in the media. This account highlights the most novel aspects of Islamophobia, with the reason for the panic being the fear of a potential terrorist attack.
Marcia C. Inhorn
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691148885
- eISBN:
- 9781400842629
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691148885.003.0010
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This concluding chapter discusses the need to rethink masculinity not only in America but in the Middle East as well. This rethinking is especially crucial, because so many Americans are, in fact, ...
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This concluding chapter discusses the need to rethink masculinity not only in America but in the Middle East as well. This rethinking is especially crucial, because so many Americans are, in fact, Islamophobic, carrying with them pernicious stereotypes about Middle Eastern men as particularly dangerous, loathsome, and fanatical. The main goal of the book is to provide a more realistic and humanizing portrayal of Middle Eastern men's lives, through a form of person-centered, empirically based ethnography that elucidates men's reproductive life stories, as told in their own words. Through such stories, people can come to appreciate Middle Eastern men not only as men but as good men, who are facing the twenty-first century in thoughtful, respectful, and locally moral ways.Less
This concluding chapter discusses the need to rethink masculinity not only in America but in the Middle East as well. This rethinking is especially crucial, because so many Americans are, in fact, Islamophobic, carrying with them pernicious stereotypes about Middle Eastern men as particularly dangerous, loathsome, and fanatical. The main goal of the book is to provide a more realistic and humanizing portrayal of Middle Eastern men's lives, through a form of person-centered, empirically based ethnography that elucidates men's reproductive life stories, as told in their own words. Through such stories, people can come to appreciate Middle Eastern men not only as men but as good men, who are facing the twenty-first century in thoughtful, respectful, and locally moral ways.
Martin Pugh
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780300234947
- eISBN:
- 9780300249293
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300234947.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
In this broad yet sympathetic survey — ranging from the Crusades to the modern day — this book explores the social, political, and cultural encounters between Britain and Islam. The book looks, for ...
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In this broad yet sympathetic survey — ranging from the Crusades to the modern day — this book explores the social, political, and cultural encounters between Britain and Islam. The book looks, for instance, at how reactions against the Crusades led to Anglo-Muslim collaboration under the Tudors, at how Britain posed as defender of Islam in the Victorian period, and at her role in rearranging the Muslim world after 1918. It argues that, contrary to current assumptions, Islamic groups have often embraced Western ideas, including modernization and liberal democracy. The book shows how the difficulties and Islamophobia that Muslims have experienced in Britain since the 1970s are largely caused by an acute crisis in British national identity. In truth, Muslims have become increasingly key participants in mainstream British society — in culture, sport, politics, and the economy.Less
In this broad yet sympathetic survey — ranging from the Crusades to the modern day — this book explores the social, political, and cultural encounters between Britain and Islam. The book looks, for instance, at how reactions against the Crusades led to Anglo-Muslim collaboration under the Tudors, at how Britain posed as defender of Islam in the Victorian period, and at her role in rearranging the Muslim world after 1918. It argues that, contrary to current assumptions, Islamic groups have often embraced Western ideas, including modernization and liberal democracy. The book shows how the difficulties and Islamophobia that Muslims have experienced in Britain since the 1970s are largely caused by an acute crisis in British national identity. In truth, Muslims have become increasingly key participants in mainstream British society — in culture, sport, politics, and the economy.
Juliane Hammer
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780691190877
- eISBN:
- 9780691194387
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691190877.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sociology of Religion
This book chronicles and examines the efforts, stories, arguments, and strategies of individuals and organizations doing Muslim anti-domestic violence work in the United States. Looking at ...
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This book chronicles and examines the efforts, stories, arguments, and strategies of individuals and organizations doing Muslim anti-domestic violence work in the United States. Looking at connections among ethical practices, gender norms, and religious interpretation, the book demonstrates how Muslim advocates mobilize a rich religious tradition in community efforts against domestic violence, and identify religion and culture as resources or roadblocks to prevent harm and to restore family peace. The book paints a vivid picture of the challenges such advocacy work encounters. The insecurities of American Muslim communities facing intolerance and Islamophobia lead to additional challenges in acknowledging and confronting problems of spousal abuse, and the book reveals how Muslim anti-domestic violence workers combine the methods of the mainstream secular anti-domestic violence movement with Muslim perspectives and interpretations. Identifying a range of Muslim anti-domestic violence approaches, the book argues that at certain times and in certain situations it may be imperative to combat domestic abuse by endorsing notions of “protective patriarchy”—even though service providers may hold feminist views critical of patriarchal assumptions. It links Muslim advocacy efforts to the larger domestic violence crisis in the United States, and shows how, through extensive family and community networks, advocates participate in and further debates about family, gender, and marriage in global Muslim communities. Highlighting the place of Islam as an American religion, the book delves into the efforts made by Muslim Americans against domestic violence and the ways this refashions the society at large.Less
This book chronicles and examines the efforts, stories, arguments, and strategies of individuals and organizations doing Muslim anti-domestic violence work in the United States. Looking at connections among ethical practices, gender norms, and religious interpretation, the book demonstrates how Muslim advocates mobilize a rich religious tradition in community efforts against domestic violence, and identify religion and culture as resources or roadblocks to prevent harm and to restore family peace. The book paints a vivid picture of the challenges such advocacy work encounters. The insecurities of American Muslim communities facing intolerance and Islamophobia lead to additional challenges in acknowledging and confronting problems of spousal abuse, and the book reveals how Muslim anti-domestic violence workers combine the methods of the mainstream secular anti-domestic violence movement with Muslim perspectives and interpretations. Identifying a range of Muslim anti-domestic violence approaches, the book argues that at certain times and in certain situations it may be imperative to combat domestic abuse by endorsing notions of “protective patriarchy”—even though service providers may hold feminist views critical of patriarchal assumptions. It links Muslim advocacy efforts to the larger domestic violence crisis in the United States, and shows how, through extensive family and community networks, advocates participate in and further debates about family, gender, and marriage in global Muslim communities. Highlighting the place of Islam as an American religion, the book delves into the efforts made by Muslim Americans against domestic violence and the ways this refashions the society at large.
Michael Laffan
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153599
- eISBN:
- 9781400845248
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153599.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
This chapter examines comparable incarnations of Islamophobia expressed by adventurers and stay-at-homes from the Netherlands. It begins by focusing on early modern Dutch descriptions of Muslims and ...
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This chapter examines comparable incarnations of Islamophobia expressed by adventurers and stay-at-homes from the Netherlands. It begins by focusing on early modern Dutch descriptions of Muslims and Dutch attitudes toward Islam more generally, as well as the fear of Indonesia's “bad Muslims”—the ghostly white hajjis imagined by Louis Couperus in his now classic Hidden Force—that was ultimately displaced by the more tangible claims and threats of nationalists and Communists who had reconfigured the writings of the European tradition. The chapter then considers how a heightened awareness of radical Islam had led a small segment of exclusively white officialdom to issue numerous directives in the early 1880s calling for greater vigilance against purported “foreign” Muslim threats. It concludes with a discussion of how the Dutch forged a new relationship with Islam in the postcolonial era that had little to do with their old Indies or yet their old fears.Less
This chapter examines comparable incarnations of Islamophobia expressed by adventurers and stay-at-homes from the Netherlands. It begins by focusing on early modern Dutch descriptions of Muslims and Dutch attitudes toward Islam more generally, as well as the fear of Indonesia's “bad Muslims”—the ghostly white hajjis imagined by Louis Couperus in his now classic Hidden Force—that was ultimately displaced by the more tangible claims and threats of nationalists and Communists who had reconfigured the writings of the European tradition. The chapter then considers how a heightened awareness of radical Islam had led a small segment of exclusively white officialdom to issue numerous directives in the early 1880s calling for greater vigilance against purported “foreign” Muslim threats. It concludes with a discussion of how the Dutch forged a new relationship with Islam in the postcolonial era that had little to do with their old Indies or yet their old fears.
Douglas Little
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781469626802
- eISBN:
- 9781469628042
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469626802.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
“Us Versus Them” explores the political and cultural turmoil that prompted U.S. policymakers to shift their attention from containing the “Red Threat” of international communism to combatting the ...
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“Us Versus Them” explores the political and cultural turmoil that prompted U.S. policymakers to shift their attention from containing the “Red Threat” of international communism to combatting the “Green Threat” of radical Islam after 1989. By framing the confrontation with Islamic extremism after the Cold War through the lens of “us versus them” that had pitted Uncle Sam against Native Americans, Asian immigrants, Nazis, and eventually the Bolsheviks in the Kremlin, U.S. policymakers from George H. W. Bush through Barack Obama placed America on a collision course with the Muslim world. Because the collapse of the Soviet Union seemed to prove that “containment” had served U.S. interests well, preserving access to Persian Gulf oil while protecting Israel and preventing communist subversion, American officials were reluctant to redefine their approach to the Middle East. While American leaders were busy expelling Saddam Hussein from Kuwait, attempting to broker peace between Arabs Israelis at Camp David, invading Afghanistan and Iraq, or unleashing drone strikes against Pakistan and Yemen, they inadvertently triggered an Islamic backlash that made America less secure and more vulnerable. Indeed, from the 1991 Persian Gulf War and Bill Clinton’s efforts to contain Iraq and Iran to George W. Bush’s global war on terror and the ongoing battle against ISIS today, U.S. foreign policy has been governed by “us versus them” thinking, with Islamophobia supplanting the threats of yesteryear.Less
“Us Versus Them” explores the political and cultural turmoil that prompted U.S. policymakers to shift their attention from containing the “Red Threat” of international communism to combatting the “Green Threat” of radical Islam after 1989. By framing the confrontation with Islamic extremism after the Cold War through the lens of “us versus them” that had pitted Uncle Sam against Native Americans, Asian immigrants, Nazis, and eventually the Bolsheviks in the Kremlin, U.S. policymakers from George H. W. Bush through Barack Obama placed America on a collision course with the Muslim world. Because the collapse of the Soviet Union seemed to prove that “containment” had served U.S. interests well, preserving access to Persian Gulf oil while protecting Israel and preventing communist subversion, American officials were reluctant to redefine their approach to the Middle East. While American leaders were busy expelling Saddam Hussein from Kuwait, attempting to broker peace between Arabs Israelis at Camp David, invading Afghanistan and Iraq, or unleashing drone strikes against Pakistan and Yemen, they inadvertently triggered an Islamic backlash that made America less secure and more vulnerable. Indeed, from the 1991 Persian Gulf War and Bill Clinton’s efforts to contain Iraq and Iran to George W. Bush’s global war on terror and the ongoing battle against ISIS today, U.S. foreign policy has been governed by “us versus them” thinking, with Islamophobia supplanting the threats of yesteryear.
Wahida Shaffi (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781847424105
- eISBN:
- 9781447302889
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847424105.003.0019
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gender and Sexuality
This chapter reviews the story of Selina Ullah, who was born and brought up in Manchester and who moved to Bradford when she was about 21. Selina's initial feeling about Bradford was that the ...
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This chapter reviews the story of Selina Ullah, who was born and brought up in Manchester and who moved to Bradford when she was about 21. Selina's initial feeling about Bradford was that the contrast was very stark. It was predominantly Pakistani, but there were Bangladeshis there as well. Selina actually found it really difficult to live in Bradford, and she moved to Keighley, which was a much smaller place. After living there for 20 years, and after having her initial culture shock and her own prejudices and so on, she think she has come a long way. It seems that the difficulties that children face now – Islamophobia and continuing racism – need the same kind of collective response that was seen in the '70s and '80s. The current generation needs more confidence in themselves and their potential to be constructive members of their communities.Less
This chapter reviews the story of Selina Ullah, who was born and brought up in Manchester and who moved to Bradford when she was about 21. Selina's initial feeling about Bradford was that the contrast was very stark. It was predominantly Pakistani, but there were Bangladeshis there as well. Selina actually found it really difficult to live in Bradford, and she moved to Keighley, which was a much smaller place. After living there for 20 years, and after having her initial culture shock and her own prejudices and so on, she think she has come a long way. It seems that the difficulties that children face now – Islamophobia and continuing racism – need the same kind of collective response that was seen in the '70s and '80s. The current generation needs more confidence in themselves and their potential to be constructive members of their communities.
Seteney Shami and Cynthia Miller-Idriss (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781479827787
- eISBN:
- 9781479850662
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479827787.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
Few world regions today are of more pressing social and political interest than the Middle East: hardly a day has passed in the last decade without events there making global news. Understanding the ...
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Few world regions today are of more pressing social and political interest than the Middle East: hardly a day has passed in the last decade without events there making global news. Understanding the region has never been more important, yet the field of Middle East studies in the United States is in flux, enmeshed in ongoing controversies about the relationship between knowledge and power, the role of the federal government at universities, and ways of knowing other cultures and places. This book explores the big-picture issues affecting the field, from the geopolitics of knowledge production to structural changes in the university to broader political and public contexts. Tracing the development of the field from the early days of the American university to the Islamophobia of the present day, this book explores Middle East studies as a discipline and, more generally, its impact on the social sciences and academia. Topics include how different disciplines engage with Middle East scholars, how American universities teach Middle East studies and related fields, and the relationship between scholarship and U.S.–Arab relations, among others. This book presents a comprehensive, authoritative overview of how this crucial field of academic inquiry came to be and where it is going next.Less
Few world regions today are of more pressing social and political interest than the Middle East: hardly a day has passed in the last decade without events there making global news. Understanding the region has never been more important, yet the field of Middle East studies in the United States is in flux, enmeshed in ongoing controversies about the relationship between knowledge and power, the role of the federal government at universities, and ways of knowing other cultures and places. This book explores the big-picture issues affecting the field, from the geopolitics of knowledge production to structural changes in the university to broader political and public contexts. Tracing the development of the field from the early days of the American university to the Islamophobia of the present day, this book explores Middle East studies as a discipline and, more generally, its impact on the social sciences and academia. Topics include how different disciplines engage with Middle East scholars, how American universities teach Middle East studies and related fields, and the relationship between scholarship and U.S.–Arab relations, among others. This book presents a comprehensive, authoritative overview of how this crucial field of academic inquiry came to be and where it is going next.
Jytte Klausen
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199231980
- eISBN:
- 9780191696534
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199231980.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
It is difficult today to argue that Muslims have special needs, as explained by one Muslim member of the Dutch parliament. Even if it is acknowledged that Muslims do have special problems, there may ...
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It is difficult today to argue that Muslims have special needs, as explained by one Muslim member of the Dutch parliament. Even if it is acknowledged that Muslims do have special problems, there may be uncertainty about how to define the problems and which to prioritise. It is important also to distinguish between problems shared by Muslims with all immigrants, and those associated with their religion, although these may be shared, in part, with other minority religions in European countries. Moreover, the crucial issues vary from one European country to another, and even in a single country, Muslims are not a unified constituency. Ethnicity, gender, political outlook, and class are common sources of disagreement and dissent. And commonly, calls for a pan-Muslim identity do not appeal to all Muslims.Less
It is difficult today to argue that Muslims have special needs, as explained by one Muslim member of the Dutch parliament. Even if it is acknowledged that Muslims do have special problems, there may be uncertainty about how to define the problems and which to prioritise. It is important also to distinguish between problems shared by Muslims with all immigrants, and those associated with their religion, although these may be shared, in part, with other minority religions in European countries. Moreover, the crucial issues vary from one European country to another, and even in a single country, Muslims are not a unified constituency. Ethnicity, gender, political outlook, and class are common sources of disagreement and dissent. And commonly, calls for a pan-Muslim identity do not appeal to all Muslims.
Richard Landes
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199753598
- eISBN:
- 9780199897445
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199753598.003.0015
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
The conclusion contrasts the response in the West to the two most empirically based, contemporary, apocalyptic prophecies, namely anthropogenic global [climate] warming (AGW) and global jihad warming ...
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The conclusion contrasts the response in the West to the two most empirically based, contemporary, apocalyptic prophecies, namely anthropogenic global [climate] warming (AGW) and global jihad warming (GJW). It explores why the roosters on AGW are owls on GJW and vice-versa, an anomalous situation given that our dependence on petroleum makes both threats significantly worse. It explores the dynamics of postmodern self-criticism and premodern scapegoating and the dysfunctional ways they combine in our current assessments of the threats that face us in the new, third millennium.Less
The conclusion contrasts the response in the West to the two most empirically based, contemporary, apocalyptic prophecies, namely anthropogenic global [climate] warming (AGW) and global jihad warming (GJW). It explores why the roosters on AGW are owls on GJW and vice-versa, an anomalous situation given that our dependence on petroleum makes both threats significantly worse. It explores the dynamics of postmodern self-criticism and premodern scapegoating and the dysfunctional ways they combine in our current assessments of the threats that face us in the new, third millennium.
Tariq Ramadan
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195148053
- eISBN:
- 9780199849277
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195148053.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Seen as directly related to the immigration of foreigners into European society, several factors have made it very difficult, and sometimes virtually impossible, to engage in significant and creative ...
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Seen as directly related to the immigration of foreigners into European society, several factors have made it very difficult, and sometimes virtually impossible, to engage in significant and creative debate over the issue of the presence of Muslims in Europe. “Islamophobia”, the title of a study commissioned in Great Britain by the Runnymede Trust in 1997, may well symbolize the state of mind of many Europeans in response to Islam. Were these events and attitudes the whole measure of European response to Islam, it would be easy to come to the conclusion that Islam is incompatible with European legislation or the European mindset and, by the same token, that it is impossible for Muslims to integrate. A true analysis both of the character of the Muslim identity and of its possibilities for integration into European society must also take into account the realities both of history and of everyday life, with its energy, fluctuation, and development.Less
Seen as directly related to the immigration of foreigners into European society, several factors have made it very difficult, and sometimes virtually impossible, to engage in significant and creative debate over the issue of the presence of Muslims in Europe. “Islamophobia”, the title of a study commissioned in Great Britain by the Runnymede Trust in 1997, may well symbolize the state of mind of many Europeans in response to Islam. Were these events and attitudes the whole measure of European response to Islam, it would be easy to come to the conclusion that Islam is incompatible with European legislation or the European mindset and, by the same token, that it is impossible for Muslims to integrate. A true analysis both of the character of the Muslim identity and of its possibilities for integration into European society must also take into account the realities both of history and of everyday life, with its energy, fluctuation, and development.
Steven Vertovec
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195148053
- eISBN:
- 9780199849277
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195148053.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Over the past decade, Muslims in Britain have been the focus of increasing public attention. One widespread form of such attention has been highly negative: Muslims have been portrayed in all kinds ...
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Over the past decade, Muslims in Britain have been the focus of increasing public attention. One widespread form of such attention has been highly negative: Muslims have been portrayed in all kinds of media in very derogatory and vilifying ways. Among the effects of such depiction, which has contributed to what is now widely referred to as “Islamophobia,” Muslims in Britain have been subject to considerable discrimination and even violence. At the same time, however, another form of public attention has been much more positive. Muslims have made very significant strides in achieving multiple forms of recognition and accommodation in a variety of public spheres and institutions in Britain, right up to representation in the House of Lords. This chapter describes these two simultaneous yet opposite trends.Less
Over the past decade, Muslims in Britain have been the focus of increasing public attention. One widespread form of such attention has been highly negative: Muslims have been portrayed in all kinds of media in very derogatory and vilifying ways. Among the effects of such depiction, which has contributed to what is now widely referred to as “Islamophobia,” Muslims in Britain have been subject to considerable discrimination and even violence. At the same time, however, another form of public attention has been much more positive. Muslims have made very significant strides in achieving multiple forms of recognition and accommodation in a variety of public spheres and institutions in Britain, right up to representation in the House of Lords. This chapter describes these two simultaneous yet opposite trends.
Peter Hopkins and Richard Gale
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748625871
- eISBN:
- 9780748671335
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748625871.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter addresses the questions about the formation of identities, contemporary experiences of Islamophobia and emancipatory politics in the lives of Muslims in Britain. It specifically presents ...
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This chapter addresses the questions about the formation of identities, contemporary experiences of Islamophobia and emancipatory politics in the lives of Muslims in Britain. It specifically presents an overview of current discussions among British Muslims about Islamophobia and its relationship to their complex identities to shed further light upon this debate around ‘identity politics’. Islamophobia provokes the constitution of assertive Muslim identities in the hegemonic public sphere. Britishness is only partly constitutive of modern Muslim identities. There was a sharp bifurcation of British Muslims into loyal moderates and disloyal radicals after 9/11, but it could not be sustained to the same degree after the emergence of a large, third space for democratic dissent that British Muslims helped to shape in the run up to the Iraq war. It is noted that Islamopobia merely creates anti-Islamophobia, and that it cannot permanently define the British Muslim experience.Less
This chapter addresses the questions about the formation of identities, contemporary experiences of Islamophobia and emancipatory politics in the lives of Muslims in Britain. It specifically presents an overview of current discussions among British Muslims about Islamophobia and its relationship to their complex identities to shed further light upon this debate around ‘identity politics’. Islamophobia provokes the constitution of assertive Muslim identities in the hegemonic public sphere. Britishness is only partly constitutive of modern Muslim identities. There was a sharp bifurcation of British Muslims into loyal moderates and disloyal radicals after 9/11, but it could not be sustained to the same degree after the emergence of a large, third space for democratic dissent that British Muslims helped to shape in the run up to the Iraq war. It is noted that Islamopobia merely creates anti-Islamophobia, and that it cannot permanently define the British Muslim experience.
H. A. Hellyer
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748639472
- eISBN:
- 9780748671342
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748639472.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
The development of European civilisation and, consequently, European identity, is impossible to imagine without Islam and Muslims. A Muslim adhering to sharī'ah, or an Orthodox Jew making halakah his ...
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The development of European civilisation and, consequently, European identity, is impossible to imagine without Islam and Muslims. A Muslim adhering to sharī'ah, or an Orthodox Jew making halakah his criterion of behaviour, can exit the religious community simply by disavowing its code. The choice of community, however, is not only dependent on its own idea of itself, but on the options made available to it by the mainstream. European identity has been challenged on several fundamental levels in the past fifty years and, as yet, the ambiguity has not been clarified. As history teaches, it is far easier to concentrate on an external ‘Other’, imagined or not, instead of dealing with internal problems; but the problems nonetheless remain. The one consensus may now be that multiculturalism (if not always by name, then by meaning) is the norm; but, as yet, it is a norm limited by contested boundaries. This chapter examines fiqh and the Muslim community's ability to integrate, along with history, representation and Islamophobia.Less
The development of European civilisation and, consequently, European identity, is impossible to imagine without Islam and Muslims. A Muslim adhering to sharī'ah, or an Orthodox Jew making halakah his criterion of behaviour, can exit the religious community simply by disavowing its code. The choice of community, however, is not only dependent on its own idea of itself, but on the options made available to it by the mainstream. European identity has been challenged on several fundamental levels in the past fifty years and, as yet, the ambiguity has not been clarified. As history teaches, it is far easier to concentrate on an external ‘Other’, imagined or not, instead of dealing with internal problems; but the problems nonetheless remain. The one consensus may now be that multiculturalism (if not always by name, then by meaning) is the norm; but, as yet, it is a norm limited by contested boundaries. This chapter examines fiqh and the Muslim community's ability to integrate, along with history, representation and Islamophobia.
