A Critical Analysis of Islamophobia in Gottschalk and Greenberg’s Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy

Abstract

This study critically examines Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy by Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg (2008), focusing on the historical and cultural construction of Islamophobia in Western societies. The study makes the point that Islamophobia is more than an irrational fear but a long-lasting bias engendered by historical encounters and colonial narratives, as well as persisting stereotypes that depict Muslims as a civilizational difference. The study examines how historical events, especially the Crusades and colonial expansion, have formed Western visions of Islam to include an image that has come to be extremely negative. Stereotypes regarding Muslims are further entrenched through the use of visual culture: categorized as symbolic representations and political cartoons. It discusses the detrimental tangible effects of Islamophobia such as social exclusion and discrimination. This study adopts a social constructivist stance to highlight the effect of historical narratives in enlarging the contemporary ones in addition to the irrelevance of misconceptions about Islam and the Islamic identities and the embracing of them through the critical engagement of others, historical awareness and intercultural dialogue which help to explore Islam and Islamic identities more objectively.