Post-9/11 American Hegemonic (Imperial) Narratives: A Typical Version of Neo-Orientalism or an Alternative to Domination?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Hegemonic narratives have developed considerations of several perspectives on engaging with post-9/11 American imperialism and its system of power. This article deals with post-9/11 American novel, a version of neo-orientalist discourse that is inspired primarily by the American imperial ambitions and politics and the current public debates on Islamic terrorism, aggression, and backwardness. Employing insights from contemporary discussions around post-9/11 American hegemonic narratives and from contemporary hegemonic literature on the Middle East, the study examines narrative discourse to detect literary incitement to typological and racial representations. Analysis provides an examination of different perspectives concerning the origin of Islam in the 7th century in Arab peninsula, focusing on the first generation of Muslims’ intolerance towards non-Muslims and the Islamic heritage landscape as receptacle of the Middle East backward ideology and a place where radical ideology propagates the destruction of the west. Applying the notion of hegemonic literature as an exclusivist discourse, this study finds that pot-9/11 narratives and hegemony are symbiotic, reflecting the aspirations of the American policy in the Middle East region.