Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy

Gottschalk, a professor of religion at Wesleyan University, and his former student Greenberg analyze what Islamophobia is and how it is manifested through political cartoons, many of which are included with revealing results. The authors say that Islamophobia—a racistlike bias against Muslims based on stereotypes—is very real, manifesting in some cartoons that are obviously biased and others that appear on the surface to be more sympathetic. Cartoons, symbolic of wider feelings and paranoia about Islam, reflect misunderstandings and prejudice among Westerners and, like a self-fulfilling prophecy, often serve to widen cultural chasms, particularly between Muslims and American Christians. Symbols and caricatures, like the veil, the mosque, scimitars and large-nosed profiles, can be misused or conflicting; for example, the scimitar, frequently used to depict Muslim violence, is of doubtful Muslim heritage but is actually used in American military uniforms. Gottschalk and Greenberg offer a particularly chilling comparison of cartoon depictions of Jews prior to World War II and their Muslim counterpart caricatures today. Even cartoons mocking conservative Christians are more neutral and less intentional in their hatred, say the authors. With its incendiary cover art and on the heels of the Danish cartoon controversy, this book should attract well-deserved attention. (Oct.)